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Post by Lefty on Jul 15, 2005 21:33:04 GMT -7
I've noticed more rattle from my Ghia as of late. And as I recall this tends to be an issue with EL84 tubes. Is there a brand that doesn't rattle over time?
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Post by Seńor Verde on Jul 17, 2005 18:46:13 GMT -7
Not trying to start a fight or anything, but are you sure it is the tubes rattling? My Maz Sr. has what I thought for sure was a tube rattle, but it turned out to be something else. When I put pressure on one of the transformers or rectifier tube, the rattle goes away. Swapping to brand new output tubes did nothing nor did fiddling with them. When I tilt the amp back on a stand it goes away too. Fortunately for me, I always use a stand when I play, so it ends up not being an issue.
Good luck. Rattles and other non-musical noises are NOT fun to deal with.
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Post by DRZ on Jul 18, 2005 4:18:20 GMT -7
DoobieK, it could still be your rectifier rattling. But I have a feeling that you need to do a bit of maintance on the chassis. Lay your combo amp down , speakers down and remove the upper tolexed kick panel. This will expose the chassis, now with the amp unpluged of course, tighten all the screws holding parts to the chassis, not all will need tightening but the ones that do might be the cause of the rattle. I use Stainless Steel washers and when a little loose can sound like cymbals . Ok I can hear the echo coming from accross the country " I never had to do this with my Fender combo DR.Z ". Well Fender used all steel chassis with mostly self tapping one time use sheet metal screws. We use Alum. chassis with pressed in treaded inserts for the machine crews. The Alum. can expand and contract a bit which will cause the screws to loosen some over time. So it's a good idea to once a year do a little maintance on your amp and make sure all is sercure on the chassis.
DR.Z
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Post by Curt on Jul 18, 2005 14:20:08 GMT -7
Thanks for the maintenance tip Doc !
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Post by myles on Jul 19, 2005 10:08:45 GMT -7
The EL84S tubes that the Doc uses are perhaps the best current EL84 tubes around ... sonically and physcially. If you have an issue with tube rattle with these you just got a bit unlucky or they were dropped in shipping or handling.
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Post by Seńor Verde on Jul 19, 2005 18:05:30 GMT -7
Thanks for the tip Dr. I had swapped all tubes and tightened everything I could find to tighten. Even took the chassis out to see if things inside could be tightened. Like I mentioned, since I use a stand with the amp, it doesn't rattle and it is no big deal. That amp does not get used much anymore since I am not gigging currently and my Jr. gets used around the house.
I have had Fender and other amps have parts that work loose. Lots of vibrations and normal transit abuse with amps. I just see it as part of normal maitenance to snug everything down occasionally.
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Post by goodwillsteve on Jul 19, 2005 20:19:49 GMT -7
Check your preamps too. Turns out one of my tube sockets has to be replaced because it doesnt quite hold the tube completely and it lets it rattle.
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Post by woody on Jan 20, 2006 16:01:57 GMT -7
Hello. I tend to have a rattle in my El84 (non z) amp and I'm sure it is filament rattle..Is there tubes that are more robust and not as susceptible to filament rattle without compromising tone of course...
Thanks
Joe Indianapolis
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Post by guitarboy02451 on May 18, 2006 17:54:43 GMT -7
Not to resurect an old thread. But just got new new Ghia 1x12 yesterday (which i'm entirely greatful for!!!) and the el84's rattle. Not a biggie... At first I thought it was the clips that hold the el84's but it's not. So while playing, I placed my finger on one of the tubes and it stopped rattling. Burned my figer though!!! DOH! ;-)
So, I guess the EL84's must have to knocked in shipping. No biggie, i'll replace them.
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Post by frank4001 on May 19, 2006 6:25:34 GMT -7
Tube dampers worked on my EF86...
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Post by guitarboy02451 on May 20, 2006 14:29:22 GMT -7
tube dampers??? do tell. got a link?
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Post by prowler on May 20, 2006 17:52:47 GMT -7
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Post by frank4001 on May 21, 2006 6:27:31 GMT -7
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Post by rcrecelius on May 24, 2006 6:24:04 GMT -7
DoobieK, it could still be your rectifier rattling. But I have a feeling that you need to do a bit of maintance on the chassis. Lay your combo amp down , speakers down and remove the upper tolexed kick panel. This will expose the chassis, now with the amp unpluged of course, tighten all the screws holding parts to the chassis, not all will need tightening but the ones that do might be the cause of the rattle. I use Stainless Steel washers and when a little loose can sound like cymbals . Ok I can hear the echo coming from accross the country " I never had to do this with my Fender combo DR.Z ". Well Fender used all steel chassis with mostly self tapping one time use sheet metal screws. We use Alum. chassis with pressed in treaded inserts for the machine crews. The Alum. can expand and contract a bit which will cause the screws to loosen some over time. So it's a good idea to once a year do a little maintance on your amp and make sure all is sercure on the chassis. DR.Z I think the Dr's maintenance suggestions should be added to the "News from Dr Z" section as a sticky thread...I missed this the first time around.
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Post by prowler on May 24, 2006 7:06:36 GMT -7
Even though I think dampers in a guitar amp may be a bit of snake oil I ordered a couple of them from Herbies Audio. They should be here today or tomorrow. I'm going to try them in my Mini-Z which usually has a bit of EL84 rattle.
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Post by ke4unr on May 24, 2006 7:35:35 GMT -7
DoobieK, it could still be your rectifier rattling. Was the case for me! I bought my Maz Jr new about 3 weeks ago. I had a rattle first time I played it. I'm familiar with EL84's, and figured it was one of them. Pulled the original Sovtek 5AR4 rectifier and I could hear it when I shook it. Putting in a new JJ GZ34 solved my rattle problem. Good thing too. I tested the 5AR4 on my Hickock 750 tube tester and it was heading south! Ray K.
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Post by drunkdolphin on May 24, 2006 13:51:00 GMT -7
Good Afternoon Gents, I have been using 1/4" bands of heat shrink from home despot. it is the black stuff, I cut small bands 1 for 12a*7 type tubes and 2 for EL84's and it helps keep them from ratteling, I copied this trick from MESA SPAX7 tubes that have the top of the tube covered with shrink, I have expirimented and can get away with just slightly wider that 1/4" bands and I shrink them in the middle of the tube and it seems to work in the various el84 amps that I have had.
SD
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Post by bustertheboy on May 24, 2006 14:22:43 GMT -7
my understanding of tube dampers is that they can improve the performance of tubes- ie the signal- see www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/ksox_e.htmlnever heard about them for rattle- who knows?
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Post by guitarboy02451 on May 24, 2006 15:06:22 GMT -7
Even though I think dampers in a guitar amp may be a bit of snake oil I ordered a couple of them from Herbies Audio. They should be here today or tomorrow. I'm going to try them in my Mini-Z which usually has a bit of EL84 rattle. Prowler, I just orderd a pair of dampers from Herbie also. I guess we'll know soon enough. pg
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Post by prowler on May 24, 2006 17:59:40 GMT -7
Paul... I'm interested in comparing notes on these things once we have a chance to give them a good workout. Which ones did you go with.. Teflon or PEEK ?
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Post by guitarboy02451 on May 25, 2006 2:30:23 GMT -7
Paul... I'm interested in comparing notes on these things once we have a chance to give them a good workout. Which ones did you go with.. Teflon or PEEK ? I went w/ the Teflon. YOu?
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Post by prowler on May 25, 2006 2:37:33 GMT -7
Same
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Post by frank4001 on May 25, 2006 7:03:03 GMT -7
I sure hope these work for you because I feel responcable if they don't. I have the cheap one's...Used 2 on my Mullard EF86....When I bent a D (3rd string 7th fret) to E I would get a strange rattle...An amp tech here in Memphis said to try them....Put a couple on and the noise went away...havn't had a problem since at home or on gigs. I am by no means any kind of repair guy but thats what happened to me...I'll be very careful to qualify things more in the future also...
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Post by guitarboy02451 on May 25, 2006 11:51:16 GMT -7
I sure hope these work for you because I feel responcable if they don't. I have the cheap one's...Used 2 on my Mullard EF86....When I bent a D (3rd string 7th fret) to E I would get a strange rattle...An amp tech here in Memphis said to try them....Put a couple on and the noise went away...havn't had a problem since at home or on gigs. I am by no means any kind of repair guy but thats what happened to me...I'll be very careful to qualify things more in the future also... LOL! Hey Frank, they were only $25! Don't worry about it! Your not responsible.... I'm the one who whipped out the paypal card. :-) Hopefully they'll be in within the next couple of days and update the post with my results. pg
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Post by prowler on May 25, 2006 18:39:04 GMT -7
I got my dampers from Herbie today. They came packaged very well with clear instructions. I decided to play my Mini-Z before I put the dampers on the tubes. Played at all different volume levels & made mental notes as to what I was hearing. Put a damper on the 12ax7 as well as the el84 & started to play. I noticed a difference right away, even at lower volume levels. The lows were really tight and snappy, mids were nice and smooth. The highs were where I noticed a huge difference. The harsh highs that my Mini can sometimes have at high volume levels was gone. I usually have to turn my tone pot way down when I run the Minis volume at 3 o'clock but the dampers got rid of the harsh highs and replaced them with nice musical smooth highs.
I admit that I was skeptical but these things did something to the tone that I rather like. I'm gonna try some on my other amps to see if I get the same kind of results. All in all they are worth the cost.
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Post by guitarboy02451 on May 26, 2006 7:36:12 GMT -7
hey prowler... did you have any EL84 rattle? Hopefully mine will be in today. pg
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Post by prowler on May 26, 2006 7:53:00 GMT -7
No el84 rattle at all, completely solved the issue. I tested the effect the dampers had on the tone in a few ways.
1) No dampers 2) Dampers on both tubes 3) Damper on 12ax7 only 4) Damper on el84 only
I noticed a difference in each scenario. Volume level also had a bearing on how the different scenarios sounded. All in all I prefer dampers on both tubes. I'm gong to give these a whirl on my SRZ as well. I love the way my SRZ sounds as it is but I may love it even more with dampers on some or all of the tubes.
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Post by frank4001 on May 26, 2006 9:03:34 GMT -7
Hey boys...Really glad those things worked out for you...I knew they did for me but you know how it is..Like taking your car to mechanic and you can't get it to make the noise...Have a great weekend. Frank
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Post by guitarboy02451 on May 26, 2006 12:01:20 GMT -7
just got mine... about to install... I"ll write back when I have results.
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Post by guitarboy02451 on May 26, 2006 13:01:50 GMT -7
When putting on the damper, do you completely remove the little metal wire tube clips/clasps and leave them off?
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