Peavey valveking 212 problem

vegetoe01 · Tadpole Joined: 15 Jan 2007 Posts: 18 Location: London

Howdy folks, having some problem with my Peavey valveking again surprise, surprise...
Last time my brother broke the power on switch which was easily repaired and it seemed fine. Although now when i crank it to above bedroom volume *which i found out at band practice* around 2 minutes into playing and i get a really loud annoying crackling/buzzing sound which cuts in and out while I'm playing.
What i reckon it is, is that when i replaced the switch, my dad being the butt-turd he is decided that i NEEDED a four connector one instead of a two. This is how his logic works..... since the back of the four connector switch was bigger, it would be better and less easy to break... In the shop i told him NOOOO, i need the two connector one... Of course he started getting into an argument with me about it and then threatened to not help me at all if i didn't get that switch, being the fact he's a B.T engineer i gave up and got that switch....
Anyway what i think is happening is that since its a four connector switch, the electricity is arching across to the other two posts not in use.....causing this horrible noise.... This would also explain why it only happens when I crank it *since it needs more voltage*.
What I'm going to try is insulating the other posts and seeing if there's any pitting on the post's not in use.....
Bare in mind it works perfectly at bedroom volume.
Do you guys reckon that's the problem?
cheerz

MikeM · Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 1:27 pm Post subject:

Its tough to say if its the switch or not. From the description of the problem I would say no. The "amount" of electricity through the power switch doesn't change with more volume. It sounds to me like a mechanical problem in a tube. At lower output its fine but as the volume increases the cabinet/chassis vibrates more.
Just my opinion.

vegetoe01 · Tadpole Joined: 15 Jan 2007 Posts: 18 Location: London

MikeM · Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 4:42 pm Post subject:

Yes, of course the arcing noise would be more noticeable with higher volume.
It still sounds like a tube issue to me. An easy way to tell is to gently tap each tube with something insulated like a hammer handle. This will produce some noise no matter what but when you hear the arcing sound you'll have found your culprit.
I assume you know the lethal voltages inside the amplifier?

vegetoe01 · Tadpole Joined: 15 Jan 2007 Posts: 18 Location: London

vegetoe01 · Tadpole Joined: 15 Jan 2007 Posts: 18 Location: London

Checked all the power tubes, there fine when tapped lightly.
Right one of the pre amp tubes is dodgy, when i tapped it, i would get a scratching type of noise very sound , seemed very sensitive...
Reckon that's the problem then?
Now whats the deal with preamp tubes, they don't need biasing..
Also is it ok to buy the same valve, no matter what the make is.
I don't want to break the amp even more if it's better to have a matched set etc

Edit: just found out his shop is near me, never knew it existed!

http://www.watfordvalves.com

tw001_tw · Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 12:40 pm Post subject:

If its just one of the preamp tubes thats suspect, 12ax7?, go ahead and
replace it. And you are correct, you do not need to worry about biasing
the preamp tubes ( technically I think they are biased, but adjustment
is not something that is done.) Its always handy to have an extra 12ax7
or 2 laying around. And yes, it is perfectly fine to just replace one preamp
tube at a time.

I hope that that is the problem - nice and simple if it is!

vegetoe01 · Tadpole Joined: 15 Jan 2007 Posts: 18 Location: London

Thanks for the replys so far, I've swapped two of the valves round, and will be tapping it to see if it is the valve or the socket.
I can't see any signs of burning on the actual socket.
Smile

vegetoe01 · Tadpole Joined: 15 Jan 2007 Posts: 18 Location: London

After a lot of tube swapping and testing, she has stopped making the scary scratchy/internal arching noises.....
I shall test her out tomorrow more, if she is all better my guess is that in the factory they didn't put one of the preamp tubes in properly or one of the sockets just doesn't like one of the tubes. Shocked

I'm going to get a spare preamp tube anyway and if she starts making the noise again she's going to a repair man.

Thanks for the helps guys, even though i'm annoyed my equipment is playing up, I've quite enjoyed attempting to fix it and understand valve amps more. Very Happy

MikeM · Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 3:01 pm Post subject:

You can put any brand of 12ax7 in and it will physically fit (or it should). However there is a BIG difference in quality amongst brands. In this case you will get what you pay for. I put some Electro Harmonix preamp tubes in my Marshall and I hated it. Far too noisy. The EH power tubes are just fine though. Go figure.
In other words, you may get a new tube that could be noisier than your old one.
Good Luck!!

vegetoe01 · Tadpole Joined: 15 Jan 2007 Posts: 18 Location: London

The ones that have come stock in the preamp are EH....
and the power amp are sovtec ruby.
I'm looking into changing the EH for these,since i play a lot of metal, just hope my clean sound doesn't turn to complete *Poop*.
http://www.watfordvalves.com/product_detail.asp?id=684

MikeM · Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 5:53 pm Post subject:

Do you know who makes Harma? It sure looks like a good choice based on the advertisement.
Let us know how it turns out!

vegetoe01 · Tadpole Joined: 15 Jan 2007 Posts: 18 Location: London

Still waiting for the valve to be delivered....
Checked inside, couldn't see any burning.
Heres a pic of the peavey valveking 212/head inside.

vegetoe01 · Tadpole Joined: 15 Jan 2007 Posts: 18 Location: London

ok got the harma valve, works great, better distortion.
Here's the bad part, it's still making the noise after playing loud for 5 - 10minutes. Sad

Could be over heating? Or maybe a power valve has gone dodgy?

owwdatune · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 9:52 am Post subject:

see if anything here will help >>> http://www.geofex.com/ampdbug/ampdebug.htm
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