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Amp is humming. :(

M

Mill Klondike

Jan 30, 2008
50
0
#1
About 20 minutes ago my amp was doing fine, but suddenly it started making this annoying humming noise, and it wont stop. It has nothing to do with the guitar because the amp still makes the sound when the guitar is unplugged. Also, I don't think that it is because of the lack of a grounding prong on the amp, because it has been missing the prong for a very long time, and NEVER has hummed before. Also, I have tried different outlets. It still hums on all of them, and it didn't hum before on any of them. Any suggestions? please :help:
 
#2
Could you be a little more specific about your amp and the environment you're in? Is it your place or a practice space? Have you added any new electronic components (music-related or not) to the room/rooms? Did you buy a neon sign?
 
#4
I'm in my house, and I have no neon signs or anything like that. I have also not added anything electric to my room recently. I might go up there and try turning everything off but my amp, and see if it stops so that I can give you more information.
 
#6
Hmm... I'm no amp expert, but I just was asking about those other things, as messing with them is free and easy, as opposed to just assuming automatically that it is the amp and taking something in to the shop to be fixed that doesn't need to be fixed. Sorry- didn't mean to give you the run-around.

It seems increasingly like it could be something with the amp. What model is it? Also, did it start making this noise while you were playing through the amp, and if so, at what volume were you playing?

Just trying to be helpful from afar.
 
#9
I'm wondering whether the hum first occurred WHILE you were playing the amp or not, and at what volume. It probably doesn't matter, in the sense that I would agree with Rick that it is indeed the amp, and it needs servicing. Best of luck with it.
 
#10
Ahhhh. I fixed the hum. While the amp was on and the hum was occurring I tripped on the cord as i was reaching for my bass. The hum lessened. I then looked at where the power cord was attached to the amp, and it was being pinched very tightly by the plastic peace that is supposed to keep the cords in the power cord from pulling off the mother board. Too tightly in fact. I loosened the plastic peace, and the hum is now completely gone. I will eventually need to replace the whole power cord though, because many of the inside cords are damaged by being pinched so hard. I still don't understand HOW the pinching of the cords made the hum, but it is now fixed. :]
 
#11
Replace the power cord immediately! And use a proper three-prong cord.

The pinch in the cord strain-relief may have probably connected one side of the power line directly to the amp chassis. When you pick up your bass, it is as if you have your finger in one slot of the outlet!

You can be electrocuted. Do not use the amp till the cord is replaced.

This was the reason for the third-prong ground pin. Had that pin been present, the short circuit would have immediately tripped the outlet's circuit breaker. That can literally save your life.

If possible, replace the existing strain relief with a standard IEC power connector, like the ones on computers. This allows the use of standard power cords, and it solves the problem of the cord pulling on the strain relief. This job should be done by a tech, who may have to drill the back panel to install the connector.

Note: I have installed an IEC female connector onto a Walter Woods amp for exactly the same failure. The original cord was damaged. I used a female IEC from a computer monitor, and just let it hang out a few inches from the back of the amp. (There was no room for a connector on the chassis.)
 

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