Help with feedback issue in afd 100 #34 and loop

[snakej200]

I just got this afd100 and up until tonight haven’t had any issues. Haven’t tried the loop yet though until tonight. First off before I tried that I’ve noticed #34 is more susceptible to feedback. I like my presence turned up and if I have it too high in the mode it gets bad, I have to turn it back to like 6/7. I brushed that off as just a high gain amp quirk, my Helios does the same thing with the treble.

Tonight I decided to try my Mesa 5 band eq. First I tried it out front- I loved it. It is an old pedal and is a bit noisy and I noticed I was getting a high pitch ringing when using the eq in 34. That’s when I tried moving it to the loop. Sounded absolutely awful. Feedback, ringing, etc. BUT only in 34 mode. Tried a couple other pedals: chorus, dd3. Same thing just sounded bad with feedback in 34 mode. I swapped all my preamp tubes. Same results. I’ve been plugging straight into the amp to make sure there’s nothing else interfering and I am using a Truetone power supply which I use for all my other amps with no noise. I feel like there’s got to be something I’m missing that is causing this.

Sometimes you know there’s something up with your gear and sometimes you know it’s operator error. I really think this one is operator error, anybody got any suggestions or experienced feedback in 34 mode?

 

[Randy_Lahey]

Man I have no idea what #34 is. Sorry can you explain more etc.. would like to try and help.

 

[Leonard Neemoil]

Man I have no idea what #34 is. Sorry can you explain more etc.. would like to try and help.

Yeah, what is #34?

 

[Söulcaster]

You shouldn’t really be getting any unusual feedback in #34.
Santiago, the designer of the amp is here message him.
@santiall is his user name.

Edit…make sure you are running auto bias on most start ups

Peace

 

[Söulcaster]

Yeah, what is #34?

Man I have no idea what #34 is. Sorry can you explain more etc.. would like to try and help.

The AFD100 has 2 modes. AFD mode and #34 mode.

Peace

 

[snakej200]

Yeah, what is #34?

it’s the first mode on the afd 100 amp. You’ve got #34 mode and afd mode. Most owners I talk to haven’t used the loop. I think I’m gonna follow suit and just use the loop in my powerstation and just enjoy the amp. Someone else told me that the presence and the loop are both tied in to the negative feedback so maybe it’s just a quirk of the amp

 

[Söulcaster]

it’s the first mode on the afd 100 amp. You’ve got #34 mode and afd mode. Most owners I talk to haven’t used the loop. I think I’m gonna follow suit and just use the loop in my powerstation and just enjoy the amp. Someone else told me that the presence and the loop are both tied in to the negative feedback so maybe it’s just a quirk of the amp

Good thing about the loop is you can use it for a volume increase for solos as you can set the level of the loop.

Peace

 

[blue]

I've only used the loop on mine for a noise gate and reverb, it was fine with those

 

[marshallmellowed]

Maybe Santiago will chime in, I believe he designed the amp.

 

[snakej200]

Good thing about the loop is you can use it for a volume increase for solos as you can set the level of the loop.

Peace

When you use it for a boost do you have to jumper the send/return?

 

[Söulcaster]

When you use it for a boost do you have to jumper the send/return?

Yes, there has to be something in the loop to boost. I always run an overdrive on low gain in the loop though. Just to fatten/round out the solo tone, which can sound thin without it imo. Sometimes a delay.
I run very little else pedal wise out front …..It shines with guitar>cable>amp. Maybe a tuner if need be.

Peace

 

[snakej200]

Well just an update- whatever was going on the other night must have been either a 1 time hiccup or the tubes. Last night i swapped out v1 and 2 and it worked perfectly. What’s weird is I did that the other night too! Oh well.

Now I’m just fighting with this mesa 5 band eq in the loop. Can not get it to sound better no matter how i set the sliders. I wonder if it’s worth picking up a ge7 or if I’ll have the same struggles with that that I’m having with the mesa

 

[santiall]

Hi, the #34 mode is super trebly, it is an already trebly 2203 with even more treble boost. You will need to use the guitar volume when stopping playing and find a position relative to the amp where it doesn't do it. Nowadays they call it 'old school' haha.
When we tested it with Slash it was all the time like that. It can be nasty but it is what it is I guess.

 

[snakej200]

Hi, the #34 mode is super trebly, it is an already trebly 2203 with even more treble boost. You will need to use the guitar volume when stopping playing and find a position relative to the amp where it doesn't do it. Nowadays they call it 'old school' haha.
When we tested it with Slash it was all the time like that. It can be nasty but it is what it is I guess.

Whatever I had going on with the loop feedback was tube related. I swapped tubes 3x until I found a combination that didn’t make any noise. Weird how some tunes play well in some amps and some positions better than others.

I actually love how trebly and bright this amp is. I have the treble and presence dimed on just about all my amps and this one is no different!

 

[Maxbrothman]

Now I’m just fighting with this mesa 5 band eq in the loop. Can not get it to sound better no matter how i set the sliders. I wonder if it’s worth picking up a ge7 or if I’ll have the same struggles with that that I’m having with the mesa

The GE7 can give you +-3db more range than the Mesa 5 band, and the GE7 will give you more mid-controls. Get a model after 2016, and it won't hiss—no modded needed.

EQing with those extreme values, though, might indicate that the amp needs dialing in differently. For example, I would rather bump or scoop my mids in the amp than in a pedal before it.

So I don't know if a change of EQ will help you get where you want to be but just something to think about. When I use an EQ pedal sometimes I go back to amp and dial it in differently to see if I can get the same thing without the EQ needing to be on. That includes in the loop.

 

[snakej200]

The GE7 can give you +-3db more range than the Mesa 5 band, and the GE7 will give you more mid-controls. Get a model after 2016, and it won't hiss—no modded needed.

EQing with those extreme values, though, might indicate that the amp needs dialing in differently. For example, I would rather bump or scoop my mids in the amp than in a pedal before it.

So I don't know if a change of EQ will help you get where you want to be but just something to think about. When I use an EQ pedal sometimes I go back to amp and dial it in differently to see if I can get the same thing without the EQ needing to be on. That includes in the loop.

I’m gonna be honest here the only reason I’m messing with (and own) this eq and keep coming back to it is because I always read how great they are and feel like I’m missing out on something by not using one. Every time I try to spend some time with one I always come to the same conclusion, it sounds better without it. I think the eq pedals just may not be for me

 

[Maxbrothman]

I’m gonna be honest here the only reason I’m messing with (and own) this eq and keep coming back to it is because I always read how great they are and feel like I’m missing out on something by not using one. Every time I try to spend some time with one I always come to the same conclusion, it sounds better without it. I think the eq pedals just may not be for me

Great sweeping values on an EQ pedal tell me that you can probably dial the amp in better or need another amp. Nudging the values is where it is at, or subtraction for scooped V shapes. They can also be used as a clean boost. Where you find EQ a lot more is in mixing desks and post-production.

EQ is a handy tool though and I would miss mine from time to time.

 

[snakej200]

Just to bring this thread back to life- I previously fixed this with different preamp tubes and got the high pitch whining to go away ……at least I thought I did! Now it’s even stranger!

I have a de lisle 8x8 deluxe amp/speaker switcher. When I’m on the afd it’s fine. When I switch off to another head AND the presence is dimed I got that high pitch whine again. It’s really off. If I turn the power down to 50% or turn the presence down to about 3 o’clock then it goes away. Oh and the threshold for this phenomena is lower when in 34 mode- meaning the whine comes on when the presence is at 2 o’clock or higher.

I’ve tried different power and preamp tubes, cables, positions on the switcher. Nothing fixes it besides lowering the presence. And remember this is while the amp is NOT selected on the switcher.

Does anyone have any ideas about this? I honestly can live with it and work around it if this is just a characteristic of this amp but if there’s something wrong with it I’d like to get it addressed

 

[Mars]

no problems with mine (low serial number, 100% stock), I can only add that maybe check the loop potentiometer setting, it can make the signal too hot easily

 

[Ronquest]

Try moving your amps away from each other. And move your guitar away from the amps.