New Dsl20hr, And A Problem...

[JuSu]

Hi!

I'm new to the forum, so greetings from Finland to you all.

I got my new Marshall on saturday, the DSL20HR. Sound wise a great amp... But there's a faint background hiss or hum, that does not sound normal. It's like strong winds or traffic heard from a distance.

The noise is present even if no cables are connected to the input or loop, and all dials are at zero. Only dials that affect signal are resonance and presence, mostly resonance, which makes the noise more audible when turned up.

It's not loud, but it's there. None of my other amps make this. It's not from the house wiring, the same noise was there when I tried the amp at our rehearsal... umm... space? Room? Cave? Pit? What do you call it?

Also, at a Finnish forum an other member has the same problem. I'm thinking of returning the amp, since I think this is not normal... But is it? How's your new DSL? Should I worry, or just rock on? For it IS a great sounding amp.

Br,
JS

 

[BanditPanda]

Hi!

I'm new to the forum, so greetings from Finland to you all.

I got my new Marshall on saturday, the DSL20HR. Sound wise a great amp... But there's a faint background hiss or hum, that does not sound normal. It's like strong winds or traffic heard from a distance.

The noise is present even if no cables are connected to the input or loop, and all dials are at zero. Only dials that affect signal are resonance and presence, mostly resonance, which makes the noise more audible when turned up.

It's not loud, but it's there. None of my other amps make this. It's not from the house wiring, the same noise was there when I tried the amp at our rehearsal... umm... space? Room? Cave? Pit? What do you call it?

Also, at a Finnish forum an other member has the same problem. I'm thinking of returning the amp, since I think this is not normal... But is it? How's your new DSL? Should I worry, or just rock on? For it IS a great sounding amp.

Br,
JS

Just return it.
BP

 

[GibsonKramer]

Return it.

The DSL40 is pretty quiet. My 1 watt JVM makes more noise.

 

[slagg]

cheap tubes

 

[RLW59]

Yes, the tubes are the most likely cause.

That's why people advise that tube amp owners should always have a stash of known-good spare tubes. If I bought a new amp that was noisey, I'd grab some of my spare tubes and start swapping. If the noise went away, great, I'd keep the amp. If not, I'd put the stock tubes back in and exchange the amp.

But if you don't have spare tubes that you know are good, if you buy a new set of tubes there's no way to know if one or two of the new tubes are noisey. You have to test them in an amp that's working properly to know.

So exchange that amp. If the replacement is quiet, then buy a set of spare tubes and test them.

Better quality tubes are likely to improve the tone, so then you can store the stock tubes and use them as emergency spares.

 

[Troybuilt Bob]

To piggyback what the others are saying, if only the resonance and presence is affecting the issue then it’s more than likely your power tubes. It may just be a biasing issue where they’re far enough apart in bad it’s causing the noise.

 

[Micky]

Swap in a spare set of finals and see if it goes away.

 

[ampmadscientist]

Hi!

I'm new to the forum, so greetings from Finland to you all.

I got my new Marshall on saturday, the DSL20HR. Sound wise a great amp... But there's a faint background hiss or hum, that does not sound normal. It's like strong winds or traffic heard from a distance.

The noise is present even if no cables are connected to the input or loop, and all dials are at zero. Only dials that affect signal are resonance and presence, mostly resonance, which makes the noise more audible when turned up.

It's not loud, but it's there. None of my other amps make this. It's not from the house wiring, the same noise was there when I tried the amp at our rehearsal... umm... space? Room? Cave? Pit? What do you call it?

Also, at a Finnish forum an other member has the same problem. I'm thinking of returning the amp, since I think this is not normal... But is it? How's your new DSL? Should I worry, or just rock on? For it IS a great sounding amp.

Br,
JS

Greetings to Finland, which has more heavy metal bands per capita, than any other country.
(Finland =heavy metal capitol of the world )

The amp probably has an inherent noise in the design.

"at a Finnish forum an other member has the same problem..."

Probably all of these amps have the same noise....another Finnish member helps to confirm this.

You can take it to the service center (there may be an update for it)
OR exchange it for another amplifier.

 

[Vouti]

My DSL20H's background static noise does not react to resonance adjustments. I set the volume and gain knobs to the max on both channels (no instrument cable connected nor anything in fx loop) and turned the resonance knob from zero value to max and there is no audible change in the static noise on either of the channels.
Hope this helps.

 

[paul-e-mann]

Hi!

I'm new to the forum, so greetings from Finland to you all.

I got my new Marshall on saturday, the DSL20HR. Sound wise a great amp... But there's a faint background hiss or hum, that does not sound normal. It's like strong winds or traffic heard from a distance.

The noise is present even if no cables are connected to the input or loop, and all dials are at zero. Only dials that affect signal are resonance and presence, mostly resonance, which makes the noise more audible when turned up.

It's not loud, but it's there. None of my other amps make this. It's not from the house wiring, the same noise was there when I tried the amp at our rehearsal... umm... space? Room? Cave? Pit? What do you call it?

Also, at a Finnish forum an other member has the same problem. I'm thinking of returning the amp, since I think this is not normal... But is it? How's your new DSL? Should I worry, or just rock on? For it IS a great sounding amp.

Br,
JS

Take it back and get another one.

My DSL20H's background static noise does not react to resonance adjustments. I set the volume and gain knobs to the max on both channels (no instrument cable connected nor anything in fx loop) and turned the resonance knob from zero value to max and there is no audible change in the static noise on either of the channels.
Hope this helps.

You got a good one first try!

 

[doomsdaymachine]

Could be your Finnish electricity.

Seriously... 99.9% of these noise issues are tubes. It happens in cheap amps, it happens in expensive amps. It's a necessary evil to own spare tubes - period. It's the price you pay to own tube amps.

I go through amps like water, and I have multiple pairs of EL34's, 6CA7's, KT77's, and 6L6's. In addition, close to 100 preamps tubes - both new production and NOS. This practice has saved my ass multiple times, and, has made good amps great amps, by upgrading.

I think the 20HR is cathode biased, so there's no adjustment. Try a KNOWN good preamp tube in each slot until you find the culprit. I'm guessing it's preamp, not power.

 

[JuSu]

Update....

I replaced every tube, so that I had no original tubes in the amp, preamp nor power amp.

Still I had the hiss/hum, so probably not tube related... But I think my power tubes might not have been matched pairs. The amp is cathode biased (I think, can anyone confirm this?), and if the power tubes are not matched, could this cause the noise? Funnily, this means that the original JJ:s would not be matched either...?

Oh well. I just came back home from the post office, where I left the amp to be transported back to the store. I would not have had the patience to go through the service/repair hassle, but the store offered me a new amp for replacement. Good call, otherwise I would have taken my money back.

We'll see, if the new one has the issue.

JS

 

[Xfiles]

Hi JuSu,

The new amp is OK, or the problem presists?

I had the same problem with the DSL 20 head and have to return it. I dont know if i buy it again or take my money back

 

[JuSu]

Hi JuSu,

The new amp is OK, or the problem presists?

I had the same problem with the DSL 20 head and have to return it. I dont know if i buy it again or take my money back

Hi!

I've had the amp for a couple of days now... Yes, the hum is still there, be it a bit quieter with the new one.

I decided to keep the amp. The annoyance is minor, and the head sounds wonderful. For comparison, the cooling fan in my Peavey Classic 50 is way WAY louder than the mentioned hum with the DSL20HR, so I can live with that. You hear the hum when you know it's there and listen carefully when not playing.

Great amp, but only time will tell, how it holds up when taken out of the house to rehearsals and gigs. I haven't had the opportunity to do so, yet.

JS

 

[Xfiles]

Thanks!

I think i´ll try a new one. I also like the sound of it.

 

[DukeOfAwe]

I have the exact same hum on the DSL20 combo. It kinda sounds like a scratched up vinyl.
But it is constant, so no matter how loud or quiet I play it's at the same volume, so that's good I guess.
I'm also keeping it. It's not that big of a problem, really, considering how good this amp sounds. Love it.
I may contact Marshall down the line to see if this is normal or not.

 

[aussiebluesville]

My DSL20CR has no hums at all, it's one of the quietest marshalls i've owned

 

[solarburn]

A Bad power tube or preamp tube can do this.

However my 007 didn't quiet down with tube changes.

Sorry to hear this.

 

[DukeOfAwe]

I have the exact same hum on the DSL20 combo. It kinda sounds like a scratched up vinyl.
But it is constant, so no matter how loud or quiet I play it's at the same volume, so that's good I guess.
I'm also keeping it. It's not that big of a problem, really, considering how good this amp sounds. Love it.
I may contact Marshall down the line to see if this is normal or not.

I forgot to mention. The hum sound goes away on standby. It's only there when turning the amp on low or high, but it doesn't make a difference on what channel I am, or if the guitar is plugged in or not, or what volume is on the amp. It's there even on 0 on the clean channel.

 

[Micky]

Put in a spare tube one at a time to find the culprit.