Amp head problems

[Zarbarbequedan]

I recently bought an Ampeg B2R head and it sounds great. Right now I only have a Kustom KBX100 to run it through, but I will be getting some cabs later. The problem is that whenever I plug the head into the amp it has an annoying hum that is constant. The bass notes are still louder than the hum, but if I turn up the gain or the volume the hum also gets louder. Is it because of the set up I am running it through, do you think there is something wrong with the head, or does that always happen with heads like this? This is my first time breaking away from the simple combo amp and trying for something better so I don't have much experience with heads.

 

[IPYF]

Sounds like a ground loop issue to me.
You have to power both the bass head and the combo to get sound right?

You got both jug leads plugged into the same wall socket or power board?

 

[Zarbarbequedan]

Yes. They are currently both plugged into the same power strip. Could that be the issue?

 

[IPYF]

Could easily be that. Running an amp into another amp is usually not a great idea in general. It's bound to introduce some noise at the very least.

I'm not very familiar with the Kustom but I don't think that combo has a dedicated line in? How are you plugging the amp head into the Combo? If you're going straight from the head's output to your combo's input I think there's every chance that you could bugger up both amps pretty badly but I'm not an expert on either amp so I couldn't be positive.

You need a cab.

 

[Zarbarbequedan]

Thanks for the response. I tried sending it the head in through a "effects return" on the back of the amp and that helped lessen the him quite a bit. But I am going to start looking for a cab very soon now.