Every now and then, we'll hear from a customer that their amp is making an odd sound. It can vary from a hum, to a buzz, to an internal rattle...
It is rare that the amp itself is the one causing the issue/noise. So it's best to thoroughly troubleshoot your rig to see if something in your rig is the cause of the sound.
First thing first, follow all the usual troubleshooting steps. Here's why it's important to do so:
1. Instrument/Pickups: Normally, your guitar may pick up some fizzy "buzz" until you take hold of the strings, which grounds your body and eliminates it as a hum antenna. If holding the strings does not reduce or stop the buzz, try the next steps:
2. Cable: A hum or buzzing sound can be the sign of a cable going bad. If you plug the cable into your guitar, and turn the guitar all the way down, it should be as quiet as the amp without a cable plugged in. If there is still hum, gently flex each end of the cable. If the hum changes, the internal plug terminations are going bad. In addition to this, try grasping the cable in the middle while not touching the strings. If the hum increases, your cable shielding is not doing its job.
Our CEO explains in this video how a cable can be the cause of it. It's important to double and triple check your cables. We cannot stress this enough!
However, if the issue still persists after following all standard troubleshooting steps, you'll want to go further and try these as well:
1. RUN THE AMP BY ITSELF: Turn on the amp without an instrument plugged in, and without your pedal board plugged in. If the noise disappears, it's 100% something in your rig.
2. RUN THE AMP BY ITSELF WITH HEADPHONES: In addition to #1, it'd also be a good idea to run the amp by itself while running the headphone jack. Another possibility is that the speaker is the one making the weird noise, but not the amp. If the noise disappears when running the amp with headphones and no load, then you can confirm it's the speaker.
3. RUN THE AMP IN A DIFFERENT ROOM/BUILDING: There is a possibility that there may be bad AC or bad ground in your building that could be causing the noise. If the issue is gone after using the amp in a different place, it can be confirmed that this is the issue.
PLEASE make sure that you've thoroughly done all troubleshooting before contacting us or any of our authorized service centers if you suspect there is an issue with your amp. We cannot stress enough how many times customers have sent amps in for repair only for there to be no problem at all.