jmg
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by jmg on May 5, 2019 10:47:20 GMT -7
I'm getting a little worried. I don't use much reverb, but even the touch I do use results in some intermittent high pitched hum lately. I've checked connections at the tank, and made sure the verb send and return tubes are seated well, and everything checks out. I love the way the amp sounds, but it is getting a bit distracting.
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on May 5, 2019 11:05:58 GMT -7
Have you tried replacing the tubes? Sounds like you may have one that is going.
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Post by KeithA on May 5, 2019 11:12:14 GMT -7
I'm getting a little worried. I don't use much reverb, but even the touch I do use results in some intermittent high pitched hum lately. I've checked connections at the tank, and made sure the verb send and return tubes are seated well, and everything checks out. I love the way the amp sounds, but it is getting a bit distracting. I've been using my Z-Plus all morning with the reverb on and it's as quiet as a mouse. I'm with Mike, I think a tube or something is going south.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on May 5, 2019 16:30:57 GMT -7
I agree with the tube suggestion. My Z-Plus is quiet as a church mouse. Any time I've ever had noise issues with any of my Z amps it's invariably a tube.
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Post by daddyelmis (Greg) on May 5, 2019 16:44:59 GMT -7
Mine too is dead quiet. I’d try a new reverb tube.
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Post by j4gitr (John) on May 6, 2019 4:52:06 GMT -7
Mine's dead quiet as well.
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jmg
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by jmg on May 6, 2019 6:14:21 GMT -7
Ok Guys. Thanks. I'll try some tube replacements and report back.
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jmg
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by jmg on May 7, 2019 10:24:06 GMT -7
Ok. I replaced the stockers in the reverb send and return with a JAN Phillips 12at7 NOS I know to be solid from a previous amp and a new production 12ax7 Electro Harmonix I know to be solid from a previous amp. While the verb quieted down initially, after about 45 mins of playing it got a noisy again. Not exactly as noisy as before, but close.
I have ordered new production JJs for both of those slots just to make sure it's not a tube issue in the verb send and return. I'll let you guys know how that goes. Thanks again for the help.
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Post by bourgeoisboy (Josh) on May 7, 2019 21:30:57 GMT -7
Make sure all of the nuts at the controls and input jacks are tight. Also the ground nut inside the chassis. My Z lux had noisy verb and this is what fixed mine. It was suggested by another forum member that had the same issue.
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Post by Easyrom on May 8, 2019 2:27:55 GMT -7
My experience is that some amps are more likely to catch radio frequencies than others. I guess it depends on the way they are designed. I live at the last floor of my building in Paris and I know I get plenty of RF. Some amps are raisonably quiet, while some can be pretty noisy, especially when reverb is engaged. The Z-Plus was almost unusable at my place. I tried a few things with help from Dr Z techs (including changing tubes of course) but with no results. Back to the shop, the amp was perfectly quiet...
More recently, I’ve had some similar issues with a brand new Swart STR Trem. Again, really noisy as soon as reverb was engaged and again tons of tests with the help of the amp maker. My last attempt was a total success though: 7025 highgrade from TAD in v1, plus tube shield for v1, v2 and v3. Dead silent, even with reverb crancked.
I think the Z-plus a already shielded tubes, but you may want to try that. I know I regret I did not, cause I really liked that amp and wish I could have kept it!
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jmg
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by jmg on May 11, 2019 23:37:57 GMT -7
Make sure all of the nuts at the controls and input jacks are tight. Also the ground nut inside the chassis. My Z lux had noisy verb and this is what fixed mine. It was suggested by another forum member that had the same issue. Thanks for the tip. Gave it a shot, but unfortunately, made no difference.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on May 12, 2019 5:25:28 GMT -7
Time to talk to Don at Z repair. He'll set you right.... drzrepairs@gmail.com
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jmg
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by jmg on May 12, 2019 19:52:24 GMT -7
You may be right, Dave.
Latest thing is I tried was buying a new production JJ 12at7 for the verb slot from Tube Depot with the low noise, balanced triode option.
It yielded basically the same amount of noise as when I had the stocker in that slot.
I want to try one more thing, a power conditioner with EFI/RFI noise reduction. (Any recommendations for one would be helpful.)
If that doesn't work, I'll reach out to repairs.
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Post by Easyrom on May 12, 2019 23:32:48 GMT -7
You may be right, Dave. Latest thing is I tried was buying a new production JJ 12at7 for the verb slot from Tube Depot with the low noise, balanced triode option. It yielded basically the same amount of noise as when I had the stocker in that slot. I want to try one more thing, a power conditioner with EFI/RFI noise reduction. (Any recommendations for one would be helpful.) If that doesn't work, I'll reach out to repairs. As I said before, I've been through the same RFI problems (so frustrating) and I tried power conditioners (Furman), ferrite clips and even had a Power Filter installed on the main electric meter with no results... When I changed the reverb tube I got a slight amelioration, but the big jump has been the tube in V1 with this 7025 Highgrade from TAD. Total surprise, as I didn't expect much from V1, but that solved my problem.
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Post by daddyelmis (Greg) on May 13, 2019 3:53:08 GMT -7
I’d also look around the room for sources of RFI - particularly fluorescent bulbs (including the small CFCs that were common a few years ago). Check in the near adjacent rooms too - I had a CFC in a ceiling light in the room next to my music room, and turned out that damned thing was close enough to cause problems with some equipment.
For me, LED bulbs don’t generate much problem at all (which is good since you can’t find incandescent bulbs anymore).
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Post by perryr on May 13, 2019 7:29:50 GMT -7
If you haven’t already, try replacing V1 and V2, Reverb circuit may be getting that from an earlier stage.
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Post by Easyrom on May 13, 2019 7:42:10 GMT -7
I’d also look around the room for sources of RFI - particularly fluorescent bulbs (including the small CFCs that were common a few years ago). Check in the near adjacent rooms too - I had a CFC in a ceiling light in the room next to my music room, and turned out that damned thing was close enough to cause problems with some equipment. For me, LED bulbs don’t generate much problem at all (which is good since you can’t find incandescent bulbs anymore). +1 Sometimes, unplugging a simple device (phone charger, tv box...) can solve the problem. But in my case, the problem is clearly living at the last floor of a parisien building surrounded by tons of antennas (satellite tv, mobile phones, etc.) and in that case, there's not much you can do.
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Post by daddyelmis (Greg) on May 13, 2019 8:07:50 GMT -7
Except build a faraday cage around your room😳
You might look at putting some shielding tape around the inside of the cab where the chassis mounts. I’m not and RFI/EMI expert so can’t say whether that would be effective.
Good luck.
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jmg
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by jmg on May 14, 2019 23:12:55 GMT -7
Ok guys. I did a systematic, one at a time, replacement of tubes, including the rec and power tubes, V1, etc. These were all tubes I knew to be good in my Princeton Reverb, or new production tubes from Tube Depot. Rec didn't make a difference. Power tubes did not. Preamp tubes did not. I decided to just go with what sounded best, which were the stockers and the low noise, balanced triode 12at7 I just purchased from Tube Depot. However, I did a few additional things that have made a difference. I bought a Tricklestar PowerTap, power conditioner with EFI/RFI noise reduction. Also, though the amp is shielded with aluminum tape where the top panel underside of the cab meets the chassis, I added some additional copper shielding there. Now I can play with the small touch of verb I prefer. I still hear some smatterings of that high pitched hum, but it's less frequent and not nearly as noticeable. I logged a few good hours of playing today without the noise getting in the way of my enjoyment of the amp. If I crank the verb just to check, it is still pretty dang noisy. But I'm not Richard Dale anyway. (RIP.) Hopefully this is the solution. Fingers crossed when I'm not playing.
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Post by Easyrom on May 15, 2019 10:44:13 GMT -7
You may think I insist, but it is only because I care and share your frustration... Now that you’ve found a acceptable solution, you may want to try a highgrade 7025 in v1... I’ve been though the same process (I went with copper shielding on top of the cab too ), but these tiny benefits where not enough... and the level of noise would change from one day to the other. This tube that Tube Amp Doctor suggested was way beyond my expectations. And it sounds really good!
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jmg
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by jmg on May 15, 2019 13:33:03 GMT -7
You may think I insist, but it is only because I care and share your frustration... Now that you’ve found a acceptable solution, you may want to try a highgrade 7025 in v1... I’ve been though the same process (I went with copper shielding on top of the cab too ), but these tiny benefits where not enough... and the level of noise would change from one day to the other. This tube that Tube Amp Doctor suggested was way beyond my expectations. And it sounds really good! Ok, I'll try this tube. But if it doesn't make a difference, will you pay me back the 20 bucks? haha.
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Post by Easyrom on May 16, 2019 1:54:51 GMT -7
You may think I insist, but it is only because I care and share your frustration... Now that you’ve found a acceptable solution, you may want to try a highgrade 7025 in v1... I’ve been though the same process (I went with copper shielding on top of the cab too ), but these tiny benefits where not enough... and the level of noise would change from one day to the other. This tube that Tube Amp Doctor suggested was way beyond my expectations. And it sounds really good! Ok, I'll try this tube. But if it doesn't make a difference, will you pay me back the 20 bucks? haha. Ha ha! You don't take too much risks, because this tube sounds really good, rather it solves your RF problem or not!
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jmg
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by jmg on May 17, 2019 9:06:47 GMT -7
I'm glad you were persistent, ERom. I received the TAD Highgrade 7025 yesterday and swapped it for the stocker in V1. So far, it has made a substantial difference. The Z-Plus is running pretty close to dead quiet now with the touch of verb I like. I'll still get a few little dots and dashes here and there, but I have to stop playing and really listen for them and it is much less frequent now. Hopefully that was the silver bullet. And I must thank you. The last 24 hours I've really enjoyed this killer amp with no RFI/EFI distractions! Thanks to everyone else as well. I got to know the amp a lot better though this process and your good suggestions. When I followed the advice to make sure the ground was tight inside the chassis, I was blown away by the handwired workmanship, and a little touch of personality from the Dr. Z shop on one cap. Take a look:
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Post by Easyrom on May 17, 2019 15:12:23 GMT -7
I'm really glad it helped! I wish I knew about this tube when I had a Z-Plus... RFI noise was so loud at my place I had to send the amp back and it was hard because I really liked its tones. When my Swart STR Tremolo arrived a few months later and the same problem appeared I HAD to fin a solution. Guys at Swart were really helpful, but it's finally the recommandation of TAD's owner that fixed the problem for good. I think I'm still to thank him actually! Enjoy your amp and play good music jmg!
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on May 17, 2019 17:02:19 GMT -7
Great news! I see that the Highgrade 7025 also comes in a 7025WA version...which one are you guys talking about?
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jmg
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by jmg on May 17, 2019 19:26:02 GMT -7
Great news! I see that the Highgrade 7025 also comes in a 7025WA version...which one are you guys talking about? I got the WA version.
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jmg
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by jmg on May 17, 2019 19:32:22 GMT -7
I'm really glad it helped! I wish I knew about this tube when I had a Z-Plus... RFI noise was so loud at my place I had to send the amp back and it was hard because I really liked its tones. When my Swart STR Tremolo arrived a few months later and the same problem appeared I HAD to fin a solution. Guys at Swart were really helpful, but it's finally the recommandation of TAD's owner that fixed the problem for good. I think I'm still to thank him actually! Enjoy your amp and play good music jmg! You may think I insist, but get another Z-Plus.
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Post by Easyrom on May 18, 2019 23:44:13 GMT -7
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Post by Easyrom on May 18, 2019 23:52:07 GMT -7
You may think I insist, but get another Z-Plus. Ah ah ! I wouldn’t say it didn’t cross my mind, but I’m not 100% sure the new tube would tame it enough (really tons of RF here, not a friendly place for certain amps... and wahs (hello halo inductors!)) My Swart STR is quite a different animal (less power, smaller cab...), but I’m pretty pleased with it. I got it loaded with an Alnico Blue and it sounds pretty good!
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jmg
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by jmg on May 25, 2019 23:07:14 GMT -7
Great news! I see that the Highgrade 7025 also comes in a 7025WA version...which one are you guys talking about? Hey Dave. Just reporting that I was intrigued by the 7025 Highgrade non WA so ordered one of those as well. I now have the 7025 Highgrade in V1 and the 7025WA Highgrade in V2 of my Z Plus. Very nice tones from both tubes, and indeed both did the same stellar job taming my noisy verb. The 7025 WA version sounds slightly more complex on the high end and mids to my ears, and the 7025 sounds slightly bigger on the low end. (Though, the difference is so slight, I might just be hearing things.) In any event, you can't go wrong with either tube as far as low noise and as far as tone.
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