Question about 5e3 circuits and sound

[koss59]

Hi,

I've just received a Fender 57 deluxe which I bought second hand.
Clean it sounds great but when turned up there is a fizz type distortion that kind of sputters in and out. It almost sounds like there is a 5 watt amp cranked inside it running along side the tone of the deluxe.
Is this inherent in the circuit? It almost sounds like a dry joint, I have already tried changing V1 and that didn't fix the problem.
Thanks
Rich

 

[pedalcr8z]

Well to many it is one of the best sounding circuits ever made.
Some questions, have you ever played or owned a Tweed before? Do you understand that their forte is providing you the ability to go from clean to smooth, crunchy breakup by merely just digging in a bit harder with your pick? Do you understand that the 2 channels are interactive? What guitars were you using? Try plugging input 1 on the bright channel with the amp volume for that channel on 4, then adjust the "normal" channel volume to 6 and report back to us.

 

[Trout]

One thing to also remember, the Fender 57 Deluxe has a 12AX7 in the V1 position.
Correct vintage tube should be a 12AY7. Some like the extra grit of the 12AX7, while it works, IMO it is very raw and over the top.

There are to many variables to nail it down to only 1 item, but once you get the correct setup, the 5E3 is pure bliss.

I always suggest
#1 NOS rectifier
#2 A quality 12AY7 or even better a NOS 12AY7
#3 Output tubes, NOS for the real deal, or JJ's if you want a fatter sound
#4 Speaker based on guitar & playing style.

As long as the amp is funtioning properly, fizz is not usually an issue.

 

[chervokas]

That definitely doesn't sound right especially when you say it's sputtering in and out. Sounds like something's wrong--tubes, speaker, tranny, solder joint....could be anything. In my experience the sound of a cranked 5E3 is a wooly, creamy distortion that responds dynamically to pick attack and is just about the perfect crunchy Americana rock-county-blues sound. Not a lot of clean headroom, but what sweet crunch. Spitty, fizzing in and out noise is definitely not right.

 

[ajchance]

I'd agree w/chervokas. Even with a 12ax7 the amp will break up earlier and have a harsher overdriven tone, but still not what you're describing. Sounds suspicious for a speaker problem. Easiest fix is to try it with a different speaker. Just make sure you impedence match (same ohm speaker as the original).

 

[koss59]

Problem has gone away but thanks guys, we're having a cold few days over here in the UK and think the amp may have just been too cold after being in transit for a couple of days. I will try the 12ay7 in V1 though, has anyone else got an opinion on this?
I'll also upgrade the output tubes and rectifier and depending on how things go maybe put a celestion blue in it.
Rich

 

[azwhofan]

Problem has gone away but thanks guys, we're having a cold few days over here in the UK and think the amp may have just been too cold after being in transit for a couple of days. I will try the 12ay7 in V1 though, has anyone else got an opinion on this?
I'll also upgrade the output tubes and rectifier and depending on how things go maybe put a celestion blue in it.
Rich

I put a NOS Telefunken 12ay7 I got here on TGP in V1 of my Beaufort and the difference was night and day compared to the new EH that was in there.
The fun thing about tubes is that no two are alike, you just gotta experiment until you find one you like. Can get a tad expensive tho if you don't luck out and find one you love right off the bat.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Do you have any extra 12ax7s that you could swap? Might be a microphonic tube.

If that doesn't solve it I'd get it to a tech for a good once over. Could be most anything.

 

[roknfnrol]

Problem has gone away but thanks guys, we're having a cold few days over here in the UK and think the amp may have just been too cold after being in transit for a couple of days. I will try the 12ay7 in V1 though, has anyone else got an opinion on this?
I'll also upgrade the output tubes and rectifier and depending on how things go maybe put a celestion blue in it.
Rich

Rich,
The same sputtering/dropping in and out sound happened to me when I played a cold amp. Once it acclimated in my house everything was ok.
Mike

 

[koss59]

Rich,
The same sputtering/dropping in and out sound happened to me when I played a cold amp. Once it acclimated in my house everything was ok.
Mike

Hey Mike
Thanks, yes that seemed to be the problem. Great sounding little amp, it's warmer and fatter than the Marshall 1974x, I've got some different tubes coming for it and will probably pop a Celestion Blue in soon too.

Rich

 

[mbratch]

Problem has gone away but thanks guys, we're having a cold few days over here in the UK and think the amp may have just been too cold after being in transit for a couple of days. I will try the 12ay7 in V1 though, has anyone else got an opinion on this?
I'll also upgrade the output tubes and rectifier and depending on how things go maybe put a celestion blue in it.
Rich

If it was recently in out of the cold you might have some condensation. Watch out for that.

Also, what kind of speaker is in it?