noise on HT-1 metal

[Willignicolas]

Hi,

I have buy The next week a new blakstar ht1 metal.

The sourd is nice.

But only in overdrive i hear a noise. Like a radio with no station. I start hear this noise about 5 gain and 4 volume. And it s increase with more gain and volume. I can hear it on The emulated output.
With or without microphone of guitar on.

Tested with différent jack, guitar, alimentation wire, alimentation location in The house, différent house...
The noise is still there.

My seller Tell me that it s normal but have no other ht1 to test and show me.

What do you think guys?

Thank's for your help.
Nicolas.

[Willignicolas]

Reply from the blackstar support in 24Hours :

Hi Nicolas,



Thank you for contacting us here at Blackstar Amps.



When an amp is on its overdrive channel it is normal for there to be audible background noise (this noise you have described) it is due to the higher output of this channel that creates the distorted guitar tone- you will find this on any valve guitar amplifier without a noise gate so there is nothing to worry about J you will not get this sound on the clean channel of the amplifier.



Hope this helps, if you have any further questions feel free to ask.


Best regards,

So normal situation.

A noise gate/suppressor on the HT-1 metal can delete or decrease this background noise?

[Classicplayer]

I have the HT1R combo (not the metal version), and its' gain channel can exhibit noise which as BS told you is fairly normal. On my gain channel there is more noise than I prefer, but I manage it with tweaking the gain and volume pots to get a decent mix of grind without the "noise". Guitar pickups can have an effect on this noise occurrence too. My Duncan 59’s seem to lessen the amount and my Gibson 490R and Burstbucker Pro seem to elevate the noise more.

There are vids on YouTube of Rock players (Slash) demoing an amp and I notice that when they are on the amp's gain channel, they very quickly mute the guitar pickup after playing a phrase or two and then proceed to explain what they are doing. Check out Slash explaining how the riff on " Slither" came about.

Classicplayer

[Willignicolas]

Yes it's true classicplayer.

And i have also notice that with pickup ON i have more noise.

But the annoying noise is when a play (on speaker or headphone) and a mute my guitar( pickup OFF) and i have still a noise.

So this noise is here during my tablature reading and analyse when i train.

Anyone have a solution for reduce this noise? (Maybe with extern element like effect...)

[bharris22]

I have the HT-1R and just bought the HT1-R metal version. When I turned on the overdrive channel, there was a squealing noise even when I wasn't playing; it was there even when I was holding the strings (i.e., grounding the guitar), and even when I was standing 10 feet away from the amp at low (less than 5) volume and gain. I sent it back, thinking that there was a problem with one of the tubes, and have a replacement on the way. I have several tube amps, and know that some noise on high gain channels is to be expected, but the noise on the overdrive channel here was beyond that. I will report back once the replacement arrives.

[bharris22]

Just received the replacement amp, and while the excessive noise is not gone, it is better (I think); there does seem to be some fizz on the high gain settings (on the overdrive channel) as well. I am wondering if a tube replacement will help, but in the meantime I remembered that this one is based on the HT-1R, which I also have, and both amps are extremely noisy on the overdrive channel once the gain is past 1:00 or so. This can be tamed a little by turning the volume knob down below 1:00 or the guitar volume knob down, but again I think it is better for me to keep in mind the amp's limitations. In sum, this amp, like my HT-1R, is an extremely good practice amp. Neither, however, works well for me in one situation - specifically, the overdrive channel on and the gain past noon. Other than that, they are really both very good (especially since I bought the Metal HT-1 for $189 on Musician's Friend). Even if you just use it as a headphone amp it is phenomenal - easily the best emulated output I have ever heard on an amp, even better than solid state or modeling amps I have. Definitely recommended.

[Classicplayer]

I'm glad you figured it out. The Gain channel is noisy and when the gain pot is at 1:00 o'clock or higher it can present a problem for some owners. Most tubes on the gain channel exhibit some level of hum or noise when at idle. My HT1R has it, but it's reduced when my hand touches the strings. I don't play high gain music, so my control is below 1:00 o'clock. If you experiment on the gain channel and tweak the ISF, gain, and volume knobs, there is a useable "clean" in there and it will be brighter than the clean on the clean channel. The trade off is, you will be a bit louder than you prefer. In my small practice space, it might border being too loud, but in a larger room it might be just perfect.

In any event, you have a very good sounding amp, so learn to tweak and make note of your own settings.
I've owned mine for three years as of next month and other than replacing a scratchy gain pot and swapping in a Celestion 8" speaker, it has been giving me some really pleasing and useful tones.

Classicplayer

[bharris22]

Thanks, Classicplayer. I was thinking of swapping the speaker, too. Was this difficult to do? Is it just a matter of removing the back panel (I know you also have to remove the handle screws) and unscrewing/re screwing the new speaker in? I seem to recall having seen somewhere on this forum that there is glue involved too - is this true?

[Classicplayer]

Not too difficult. Mine did have a dab of lacquer that helped keep the nuts holding the 4 speaker screws tight. I suggest finding a proper nut driver. Very carefully lift the amp circuit board up and out and rest it on the cabinet and pull the speaker connectors from their terminals. If the speaker wires are too short, you'd be better off have an amp tech perform the removal for you rather than damage the wire's connections to the board.

Set the chassis aside, loosen the nuts and remove them, Carefully the stock speaker out and the new one in. Bolt it down snugly, but not too tight. Carefully put the circuit board back in by resting on the cab back and re-attach the speaker leads, securely. Lower the circuit board back into the enclosure. Fasten the two rear handle screws and put in the back of the cab and tighten it down, but only til' snug.

The Celestion Eight 15 is better at handling the highs. The stock Blackbird is a good speaker, but I found it does not have smooth highs when playing on the gain channel and with more volume. Once my Celestion got broken in, I noticed the difference. I'm keeping it in as I think it alone has made a great sounding practice and recording amp, just that much better. The amps controls seem more responsive over a "wider" range of sweep. Remember, if you feel uncomfortable performing any part of this, then have an amp tech do the work.

Classicplayer

[bharris22]

Excellent - thank you very much!! One of the reasons I am thinking of doing this is that my HT-1MC seems to pick up a lot of noise from my hand on the strings (a scratchy-type noise) and has a very bassy sound, especially at higher volumes. These noises are not present, however, when playing through the headphones, and thus I am assuming this is not a tube issue, but rather that the speaker could use some improvement. Plus, I have heard good things about this particular mod.

Two other questions - do I loosen all screws while the amp is standing straight up, or do I lay it face down while doing this? In other words, if I loosen the handle screws while the amp is standing straight up, will the PCB and tube mechanism fall, or is it supported internally?

Second, I seem to recall that there were a series of photos somewhere on this board of a disassembled HT-1, but can't seem to find the thread now. If you can recall which thread it was, would you mind including the link?

Thank you again!