Amp problem! Please read!

Hey all, I am having a HUGE amp problem. I just bought an Ampeg (lead) half-stack from a friend. The problem here is that there is a crackling noise coming out of the right speaker. There are 4 speakers and it is only comming out of the upper right one...I took the amp in and got it looked at (blowing $30) and they told me there was nothing wrong with it. Then, I ran the head through another amp and realized it is a problem with the head because it did that crackling noise through this other amp. So I go to guitar center and described the problem to this guy who said it definently was a tube problem. I got my pre-amp tubes checked by a machine at a electronics shop that said they were fine, plus this guy said it sounded like a power tube problem. So I buy a pair of 6 rating groove tubes and put them in and take them to another shop to get them biased (blowing another $80) and when I got the head back, the problem was excactly the same. I don't know what to do...I keep taking it places and blowing so much money and nothing is changing..it is a VERY stressful situation. Can someone please help? The noise it makes it a crackling noise almost like an overdrive but it is very anoying while playing clean...it also is very noticable with distortion on. Any help with this problem would be greatly appreciated..thanks a lot, take care!
# 1

Could be a loose solder joint. Age makes things buzz. Turn off any electric equipment where your playing (TV, stereo, computer).
Electric Guitars are the inspiration for cries of "Turn that damn thing down"-Gibson website
# 2

What's the model number of your Ampeg head? Any idea how old the head is? It shouldn't really matter but what's the make/model of your speaker cabinet? Was the other cabinet you plugged it into also a 4x10, 4x12 or whatever?
LR
LR
# 3

# 4
Originally posted by Matt WarfrontUhh, lemme see if I got this right... You have crackling noises coming out of just one speaker in a 4-speaker cab, so you take the [u]amp[/u] in for a checkup??? :confused:
... The problem here is that there is a crackling noise coming out of the right speaker. There are 4 speakers and it is only comming out of the upper right one...
Dude, get someone to check out your [u]speaker[/u]!!!
# 5

Actually, I was just told that the "good/bad" pre-amp tube testers don't work...even if it reads "good" it may still be bad. My last resort is getting a new pair of pre-amp tubes this week. Hopefully that will take care of the problem! Thanks a lot for the replys, take care!
# 6

Yeah Lord O the Strings I thought the same thing but he said he tried it on a different cabinet. Very strange. If that's true then maybe it's a load problem with his amp. That's why I'm curious about the 2 cabinets he tried it on and the amp model. Maybe the amp can't handle a 2 (or 4) ohm load.???????
LR
LR
# 7
But that's my point! If the head is sending crackling sounds to the cab, that sound should be coming from [u]all[/u] of the speakers in the cab. :confused:
# 8

I think I gotta agree with you lord... especially since if it is a load problem at least 2 of the 4 speakers are going to either be wired in series or parallel with each other, meaning that if one is going to crackle from a load issue, at least one other should be also. I mean, it's not like he is running a seperate channel to each speaker...it also could just be sheer coincidence that the other cabinet has a bad speaker also. I have seen stranger. I once has a guy come into my shop stating that the radio I put in for him made his headlights on his truck quit working.... After an hour of going over everything that could have possibly went wrong to no avail, I finally checked the bulbs. They both went out at the same time. That is completely unheard of, but it happened...
So. If you throw a cat out of a car window, is it considered "kitty litter"?
# 9
LOL... Must'a been all that thumpin' bass shaking the bulb filaments!
((((( :eek: )))))
((((( :eek: )))))
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