Amp hum

[TBB Flamey]

My newest purchase, Fender Ultimate Chorus, has a bit of a hum on the clean channel. This hum remains the same at all volumes (You can hear it even with the volume on zero).

I was just wondering if this is an easy problem to get fixed..

Cheers

[Timi]

Turn the chorus off?


Seriously, if you haven't tried that you should, also try plugging it in somewhere else in the house and see if its still there.

[Rog]

How bad is the hum?

If very bad, I'd be looking at the power supply smoothing capacitors as a first cut diagnostics.

Many amps use tall & slender smoothing caps which can break off at PC board level and can cause intermittent problems.

[Rog]

... or maybe an earth problem?

All-in-all, pretty hard to troubleshoot without being there...

[TBB Flamey]

Yeah, this is without chorus. I've tried it in different parts of the house too.

The guy I bought it off said he'd just had it serviced and things were resoldered etc.

It's not a major hum, you don't notice it when you're playing, I'd just prefer there to be silence when my strings aren't moving. Plus recording with it will be annoying

[IkeKrull]

Does the amp hum by itself, or only when you have you got other gear hooked up to it e.g pedals, guitar etc.

My amp hums quite loudly when i have my preamp hooked up - i can eliminate it by wiring the two chassis together with a little bit of wire.

First thing to check is using a two-prong power cable - e.g. an unearthed power cable. if this resolves the hum its an internal ground loop, and will probably require an amp tech to bust the amp open and check for a faulty ground point, or run a grounding jumper cable from the offending section of the amp.

Don't use the two-prong cable beyond testing, as you run the risk of electric shock. Not likely, but possible.

If its not a ground loop, it could be an unsheilded input, or an unshielded internal cable running too close to a transformer or other piece of circuitry. An amp tech can re-shield, or change the impedance of these inputs by swapping/removing resistors or other components.

On my amp the effects return connection has a tendency to pick up noise due to its routing within the amp chassis.

It may also be filtering capacitors or other components, as other posters have mentioned.

Short answer - take it to an amp tech. Most of these problems are minor, and can take anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 hour to fix - The only useful diagnostic you'll be able to do without electronics skills and opening the amp is the 2-prong plug, which isnt a safe way to operate the amp anyway.

[TBB Flamey]

It hums with nothing plugged into it and the volume on zero, which seems weird to me, as most hums I've experienced are just noisy pedals/pickups which get louder as the volume does.

I'll take it into an amp tech anyway, anyone know one in the Manakau City region?

Thanks for the help

[symphonist]

Hmmm, I also have an amp problem..
Recently got a ss 50w, which handles fine until n switch to the dirty channel. For some reason there is a loudish hum when im not playing or touching any metal parts of the guitar i.e the strings or bridge or pickup selector. This only happens on dirty channel, and being a complete amp noob I have no clue whats up or how to fix it. Anyone have any advice?

[slash-ed]

Sounds like there is a grounding problem, either in your guitar wiring or your cable.

[Rog]

Unless you feel confident playing with electronic equipment, I would strongly suggest that any amp problems should be dealt with by someone who knows what they are doing. This may mean taking it to your local music shop for advice or repair.

Yes, it may involve some costs, but playing by yourself could drive those costs upwards, as breaking things means it'll have to be serviced anyway...

[TBB Flamey]

Hmmm, I also have an amp problem..
Recently got a ss 50w, which handles fine until n switch to the dirty channel. For some reason there is a loudish hum when im not playing or touching any metal parts of the guitar i.e the strings or bridge or pickup selector. This only happens on dirty channel, and being a complete amp noob I have no clue whats up or how to fix it. Anyone have any advice?

What pickup do you have it on? Neck pickups tend to hum on the dirty channel.. (Well they do on my sub $300 guitars anyway )
Try the bridge pickup if you havn't already

[TBB Flamey]

Unless you feel confident playing with electronic equipment, I would strongly suggest that any amp problems should be dealt with by someone who knows what they are doing. This may mean taking it to your local music shop for advice or repair.

Yes, it may involve some costs, but playing by yourself could drive those costs upwards, as breaking things means it'll have to be serviced anyway...

Don't worry, I wouldn't even know how to open the amp properly

[higainer]

If you're looking for someone to check your amp over, take it into Music Mania on Cavendish Dr Manukau. Tell them whats up & get them to send the amp to Fix it Phil. I've sent all my amps & tube pedals to him, he really knows his stuff & I can't recommend him highly enough.

[TBB Flamey]

Oh cool, thanks for that. I was actually wondering where I would send it to get fixed

[symphonist]

Hmmm, I also have an amp problem..
Recently got a ss 50w, which handles fine until n switch to the dirty channel. For some reason there is a loudish hum when im not playing or touching any metal parts of the guitar i.e the strings or bridge or pickup selector. This only happens on dirty channel, and being a complete amp noob I have no clue whats up or how to fix it. Anyone have any advice?

What pickup do you have it on? Neck pickups tend to hum on the dirty channel.. (Well they do on my sub $300 guitars anyway )
Try the bridge pickup if you havn't already

Hmm ill need to make sure if its on both pickups, but im pretty sure it is. If its a grounding problem with my pickups Its easy enough to fix. Ill try it out with a friends guitar and see if the hum remains...