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Tube Amps And Rf Filter(s)?


Captainstrat

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Well, I've been enjoying my newly acquired Fender Champion 600 reissue. Other than what my pals at the FDP Forum refer to as "Mains Mantra" (a.k.a. transformer hum) it's a nice, quiet amp (noise-wise) that can get pretty loud for a 5-watter!

It seems to agree with all my guitars (Strat, Tele, home made Les Paul and Variax) and with most of my pedals.

Problem 1: the more pedals, the more hiss is induced. I might have a fix for that, either in the form of a Hush pedal or MXR Smart Gate.

Problem 2: My Dano Surf & Turf compressor (which I use as a clean boost) actually picks up radio signals when the sensitivity knob is set at a certain point (2 -3 o'clock), and that's one thing I'm not so sure the Hush or Smart Gate can handle...I've heard of RF filters added to older amps to filter out radio stations, but in this case it's only the one pedal when pushed past a certain level.

I guess the simplest solution would be to back off the sensitivity knob until the radio interference disappears and to compensate with the level knob, but...enquiring minds want to know: could a RF filter allow me to crank up the compressor without the radio signal?

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Interesting... so these problems are only with those pedals and that amp? It really sounds like a problem with the pedals, since they affect the level of interference.

My guess is that a small cap (47pf?) from a signal point to ground would kill the interference without affecting your signal too much. But I'm not sure, as I've never heard of a way to eliminate that kind of interference.

Sorry... just guessing here. :D

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There is nothing better than mini cab radio chatter halfway through blazing solo! :D

okay i'm no expert but i'd try these things.

hissing.. sounds like to much gain! are you running a compressor and an overdrive /distortion pedal if you are take the compressor off when using the overdrive (distortion acts exactly the same as compression)

radio.. How long is your guitar lead (and patch cables)? really long (or cheap) leads pickup radio frequencies more than short ones then when you apply lot's of gain you hear them through your amp. (this might also reduce your hissingness

or are your guitars sheilded well?

like geo i'm guessing aswell but it could be these. but my biggest tip is simplfy your rig and use as much amp rather than overdrive as you can it always sounds better. unplug all your pedals and slowly add them in order of importance when you have a good sound add the next pedal. It may not sort the problem but at the very least it'll find it!

Edited by joshvegas
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