# Deluxe Reverb RI - blown speaker???



## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

I am looking at buying a DRRI Drool from a guy but I found that when idle (not playing) I can hear a bit of a rumble in the speaker - kinda sounds like a bad connection or something. It's not very loud and it can only be heard at low volumes. When cranked you just hear the static/noise or whatever you call it from the gain.

Could it be a blown speaker? Or something else? 

This guy seems to think it's normal. He wants $600 for the amp. HELP


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

A friend of mine had a DRRI and it had a low frequency pulsating, continuous "rumble" sort of noise (hard to describe) at low volume when idling.

Hopefully Wild Bill (or someone with a DRRI) will help you out here.

Very nice amp though. Sweet tone.

Good luck with it.

Dave


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## Wild Bill (May 3, 2006)

Stratin2traynor said:


> I am looking at buying a DRRI Drool from a guy but I found that when idle (not playing) I can hear a bit of a rumble in the speaker - kinda sounds like a bad connection or something. It's not very loud and it can only be heard at low volumes. When cranked you just hear the static/noise or whatever you call it from the gain.
> 
> Could it be a blown speaker? Or something else?
> 
> This guy seems to think it's normal. He wants $600 for the amp. HELP


Is the tremolo turned on but with the speed and intensity at 0?

Many Fenders get some slow trem bleedthrough even with the controls at 0. You have to either have no footswitch plugged in or the footswitch definitely OFF to kill the trem totally.

Just a guess. Sometimes trying to diagnose a problem through msg forums is like trying to diagose a dead car over the phone. It sure helps if you can at least lift the hood!:smile:

:food-smiley-004:


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

Thanks you guys. I bought it. Just love that amp. As for the noise issue. When I use the combo speaker and lean down in front of the DRRI I can hear what sounds like basic "white noise". When I unhook the combo speaker and hook it up to a 1x12 cab and there is no noise at all. 

When I'm playing, the combo speaker sounds unbelievable with single coils and humbuckers on a clean setting. When the volume hits 4 it starts to break up and can be a little fizzy.

Could it be that the speaker is just very bright sounding? What does an amp sound like when the speaker is damaged???


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

So...the fizziness was just the speaker being too bright. Sounds great with a Tone Tubby. That rumble still remains. As soon as I take it off standby there is a very distant "white noise" effect happening. It's definitely not the speaker. 

Also I noticed that if I lightly (very lightly) tap the back of the amp on the tube protector board (sorry, I know, that's not what it's called) I can hear it through the speaker. This happens when I tap near the area where the preamp and power tubes meet up.

The amp saw a lot of use before I got it but was in fantastic cosmetic condition. It was gigged about twice a week for the past few years. I'm wondering if the power tubes could be a little worn or one of the tube is "microphonic" - don't exactly know what that means but I think the word means somewhat noisy! lol.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks


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## Wild Bill (May 3, 2006)

Stratin2traynor said:


> So...the fizziness was just the speaker being too bright. Sounds great with a Tone Tubby. That rumble still remains. As soon as I take it off standby there is a very distant "white noise" effect happening. It's definitely not the speaker.
> 
> Also I noticed that if I lightly (very lightly) tap the back of the amp on the tube protector board (sorry, I know, that's not what it's called) I can hear it through the speaker. This happens when I tap near the area where the preamp and power tubes meet up.
> 
> ...


When a tube goes microphonic it means that it becomes sensitive to vibration. The elements inside have gotten a tiny bit loose and can "wiggle" from outside mechanical influences. It's usually a preamp tube thing but it can and does happen with the odd power output tube.

Usually it just means that if you tap the tube you can hear it in the speaker but in more severe cases the tube acts indeed like a microphone and can go into feedback, particularly in a combo where the speaker is closer to the tube. You get squeals, just like with a mike in front of a PA speaker. I've seen tubes so bad you can talk at them and hear it in the amp!

If you can hear tapping that's normally live-able but if the tube rings with each tap that's starting to get excessive.

The cure is a new tube, but there's a kicker. With many of the modern higher gain amps they flog the 1st preamp tube for more gain than specs call for, with sky high voltages on the plates. This can make even good tubes act microphonic. Boogers and Carvins are two amps where I've seen this. Also some Peaveys. TungSol makes one of the finest 12AX7's around but in these amps the poor tube just goes nuts!

Hope this helps...

:food-smiley-004:


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

Thanks WildBill. I do have an extra Tungsol 12AX7 I could throw in there as well as some others (EHX, GT Sovtek, and maybe even a JJ). 

Any idea about the "white noise" issue? 

As for the Tungsol sounding terrible in certain amps. I concur. I threw one in V1 of a Peavey Delta Blues but the buzzing drove me nuts. It sounded horrible. Then I threw it into an Epi VJ and WOW! Sweet.


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