Love it, but have a question/problem

[rody]

Bought the Rebel 30 combo amp Thursday nite at GC and used it Sunday am in the church service. Tone was amazing. Played direct into the PA. Brought it home and now have an issue. When I turned it on and let it warm up, was fine, but when I took it off standby, it was squealing. Happened on both channels. I turned the volume down to zero and then back up and the squealing continued and then just stopped.. Makes no sound now. What happened? I really like this amp. Am not used to having problems like this, though. Had an old Fender deluxe reverb that never gave me an issue. I like this amp better, the sound, and the ability to go direct, but this problem this morning is scaring me. Would like to know what the cause is/was. Prior to hearing the squealing, I turned on the power switch in the back. The switch on top was in standby. I waited about a minute and then switched it to live/record and it started squealing. I put it back on standby and checked my pedals and guitar and saw that everything was how I have it set normally and so switched it back to live/record and and it continued to squeal. Did this for 20-30 seconds and then went silent. Amp powers up and the lights are on and the tubes are glowing, but no sound now.

 

[Jeff Hilligan]

please contact john@egnateramps.com or nate@egnateramps.com for help. Sounds like a bad pre amp tube.

 

[rody]

Will do. Thanks. Do you know much about this amp? I am wondering about the direct out. Is that a simulation, or is the tone coming directly from the tubes/circuitry to that direct out? Also, why the differences I am hearing when I switch between the direct xlr out and the internal speaker? The speaker is alot louder and the tone is different. I realize the direct out to the PA is going to sound different, but am wondering if it is due to being a simulation? Someone yesterday said they thought the direct out was simulation and not the actual tubes/tone from the amp. I don't think that is right, but wanted to go to the source to ask. So, when going direct out, am I getting the tone from the amp/tubes/circuitry? Or, is it a simulation? I just got this amp on Thursday and didn't research any of this. I just played it and liked the tone and the versatility of the variable wattage and decided to buy it and try it.

 

[Klark]

Turn the amp on > NO cord into the guitar input > Plug a cord into the 'Return' > Take amp off standby > Touch tip of cord. If you here the buzz when you touch the tip of the cord, then your amp technically works, you just have a bad preamp tube or something. V1 went bad on my Rebel 30 just the other day, so a few Rebel 30's might have got out of the factory with a some goofy tubes. It happens, and is absolutely no big deal at all. Change the tube, relax, play.

Also, yes, it's a cabinet simulated output. Why is the tone different? Because it depends on what you're plugging the XLR in to! It's never going to sound exact, because there's two dozen factors in the path before you hear anything. Preamp of the board, EQ on the channel, compression, outboard EQ, power amp/s, PA cabinets with horns, subs, etc.. You'll just have to use the channel EQ on your board to make it sound close to what you're looking for. That's what the channel EQ is there for.

 

[rody]

Thanks Klark. Still wondering about the direct out. Being a simulated cabinet output, do you know if it's software making it work, like Line 6/Guitar Rig type of thing or is it a hardware/resistor/electronics thing?

 

[Len Rabinowitz]

Will do. Thanks. Do you know much about this amp?

I'd say Jeff does- He's one of the guys who designed and built it!

I am wondering about the direct out. Is that a simulation, or is the tone coming directly from the tubes/circuitry to that direct out?

I don't think anything on an Eggie is modeled like a Line 6. My guess is that it coming directly off of the circuitry.

Also, why the differences I am hearing when I switch between the direct xlr out and the internal speaker? The speaker is alot louder and the tone is different. I realize the direct out to the PA is going to sound different, but am wondering if it is due to being a simulation?

I assume that is because of the PA speakers and circuitry.

This isn't a major problem. It's probably just a faulty tube. It can happen on any tube amp at any time.

 

[bruce egnater]

Sorry for your amp trouble. Do contact John and/or Nate. They will help you with that. On the subject of the direct out sounding different with the speaker vs. the silent mode, here is the answer. The direct out is a filter circuit that is designed to simulate the frequency response of a mic'd cabinet. My reference was a 4x12 with Vintage 30s, SM57 mic placed at a 45 degree angle at the edge of the top right speaker. Of course the filter will not sound exactly like that because there are way too many variables but that was the reference tone. Personally I think the direct out sounds better, but that's just me. The reason the output sounds different with the speaker vs. the internal load is because the speaker has a different impedance curve than the internal load resistor (in the silent mode). The power amp reacts to the "reactance" of the speaker to produce a certain response. It responds differently to the load resistor. Nothing a bit of EQ can't adjust. Do be sure the impedance switch is set properly according to the manual. You, of course, have read the manual right?????? Kidding aside, you should look at the manuals. They do provide quite a bit of useful information. If you don't have them, you can download from egnateramps.com

 

[Len Rabinowitz]

I am often amazed at how many people don't look at the manual! I spend a lot of time with the Tourmaster manual. All those people asking about the tube layouts. That's clear in the Tourmaster manual; I assume it is in the others as well. The Tourmaster manual has great presets also.

That's interesting about the line out/silent out difference. Of course there isn't any way to get them to sound the same.

 

[bruce egnater]

Also, if one were to stand out in the room and listen to the guitar from the stage (no PA), of course it will sound very different from the direct to PA feed or a mic. The PA will never be an exact replica of the sound of the amp because it is....well.....the PA.

 

[rody]

Thanks for the input, guys. I read the manual for the first time the other night. Very helpful. The first amp I bought off the shelf from Guitar Center sans a manual. When I went back and swapped amps, they gave me a one new in the box. Read the manual and found it very helpful. As for my thinking on the direct out, my hope is that I can give our church's sound guy a better signal to work with. When I mic my amp there, it just doesn't sound right. When I tried out the direct out the other day, it sounded better. We have some stuff to work out on the PA mix. God help us!

 

[bruce egnater]

It appears I may not have directly answered your question. I clarified the reason that the direct out may sound different in the silent mode vs. having the speaker on. Your question was why does the direct out sounds different than the mic'd speaker. In that situation, of course the microphone and it's placement have a substantial effect on what gets sent to the PA. The best loation for the mic is as we did when designing the filter circuits. Place the mic at the edge of the speaker cone, not in the center. You will need to move the mic around to find "your spot"....or just use the direct out. There are so many variables when using live microphones that it is impossible for anyone to say why yours doesn't sound good.

 

[Len Rabinowitz]

Second to placement would be "What mike are you using?" It never hurts to just fall back on "old faithful"- a Shure SM-57. Like the McDonald's of mikes: Not the greatest thing in the world, but it's not bad, it's reliable, and you know what you are going to get! Helps control some of those variables Bruce talks about. After that- cables, mixing board, effects, sound guy, speakers- an insane amount of variables.

To state the obvious- I assume you are doing a sound check? Getting out in front of the speakers? Telling the sound guy what you want?

It's insane what goes into this. Bruce is right, though- It's probably a lot more controllable to use the line out. A good sound guy and a good sound check can usually get it to sound right.

Just my two cents.