Hot Rod Deluxe problem

DrumBob · Newbie Alert Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 1

I have a recent issue Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. Last night on the gig, there was a high-pitched noise emanating from it all night. A bad tube? Any ideas?

p90junior · Not So Newbie Joined: 07 Feb 2008 Posts: 6

That's a good place to start.

If that's not the problem have someone check the inputs to make sure nothing is messed up there.

owwdatune · Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 11:33 pm Post subject:

If it squeals, it's oscillating at a frequency low enough to hear. The single most common cause of this is a tube going microphonic. Try swapping tubes first; it's most often the first preamp tube if it actually squeals solidly instead of only when you hit a note that excites the resonance.

In most other cases, the squeal starts just after some pivotal event - the amp has just been repaired or modified, or new tubes put in, or has been dropped. That event is a clue. Think about what changed, then un-change it or tinker with whatever was changed.

Some causes of squeal:
Tube going microphonic - most often first preamp tubes.
Shorting contact on input jack (esp #1) not making contact; the "squeal" is from sound vibrations vibrating the chassis and the contact making and breaking contact repeatedly, making a little 'click' each time.
Power tube shorted (this only happens for a short time - the amp squeals and then dies.)
Lead dress - the leads carrying the signal around inside the amp have been moved around somehow so that the signal is causing internal electrical feedback. You can find this by running the amp with the chassis open and moving the wires around (gently! with a wooden stick) to see if the squeal changes or goes away. Once you locate the critical wire(s) you can figure out where they have to be to keep this from happening and tie them there. Another option can be to substituted shielded wire for the sensitive ones, with the shield connected at one end of the run only.
If the amp has been modified, the squeal may be caused by poor lead dress in the modification, improper grounding in the modification, parts layout too close, or just that the new (usually higher) gain has pushed things over the edge. Higher gain makes a lot of things more critical, including grounding, bypassing, lead dress, and signal shielding.
Wrong polarity/ incorrect hookup of a replacement output transformer.
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