Where could this staticky noise be coming from?

[Section10]

I noticed when playing certain frequencies a rattling noise will come from the amp head, which might just be the reverb box vibrating at that frequency...
Also on an E note I hear loss of clarity and a fuzzy effect that rattles out coming from the speaker.
The problem is i'm not sure if it originates in the amp head and gets transferred to the speaker or if its just the speaker..

My amp head might need new tubes so I wouldn't rule that out, but i'm not sure if that's the symptoms of old tubes. And why is it only on a few notes.
What does worn tubes sound like? Seems like theres less headroom than there should be too....
I might just run the amp head and cab to maker to have him check out.

[Bob V]

Small combos are prone to rattles - sometimes sounds like a tray of champagne glasses as the note decays. Swapping preamp tubes can help - sometimes even rearranging the order they're in if they're all the same (although I suspect what's happening there is you're just re-seating the pins a little more solidly). Some folks recommend tapping stuff with a chopstick (and the other hand in your pocket so you don't get electrocuted) so see if anything's loose or microphonic. I can tell you what to look for but alas I have no solution once you find the source of the noise.

[vicdeluca71]

Is your amp head sitting on your speaker cab?

[Section10]

Yes it is, We've narrowed it down to the cab/speaker itself. The tubes were fine, everything amp wise turned out fine.

Every cab/speaker has certain frequencies that vibrate to the note more so and that results in some odd pitches. We hooked the head up to one of the amp makers cabinets and it didn't squeal on an E note, but then I did notice it had the same effect on his cab on a G. So its more of a cab issue which is good. I wound up switching the Eminence for a Weber California custom anyway and now it doesn't have it on any notes.

[StompBoxBlues]

Yes it is, We've narrowed it down to the cab/speaker itself. The tubes were fine, everything amp wise turned out fine.


I'm not saying that you are wrong, but just wondered, how did you rule out the tubes?

The reason I ask is, I have found out that V1 is the most important tube in the whole chain and I have found that just trying a few tubes doesn't always fix the problem but the third (or fourth) tube does.

What I mean is, I have at least 5 12AX7A tubes that I try out in the V1 position of an amp, and often I find (in many different amps) that only one or two of the five sound great in the V1 position. So if you just tried one other tube, it might be that you just got unlucky.

Maybe you know this, or tried several and came to that conclusion, but just pointing out that just trying ONE other V1 preamp tube isn't conclusive. At least not in my experience.