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Post by deltone on Oct 9, 2016 16:33:58 GMT -7
Had my 2nd gig with the Z-Lux yesterday, an outdoor gig, and boy howdy was it a beautiful day! Was rockin' along, the Z-Lux sounded great, even better than my 1st gig with it, and then about 30-minutes prior to the end of the 3-hr gig I started hearing a chirping sound that last maybe 30 seconds and then the amp's volume went to a whisper quiet volume. I scrambled to get out my trusty Magnum 45 amp, ran it through the Z12 speaker in my combo, and finished the last few songs of the gig. I assume the issue is tube related. In an effort to save a little time, does anybody have a recommendation on which tube I should look at first? In the week prior to the gig, I thought the amp was sounding a little too noisy (hissy/hummy), so much so that I intended on swapping some tubes out to see if it would squelch the noise. The noise was only noticeable when I wasn't playing. Did I mention how awesome it sounded before the volume took a nose dive? Man, I love my Maz18 and my Ghia, I really do, but the Z-Lux was sounding perfect, just heavenly.
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Oct 9, 2016 16:51:13 GMT -7
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Post by thatstatuemoved on Oct 9, 2016 18:20:51 GMT -7
I have had chirping in my amps before and found it to be my iphone. Put phone and everyone close to amps phone on airplane mode and the chirping will go away. As for the volume drop, probably a tube--use the z troubleshooting guide to figure that out.
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Post by Faze on Oct 10, 2016 11:18:52 GMT -7
I was getting a humming buzzing noise from mine and changed my first position pre amp tube and the problem went away.
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Post by deltone on Oct 16, 2016 12:54:42 GMT -7
Update: The 12AT7 in V3 ended up being the culprit. However, yesterday, at sound check, I was getting a lot of static noise when the amp was idle. So, now I've got to troubleshoot that issue. I guess I'll start with V1 and go from there. For the gig, I ended up grabbing my Ghia head and running it through the Z12 speaker in the Z-Lux cab. On a positive note (no pun intended), I got to hear what the Ghia sounds like through the Z12 speaker, and it sounded pretty dang good.
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Post by Faze on Oct 16, 2016 14:44:29 GMT -7
I had a similar issue with mine. I ended up replacing the V3 and I put a mullard ecc83 in V1 and the amp sounds fat now.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Oct 16, 2016 17:21:36 GMT -7
Totally sucks that inferior tubes hold such a great work of art as the Z-Lux hostage. But on the static issue, don't rule out your cell phones! Put them on Airplane mode.
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Post by deltone on Oct 16, 2016 19:19:53 GMT -7
Totally sucks that inferior tubes hold such a great work of art as the Z-Lux hostage. But on the static issue, don't rule out your cell phones! Put them on Airplane mode.
Yes, it does suck. In addition, I know all too well what a cell phone sounds like interfering with a guitar amp or PA. In a previous band I played in, our bass player's phone was a constant annoyance where we practiced. I'm pretty sure the static I'm experiencing is not cell phone related, but tube related. I've noticed the static noise for a little while and it has continued to get worse. It reached the point of being unbearable at soundcheck yesterday. Fwiw, I don't currently own a working cell phone.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Oct 17, 2016 6:56:44 GMT -7
Totally sucks that inferior tubes hold such a great work of art as the Z-Lux hostage. But on the static issue, don't rule out your cell phones! Put them on Airplane mode.
Yes, it does suck. In addition, I know all too well what a cell phone sounds like interfering with a guitar amp or PA. In a previous band I played in, our bass player's phone was a constant annoyance where we practiced. I'm pretty sure the static I'm experiencing is not cell phone related, but tube related. I've noticed the static noise for a little while and it has continued to get worse. It reached the point of being unbearable at soundcheck yesterday. Fwiw, I don't currently own a working cell phone.
Divide and conquer. Pull the PI - is it still there? If yes, it's in the power amp, if no, put the PI back in and take the next last tube of the preamp. Keep going like that until you find the culprit.
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Post by Faze on Oct 17, 2016 11:00:30 GMT -7
I can tell you from experience that it's worth it investing in the tubes the Doc recommended on his website. What a tone I was getting yesterday! The Z-Lux sounded so rich and fat. Warm tone just awesome!
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Post by deltone on Oct 17, 2016 20:20:00 GMT -7
Yup. I'll definitely be ordering me up the specific ones Doc lists on the website.
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Post by Faze on Oct 18, 2016 15:56:54 GMT -7
Yup. I'll definitely be ordering me up the specific ones Doc lists on the website. The mullard Ecc83 in V1 really made a difference
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Post by renegade44 on Oct 24, 2016 14:49:50 GMT -7
Is there a link to the tube recommendation?
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Post by JasonM on Oct 24, 2016 19:38:42 GMT -7
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Post by renegade44 on Oct 25, 2016 5:47:55 GMT -7
Awesome . . . Thanks!
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