icastle

I've been playing 'properly' for just over 35 years now - yeah I know, I don't look old enough...

A bit of a mixed bag with me - I 'went pro' in the mid to late 80's but jumped ship and got a 'proper job', although I've never had much of a break from playing in various bands during the intervening years.

No real regrets about leaving the pro circuit, you need to be pretty damn good [b]and[/b] incredibly lucky to make it - I didn't like the constant gamble.

The most important thing I took from it was professionalism - not the ability to play a lydian augmented scale at 120mph, but behaviour.

I always know my parts, I'm always on time, I'm always equipped to do the job and I take quiet pleasure in getting things 'just right'.

I'd class my standard of playing as 'pretty reasonable', but I'm far more swayed by the opinions of others than my own - I can't remember the exact saying, but there's one something along the lines of 'if you want a true picture, never believe a self proclaimed expert'.

Damn.

It'd be so much easier if the blasted fault would stay still.

Do you have a dimmer switches in your house?

Those can make a hell of a racket and they don't even need to be in the same room.

I've used them quite a few times in the past and have only ever had one problem - but that was fixed the following morning after one quick and easy phone call.

Top marks from me.

2x10 on the top.

From a mechanical perspective it's far more stable and from an audio perspective it's easier to hear the higher frequencies if they're not round your ankles.

[quote name='surfguy13' timestamp='1426450553' post='2718188']
Interesting though, I have just put the strat through an early 60s AC30 and no crackle so..........?! Tried all 3 channels and focused on the 'brilliant' channel and yet no crackle at all. I rarely if ever use the strat through this amp, normally use the princeton and the twin, '57 and '54 respectively, and it is with these amps that I'm getting the crackling. It's worth noting that the circuit in both these amps is 100% original, not a single component changed, and they both run like a dream, no noise at all. However, I wonder if there is some sort of strange interaction going on between the components in guitar and amps? Long shot I know.
[/quote]

If it was just one of the amps exhibiting this then it's a possibility, but for two of them to have a strange interaction going on kinda pushes the boundaries a bit.

I'm still thinking its a guitar issue but that doesn't really get you any further forward without some more guesses as to what it could be.

How about taking the amp and guitar upstairs (or vice versa) and trying it there - you can sometimes get some pretty nasty noise on a ring main and changing floors will rule that out.

I usually use the IMG tags for posting photos - just upload them to a hosting site and paste the url.

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1426450557' post='2718189']
Our soon to leave guitarist hasn't got the message yet, he was saying on FB the other day it was a quiet day at work so he was in the toilets doing sudoku's, not the sort of thing I'd put on there even if I did post stuff.
[/quote]

Funnily enough, people who post stuff like that rarely manage to tell the full story of why they got fired later on...

I heard an interesting programme on Radio 4 today talking social media, and Facebook in particular.

It was reported that the trend to share every part of your life in intimate detail with a bunch of, what are essentially, strangers has been steadily losing its appeal for some time.

It was mentioned that younger users are starting to realise that bullying can be an issue and that what they say 'now' may come back and haunt them in the future in both personal and career spheres.

Got to say that its something that I've never been tempted to get involved with, but I can be a bit of a luddite when it suits me.

How about the pickup selector switch?

They sometimes go a bit intermittent as they're an open 'skeleton' construction which pick up a lot of crud and gunge (technical term ).

Next time you get the crackle, try moving the switch back and forth vigorously and see if that makes a difference.

If it does then you might fix it with a squirt of switch cleaner, or if worse comes to worse, a replacement switch isn't too expensive.

[quote name='planer' timestamp='1426351450' post='2717247']
I would suggest that looks like a kit-built valve amp, sans valves.

Sorry, I can't be more help though. Looks like a good find for a boot sale :-)
[/quote]

+1

Can't see anything that would work as a test rig there but it certainly looks like a good contender for being an amp.

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1426117046' post='2714744']
Can I be of service?
[/quote]

Blimey, it's just like Mr Ben with wire cutters.

Did you know the impedance of your headphones and the spec of the socket before you originally joined the two together?

Most people see a headphone socket and just slam whatever they've got into it and manufacturers know that.

You may not get the optimum result, but you're certainly not going to destroy anything.

Another thumbs up for the Ibanez SR505 here.

They are ridiculously good for the money.

!

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1425232176' post='2705359']
Barrel jack? Replace it, not much else you can do, everything's internal.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/neutrik-nys2203-635mm-stereo-long-reach-chassis-socket-n39gb
[/quote]

+1

Once they start to go they're a write off.

I've use Elixirs for years and never noticed a problem.

If you're finding that the buzz is less apparant when you play in a different room then that's probably worth investigating further.

Houses generally have at least two ring mains, an upstairs one and a downstairs one.

The upstairs one generally does very little, but the downstairs one will probably have a fridge and a washing machine on it - both have motors and motors can add noise to the mains supply.

I'd try running an extension lead from an upstairs socket and trying that.

Also, dimmer switches can induce a hell of a lot of noise, turn them off if you have them.
I've got a dimmer switch downstairs here that induces a buzz on my amp upstairs!

Lastly, although probably most importantly, make sure (or find someone who can) that your mains socket is earthed properly.

If none of that works then take the bridge off, make sure the earth wire underneath it is clean (a quick wipe with a bit of sandpaper) and then make sure that you [u]don't[/u] put it back in the same indentation before refixing the bridge.

HTH

Well it sounds like you've exhausted all the obvious ways in, so my next move would be to unbolt the speaker and go in that way.

The instore 'gig' confused me slightly.

The impression I got was that it was a regular occurance, so the 'bugs' should have been sorted out long ago.

It undoubtedly made good TV, but left me just a little bit unconvinced...

[quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1424952070' post='2702227']
Anyone else read this:

[url="http://peavey.com/news/index.cfm/id/816/Peavey%20Responds%20to.html"]http://peavey.com/news/index.cfm/id/816/Peavey%20Responds%20to.html[/url]
[/quote]

I watched the programme the other night and did wonder what the outcome actually was once the TV crew had departed.

As with most reality TV, the reality shown isn't as realistic as the genre would suggest.

Let us know how you get on, I'm sure you're not the first person to have wanted to do this and this thread might be valuable to someone ele in the future.

Nevef tried getting into one of these, but try removing the bolts that hold the handle on.

They often go through the casing and screw into the amp chassis.

HTH

[quote name='onehappybunny' timestamp='1424905022' post='2701874']
Or would it be better to get a monitor style cab that can tilt back (like a Fearless f110) and simply angle up at my ears?
[/quote]

I've tried those tilt back style combos a few times and have always struggled with them.

Science probably doesn't say so, but it seems to me that pointing the cabinet at the ceiling instead of where your audience is creates a whole different set of problems to overcome.

My experience of them is that they sound fine where you're stood but have a tendency to be a little muddy sounding and quiet when you wander out front to hear whats happening.

Obviously, it's something you can learn to compensate for as you become accustomed to using it, but I'm a lazy git.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1424796688' post='2700571']
Thanks, you'll be sorry you said that, there's quite a few
[/quote]

Did I say me?

I obviously meant any mod other than me...

Try Douglas's idea first (I've never tried doing that) and if you still have a problem, let me know and we'll try plan b.

EDIT: You're sorting stuff out quicker than I can type replies...

Easiest way would be to send me a list of them and I'll unlock them for you.

I've done this with my Fender JB.
It works just fine, but changing the battery is a real pain.