Mains buzz through amp.

pinksoir

I've got a really annoying problem. My amp buzzes like a mofo. This is regardless of having a guitar plugged in or not. I reckon it's because the electricity in my studio is badly wired up.

I tried using a continental two prong plug (ungrounded) but that made it even worse. I know the problem isn't with the particular amp I'm using cos it happens with any amp I plug in in that room, and also in other rooms and venues there's no buzz from it.

So, does anyone know of any solutions to this? I'm nearly positive it's a mains hum.

Cheers

Squidgy Black

Power conditioner like a Furman, they're used to make sure the power source is clean, hence why almost all pro guitarists have them in their rigs when touring, to ensure it's consistent every night.

pinksoir

Cheers. I've read many mixed reviews about them though. Do they get rid of ground loop hum/buzz or just make sure the power is consistent avoiding pops and so on? Do you use one?

Squidgy Black

No personal experience with them, just what I've been told about them. Yeah they eliminate ground hum and prevent spikes or drops in voltage.

I've also seen an isolated plug adapter thing a few months back on thegearpage.net which removed the possibility of ground hum, it looked like a travel adaptor kind of thing. Can't remember the name of it or what website it was on though.

pinksoir

Cheers. I'll have a scout around to see if I can find out what it is. There's a mains conditioner on Amazon for ~€30 which seems to be getting great reviews...

Arciphel

Can you post the amazon link? Am looking for something similar for a dj setup, cheers!

pinksoir

Certainly:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tacima-Conditioner-Frequency-Interference-Filter/dp/B000PS5700/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341056580&sr=8-1

pinksoir

Ok, after some more digging it appears to be a stock problem with the amp. Luckily it looks like there is a mod to fix it. I tried the amp in other rooms and the hum's still there. I must just have not noticed it before... Ah well, at least I know now.

SirLemonhead

Most of those Furmans wont actually regulate power. You'd be looking at a couple of hundred quit for one of the Furman models that can actually give you a stable 230 volts

TroutMask

The inexpensive 'power conditioners' are simply boxed plugboards with a few varistors and surge suppressors thrown in there. They are good in the case of lightning strike or substantial mains overvoltage (like receiving 440 volts AC because you were accidentally wired between 2 phases - like at a festival or something). They will not solve inherent hum issues caused by an amp problem.

Which amp (model, make?) are you using?

pinksoir

I'm using a Harley Benton GA15 (Epiphone Valve Standard clone without DSP). Looking around online it appears that the buzz is a fault with the design of the amp, but it's an easy fix and there's a mod kit available for it that I bought that eliminates the buzz and makes the amp a lot better too.

Weird thing is that I used to have a Fender Supersonic and there was a buzz/hum with that, much the same as with my current amp, in the same room. It didn't buzz as heavily in other rooms though (or live in a venue), and the GA15 does (I must have been mistaken about it not having done so). I remember trying a Supersonic out in X-Music a good while before I bought my one, and it was buzzing like crazy. Dude said it was from the lights. No other amps were doing it though, so perhaps it is a design fault with the earlier models, which mine also was.

Anyway, hopefully the mod kit will sort it out. If not, back to cab sims for me. Which is a shame because my Joyo preamp pedals sound really great through this little amp and I'd love to record with it...

Squidgy Black

Are you using single coil pickups? If so hum is to be expected unless they're noiseless versions.

pinksoir

Single coils, humbuckers and P90s. But as I said, the hum is there even without a guitar plugged in.

It doesn't matter anyway as I've ordered a mod kit that is supposed to fix the hum issue with this particular amp. Apparently it's a design fault that's easily remedied. It still doesn't explain the hum I had with my Supersonic, but so long as it fixes this amp I'm happy.