kryptonicwatermelon

Thanks mate! I guess replacing the tube will solve the problem then. I hope when I got a new tube I will remember to post if it solved the problem!

Hey all, I have a secondhand Hartke HA3500 that I really like. I always use the tube preamp, and I usually play for 2 or 3 hours a day. I have it about half a year now, I don't know how long the previous owner had it. Usually it works normal, the tube preamp doesn't give any noise and is pretty loud. When playing in my room, I set the master around 10 o'clock and the preamp about 12 o'clock, with the volume on my Precision not higher than maybe 20 percent. This gives me enough volume. Today I switched it on, and with the same settings it was barely audible. When I turned the preamp up to about 3 o'clock, it was very noisy and the volume wasn't even at the normal level. Turning the volume on my bass up did make it more noisy, but barely louder. I tried switching cables, different basses etc without result. It's not a ground issue, I use the same power outlet as always etc. What I find weird is that when I turn the tube preamp all the way down and use the solidstate preamp, the sound doesn't get louder or less noisy. When I plugged my bass directly in the effects return of my amp to bypass the preamp, I got a noiseless sound.(not as loud as normal, but I guess that's normal 'cause I'm bypassing the preamp. Correct me if I'm wrong.) So, I think the power stage of the amp works as usual etc. A couple of minutes I tried it again with the tube preamp etc at normal settings, and surprisingly it was pretty darn loud and noiseless, just as usual. This is how I know my amp. But, after playing for a while, it went again to super low volume and super noisy. Since it's just 1 tube in the preamp, I don't think it's an issue with giving it enough time to warm up. After what I've read the loss in volume and noisy sound are signs of a dying tube. Can you tell me if this is right? I guess I've eliminated all other factors like cables, bass, cab and powerstage, so only the tube in the preamp remains. (fyi: here in the Netherlands it's about 30-35 degrees celsius now, could all the problems with my amp be because of the very high temperature?) I'm glad I discovered this while in the holiday when I don't gig, and the amp didn't crap out during a gig, but I really want to fix this problem before I start gigging again. I hope you can help me! Thanks in advance, Reinier

Hi y'all, Been lurking for a while on this forum so I thought it was time to make an account and introduce myself to you. My name is Reinier, I'm 17 years old and live in the Netherlands, close to Rotterdam. When I was a little kid, my mother gave me piano lessons so I learned to play piano, read sheet music, trained my ears and things like that. However, when I was about 12 years old, I decided that playing piano was dull and quit it. I still regret it, I can hardly play any piano now. Luckily, I kept my trained ears. When I was about 14 years old, I really wanted to start playing music again, so I started playing acoustic guitar, and after a while bought an electric. It was nice, but it wasn't what I wanted to do. When I first played bass, I immediately knew that this was my instrument. Got a summer job, saved up and bought a really nice precision. I play bass for a couple of years now. Apart from the sound, what really motivated me to play bassguitar (and music in general) was to start learning (again) music theory. It was such a great thing to be able to make your own music, be able to solo in the right key, etc, etc. I play almost every day for a couple of hours and love to learn new stuff. Played in a couple of easy bands, but currently I'm not in a band. I gig with other bands and stuff like that every couple of weeks though. However, I would love to start playing in a band again. I mostly listen to progressive metal/rock, classic rock, punk and folk/symphonic metal and music where the bass is really important in the music. My current gear: a red Squier Affinity precision (cheap, but it's really a great instrument, except the tuners and pots aren't that great), and I have a simple Fender combo amp and a Hartke HA3500 which I gig with. Also a Hartke 410TP. And a couple of effects etc. I'm gassing really badly on an Orange Terror Bass. Well, I think that's the basic information. I really hope to learn a lot on this forum and have some nice conversations with you guys about music and all things related to bass! Reinier