dead tube symptoms?

[jesus69lol]

So I turned on my amp today and started to rock out when I noticed that my tone was especially thin and crackly sounding. So I replaced the battery to my emgs and turned the amp back on and the problem seemed to go away for a minute and then it started crackling again. Turn amp off wait 5 minutes turn back on, same thing: starts off sounding "normal" then gets crackly sounding. My best guess is that I have blown some preamp tubes, can anyone confirm this or suggest another possible remedy to this vexing problem?

 

[Metaltastic]

Sounds like dead t00bz to me! Though I might guess power, rather than preamp. Whatever, they're so cheap, just buy a whole new set!

 

[jesus69lol]

Sounds like dead t00bz to me! Though I might guess power, rather than preamp. Whatever, they're so cheap, just buy a whole new set!

well it does it on the fx send into impulses as well so I'm inclined to think its preamp.

 

[Damian B]

yes sir!

 

[Omega_Void]

Could be all kindsa things. If it starts normal then goes bad it's a sign that the heat as the amp warms up is a factor.

Dry solder joint maybe - starts off making good contact but loses it as the metal expands.

Leaky capacitor maybe...

Unless you're particularly hankering after re-tubing I'd get an expert to look at it before you start shelling out cash for parts you might not need...

 

[Fragle]

thanks for the thread - i have a similar issue with my 5150 right now!

the bloody thing will cut out all of a sudden to a very very low volume (kinda like the bleed you get from the dirty tones when you slave a clean one through the fx return, bypassing the 5150 preamp), then go back to normal, plus the overall sound is very fizzy, thin, and undefined.
it's NOT the poweramp, as going straight into the fx return with a clean modeler gives me full volume all the time. plus i just recently retubed the powersection, maybe 2 weeks ago.

my first thought was preamp tubes....i haven't replaced all of them (yet), only one at a time, but that didn't fix it unfortunately.

i'll give the preamp a complete retube this week, but if that doesn't work out, what else could be wrong???

 

[jesus69lol]

Ok so I am a fucking retard. I replaced the dead battery in my emgs with...ANOTHER DEAD BATTERY. Honestly. And oh yeah I already threw down on new tubes...oh well!

 

[Omega_Void]

thanks for the thread - i have a similar issue with my 5150 right now!

the bloody thing will cut out all of a sudden to a very very low volume (kinda like the bleed you get from the dirty tones when you slave a clean one through the fx return, bypassing the 5150 preamp), then go back to normal, plus the overall sound is very fizzy, thin, and undefined.
it's NOT the poweramp, as going straight into the fx return with a clean modeler gives me full volume all the time. plus i just recently retubed the powersection, maybe 2 weeks ago.

my first thought was preamp tubes....i haven't replaced all of them (yet), only one at a time, but that didn't fix it unfortunately.

i'll give the preamp a complete retube this week, but if that doesn't work out, what else could be wrong???

Distorted fizzing, thin sound...a buggered ground connection maybe? The preamp is lower down the powertrain than the output section so the poweramp could still be fine.

Really not possible to diagnose over the internet. Take it to the repair shop if a retube doesn't solve it.

@jesus69lol
Oh boy! First time my EMG battery went flat I was nearly in tears trying to figure out the problem before I even remembered my guitar had a battery in it now!

At least your amp's not buggered after all

 

[jesus69lol]

Distorted fizzing, thin sound...a buggered ground connection maybe? The preamp is lower down the powertrain than the output section so the poweramp could still be fine.

Really not possible to diagnose over the internet. Take it to the repair shop if a retube doesn't solve it.

@jesus69lol
Oh boy! First time my EMG battery went flat I was nearly in tears trying to figure out the problem before I even remembered my guitar had a battery in it now!

At least your amp's not buggered after all

Yeah thats true! I'm pissed now cause I just moved and I've been lugging dead batteries around with me. How on earth did a battery die and I just put it aside instead of, you know, throwing it away.