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Hissing noise from tube preamp

R

ryanleh.ob

Guest
Aug 24, 2015
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#1
Hi, I have a Hartke HA5500 which I absolutely love. The only problem I have with it is that it produces a white hissing noise. I'm almost positive this is coming from the tube preamp (being that when I turn it down the hissing stops). Is there any way to repair this? I love the bright warm sound that the tube preamp gives me vs the flat sound of the solid state preamp. The hissing noise isn't incredibly loud, especially when playing, but its still noticeable and quite annoying when doing more solo/quiet pieces.
 
#5
I have a similar head, an older 200w model, and have no hiss problems. Could be that a filter cap has died. If you get no hiss at all when running the transistor side alone, then it looks like this is the case. But, if you open it up and clean the insides then the problem might mysteriously disappear. Vacuum up all of the dust, and spray WD-40 into all of the potentiometer housings and slide/turn them, and spray into the tube socket and pull the tube in and out a few times. Use a toothbrush if you see some caked up crud somewhere, and sop up the excess solvent with a clean rag. You'd be amazed how much "left for dead" gear I've brought back to life using this method!

Edit: Change the tube as well! I had no idea they were so cheap. Can't hurt.
 
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#7
No, no, no. WD-40 doesn't belong anywhere near an amp. It may take care of the problem ... permanently by further damaging the amp.

IMO, if you were surprised by how "cheap" a tube is, everything else you suggest is immediately suspect.
 
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#10
Thor said:
DEOXIT is what I use for cleaning electronics. You can find it on eBay for pretty cheap.
Click to expand...

And a tiny amount is all that's necessary.

Just scrapped a customer's unit that received the WD-40 treatment, every pot was ruined, the boards were covered with dirt attracted to the residue, just nasty. Wasn't worth repairing, too much labor to spend on the correct cleaning, ~15 pots/switches, and the unit was only worth a few hundred dollars. Otherwise, the cost of repair would have come in at $75 flat. A good example of a customer trying to save a few dollars and ended up costing him plenty more.
 

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