Rebel 30 owners - help with hissing?!

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bonedish

bonedish

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I was wondering if anyone has any helpful hints as how to reduce/eliminate the hiss coming from both channels 1 & 2?

Channel one has more of a "soft" "static-y" hiss, and channel 2 has less of a hiss with some added buzzing. It is not noticable when playing, though. It is the same with all of my guitars plugged straight in and nothing in the loop. Volumes are anywhere from 8-11 o'clock and gain is anywhere from 1-3 o'clock. Anyone else having similar experiences?

New/different preamp tubes? A noise reduction unit?

Thanks in advance for the help!!! :thumbsup: :D
 
bonedish":jdhbytna said:
Anyone? Before y'all go to bed?!

:lol: :LOL:
Click to expand...
:lol: :LOL: To late.I would try swapping a preamp tube first.Start with a known good one and rotate it threw each position.
 
Hum would make me think sheilding, dirty power source, close to a TV, etc...

Hiss is most likely a preamp tube on the outs...

I'd try a new preamp tube before anything else.
 
how good of cables are you using from your guitar to amp?
 
Audioholic":8tv8vke5 said:
how good of cables are you using from your guitar to amp?
Click to expand...

I'm using 10' Livewire cables, which seem to work well with all of my other amps - no hum/hiss/buzz.

Will switching out the tubes void the warranty? The tubes are under warranty for 90 days and I've only had this for about 3 weeks now.
 
Switching tubes will not void the warranty. If it is a bad tube they will send you a new one free. I had a similar issue with my Tourmaster and that is what happened. Swapping tubes is something that is expected for the consumer to do on a tube amp. You wouldn't void the warranty over it.

:confused: :rock:
 
First off, thanks for all of the replies on here!

So I've tried the tube switching and the noise is still present with all positions. I even tried all new preamp tubes and still the same hiss/hum. I even put a Jan/Phillips 12AT7 in V1 and still, the hiss/hum was present. It's even there with NO guitar plugged in and the volume COMPLETELY turned down.

I really don't want to return this amp to GC because it's been the amp that I've been searching for for a LOOOOOOOOOOONG time! It's everything I was looking for the Rivera, H&K, Mesa and Shiva to be - and at $900 a pop!!!

I really don't know what to do about the noise factor, as I've read other reviews on forums where they state that their R30 is dead quiet???

Please help?!
 
I would try different cables. I would also try things like a different outlet, a different room, keeping away from things like lamps and computer monitors, shutting off appliances, etc... Those things can sometimes add noise.

Go to GC and try another one. See if it makes the same noise. If it isn't, exchange.

:D :thumbsup: :confused: :cry: :rock:
 
Update-

So I was able to go to a couple of local GCs and A/B my R30 with some others and ended up keeping mine. The hiss/hum is mostly on the clean channel and was pretty consistent with other R30s. For some reason, it seems louder than other amps I have owned in the past, but it's a minor issue in comparison to the tones and responsiveness of the amp.

I was also able to A/B the R30 with a few other amps - Mesa Express 5:25, Marshall Haze, Fender Deluxe & Supersonic, & a Renegade 112. The R30 is still the PERFECT amp for me!!!
 
Some amps are just a little noisy. I think the Tourmaster is a little noisy. It sounds great, it's not bad, just the way it is. Throw in all of the other variables in an amp with tubes and it just happens sometimes.

:rock:
 
Same noise/hiss issue. Swapped ALL the tubes, cables, power, etc.

It's a design or component issue. Maybe Egnater addressed this issue in later runs but doesn't acknowledge it publicly anyway.

Calling Egnater was no help at all. I'm sure he's a great guy and great builder.

If anyone has a solution please share otherwise this amp is gonna go and leaving me one dissatisfied customer.
 
Why was calling Egnater no help? FYI, there is not a hidden or known defect that would cause this. Do any of the knobs affect the level of the noise? Is it on both channels?
 
I was told awhile back that the noise is common on the Rebel series. I had it on both of mine. When I did a Google search there were tons of reports of it and most people that had contacted Egnater had posted that they were told it was normal. But with Bruce saying, it's not in this thread it makes me wonder. All I know is that the ones in the store had it to some degree and both that I owned had it. My last one was only noisy on channel 2. The clean channel was noise free. It seems there are alot of posts on the internet that have the reverse issue....a noisy clean channel.
 
Campion":2eqyk02a said:
Same noise/hiss issue. Swapped ALL the tubes, cables, power, etc.

It's a design or component issue. Maybe Egnater addressed this issue in later runs but doesn't acknowledge it publicly anyway.

Calling Egnater was no help at all. I'm sure he's a great guy and great builder.

If anyone has a solution please share otherwise this amp is gonna go and leaving me one dissatisfied customer.
Click to expand...

:confused:
ALL tube amps have some white noise hiss / humm. Some more than others.
All gain pedals produce a hiss too.
A normally operating R30 has less hiss than most tube amps imo.... it's a pretty quiet amp.
That's why Egnater Corp are not so interested in this issue I assume.
As soon as you start playing no-one can hear it anyway but if you don't like it ................
Reducing hiss is easy -

Method 1 - swap both preamp & power tubes to quieter one's
On the R30 this will also significantly improve tones as well so I recommend it to all R30 owners.
Doug from http://www.dougstubes.com recommended the following tubes for the R30.

Preamp
Sovtek WB in V1,
Penta Labs in V2 and V3,
Ruby AC5 select in V4
Sovtek LP in V5.

Power amp
JJ EL84s
Tung-Sol 6V6's

They did exactly what Doug said they would.
These tubes will cut hiss by 60-70%, significantly improve tones thru the whole range and increase gain at the top end.
Will cost you around $110.

Method 2 - if you then want to run 100% silent with gain cranked get a Noise Suppressor pedal like an ISP Decimator or MXR Smart Gate
 
Waxhead":2d9ehffp said:
Campion":2d9ehffp said:
Same noise/hiss issue. Swapped ALL the tubes, cables, power, etc.

It's a design or component issue. Maybe Egnater addressed this issue in later runs but doesn't acknowledge it publicly anyway.

Calling Egnater was no help at all. I'm sure he's a great guy and great builder.

If anyone has a solution please share otherwise this amp is gonna go and leaving me one dissatisfied customer.
Click to expand...

:confused:
ALL tube amps have some white noise hiss / humm. Some more than others.
All gain pedals produce a hiss too.
A normally operating R30 has less hiss than most tube amps imo.... it's a pretty quiet amp.
That's why Egnater Corp are not so interested in this issue I assume.
As soon as you start playing no-one can hear it anyway but if you don't like it ................
Reducing hiss is easy -

Method 1 - swap both preamp & power tubes to quieter one's
On the R30 this will also significantly improve tones as well so I recommend it to all R30 owners.
Doug from http://www.dougstubes.com recommended the following tubes for the R30.

Preamp
Sovtek WB in V1,
Penta Labs in V2 and V3,
Ruby AC5 select in V4
Sovtek LP in V5.

Power amp
JJ EL84s
Tung-Sol 6V6's

They did exactly what Doug said they would.
These tubes will cut hiss by 60-70%, significantly improve tones thru the whole range and increase gain at the top end.
Will cost you around $110.

Method 2 - if you then want to run 100% silent with gain cranked get a Noise Suppressor pedal like an ISP Decimator or MXR Smart Gate
Click to expand...

I tried a few different tube options. One set was almost exactly like what you suggest and the noise never went away.
 
Jonny have you got pedals turned on when you get this hiss?? I have found (depending on my amp settings)that the hiss is more noticeable with pedals on even though you may not be playing the guitar. This is because with the pedal/s on the pedal is producing some extra gain regardless of whether u are playing the guitar. Ive also noticed that the Egnators like pedals better through the effects loops as opposed to being "inline". Just my two cents worth.

Cheers
 
lsjelectronics":23rz4rdd said:
Jonny have you got pedals turned on when you get this hiss?? I have found (depending on my amp settings)that the hiss is more noticeable with pedals on even though you may not be playing the guitar. This is because with the pedal/s on the pedal is producing some extra gain regardless of whether u are playing the guitar. Ive also noticed that the Egnators like pedals better through the effects loops as opposed to being "inline". Just my two cents worth.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Nope...I play plugged straight in with the Rebels. I only use pedals on my Fenders.
 
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