Need help! problems with my Class 5!

[Steve]

Hey guys so I've been having some trouble with my Class 5. A little while ago I started hearing a strange sound when I hit certain notes. I first noticed it when I would bend a note on the b string and play the note on the e string on the same fret. not really sure how to describe it, a metallic rattling or buzzing sound maybe. Its all over the neck though. I also started getting a sort of tremolo like effect when i would let a note or chord ring out.

I figured it was a bad tube so i opened up the amp and tried changing them out one at a time, had no success. So I tried swapping out all the tubes. I normally play it on the low power mode with the headphone trick, but i put it on 16ohm output after changing all the tubes, turned it on, and not only were the previous problems still present but I started getting a lot of feedback the second i take my hand off the strings, and also when I let chords or notes ring out (the feedback doesn't seem to be present on the headphone output). I tried moving away from the amp but it still gets a lot of feedback. there's also some hum or hiss but that may just be typical.

So I did the same thing again, swapping them out one at a time and also swapping all of them out with different tubes but have had no luck. Ive done both multiple times. at first all these symptoms seemed like it would be a bad tube but having tried a bunch I'm wondering if something else is going on.

I've also tried different guitars, patch cables, speaker cables, different speaker, and moving the amp to another room to no success. My knowledge of tube amps being very limited, I'm not really sure what else to try other than having a tech look at it.

My amp is still under warranty but I bought it on ebay from an authorized dealer in the USA, and I'm in Canada; so If I want to go through the warranty I have to ship it to an authorized tech in the States, the closest being someone in WA, which is going to cost a fair bit. I know no one can properly diagnose it over the internet but I'm just hoping to get some insight as to what it might be, and how much it might cost to fix it, and see if it is even worth it to pay the cost of shipping it to have it serviced under warranty or to just say fuck the warranty and have a tech here look at it.

I made a couple videos demonstrating the problems I've described so you guys can actually hear it.

Also, whether you think I should ship it, or have it looked at here, would anyone be able to provide me with the names of tech's they recommend? I have a name of a guy that the salesmen at my local Long & McQuade recommend, he seems to be a guy who just does it on the side for cash though (though apparently he's really good) I'm located in Victoria, B.C.

Here's the videos, they're pretty similar but at the end of the second one I turn the controls so you guys can decide if you think there is too much hiss.

For reference bass was at 0, mid and treble were at 10, volume between 5 and 10

Thanks for the help

Steve

[Steve]

Ok made a couple of better videos of the feedback. Also heard a static sounding hum today when I made them but it may or may not be normal, seemed to go away when I stepped away from the amp. Really don't know too much about tube amps. Don't remember hearing it before though, so I made a video of it anyways.

[shaun]

Steve, i can hear what you are referring to, and that is how i run my C5 head. Bass - 0 , everything else on 10.

I would have thought bad speaker, but you have changed out the speaker. Maybe check the valve 'holder' in the head. It is only held in by 2 screws and may be vibrating on the valves? I removed the rubber rings in mine as they were melting onto the valves. I only keep it in so i don't lose it.
Other than that, do you have another cab to try it with. The baffle in your 1 12 cab may be loose.
These are all guesswork, but try everything you can think of. My C5 is very clean and dry sounding at full volume. Not clean tone, but no rattles or anything vibrating.

[Steve]

Hey shaun, actually I just had my class 5 set like that for the video, I actually play around with the settings a lot, except the bass which is usually at 9 o clock.

Yeah there's a sort of rattling or buzzing sound and a "daa-oow" kind of sound that comes through when I bend the b and play the same fret on the e. I captured it a bit better here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4bu9RU ... e=youtu.be I take it your class 5 doesn't make that noise when you do the same thing? I think in the video I was playing on the 15th fret, but its present in a lot of places. All the videos were made without the tube retainer on, so I don't think its the screws. Whatever it is its been driving me crazy.

A member on another forum said that the oscillation might be bad guitar intonation, and when I checked my LP it did seem just slightly off on one or two strings, so I'm going to intonate a little more accurately and see if it solves that problem. There was also some hum and it seems it's only present my LP, which just had stock pups and caps put back in, so that might just be faulty wiring.

I was also getting the sound of the pickup selector and control knobs coming through the amp really loud when i move them, or even just tap the guitar (which is also in the video above) I noticed this today. I'm wondering if it's maybe a noisy tube or something and maybe that's related to the feedback? A lot of guys said that amount of feedback is normal but its more feedback than I've ever noticed through the amp. do you get a lot of feedback through yours with the amp cranked?

I was going to go down to one of the music stores in town that had a Class 5 and compare it with my own to see if I could rule anything out but it's already been sold.

[shaun]

Steve, your avitar has a Les Paul, but it looks like you are playing a strat in the video's??

It may be the guitar PUPS doing it. I say this because when i play a strat through a Marshall i get a kind of 'distortion or rattling' on single notes when on high gain. I only have 1 strat type guitar with a vintage style Seymour Duncan PUP so i don't know if this is normal to single coils or not. I always thought the PUP was faulty, but it sound great and clear on low gain. I have read about single coils producing a 'ghosting' sound if too much gain or the PUP is too close too the strings.

[Blues_N_Cues]

Hey shaun, actually I just had my class 5 set like that for the video, I actually play around with the settings a lot, except the bass which is usually at 9 o clock.

Yeah there's a sort of rattling or buzzing sound and a "daa-oow" kind of sound that comes through when I bend the b and play the same fret on the e. I captured it a bit better here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4bu9RU ... e=youtu.be I take it your class 5 doesn't make that noise when you do the same thing? I think in the video I was playing on the 15th fret, but its present in a lot of places. All the videos were made without the tube retainer on, so I don't think its the screws. Whatever it is its been driving me crazy.

A member on another forum said that the oscillation might be bad guitar intonation, and when I checked my LP it did seem just slightly off on one or two strings, so I'm going to intonate a little more accurately and see if it solves that problem. There was also some hum and it seems it's only present my LP, which just had stock pups and caps put back in, so that might just be faulty wiring.

I was also getting the sound of the pickup selector and control knobs coming through the amp really loud when i move them, or even just tap the guitar (which is also in the video above) I noticed this today. I'm wondering if it's maybe a noisy tube or something and maybe that's related to the feedback? A lot of guys said that amount of feedback is normal but its more feedback than I've ever noticed through the amp. do you get a lot of feedback through yours with the amp cranked?

I was going to go down to one of the music stores in town that had a Class 5 and compare it with my own to see if I could rule anything out but it's already been sold.

are you playing a chambered LP in that vid?
amp cranked?
the selector switch noise is normal but that guitar does sound a bit hollow.
what I do hear is you middle or ring finger(whichever one you're bending with) pressing harder as you hold the bend,that's what's giving you the oscillation.
as far as the initial 2 note harmony it sounds normal to me for being a lone guitar.
it'll sound normal in a mix or jamming along w/ something.

new strings probably wouldn't hurt. sometimes you get a dud straight out of the box.
I know you said it's all over the neck but if you do the same thing a lot in the same place,over time you will need to get the frets dressed or recrowned.

http://avhguitarrepair.com/repair-blog/ ... ret-dress/

[Steve]

Steve, your avitar has a Les Paul, but it looks like you are playing a strat in the video's??

It may be the guitar PUPS doing it. I say this because when i play a strat through a Marshall i get a kind of 'distortion or rattling' on single notes when on high gain. I only have 1 strat type guitar with a vintage style Seymour Duncan PUP so i don't know if this is normal to single coils or not. I always thought the PUP was faulty, but it sound great and clear on low gain. I have read about single coils producing a 'ghosting' sound if too much gain or the PUP is too close too the strings.

Hey shaun, actually that's my old Ibanez starter guitar, It does have a single coil but in the video the bridge humbucker was used. The Ibanez never really gets played, but my LP was in its case so I just grabbed it off the stand. It doesn't seem to happen when I'm playing just one note, and it seems to happen on low gain as well (just not as loud), but I will see what I can find about "ghosting" and see if that's what I'm hearing, or if it's something else. Thanks.

Hey shaun, actually I just had my class 5 set like that for the video, I actually play around with the settings a lot, except the bass which is usually at 9 o clock.

Yeah there's a sort of rattling or buzzing sound and a "daa-oow" kind of sound that comes through when I bend the b and play the same fret on the e. I captured it a bit better here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4bu9RU ... e=youtu.be I take it your class 5 doesn't make that noise when you do the same thing? I think in the video I was playing on the 15th fret, but its present in a lot of places. All the videos were made without the tube retainer on, so I don't think its the screws. Whatever it is its been driving me crazy.

A member on another forum said that the oscillation might be bad guitar intonation, and when I checked my LP it did seem just slightly off on one or two strings, so I'm going to intonate a little more accurately and see if it solves that problem. There was also some hum and it seems it's only present my LP, which just had stock pups and caps put back in, so that might just be faulty wiring.

I was also getting the sound of the pickup selector and control knobs coming through the amp really loud when i move them, or even just tap the guitar (which is also in the video above) I noticed this today. I'm wondering if it's maybe a noisy tube or something and maybe that's related to the feedback? A lot of guys said that amount of feedback is normal but its more feedback than I've ever noticed through the amp. do you get a lot of feedback through yours with the amp cranked?

I was going to go down to one of the music stores in town that had a Class 5 and compare it with my own to see if I could rule anything out but it's already been sold.

are you playing a chambered LP in that vid?
amp cranked?
the selector switch noise is normal but that guitar does sound a bit hollow.
what I do hear is you middle or ring finger(whichever one you're bending with) pressing harder as you hold the bend,that's what's giving you the oscillation.
as far as the initial 2 note harmony it sounds normal to me for being a lone guitar.
it'll sound normal in a mix or jamming along w/ something.

new strings probably wouldn't hurt. sometimes you get a dud straight out of the box.
I know you said it's all over the neck but if you do the same thing a lot in the same place,over time you will need to get the frets dressed or recrowned.

http://avhguitarrepair.com/repair-blog/ ... ret-dress/

Thanks Blues, yeah i think the amp was cranked (or maybe at 5) in the video, and I was using my R8, but it's not chambered. When I plugged my Ibanez in and I tapped on the guitar It also sounded hollow. I didn't even notice the oscillation in the last video I posted, but I listened to it again and I hear what you mean by pressing too hard; it was the oscillation in the other videos that concerned me, but apparently that might just be bad intonation. The thought that I needed a fret dress or recrown had crossed my mind, but it was happening on My SG which is fairly new and has very little fret wear; and I only recently got the R8. It seems mostly to be on the higher strings, and is most often present when bending one note and playing another, though it could be present elsewhere. the general feedback I've gotten is that everything is ok with my amp, but it hasn't had these issues in the past so I might just take it to the local Marshall tech and have him check it over, if only for the peace of mind.

Thanks again guys.