Does ANYBODY have a Haze 40 that effing WORKS??? %@$&!!

[FMTDee]

I'd really like to know. I'd like to know if there's ONE out there, anywhere, that doesn't have some kind of problem.

After two ebay transactions gone bad, I got a brand new unit from Sweetwater the other day, and STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BOX this MFer has issues.

No channel-switch popping, they managed to fix that.

But there's channel leakage, with the gain (especially when it's really high) bleeding into the normal channel (even when the normal channel's volume is all the way down, you can still hear distorted guitar).

AND THE NORMAL CHANNEL JUST KEEPS CUTTING OUT COMPLETELY! Randomly, intermittently... But I'll be in the middle of playing, and suddenly, nothing but the gain that bleeds through and static.

Sweetwater wants to replace the unit with another, but I'm beginning to wonder if this amp isn't just a piece of CRAP all around.

Strathaze, I know you're out there... Does yours still work? It might be the only one in existence that does.

Been trying to buy a decent new amp since March 1st. Now I'm putting Haze #3 back in the box. THIS BLOWS. There is no "smiley" that adequately expresses my rage. @$%&&^#% **&^%#@!!!!!!!

 

[drivers1]

i had one and sold it to a local guy, i played it for about a week and didnt care for the tone, The amp was to hyped up more than what it could delivered. btw i like the people at sweetwater but in the past i purchased a jvm from them and it stopped working after a week, then because of the high demand on the jvm it took about 5 weeks before i received the replacement and then i found the foot pedal crushed, i think that may have been a ups thing.they wanted to send me another replacement but at that point i said 3 strikes your out! my advise to you is sell the amp and save for a better amp. you will be happier in the long run you may want to buy local too. i have also had a few ebay deals gone south.

 

[strathaze]

{Strathaze, I know you're out there... Does yours still work? It might be the only one in existence that does. }

jeez I feel bad for you - and guilty for some odd reason that mine has behaved perfectly!
I love the little beast, but thats of no help to you.... I suggest you write a detailed email/letter listing your issues, find out some relevent personnell (cust. service/ product development managers ect, basically anyone senior) at Marshall in Bletchley England (forget Korg USA, go straight to the top), send it to them and keep on their cases, for as long as it takes. Squeakiest wheel etc. I think also MKB had a good run with his as well. Other than that, I cant think what else to do if you really want this amp. Maybe try an MA50C, although there seems to not be a great opinion of that series here either, and they dont have the same features as the Haze. I hate having to defend this amp all the time, and btw drivers1 not liking the tone is fine, thats why theres 40000 different amps out there, what did you do watch a couple of youtube vids and go and buy it? Hyped up by who? Marshall? Thats surprising. They would never do that with any of their products would they? Duhhh

 

[FMTDee]

...what did you do watch a couple of youtube vids and go and buy it? Hyped up by who? Marshall? Thats surprising. They would never do that with any of their products would they? Duhhh

Hardy har har...

Actually, I looked for tube combos within a certain price range, narrowed down my choices to a few based upon features and such, then drove an hour and a half to the nearest GC (I live in the middle of nowhere, not exactly a music store on every block down here--hell, where I live, there are no blocks). They mainly had a bunch of stacks, and a bunch of student amps or modelers. Had an assload of Peavey Vypyrs, LOL! The only Haze they had was a 15, which sounded great, but despite my efforts, I wasn't able to do the live, side-by-side comparison that I really wanted to do. But of all the amps I was considering, (yes, based somewhat upon vids but what's a girl in the middle of nowhere to do?) the Haze had the most bottom end (an important consideration for me--one reason the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, which I had heard before, didn't really cut it. Too tinny, not enough bass) and the best tube tone. I like a dark amp. The 15 they had I figured was close enough to the 40 to give me an idea--and indeed, it was warm.

I thought very hard about the MA series (they didn't have any in stock), and it has a separate EQ for each channel (I WISH the Haze did), but the reviews were SO BAD, everywhere I looked. Call me picky, but I find amps with the controls on the front irritating.

Every single Haze I've had in my possession so far, when the volume is up a little bit, there's a high-pitched glassy, jangly sound that almost sounds like tiny bells. This unit's not buzzing and rattling so much as the others (the others were REALLY bad), but since I'm just graduating into the world of tube amplification, I don't know what it is I'm hearing--could it be a microphonic tube? Seems I remember somebody mentioning somewhere something about a retaining spring--is this the spring that is inside the metal sleeve over V1? If that's what I'm hearing, is the sleeve even necessary?

drivers1, you are not the first person to suggest just saving up for something a bit better. If the replacement they're sending doesn't cut it, that may just be the route I take. I would also consider buying used gear, but after the crap I've gone through with this one I'm TERRIFIED of buying used. Hell, I couldn't even get a decent Open Box unit.

At this point, I don't know what the hell to do. I guess wait for Sweetwater's replacement and see. And hope. And probably worry.

Don't feel guilty, Strathaze, I don't wish a shitty amp on anybody!

 

[drivers1]

i agree with you, i have owned a bunch of different marshalls over my years of playing, im not sure if marshall's quality is now lacking ...alot of the new stuff is made in the far east.
i currently am using a marshall reissue jtm 45/100 stack all hand wired and they used all top notch components, although it a non master volume amp i just use pedals to get me where i need to be.

I also had a new jvm combo that crapped out after a week, then the replacement had a crushed foot switch, thanks "ups", anyways i guess new or used can go bad, at least with a new one it does carry the factory warranty or if your lucky enough and are within the stores return policy, then thats even better.

best of luck i'm sure it will all work out

 

[MKB]

After doing a LOT of work on mine (it was an early one that developed the popping issue), and performing a few modifications to brighten up the distortion a bit, it is honestly one of my favorite amps ever in 30 years of playing. It's a great size and weight, extremely versatile, and sounds great for many types of music. I will definitely agree that it has some issues.

I'm an engineer by trade, and I actually built my first amp in 1982, so I've serviced all my gear over the years. Working on the Haze hasn't been a problem, but I certainly sympathize with all you that are looking for one that simply works. I wouldn't have mine if I didn't like working on it. But now that all the problems are ironed out, it is very solid and reliable.

The ringing sound is microphonic tubes, both preamp AND power, and due to the chassis design (one reason it is so small) there isn't much you can do about it other than live with it. It is by far the most sensitive to microphonic tubes I've ever seen. It will even ring with very high quality NOS preamp tubes like Telefunkens. BTW this same chassis arrangement is used in the Marshall Class 5, and it has many of the same tube rattle issues.

Another problem is the particleboard cabinet, which looks to me too fragile for long term survival while gigging. The cab on mine during shipping was cracked at the top in two places from the weight of the chassis. It was shipped in the original Marshall packing box.

If Marshall fixed the electronics issues, and redesigned the chassis so that the tubes pointed straight down, and made the cabinet out of plywood, they'd have a world beater on their hands.

 

[strathaze]

I had the microphonic problem in the first couple of days of having it, very slightly however and now its gone. I did change out V1 for a Tung-sol though. I dont doubt what your saying MKB, the biggest worry over time for me is the amount of heat it puts out and whether the venting is adequate. FMTDee yeah its a dark amp, but I like that too, it sounds Blackmore-ish to me and thats not a bad thing! I run bass, treb & pres at about 3 o'clock, mids at about 10-11 bright sw. off and that seems to tame the clean channel super bright issue. Any way its the marshall/strat tone I've had in my head for years so im happy. (hmmm I do need to test drive a jvm205h and the new JMD50H thats what the devil on my shoulder tells me anyway hehe). I hope you get one soon that has no problems. Keep us posted.

 

[FMTDee]

After doing a LOT of work on mine (it was an early one that developed the popping issue), and performing a few modifications to brighten up the distortion a bit, it is honestly one of my favorite amps ever in 30 years of playing. It's a great size and weight, extremely versatile, and sounds great for many types of music. I will definitely agree that it has some issues.

I'm an engineer by trade, and I actually built my first amp in 1982, so I've serviced all my gear over the years. Working on the Haze hasn't been a problem, but I certainly sympathize with all you that are looking for one that simply works. I wouldn't have mine if I didn't like working on it. But now that all the problems are ironed out, it is very solid and reliable.

Ever since this misadventure started, I've been very interested in learning how to do this work myself. I find myself quite fascinated with the inner workings of these things. Can anyone point me to some good resources that will give me the fundamentals and beyond? I've found a lot of really good info from people on this forum who are obviously very knowledgeable, but it's hard to sift through the posts looking for comprehensive information that's basic enough for a freshman DIY amp tech-to-be. I wouldn't mind doing some mods on my unit to really make it shine, but I ain't gonna go tinkering around on something that could kill me until I know exactly what I'm doing. I don't want to ruin my amp, either.

But BACK THE TRUCK UP, MKB! You're telling me there's NOTHING I can do about the microphonic tube problem?? LIVE WITH IT? That SUCKS. I want to record with this amp, but if I have to LIVE with noise issues, then that's a deal-breaker. That totally ruins the amp, as far as I'm concerned. Pardon the metaphor but I can't think of anything more apropos: it's like buying a beautifully decorated cake with a big turd on it (sorry...). I absolutely cannot tolerate unwanted noise on a recording. I wish I hadn't let the Sweetwater guy talk me into taking a replacement (he and another guy both opened it up, and gave it a test drive, assuring me it's problem-free). I should've just bought something else instead, although now I don't know what that would be. Which is really sad, because when it WORKS RIGHT the amp is perfect for me. Any idea why there would be gain bleed, or why the normal channel just cuts out completely every now and then? I'm curious to know just what would cause those problems.

This amp is starting to seem like a bad boyfriend. I keep taking it back, keep giving it another chance, with the hope that this time it'll be different, this time it will work out (it has so much POTENTIAL dontcha know), but every time it just keeps effing up.

Maybe it's time to break up. If that's the case, it'll be a sad breakup, because there was some real love there.

 

[MKB]

But BACK THE TRUCK UP, MKB! You're telling me there's NOTHING I can do about the microphonic tube problem?? LIVE WITH IT? That SUCKS. I want to record with this amp, but if I have to LIVE with noise issues, then that's a deal-breaker. That totally ruins the amp, as far as I'm concerned.

There is something you can do that TOTALLY cures the microphonic tube problem: disconnect the internal speaker and use an external speaker for recording. The sound waves from the internal speaker that is mounted just a few inches from the large plane of the chassis is what causes the problem. Disconnect that speaker, and the microphonic problems go away.

I can't think of any fixes using the internal speaker other than making the chassis much thicker or isolating the tube sockets of V1 and V2 with sorbothane washers (which would be difficult as the sockets are PCB mounted). Then there is the problem of the microphonic power tubes. It's a real mess. I'm trying to just live with the issues while using the internal speaker. If I find any fixes, you guys will be the first to know.

Concerning the ventilation, the amp does get warm but not too bad at all. Marshall has done a very good job with their thermal management these days, far better than in years past. The possible heat issues in the Haze 40 was my biggest worry prior to getting one, but that has not been an issue at all.

If you want to work on your own amps, probably the best thing you can do (if you have no repair experience) is to take an electronics course or two at your local college, leaning towards repair. There are books out there that can help as well, perhaps others here can point a few out. Unfortunately the ones I use are old fifties engineering reference books (like the Radiotron Designers handbook) that are a bit hard to understand if you don't have some theory under your belt.

 

[Boldkharma]

I guess I am one of the lucky ones? I have never had any problems with any Marshalls I have owned; the Haze 40 was no exception. I bought it off the floor from GC and it had been there for a few months before I bought it. In the end, I could not bond with the tone as I am more of a DSL/TSL/JVM kind of guy : ) I sold it on craigslist for a loss but it still worked perfectly. I have noticed the resale on these are kind of bad.

 

[strathaze]

I guess I am one of the lucky ones? I have never had any problems with any Marshalls I have owned; the Haze 40 was no exception. I bought it off the floor from GC and it had been there for a few months before I bought it. In the end, I could not bond with the tone as I am more of a DSL/TSL/JVM kind of guy : ) I sold it on craigslist for a loss but it still worked perfectly. I have noticed the resale on these are kind of bad.

Finally!! someone else who hasnt had any problems with the Haze 40! I was starting to feel like robinson crusoe there! Pity about the resale though, but mines a keeper anyway so its a moot point to me.
FMTDee, if its really over between you and Mr. haze, maybe try a JMD50 combo, I did a heap of research on that series yesterday, and apart from the traditionalists its getting a good reception. EL34 power section with a modelling preamp and onboard effects. All the models are Marshall including, oddly enough, 2 Haze 40 settings, and I think they may be similarly priced to the haze series as well (dont know much about US pricing however). any way I think I'm gonna check them out.

 

[Boldkharma]

LOL @ robinson crusoe!! I must admit, with all the negative info out there regarding the Haze I almost didn't even consider it. It is a nice, light, relatively inexpensive Marshall amp and if the classic Marshall tone is what you are after, I think it's a great choice. The guy I sold it to came over, plugged in, cranked it and he was grinning ear to ear! It was the tone he was after, he was looking for more of a JMP type tone so I guess that amp delivered it to his ear cause he forked over the green and ran away with it : ) I think that the amp being relatively new a whole lot of info as far as reliablity etc in not yet available. I guess we will see. I think it's great that Marshall is offering a tube amp that is affordable to a wider range of guitarists who may otherwise not be able to afford a new Marshall tube amp

 

[DSL100 Dude]

...There is no "smiley" that adequately expresses my rage. @$%&&^#% **&^%#@!!!!!!!

Oh I just could not resist:

There are a few. Hope they help.


Oh, and there is a Haze 40 in our local shop. I was going to give it a test drive and was told forget it. It is one of the popping channel deals.

 

[FMTDee]

Oh I just could not resist:

There are a few. Hope they help.


Oh, and there is a Haze 40 in our local shop. I was going to give it a test drive and was told forget it. It is one of the popping channel deals.

That's great, LOL! Is there one that curses and then bursts into flames? Or one cursing and shooting its amp?

 

[Rhythmicons]

MKB,
Thank you for your input on this matter.



Hello,
Im FMTDee's brother, not a guitar player, certainly not an amp man, absolutely not an EE. I do try to wrap my brain around issues like these though.

If her issue is a microphonic tube, this affect caused by the design of the amp, the soundawaves causing this unwanted noise.....BUT the amp is her perfect amp tonewise,then would it be pertinant to d/c the internal speaker and use one of the available external cabinets to preserve her tone? Would that work or does it sound too easy to actually work?

Initially when I read about disconnecting the speaker, I thought of the complaints about using the line out to record rather than miking the cab. Isn't the ultimate sound one that is from miking the cab? Will the extra cab solve the problems (except for the channel bleed) and or popping?

Also, if there is a channel bleed, is this something that has ben isolated to a particular capacitor or a componant that a compatent tech could swap out to fix the problem? Have you isolated a particular componant number that we can take to the service center with a replacement part and have them solder that into place?


Now, is there a head only that will offer a comparable tone and use an external cabinet that weighs and costs about the same.....other than the haze 15?


DO you think we are on the right track here or is this all just leading up to looking towards a heavier, louder, more expensive monster Marshall?


Thanks,
Rhythmicons

 

[VintageTone]

i have this amp, i do notice a slight distort on the clean channel , which is really annoying, and im talking bedroom levels, and i get a smell coming from inside :S,

 

[FMTDee]

Hello,
Im FMTDee's brother, not a guitar player, certainly not an amp man, absolutely not an EE. I do try to wrap my brain around issues like these though.

If her issue is a microphonic tube, this affect caused by the design of the amp, the soundawaves causing this unwanted noise.....BUT the amp is her perfect amp tonewise,then would it be pertinant to d/c the internal speaker and use one of the available external cabinets to preserve her tone? Would that work or does it sound too easy to actually work?

Initially when I read about disconnecting the speaker, I thought of the complaints about using the line out to record rather than miking the cab. Isn't the ultimate sound one that is from miking the cab? Will the extra cab solve the problems (except for the channel bleed) and or popping?

Also, if there is a channel bleed, is this something that has ben isolated to a particular capacitor or a componant that a compatent tech could swap out to fix the problem? Have you isolated a particular componant number that we can take to the service center with a replacement part and have them solder that into place?


Now, is there a head only that will offer a comparable tone and use an external cabinet that weighs and costs about the same.....other than the haze 15?


DO you think we are on the right track here or is this all just leading up to looking towards a heavier, louder, more expensive monster Marshall?


Thanks,
Rhythmicons

Thanks, Bro, but a few things:

First, I would not say that this is necessarily my "perfect" amp tonewise; its tone, size, and price range are all features I considered that made this amp seem like the right one for me at this time, for my purposes. There's much better out there for more money. Regardless of any of the initial factors that drew me to it, after 4 with problems, no more Marshall Haze.

Second, getting an external speaker completely defeats the purpose of buying a combo. If I was going to do all that, I'd just save for a better combo. I don't need heads and stacks; I don't want to have to date a roadie. I want something grab-and-go.

Third, disconnecting the internal speaker in order to use an external one is a different thing from using the emulated line out. I'm not interested in doing either one for the purposes of what the amp should do naturally.

Fourth, I have already heavily researched different options and decided that an all-tube combo is the best way for me to go, for versatility and portability, as well as for home use, recording, and small venues. As I said, if I wanted to spend the extra for a decent head, plus the extra for a cab, I'd just save for a better combo, suitable to mic. Which may be the way to go. Perhaps I need to just consider another maker altogether. Maybe I'll come back when I'm ready to buy that 900. But I don't need that right now, and it's not in my price range at the moment.

EVERY SINGLE HAZE 40, AND THIS MAKES FOUR, has had SOME kind of problem, and some degree of rattle and buzz. This one sounds like it has bees and rattlesnakes inside. The third one didn't rattle and buzz so much, but it would randomly cut out completely.

I happened to have the third and fourth amps here together, and so I swapped preamp tubes. I did a lot of swapping around, and NOTHING even touched the problem.

So no extension cab, no fake line-out, no trying to "work around" the problem. I am not going have my options limited by design flaws. As much as I wanted this amp to behave, as much as I really wanted this amp to work, it just doesn't. Time to move on. What an utter disappointment.

 

[FMTDee]

And yes, MKB, thank you very much for your input. You have helped me see that this amp is more trouble than it is worth.

By the way, amp #4 passed both of your tests.

 

[DSL100 Dude]

DSL-401 or 2266C Vintage Modern combo.