Orange Amps Forum

What are some of the "tricks of the trade" to eliminate buzzing in guitar amplifiers? I personally have a 2x12-30 watt class A combo, so buzzing becomes more intense as compared to head/cab set-ups. Thanks for the info.

What is exactly buzzing, something in your amp, stuff nearby, or a buzzing sound from the amp?

Buzzing can be caused by a variety of things:

- single coil guitar pickups. Think Strat, Tele, P-90. If that's the case, turn 90° and see if it goes away...

- standing too close to your amp. Move away...

- bad or defective cables...

- neon lights. Are you playing in a honky-tonk bar with neon and chicken wire around the stage? Watch the Blues Brothers movie for reference...

- the worst one to fix- are you running a bunch of AC powered effects or other things as well as your amp? You could have a ground loop happening, which is when several powered items are all plugged in and connected to each other and one of the grounds doesn't go back to the outlet- it just floats around and hums. To check for this, and this is NOT a permanent fix, try using a 3 prong to 2 prong adaptor on one of the machines 'til it goes away.

That's pretty much all I can think of... let us know if any of this works...

Billy

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What are some of the "tricks of the trade" to eliminate buzzing in guitar amplifiers? I personally have a 2x12-30 watt class A combo, so buzzing becomes more intense as compared to head/cab set-ups. Thanks for the info.


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I'm not quite sure as to why the buzzing is more intense in this "2x12 30 watt class A combo", compared to head cab setups.

Why don't you tell us what amp you're playing out of, and how bad the buzzing is...does it happen only when they guitar is plugged in, does it increase with volume...?

-Nick

P.S. If it's a Vox AC-30...2 things. 1) It's not Class A, and 2) Turn the volume on your normal channel up to about halfway. That'll take care of a lot of buzz.

Nick,
1.) yes it is a vox ac30. I intend on buying a Orange AD30r sometime soon, but everyone here is so knowledgeable that I couldn't help asking.
2.) It is a mechanical sound, such as a vibrating and buzzing sound. It has nothing to do with the electronics, as far as I know.

3.) I went as far as installing "DynaMat" onto the wooden mounts that the amplifer is attatched to. This material is used to dampen the vibrations in car stereo systems.

4.) Combos are more prone to vibrations and buzzing, seeing as though both their amplifier and speakers are in the same enclosure. When you seperate them (head and cab), you virtually eliminate these problems.

As far as I can tell, it may be a speaker issue. The combo is housed with Celestion GreenBacks that are 3 years old. I got the amp used, so there is a possibility that they were abused. I have a way to get my hands on some new ones, so maybe that is the problem. Also, when I get the new ones, I will put that "DynaMat" on the speakers to also ensure that they are not vibrating against the baffle.

have you checked the tube retainer wires? The wires on my AD 15 are buzzing like mad.

With my Les Paul I know I'm small but I enjoy livin' anyway
(Marc Bolan in "Spaceball Ricochet")

Actually, I had an amp that buzzed from those wires, too. Had to give 'em a little twist- it was from using a different brand of tube that were just a little bit shorter...

Billy

I even went to the extent to cut two pieces of coat hanger wire and put it down the center of the two metal retainer springs on the rectifier. This did eliminate some of the vibrating, but not completely. I think that alot of the noise is coming from the speakers. I am getting two new GreenBacks soon.

Maybe it's the cabinent, though. I just completly de-constructed and re-tolexed the entire thing!
Let me know if you have any other suggestions.