skilsaw Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 I gave the guitar and amp to my son for Christmas and he was suitably surprised and appreciative. He tested the amp and guitar when I gave it to him and everything was fine. (no hum) This morning I delivered the amp to his house, and when he turned on the power the amp hummed. Even before he plugged in his guitar. We're going to take to the store tomorrow and see what they have to say about it. I almost hope it hums appropriately when we take it in because I hate intermittent problems. What are your suggestions on what could cause the hum? Thanks for your advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Hope this doesn't seem too obvious, but if it didn't hum before and hums now, the difference might be the location. Before you go all the way somewhere else with it, check it in different locations of the house, and check the wall power. If you haven't already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skilsaw Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 Good suggestion. I asked my son to test it in several different wall sockets, thinking there may be something already running on the circuit he plugged into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayyj Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Also, lights with dimmer switches, computer monitors and fluorescent tubes are regular culprits when it comes to amps that hum in some locations but not others. If he has them, turn them off and see what happens to the hum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skilsaw Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 Thanks. I'll have to pick up an outlet tester. My son tried the amp in three outlets, but they are all in the same room. Probably same circuit. The house was built in the 1970's so it should be properly wired. But you never know. I'll make sure no dimmer switches or computer monitors are turned on. Will probably unplug the refrigerator too because the small compresser in it may cause the hum. I've had radios that hummed if the fridge in the house was running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 I had a similar experience with my Vox AC-30, a few year ago. Took it to my amp tech, in Wichita (100 miles away), and he had it for a week, went through everything, and couldn't get it to do anything close to what as going on in my Living room. He didn't charge me anything for his trouble, and told me it sounded "Awesome!" So, I went back up, and brought it back home, and have never heard that sound again, except ONE time...when my DVD player was on! LOL (It was plugged into the same circuit.) So, odd noises, and hums origins can be hard to figure out, at times. Good Luck! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skilsaw Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 The amp sounded fine at the store, so the salesman sold me a "power filter" Went back to the house and the amp sounded fine. Put the power filter inline and my son went on his merry way. Like you, I may, or may not discover the culprit that causes the hum. Other than this intermitent hum (scream) the Roland JC120 is an awesome amp. And the hum is probably caused by something outside the amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 I lived in a house that was wired in the '70s, and I had a Hardwire DL-8 delay pedal that would make a weird sort of clicking type sound that mirrored the effect being used. I took it to the store where I bought it and couldn't reproduce the sound. I now live in a house that was wired in the '90s and don't have the problem. Inflation was high back then, and all types of short cuts were made to lower costs, including the use of aluminum wiring (not to suggest that yours is wired with aluminum or low cost). There appears to be something different about electric current in some dwellings that lends itself to issues with audio systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 This is great!! A few days ago you're telling me to get off this forum and now you have amp trouble and need help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Hey bbp, we're all one happy family here, right? This is a pretty interesting thread, though. If you have any knowledge about this, I'd love to hear it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skilsaw Posted January 1, 2015 Author Share Posted January 1, 2015 This is great!! A few days ago you're telling me to get off this forum and now you have amp trouble and need help. I don't remember that. But I have been known to forget things. Sounds like a graceless thing to do. Probably not serious but my attempt at humor got lost in translation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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