help! my HRM overdrive sounds harsh

Overdrive Special, Steel String Singer, Dumbleland, Odyssey, Winterland, etc. -
Members Only

Moderators: pompeiisneaks, Colossal

yeahyeah
Posts: 85
Joined: Sun Aug 27, 2006 7:40 pm
Location: NC

Re: help! my HRM overdrive sounds harsh

Post by yeahyeah »

found something wierd. again.

So I was tapping and poking around with a pencil and I've found some microphonic issues after the clean tonestack.

The wire that goes from the treble wiper to the preamp volume pot is very noisy when I tap on it. The coax cable that runs from the volume output to the grid resistor of CL2 also is noisy but not as much as the other one.

I tapped on all of the caps around it and the .002 midboost cap makes noise when tapped, but not the 390p on the switch. But pots aren't scratchy sounding at all. Also, the .002 only makes noise when in PAB mode.

??? :( ???
User avatar
heisthl
Posts: 1800
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2006 5:35 am
Location: Phoenix

Re: help! my HRM overdrive sounds harsh

Post by heisthl »

Make sure the pot cases are making a good contact with the chassis. Use 3/8" internal star washers on the mount if not.
Last edited by heisthl on Thu Sep 13, 2007 9:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Former owner of Music Mechanix
www.RedPlateAmps.com
User avatar
novosibir
Posts: 307
Joined: Sun May 14, 2006 10:06 pm
Location: Nuremberg, Germany
Contact:

Re: help! my HRM overdrive sounds harsh

Post by novosibir »

RF! Definitely!

I think, that your "2-nd floor" is on the wrong place and interacts via crosstalk with the clean area on the 1-st floor. Might it be, that you forgot a cable, which insures, that the OD input is set to ground in Clean mode :wink:

Lift up the 2-nd floor and push a grounded, but w/ foil insulated metal plane between both floors - and I bet your amp is sweet after it!

Larry
Larry's Website now with included Pix's Gallery
User avatar
novosibir
Posts: 307
Joined: Sun May 14, 2006 10:06 pm
Location: Nuremberg, Germany
Contact:

Re: help! my HRM overdrive sounds harsh

Post by novosibir »

EDIT:

Watching the 3-th photo again I assume, that rather the OD's input is via crosstalk coupled w/ the OD's output - the 2-nd tone stack directly above the input trimmer. Input and output of the OD area are 360° out of phase, means 'in phase again', but w/ one cycle difference.

That's what's necessary, to build an oscillator 8)

Push a metal plane in between, as I've mentioned above!

Larry
Larry's Website now with included Pix's Gallery
dogears
Posts: 1902
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2006 1:29 pm

Re: help! my HRM overdrive sounds harsh

Post by dogears »

Here is an HRM clip I did today. Just testing stuff. 6L6 tubes, standard PI, PAB engaged. Seems pretty smooth....

http://www.scottlernermusic.com/2007/6L ... leNoBM.mp3
User avatar
heisthl
Posts: 1800
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2006 5:35 am
Location: Phoenix

Re: help! my HRM overdrive sounds harsh

Post by heisthl »

dogears wrote:Here is an HRM clip I did today. Just testing stuff. 6L6 tubes, standard PI, PAB engaged. Seems pretty smooth....

http://www.scottlernermusic.com/2007/6L ... leNoBM.mp3
Question: When an amp sounds that good do you call it finished never to be tweaked again? Or are you going to put the BM PI in there? Switch to EL-34s? etc etc
Former owner of Music Mechanix
www.RedPlateAmps.com
dogears
Posts: 1902
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2006 1:29 pm

Re: help! my HRM overdrive sounds harsh

Post by dogears »

Fair enough! LOL

I actually just took out the EL34 tubes and BM! I love them but I was seeing how smooth I could get it. I may put them back in and compare.

I also will be swapping out the 3.4K Marshall iron for some M6 Fender 4K stuff.
heisthl wrote:
dogears wrote:Here is an HRM clip I did today. Just testing stuff. 6L6 tubes, standard PI, PAB engaged. Seems pretty smooth....

http://www.scottlernermusic.com/2007/6L ... leNoBM.mp3
Question: When an amp sounds that good do you call it finished never to be tweaked again? Or are you going to put the BM PI in there? Switch to EL-34s? etc etc
User avatar
stelligan
Posts: 1465
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 3:58 pm
Location: Nashvull

Re: help! my HRM overdrive sounds harsh

Post by stelligan »

Cool clip Scott! I love it when these amps have that almost "do do" vowel sound in the low mids when played with light pick attack. Gives an almost living human quality to their "voice". Kind of a "chesty" tone. Like that clip a bunch.
yeahyeah
Posts: 85
Joined: Sun Aug 27, 2006 7:40 pm
Location: NC

Re: help! my HRM overdrive sounds harsh

Post by yeahyeah »

stelligan wrote:I love it when these amps have that almost "do do" vowel sound in the low mids when played with light pick attack.

Mine sounds like the other kind of "doo doo"

I think I've found THE problem in the second clean stage. Everything that is connected to the CL2 grid makes noise when I tap it. I've replaced all the caps connected before it and still no luck. swapped tubes with the same result.

when I tap on the tube socket itself (especialy the problematic pin) I get a loud low frequency rumble.

can tube sockets be bad like this? Would this also be the cause of the harsh ice-pick highs I'm hearing with the OD engaged?
User avatar
novosibir
Posts: 307
Joined: Sun May 14, 2006 10:06 pm
Location: Nuremberg, Germany
Contact:

Re: help! my HRM overdrive sounds harsh

Post by novosibir »

Awesome playing and sound, Scott! My congrats!

Is the power stage 2 * 6L6 or 4 * 6L6?

G12-65 speaker?

Thanks!

Larry
Larry's Website now with included Pix's Gallery
dogears
Posts: 1902
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2006 1:29 pm

Re: help! my HRM overdrive sounds harsh

Post by dogears »

SED winged C 6L6. 2 of them. The tranny is a Marshall 50 watter though. 3.4K primary with M27 iron and Drake winding. I did replace the 1K screen resistors with 470 ohm for the 6L6 tubes. I am getting an M6 Heyboer Fender 50 watt tranny tomorrow. 4K primary and Fender style interleaves. I bet it is much better still.......

That was a Celestion G1265 and SM57 mic.....

Thanks!
novosibir wrote:Awesome playing and sound, Scott! My congrats!

Is the power stage 2 * 6L6 or 4 * 6L6?

G12-65 speaker?

Thanks!

Larry
User avatar
stelligan
Posts: 1465
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 3:58 pm
Location: Nashvull

Re: help! my HRM overdrive sounds harsh

Post by stelligan »

yeahyeah wrote:Mine sounds like the other kind of "doo doo"
:lol:

Sorry to lose site of the topic. And I am laughing at your comment, not your plight. I only wish I could be of some help. I just suffered through a chop sticking, board pulling nightmare that I had to give up on and send to a fellow forumite. I am a total noob. Here's hoping the thread gets on track and you get your amp do do-ing instead of doo doo-ing!
User avatar
dobbhill
Posts: 434
Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2005 12:04 am
Location: Louisiana

Re: help! my HRM overdrive sounds harsh

Post by dobbhill »

Yeah - this may sound silly, but I have found some wires much more microphonic than others. Is the socket microphonic, or the wire connected to it the problem? Do you have the local FB loop in the CL2 stage? I didn't look at the photo before I started typing.....
Just trying to help......
D
yeahyeah
Posts: 85
Joined: Sun Aug 27, 2006 7:40 pm
Location: NC

Re: help! my HRM overdrive sounds harsh

Post by yeahyeah »

Its an hrm so no local NFB.

I changed the tube socket, same results.


I've gone through 10 feet of desoldering braid.

anyone else want to take as stab at this POS? I give up.
User avatar
heisthl
Posts: 1800
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2006 5:35 am
Location: Phoenix

Re: help! my HRM overdrive sounds harsh

Post by heisthl »

Remove the tubes, pack it in a box and send it to me. I'm doing a couple of builds for an upcoming Blues Cruise Ocober 13th so Worse case you won't get it back until end of October. More likely I'll return it the same week I get it.
Former owner of Music Mechanix
www.RedPlateAmps.com
Post Reply