High-pitched whine - Liverpool clone

Express, Liverpool, Rocket, Dirty Little Monster, etc.

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captain_rusty
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High-pitched whine - Liverpool clone

Post by captain_rusty »

Hi folks,

I've tried using the search function, without finding what I'm looking for...

My Liverpool clone (Ceriatone) has a high-frequency whistle, which remains present (although reduced) even with the bright switch off and the treble and mid controls at zero.

Has anyone else had this phenomenon? Any suggestions would be very welcome. :)

Thanks a lot.
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UR12
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Re: High-pitched whine - Liverpool clone

Post by UR12 »

Have you tried swaping preamp tubes?
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captain_rusty
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Re: High-pitched whine - Liverpool clone

Post by captain_rusty »

UR12 wrote:Have you tried swaping preamp tubes?
Thanks for replying :) I tried some other JJs - they're all about the same, it seems. I also tried a couple of old 12AU7s. Of course, the whine goes away, but so does the overdrive and the volume... :D
Maybe I should try other brands of 12AX7... If the fix is as simple as finding the right tube (V1? V2?) then I'm happy... :)
keithrick
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Re: High-pitched whine - Liverpool clone

Post by keithrick »

Two things come to mind...

1. Is the chassis in a head box or shielded? Try moving your rig in a different part of the room and also do not set it on the speaker cab.

2. Move around the V1 pin 2 grid wire and see if that helps. Are they shielded? You could also solder in a small resister (right on the pin of v1 pin 2) to help quell any occilation.

Good luck. That build is next on my list!
keithrick
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Re: High-pitched whine - Liverpool clone

Post by keithrick »

Two things come to mind...

1. Is the chassis in a head box or shielded? Try moving your rig in a different part of the room and also do not set it on the speaker cab.

2. Move around the V1 pin 2 grid wire and see if that helps. Are they shielded? You could also solder in a small resister (right on the pin of v1 pin 2) to help quell any occilation.

Good luck. That build is next on my list!
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captain_rusty
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Re: High-pitched whine - Liverpool clone

Post by captain_rusty »

keithrick wrote:Two things come to mind...

1. Is the chassis in a head box or shielded? Try moving your rig in a different part of the room and also do not set it on the speaker cab.

2. Move around the V1 pin 2 grid wire and see if that helps. Are they shielded? You could also solder in a small resister (right on the pin of v1 pin 2) to help quell any occilation.

Good luck. That build is next on my list!
The chassis is in a temporary head cab - pretty rudimentary, in fact. I'll try your ideas out when I get a free half-hour :)

Thanks for the ideas :)
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brownnote
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Re: High-pitched whine - Liverpool clone

Post by brownnote »

Shielding can be very important in these amps, a sheet of aluminum on the bottom of the cab works great.
Remember kids...Always adjust for minimum smoke!

D'Lite Kits: http://store.bnamp.com/dlitekits.html
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captain_rusty
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Re: High-pitched whine - Liverpool clone

Post by captain_rusty »

brownnote wrote:Shielding can be very important in these amps, a sheet of aluminum on the bottom of the cab works great.
When I get round to building a head cab :oops: I'll incorporate that - great idea, thanks :)
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Allynmey
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Re: High-pitched whine - Liverpool clone

Post by Allynmey »

Cap'n, post a clear pic of the amp guts. Lead dress is very important on these amps.
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captain_rusty
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Re: High-pitched whine - Liverpool clone

Post by captain_rusty »

Allynmey wrote:Cap'n, post a clear pic of the amp guts. Lead dress is very important on these amps.
Since it was Nik's team that built it (I didn't have the courage, I freely admit) I was assuming that lead dress wouldn't be a likely culprit, but I'll gladly take some pics and post them :)

Thanks :)
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Allynmey
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Re: High-pitched whine - Liverpool clone

Post by Allynmey »

Is it a whistle? Use shielded cable from the input jack to V1. Try some NOS tubes. Any that you know are good. I had some issues with JJ's doing that in high gain preamp circuits.
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Re: High-pitched whine - Liverpool clone

Post by JimiB »

me too - especially the ecc803's
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captain_rusty
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Re: High-pitched whine - Liverpool clone

Post by captain_rusty »

Thanks, guys :)

I must say my gut feeling is that it's the JJs...
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geetarpicker
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Re: High-pitched whine - Liverpool clone

Post by geetarpicker »

My original '89 Express had a problem with this. The fix was simple.

On my amp the 2 wires that led from the output tubes to the output transformer didn't want to stay flat against the chassis as they wandered up under the power supply board. I put a tiny piece of foam rubber right under the edge of the power supply board to hold the wires down against the bottom of the chassis. No problems ever since. I could have used a dab of super glue. Actually you would be surprised at how many wires in my amp are lightly and cleanly super glued down to the chassis so that they would not move ever.

Just a thought to check into. I know my amp isn't a Liverpool but they are similar in gain and layout. These amps ride the fence on the edge of stability that's for sure.
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captain_rusty
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Re: High-pitched whine - Liverpool clone

Post by captain_rusty »

Thanks for all the great ideas, guys - this thread is a mine of information :)
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