Orange Amps Forum

Hey all. First time poster. Hoping someone can help me with an annoying issue I’ve encountered.

I bought a TH100 used about 6 months ago and absolutely love the tone for the most part. My problem is that I’m getting a ton of fizz out of it no matter what power mode it’s on. Even with the gain relatively low on about 11 o’clock. In fact I even get it on the clean channel when I use a pedal or boost. I don’t use the clean but wanted to see if the fizz was present. The shape knob does very little to reduce/mask it. In a live setting it’s noticeable but not unbearable, especially mixed with a band.. however I am trying to record with it now and it’s just about impossible. I have to use a ton of EQ cuts to hide it and it just kills the tone.

I’m playing out of a stock Orange 212. I played through my buddies 212 cab and it was the same. I also played his solid state orange crush amp through my cab and there was no fizz at all so I’ve ruled out the speakers. In fact comparing his crush 120 and how smooth and clear and not fizzy it was compared to my tube amp really bummed me out.

Could this be a tube issue, or should I be looking elsewhere? I almost retubed it but didn’t want to spend 300$ not knowing if it was the problem. I know all distorted amps are going to have some fizz as part of the distortion but this is just not the same. At first I thought it was the speaker, but it’s not. it’s just not your standard part of the tone fizz and I’m hoping someone can point me in the right direction to get rid of it.

Thanks!!

I got a TH100 also, and yes on dirty channel the hush is annoying.
I guess some better condensers could better things, but as I use it every week, I've choosen to put a noise killer in the effect loop.

Thanks for the reply. I’m not sure I’d call it a “hush”. The fizz is only there when notes are being played, it’s dead silent when I’m not playing. I have had amps that have that constant hush-ish noise I think you’re referring to where a noise gate would kill it, this isn’t it unfortunately!

Sorry for the misunderstanding! I can't see what the "fizz" is.

Hubaxe wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 12, 2018 5:56 am

I got a TH100 also, and yes on dirty channel the hush is annoying.
I guess some better condensers could better things, but as I use it every week, I've choosen to put a noise killer in the effect loop.

Capacitors in English.
I had the problem the other way around, I'd been in England so long I couldn't remember a capacitor was a condensateur in French......

Anyway, it is a good idea.

Judkins401 wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 12, 2018 11:25 am

Thanks for the reply. I’m not sure I’d call it a “hush”. The fizz is only there when notes are being played, it’s dead silent when I’m not playing. I have had amps that have that constant hush-ish noise I think you’re referring to where a noise gate would kill it, this isn’t it unfortunately!

Is there any chance you can record that?

It could well be valve related, or capacitor related as hubaxe mentioned. It could be also something else.

Most of the time, the valves are the culprit. Since you bought it 2nd hand, it's not impossible the seller sold it to you because the valves (probably power valves, as it happens on both channels - could be the phase inverter too, but I'd consider the power valves first) have degraded and started to create this fizz. I'm not saying he was dishonest, he may not have noticed the degradation in sound and just thought he didn't like it so much anymore.

But realistically.... The power valves need to be biased, and that's something only a tech should do. If you don't have one, you need to find a solid amp tech (you dont really want a hobbyist) to try and sort it out. Describe the fizz, see what his thoughts are and what his charges might be like and decide.

Thanks for the reply. 2 mentions of capacitors now and I hadn’t thought about that. Is there a way to tell if the capacitors are bad other than the obvious bulging or discoloration?

I talked the the previous owner and confirmed that the tubes are at LEAST 4 years old. I’ve had many tube amps but never any without el34s and from what I’m reading online they don’t last as long... thank you guys for the help!

EL34 have a decent life span, it depends how much they're used. They can, like a light bulb, start to degrade (become microphonic) or simply fail anytime though. Preamp valves too, but they are subject to less stress and usually last 3 to 4 times as long as power valves.

I've had a R30 for over 2 years now, but don't use it much - so the valves haven't seen much wear in my care. You should expect EL34 to last around 1000h of play time. EL84 last much less, 500 to 1000h tops.

Again, the 1st logical step is to replace the power valves, and as they need biasing, e tech should do that and have the opportunity to check the amp out.