Page 1 of 2

OR15 - constant 50hz hum

Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 6:01 pm
by WDeranged
I noticed my new OR15 always has this low hum, turning down all the knobs makes no difference, the only way to stop the hum is to use standby or turn it off. I'm guessing this isn't normal, I've had one of these before and I definitely don't remember a hum :(

*edit*

Just tested my Tubemeister 18, it also has a tiny hum but it's barely perceptible whereas the OR15 hums so loud I can hear it from the next room, it's louder and it has buzz along with the hum.

Re: OR15 - constant 50hz hum

Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 10:51 am
by WDeranged
Can any other OR15 owners chime in on this to put my mind at ease?

Re: OR15 - constant 50hz hum

Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 5:24 pm
by a.hun
Hi there.

Not an OR15 owner, but it could be plenty of things, valves, cables being just a couple. But excessive hum isn't normal so you'll want to find the cause.

First thing though is to find out if it is local - only happens at your place - or it also hums elsewhere. Since you are also getting some hum from another amp it may be that you are getting some interference, either radio or other such as from the mains supply.

But I'm suspecting that if you already had an OR15 that it is a problem with this one. Frankly that is something best looked at under warranty. The only things you can really do yourself are to try some valve swapping and check your cables. Otherwise I'd say that it is Oranges problem to sort, not yours.


Andy.

Re: OR15 - constant 50hz hum

Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 10:31 am
by sizzlingbadger
My OR15 has a very quiet hum, can't hear it once you get a couple of meters away from the cab.

Re: OR15 - constant 50hz hum

Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 12:46 pm
by WDeranged
The low hum isn't overwhelmingly loud, it's louder than my TM18 but not terrible. It's the buzz that comes along with it that my ears pick up on, it projects pretty far and it's not related to cables, guitar, interference (as far as I can tell) or gain settings.

I suppose I'm just trying to find out if it's normal before I go through all the hassle of replacing the amp only to have the same issue. I did own one of these last year and I didn't notice the issue but it's totally possible that I wasn't paying attention :roll:

Re: OR15 - constant 50hz hum

Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 6:50 pm
by WDeranged
Quick update, I just noticed that plugging my guitar into the amp makes the buzz much worse, keep in mind this is with every knob on zero and the guitar's volume rolled down. I did one final comparison of both my amps, the TM18 has a hum that you could mistake for a fridge running in another part of the house, the OR15 has the hum and buzz of a fridge in the same room.

Anyway, I'll drop the amp back into the shop tomorrow and leave it with them.

Re: OR15 - constant 50hz hum

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 2:14 pm
by WDeranged
It's taken a long time to get the issue sorted but apparently the amp had a faulty FX loop valve. Orange actually sent the amp back saying it was fine but I noticed the shop hadn't given them a very good description of the issue and asked them to check again.

I'll go collect it later this afternoon and see for myself :)

Re: OR15 - constant 50hz hum

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 10:22 pm
by WDeranged
It still has a hum/buzz, it doesn't get any worse when a guitar cable is connected so that's a definite change but the general character of the noise is the same, it does get worse when putting a pedal in the loop though.

The amp has been tested by Orange twice now so I'm starting to feel like an idiot, I've owned various other tube amps that didn't behave like this but I'm totally willing to accept that the OR15s are all like this, I'd just like some confirmation so I can decide what to do about it :(

Re: OR15 - constant 50hz hum

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 11:40 pm
by Randy Bass
I would try it somewhere else to see if your wall power is causing the hum, especially since the H&K has some hum as well.

Re: OR15 - constant 50hz hum

Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 12:10 am
by WDeranged
I've tried it at my workplace and at the music shop with the same result, I'm leaning towards the idea this is "normal" for the OR15, I just have to decide whether I can live with it :(

Re: OR15 - constant 50hz hum

Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 2:09 am
by a.hun
Really don't think it is normal. Orange amps are designed by someone (Ade Emsley) who knows how to make them loud but quiet if you follow.

Tricky, but I'd persist and try to get it hum free. Tried all of the logical things like different cables, pulling and re-seating all the valves (in case of poor or intermittent electrical contact), bit of contact cleaner in the jack socket, tapping the amp even to see if it makes any difference at all?


Andy.

Re: OR15 - constant 50hz hum

Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 2:17 am
by WDeranged
I've tried different cables (even one with an earth lift at the guitar shop) but I haven't tried re-seating the valves simply because I lack experience, also Orange have had the amp back twice so I'd hope their techs would check things like that...still, I might give it a try.

I do hope you're correct that this isn't normal, my TM18 only has a small amount of hum and not the extra few DBs of high bandwidth fuzz I hear in the OR15, the Tiny Terror I tested in the music shop was just like my TM18, minor hum, no fuzz.

Re: OR15 - constant 50hz hum

Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 12:43 pm
by Phlowen
Does the OR15 have a hum balance pot?

I mean, if you sent it back to Orange, I'm sure they would have adjusted it if it does indeed have one...

I didn't notice if you said if you did this or not already...but I would try swapping the preamp tubes. For whatever reason 2 different JJ tubes in my effects loop preamp tube produced a hum (even without the effects loop being used!) when I replaced the tube with a spare Chinese one I had lying around, the hum went away. No idea why both JJ's were humming...but...

It sounds like you've tried just about everything else at this point...

Re: OR15 - constant 50hz hum

Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 1:31 pm
by WDeranged
Orange mentioned that it might need the hum balance tweaking but as you said, they surely would have checked this when I sent it back. It's tempting to buy some tubes and try to solve this myself but I'm feeling a bit burnt out, I'm leaning towards a refund but I keep wondering if this is just how OR15s are, I don't want to be one of those nuisance customers.

Re: OR15 - constant 50hz hum

Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 5:06 pm
by Phlowen
WDeranged wrote:Orange mentioned that it might need the hum balance tweaking but as you said, they surely would have checked this when I sent it back.
You would think so, but who knows? If they didn't hear any hum/buzz when they were using it, they may not have even broken it open.
WDeranged wrote:I don't want to be one of those nuisance customers.
Why not? You're the one dishing out the dough...don't settle for anything less than satisfaction! Like others have said, based on what you're describing, I can't imagine what you're hearing is normal.

If you're still able to get a refund, is there a situation where you could just swap it for a different OR15 and see if you hear the same thing?