# carvin V3 humming and buzzing



## fabbob1234 (Sep 13, 2010)

so i bought a carvin V3 used. i connected the head into a fender bandmaster 212, which is 8 ohm. the ohmage is correct on the amp, the tube bias is at the correct position. the amp hums and buzzes and gets progressively worse when i raise the master vol or volume. im using a speaker cable and i really don't understand why this is happening, my dad said that my house is correctly grounded so its probably the power tubes or the preamp tubes but the guy said that they had 1-1.5 years left in them. oh and i forgot to say that i put it on standby for 30 secs when i turn it on and off. when i bought the amp at the guy's house it sounded great, no hum or buzzing, same thing when when i tried the head at steves to buy my cab.they glow a nice orange/amber but the power amp tube farthest from the input jack is abit lighter than the others, same with the preamp tube. its not my guitar because when i lower the vol on my guitar it still hums and buzzes. is it time to change the tubes and if it is, i will make him pay them.


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## ne1roc (Mar 4, 2006)

Try a different guitar cable and speaker cable. Its surprising how something so simple can be over-looked. 

Do you have humbuckers or single coils on your guitar?


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## RAZRBAKK (Jan 27, 2008)

Have you tried a noise gate?

Definitely try a different speaker cable. I feel like it would be the electricity in your home. Try plugging it in somewhere that isn't a residential home.


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## fabbob1234 (Sep 13, 2010)

i have a strat but its not my strat because when i lower the volum completely on my guitar it still make noise. i seriously beleieve that it is the ground in my house too. what kind of speaker cable should i get thicker or thinner? and how you i know if my tubes are dying?


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## ne1roc (Mar 4, 2006)

I recommend a the Planet Waves speaker cable although brand doesn't matter. With the guitar volume all the way off and still a buzz, a good chance it is the speaker cable. You are sure its a speaker cable right.......not a guitar cable?

As far as grounding issues, it is a possibility? My Carvin Legacy is noisy at my co-guitarist's house and silent at my house?


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## the-patient (May 19, 2009)

Before spending money I'd probably try plugging it in to a few different circuits in the house. 

I know amps can get a bit noisy when plugged into the same circuit as an old CRT TV for example.


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## fabbob1234 (Sep 13, 2010)

i plugged the amp in my hallway and i heard music on it, like from a radio. it was the most retarded thing ever!!!


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## the-patient (May 19, 2009)

I'd say that your issues are coming from the way the house is wired then and not so much your cables or the amp itself. There is probably just noise in the circuit, and some ground loops.

Is your house old?


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Most likely the way the wiring is done. I happened in my former apartment a while back. What i did to make sure that WAS the problem, i used a 50" extention and ran around the house trying different outlet. i found ONE that was'nt so noisy, so started to use that one. It could also be Bad tubes, if you check the amp all around the house, and the noise is still there, maybe try the amp in a newer house...just to make sure it IS your wiring that is causing the problem. If you try it somewhere else and it still the same noise, they you know it's IN the amp.


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## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

Have you tried the amp without a guitar cable plugged in?
Turn up the volume to see if it makes noise, also that radio thing in not strange, I used to pick up the phone conversations of the people in my area.
Tubes are also sensitive so a good bump could knock it lose or break it, check to see if they are all seated well. You can also tap them with a pencil to see if they ring out of the speaker. If they do it means a bad tube.

Be VERY carefull in there, you can get badly hurt with the electrical voltage inside the amp!!

You can also buy a filter to get rid of noise, BestBuy has them by Monster cable for around $80 to start. They had a good display to show how the filter works, I may get one for my big TV.


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## fabbob1234 (Sep 13, 2010)

i think its normal because i play with the master volume at 7 and i think thats causing the noise.


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## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

Try turning your gain down to see if it cleans up, the higher the volume the less gain for me.


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## jb welder (Sep 14, 2010)

"i have a strat but its not my strat because when i lower the volum completely on my guitar it still make noise"
This is not correct. You could have grounding issues in the guitar or cable which would still be there when you turn down the guitar volume. Trying another guitar and cable is so simple, and the only way to prove your guitar/cable is ok.
Think about it, it was fine at the sellers place, and fine at Steve's. The only thing that has changed is the guitar/cable or the AC coming out of the wall.
It could be your guitar or cable, your house wiring (or some kind of interference from a dimmer or something else also running off the house wiring) or something in the amp got broken or shaken loose travelling back to your house from Steves.


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## fabbob1234 (Sep 13, 2010)

i think its the power from my house so i guess im going to have to ge a new house. lol


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## ThePass (Aug 10, 2007)

fabbob1234 said:


> i think its the power from my house so i guess im going to have to ge a new house. lol





More than likey it is. Don't trash the amp though, lol. My Fender HRDlx was driving me MENTAL for the longest time, cutting in and out during gigs, ect. I blamed this and that, untill I bought new patch cords. Problem solved.


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