My digital multi-meter makes my amp less noisy...?

[dehughes]

In my seemingly never-ending quest to figure out exactly why my amp is so hissy I have pursued the possibility that the cathode follower circuit is generating the hiss. It was suggested to me that the cathode follower resistor (56k carbon comp...) could very well be noisy, so I've been measuring it and seeing what's up. Two things:

1) Here's the weird thing (well, you all probably know the answer...but it's weird to me..). With the DMM connected across this 56k cathode follower resistor, even when the DMM is OFF, the amp is WAY LESS hissy than with the DMM disconnected from across the resistor. The amp is also less gainy, and much quieter, which leads me to believe that the DMM is shunting some of the signal to ground, making the amp less loud AND less hissy. Is this possible? It was a weird occurance and I wasn't sure what to do with it...

2) So, if the amp is way less gainy and hissy with the DMM shunting some of the signal to ground, does this then indicate that the source of my noise is then somewhere upstream from the cathode follower circuit? I ask, as with the DMM connected across this resistor, the amp has just a slight amount of hiss.....which to my ears is just the right amount for a healthy AC30-ish amp. The overall volume is way lower than it should be, but the hiss-level is juuuust right. I was about to swap out this resistor when the thought occurred to me that this oddity is indicating that the noise is happening before the resistor somewhere...

Am I crazy or just a noob? (or both...)

[tonelab2]

I guess it could be but still not proof it's not that resistor or being generated upstream( if you catch my drift), I would swap out the resistor just to see.

[dehughes]

I guess it could be but still not proof it's not that resistor or being generated upstream( if you catch my drift), I would swap out the resistor just to see.

Drift. Good pun. Resistor...

Anyway, I'll swap it out for sure. Who knows.... I'll also check voltages on the tubes to make sure they aren't running out of control (which could also be the source of my hissyness...

THANKS.