RV100 MKIII Excessive noise on drive channel

[D|C|M|E]

So, my amp sounds awesome essentially (finally) but there is an increased amount of overly audible noise coming from the drive channel which sounds like someone rustling a bunch of tissue paper inside the amp. I've tried multiple guitars and multiple cables and the result is the same. It must be coming from the amp. I have a feeling its a preamp tube. I hope that's all it is. Even when I turn the guitar volume all the way down and keep the gain the same, its incredibly audible. The higher the drive the louder the rustling sound. Its to the point where its a bit too audible in between peaks of my picking dynamic and sounds out a slight amount over the actual notes I'm playing.

I understand the gain knob will produce some noise but up until now, its only really been the faint buzz in the background. This is a whole bunch of extraneous garbage inching ever nearer the foreground of the signal.

What do you guys think?

[Norrin Radd]

Replace the pre-amp tubes 1 at a time until the noise goes away.

[D|C|M|E]

Replace the pre-amp tubes 1 at a time until the noise goes away.

Appreciate the reply! I pretty much assumed it was preamp tubes. I've been thinking about replacing them with totally different brand/model 12ax7s lately just for sonic aesthetic's sake. I want tubes that are very punchy and keep the drive tone bold and thick and high gain. Any recommendations?

[Les Paul Lover]

Replace the pre-amp tubes 1 at a time until the noise goes away.

Appreciate the reply! I pretty much assumed it was preamp tubes. I've been thinking about replacing them with totally different brand/model 12ax7s lately just for sonic aesthetic's sake. I want tubes that are very punchy and keep the drive tone bold and thick and high gain. Any recommendations?

If you aim for high gain, I'd recommend either JJ or Chinese valves. EH have a more pleasing high end, but they squeal like crazy with high gain.

[Boy_Narf]

Solution...

Sell it an get a Rocker 30 Worked for me heh.

[Hubaxe]

No one mentionned a good noise gate in the effect loop? You'll always have a buzz on the drive channel, the only solution to silent that is a noise gate. Many on the market, I personnaly have the EHX Silencer (cheap, efficient, fully adjustable).

[Phlowen]

You'll always have a buzz on the drive channel

I have an RV50 MKIII and I don't have a noticeable buzz on the drive channel.

[Hubaxe]

Are you playing loud? Any amp on the drive channel get buzz past a level of volume.

[Boy_Narf]

I don't remember excessive buzz either, unless I was using a tele or P90 unit. Right after I got the RV, I picked up a Decimator, so I guess I wouldn't have noticed either way.

[Les Paul Lover]

My RV50 is pretty quietish.

Sure, as you crank the gain and volume, the hum increases, but nothing crazy.

[Phlowen]

My RV50 is pretty quietish.

Sure, as you crank the gain and volume, the hum increases, but nothing crazy.

Exactly.