How crackly should a new amp be?

sev112

am still in discussion with the shop on this,  but just some others’ views would be good/helpful

purchased a new Fender Super Champ X2 combo.  It’s got some valves and some transistors.
gentle hum on silent which is fine.  Love most of the tones, a lot.

however with any gain, I get a crackle when ever I strum/hold a chord.  It is noticeably loud, and its volume increases with volume 
It it is a continuous crackle as long as the chord is sounding; it is not a hum or a hiss.
No crackle when no sound being played
highest crackle with highest gain 
increasing crackle with increased volume
(it even occurs on the clean (valve only) channel )

ive tried this in 3 different rooms, and it is still there, although slightly less.
ive tried with 3 different guitars, the same result, and I have tried 4 or 5 leads too.

how much do you think this is a faulty amp, and how much is related to the guitars and cables?

Any more testing I can do here?  I’m not a electrician.
Thanks all 

Fenderish

is this your first amp ? what do you call "crackle" ?

sev112

First valve one. My old Marshall big combo didn’t, and my little micro cube and fly 3s don’t do similar 

Modulus_Amps

Crackle is not normal in any circumstance.

Don't know enough about that amp to suggest possible causes, but sounds like a faulty new amp to be returned to get sorted/exchanged

sev112

What I’m wondering is how much is this likely to be my electricity supply, or guitars/ leads causing it.  Or whether it is the amp itself, and or whether it may have been damaged in transit

JezWynd

Can you take it back to shop and test it there? From what you've described, I'd assume it has a fault.

Could it be a bad valve?

webrthomson

Modulus_Amps said:

Crackle is not normal in any circumstance.

Don't know enough about that amp to suggest possible causes, but sounds like a faulty new amp to be returned to get sorted/exchanged

^ This - if it's doing it with the guitar straight in and you have tried more than one lead the amp is faulty - the shop should sort out a replacement for you.

Maynehead

Do they have another one? Easiest way would be to do a comparison.

ecc83

Not your mains supply or it would crackle all the time.  Could possibly be a dodgy speaker, can you jack in another one?

Does it crackle if you set the guitar down, leave a bit of gain on and thump the amp? If so, DEFFO send it back.

Dave.

sev112

Wonders of mail order, hence my queries before arranging for it to go back.  Thanks all. That’s what I needed

sev112

ecc83 said:

Not your mains supply or it would crackle all the time.  Could possibly be a dodgy speaker, can you jack in another one?

Does it crackle if you set the guitar down, leave a bit of gain on and thump the amp? If so, DEFFO send it back.

Dave.

Ok will check, I have another speaker

sev112

ecc83 said:

Not your mains supply or it would crackle all the time.  Could possibly be a dodgy speaker, can you jack in another one?

Does it crackle if you set the guitar down, leave a bit of gain on and thump the amp? If so, DEFFO send it back.

Dave.

Checked just now. Same with the other speaker. 

sev112

Light tapping with gain up generates much crackling !

p90fool

Wiggle the valves and apply upward pressure to make sure they're seated right - my brand new Princeton arrived with the same issue.

If that doesn't work don't delve any deeper, send it back. 

rivercider

Bought a Blues Junior last November, it crackled a tiny bit at first, when powering up mainly, then sounded like Armageddon when you turned it on after about a week. Mini-thunderclaps, humming like crazy. Would settle down again after about 20 seconds, but glowed funny colour too.  Shop took it back, said it was a fundamental flaw they couldn't fix with simple vavle swap etc.,  they'd seen it before......gave me a new one that's been perfect. 
I used to have the same amp you bought, the X2, and don't remember having any hum at all really, it was quieter than the Junior (new one!) so I'd be inclined to exchange/replace if poss. 

sev112

p90fool said:

Wiggle the valves and apply upward pressure to make sure they're seated right - my brand new Princeton arrived with the same issue.

If that doesn't work don't delve any deeper, send it back




just tried, no luck, but thanks anywya
 

Roland

Where’s @ICBM when you need him? 

It might be a bad connection. Have you wiggled the lead, guitar jack socket and amp input socket to check that it’s not one of them? Otherwise the amp needs to go back. If it’s a faulty model then who knows what else might emerge once it’s out of its return period.

sev112

Thanks, yes lots of wiggling done to check thanks 

ICBM

Roland said:

Where’s @ICBM when you need him?

At actual work .

sev112 said:
clean (valve only) channel

No it isn't. This is a popular myth - both channels go through the DSP. But it doesn't have any bearing on it, because the power section *is* all valve, so a valve problem will show up on both channels regardless.

The question is whether it's a valve crackle, some other crackle caused by the valve power amp, or an aspect of the digital processing that you're sensitive to (I suspect not if it does it on the clean sound).

But as Modulus_Amps said, the first port of call is the shop. If it's still within the first 14 days they *must* take it back, regardless of whether there is a fault or not. If it's outside that, they must arrange to repair or replace it if it is faulty.

sev112

ICBM said:

Roland said:

Where’s @ICBM when you need him?

At actual work .

sev112 said:
clean (valve only) channel

No it isn't. This is a popular myth - both channels go through the DSP. But it doesn't have any bearing on it, because the power section *is* all valve, so a valve problem will show up on both channels regardless.

The question is whether it's a valve crackle, some other crackle caused by the valve power amp, or an aspect of the digital processing that you're sensitive to (I suspect not if it does it on the clean sound).

But as Modulus_Amps said, the first port of call is the shop. If it's still within the first 14 days they *must* take it back, regardless of whether there is a fault or not. If it's outside that, they must arrange to repair or replace it if it is faulty.

Cheers, (yes I knew that about the channel 1 but I was rying to distinguish from voice 1 )

I’m glad my use of the word “crackle” appears to be a reasonable representation

yes, 1 day old, so will be going back.

sev112

Update.
thanks for everyones’ advice (to what probably was a simplistic question).
Amp is going back and being reimbursed, 
never mind, seeing another at 9.30 tomorrow, and a fall back available by mail order elsewhere,
so soon be NAD