I would never put up with my rig playing the radio unless I was within 100 yards of a transmission tower. Line hum I can deal with and that is about all a line/power conditioner will help you eliminate as it attempts to filter harmonic distortion out of the power line which can cause noise throughout the power circuitry. It will have zero effect on an amp picking up RF interference. I don't do it anymore since I got a real job but, during college, I used to fix all sorts of amplifiers. Everytime I ran into this problem, it always boiled down to either bad shielding (guitar, cable, or amp) or a bad input diff-amp module (or related circuitry). The shielding conducts as much electromagnetic interference as possible directly to Earth ground (this is one reason why ground is important) and the "diff-amp" module should reject any other common signal which, in this case, is RF interference. If it doesn't, you have a problem (like a missing ground). Plus, it is very easy to kill or degrade input filter circuits by overloading them. There was only one case where an abnormally high TV signal was simply overpowering the amp's ability to reject it. That guy lived 3 houses away from the transmission tower. You are probably in an area that has higher than normal RFI, but it doesn't seem to be enough to affect the other amplifier. That should tell you something as well. If you really want to keep the amp because the deal was good, you can always get the problem repaired if it bugs you enough. The average cost is in the area of $100 to rebuild an input, FYI.
freaking GC! either the guy is a noob or they didn't have anything better. i just hope he wasn't some smart ass "i'll sell him the cheaper one cuz he don't want the good one, i'm sure" just like at the hardware store... you want to test your ground? its ok if your ground isn't working. STFU and be helpful! though, i shouldn't need a $70 cable to be able to use my amp! btw, mark... they advertise some power conditioners as being able to stop RF interference, including the one i bought, however... it hasn't. the sound is just scratchy and unclear now.. whilst before it was pretty clear! anyway, i have made up my mind... i'm gonna try to get a new single rectifier from GC and see how it goes. one of the heads isn't gonna make it if they both have RF i'll probably keep the H&K. if the rectifier does not i have two choices... keep the rectifier, or go for a SECOND H&K switchblade and hope that mine was just problematic and the others aren't made the same way. the only problem there is that if it has the same problem, they probably won't be willing to pay my return shipping again. any serious problems playing a 50w head? run into limitations? btw, i think that cab is 8 ohms... we're not sure but we doubt its more or less than that. its a little old, early 90's, but a sick cab!
Some companies have big differences between their 50 and 100w versions of the same head, but some don't. The biggest difference between all 50 and 100w heads is that the 100 has more headroom, and you'll have higher volume before the power section starts to distort. Of course, 50 watts is still LOUD, and you may not even push the thing that much. I'm no expert in Death Metal tones, but it seems to me that most people into that sort of thing are more into preamp distortion sounds than power amp distortion sounds, so the 50 vs. 100 is something to ponder, because if you don't want the power tube breakup, 50 might not get it done for you.
You forgot rule #1 in the world of musicians: People working in music stores are 99% hacks and potheads, simply too stupid to hold a well-paying job. They will neither know anything about the equipment they're selling, nor about the general electrical problems that bug musicians. rumborak
yeah. well, i can always return the cables... anyway, i just hope that all amps aren't afflicted this way in my apartment!
You shouldn't. Though I usually make my own, I've bought many (Monster, Pro Co, etc.) and I'll usually spend about $25 for an 18' cable if I'm looking for decent quality (about $8 to build one @ 25'). I never have RF trouble with either and I live pretty damn close to some towers (about 1/4 mile away). Oh, they'll advertise a lot of things. And, technically, yes they can filter stray RF from your power. But, that still doesn't account for what you're hearing through your input! There is no power conditioner in the world that can help you there. Eh, I think you're making the right choice. And, yes, I think that H&K are usually of good quality. No higher line amp manufacturer is going to tell you to live with what you just experienced if it is obvious that the amp may be the problem. Every guitar player should know how to use an ohmmeter. Get yourself a cheapo for around $20 and you can measure the resistance of the cab. This will put you right in the area of the nominal impedance -- give or take an ohm. No, 50W should be more than enough to annoy your neighbors and won't hurt a thing.
Same here. What I usually do is 1) research for what I want on the internet, then 2) call GC whether they have it, and 3) stay 2.7 minutes in the store purchasing the item, having as little contact with the 'tards as possible. rumborak
GC is generally horrible, yes. so how do you feel about the power for 50w in terms of live and recording? i hear 100w isn't all that essential unless you want tons of headroom anyway, i'm gonna check out the single... if i can get a used one i'm golden for budget. GC has one and it has the return policy! just no warranty. new... still in budget. i figure... no harm in having the ultimate 50w instead of a great 100w! i'll see how the clean channel does, and try to really crank it when i have a chance to test!
the masquerade continues... i picked up monster's BEST cable today. still getting the radio! i tried to buy a single rec to test in my apartment... GC had a used one and a "new" one. both were utter shite, with tubes that were shot to hell, and ground problems of their own. so that failed. last step... try every outlet around my place. take my amp to another building that is also in the inner loop area where there should be at least comparable amounts of radio frequency interference and see how that goes. i have my doubts though. i have one of the best cables on the market... and i have a good enough power conditioner. neither the power input nor the signal input should be a problem! either i have a really strong signal near me, or the amp is crap. or both my guitars are crap, which i doubt. i have a feeling i'll just be replacing this one with a brand new H&K and seeing how it goes. but it really is a problem that i don't have an amp i can use just to test out my apartment. i'd feel stupid buying one i wouldn't even CONSIDER keeping... like a peavey xxx or whatever, just to be able to test my stupid outlets! the good news is everything involved so far in this experiment is fully returnable... and like i said after this much trouble shooting, either the building is REALLY bad (location and/or wiring) or more likely its the amp. i'll just never be sure it's the building!
The problem is, even though you have a ground, as you said, the quality of the ground matters, becoz the house wirings themselves do the work of the antenna in a place with high RFI levels. Different outlets are all the same in this scenario if the outlet is the problem (which in your case isn't true as the Furman should filter out AM radio, but the amp picking up cable sleeve interference, do we all agree on that?). Doctor said his amp has a metal input jack which means the jack sleeve is shorted to the ground immediately before going to the amp input (V1 grid), and that makes me go totally WTF and I have nothing more to say about it. I can only think of a ground loop juiced up with RFI at this point, and it's something only total rewiring with strict star grounding can help. If it's a PCB amp, I'm afraid no hope...
I guess maybe I wasn't clear: There is no power conditioner in the world that can take RFI out of your signal path.
i was going to post something like that. btw... i did pick up a dual rectifier and it's also getting radio! this one brand new... tested at guitar center with no problems. not sure if i checked to see if it gets radio with my jackson (instead of the godin), i should double check that. so it seems like there is something fucked up about my apartment! i dunno if a better power conditioner can eliminate the radio or what. i guess jaakko was right... build a faraday cage
Hey, you might be right on top of a transmitter. Nothing in the world is going to help you there...even a Faraday cage.
