farty vox

[feet]

it farts. make it stop.

ac15hw, tayden ace 25 alnico speaker. cleans are glorious. but when i use boosts and overdrives, it gets gassy and makes a static-y noise. even when i cut the bass from the pedals. now i get that i'm only playing at lower volumes, but still. if i engage the master volume it gets much better but still farts. but on its own, with no boosts, it does just fine, even when the gain is cranked.

i'd hate to have to use a distortion pedal instead, because i want the vox to sound like itself, but it just isn't happening for me. the hotcake and naga viper are the biggest culprits, but the bad monkey isn't without guilt.

incidentally, the top hat (g12h30) does it too, but only when the volume is cranked and the master is low. when the master is cranked all is well with all the boosts and it sounds amazing, even at low volumes.

 

[feet]

bumpito

 

[semi-hollowbody]

good name for a band

 

[ROKY]

Not sure about the farting but ..where did you get the Tayden speaker ?

 

[conundrum]

What preamp tubes, in which positions?

 

[ROKY]

I'm serious about the Tayden speakers,btw.. I'd like to try the Retro 55s but don't
know how/where to get them in the US .

 

[jbt7764]

It is not just the speaker. The transformer and filter caps are the culprits. The best temporary solution is to keep the Chanel volume down and look for a pedal you like. Taxing those transformers and those filter caps will flub no matter what speaker. You can minimize it with a ceramic.
But that's my advice.
John

 

[feet]

Not sure about the farting but ..where did you get the Tayden speaker ?

came with the amp. i'd guess they'd have to be imported directly from them, as i'd never heard of it until i owned it. you can email them from their site.

What preamp tubes, in which positions?

from pre to power-

the vox: nos 12ay7, two tungsols, two mullards and an old something or other as the rectifier.

the tophat: jjs and ehxs.

It is not just the speaker. The transformer and filter caps are the culprits. The best temporary solution is to keep the Chanel volume down and look for a pedal you like. Taxing those transformers and those filter caps will flub no matter what speaker. You can minimize it with a ceramic.
But that's my advice.
John

i'm new to this phenomena so forgive me. which filter caps and trannys are more apt for this sort of thing? it is better with the ceramic speaker in the top hat but still there. i had considered having the vox modded for the heck of it, so maybe this is something to investigate more closely.

both amps are perfectly happy producing their own gain (and having it boosted), but hate having their cleanliness pushed. i can kinda work around it, but i hate having to dial in a more pedal friendly setting. the whole point is to be able to switch back and forth. i don't want to give up on the pedals (or amp) just yet.

again, this is all at home friendly volumes. i'm only using various boosts and ods because i can't crank the amps in the first place. i have no idea how it'll react in a band/live setting. i'd like to know that before i make a decision. thanks for the help, guys.

 

[conundrum]

the vox: nos 12ay7, two tungsols, two mullards and an old something or other as the rectifier.

Tung Sol reissues sometimes have unexplained noise problems. Also, they should not be used in cathode follower positions (V2).
If that 12AY7 is a long plate, I'd be suspicious of that as well.

Even though I don't generally like the tone of Chinese preamps, I keep some around to troubleshoot other tubes because of how very consistent they are.

 

[feet]

i guess i'll try swapping around with whatever i can find around here. i felt safe with the tungsol/mullard combo because brian at top hat recommended it. for his amp, mind you, but it sounds great in the vox, and they have some overlap.

 

[TDJMB]

I had a Mesa Boogie that went blaaat at low volume, high volume, different speakers, etc. It took a long time to figure out it was 2 new power tubes from Mesa Boogie.

 

[kevin mask]

i guess i'll try swapping around with whatever i can find around here. i felt safe with the tungsol/mullard combo because brian at top hat recommended it. for his amp, mind you, but it sounds great in the vox, and they have some overlap.

crank the master volume all the way up, I'm afraid there's no other solution, don't even bother swapping and blow silly money on it, vox amps work well with their own distortion or treble booster pedals, they just don't seem to take modern overdrive pedals very well. These are giggin amps, they sound like a farty midget on low volume, if you wanna use it at home you either make do with the cheap sound or I'm afraid this amp won't fulfill your purpose, vox are happy when they run hot, there's really no point buying an alltube vox and keep it at home on low volume, a valvetronix would sound way far better this way, or even a tranny behringer, tube amps sound the way they are meant to sound when they are cranked, especially one channel amps (normal and top boost may seem 2 separate channels but they aren't, they still share the same circuit)