EVH 5150III 50w Microphonic squealing - HELP!

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Random Hero

Random Hero

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Hey guys,

I already sent a message to Howard Kaplan but I thought I'd make a thread to see if anybody had experienced this whilst I wait for his response.

Basically, I've been gigging this amp with no problems 3-4 times a week since March. Used it Friday and Saturday with no problems, as usual. Today, got to the gig, and as soon as I switched on, I had some really high pitched microphonic squealing. This was across all three channels, and obviously got worse as the gain increased. I figured it must be a preamp tube so I drove home (gig was only 30 mins from home, luckily) and tested it out.

Switched on at home and got the same thing. Swapped some tubes around and eventually seemed to strike on a combo that didn't make that awful noise. Drove back to the gig, plugged in, and had the same problem still! Managed to get through the gig but here's the weird part; it was worse on single coils. If I was in pos 4 or pos 2 it didn't happen and it wasn't at all bad on the humbucker I have in the bridge of my Strat until the gain got pretty high on ch3. Single coils however, were a nightmare and unusable for most of the gig. The other weird thing is that occasionally, I'd switch to a single by pure habit, and it would be ok. I even opened a song with a lead line on the neck single and it was fine. Went back there for the solo and it was squealing again.

Does anybody have an idea what this might be? As it's across all three channels is it likely to be a preamp tube? Power tubes? Something worse?

Thanks for any help!
 
tubes getting hot try v1 and v2
waiting to see what howard says. Its amazing that I bought an xtc due to your vids diezel etc and we settled on this amp for gigging lol
 
Haha yeah, weird I guess!

And I'll have a play again today.
 
sounds like your springs vibrating. Stick some tissue paper rolled up like a doobie inside the springs :yes:
 
But why would that have cause the massive feedback/squealing I was getting last night?
 
Starting to wonder whether or not this isn't the same thing and I'm just noticing a ringing because I'm looking for one. I mean, it's definitely there but it isn't the same thing as I was experiencing last night. I can't seem to stop this ringing with any kind of tissue, so fuck knows what it is. On the plus side, I can't seem to get my amp to feed like it was last night.
 
That noise you're hearing is trem cavity and nut noise. You have to do both the trem cavity AND the nut area. That's why my guitars always have foam in those two places.
 
Yah, I think it is.

Would a dodgy preamp tube have caused the squealing last night when the volume was up on the guitar?
 
that pinging sound i've had on some guitars 'sympathetic ringing' i think it's called

on my telecaster it was coming from the strings between the tuners and the nut , stuck some foam underneath and it was gone, an elastic band works too but i had foam lying around which i think is probably better

on the PRS i had for a short while it came from the springs and also behind the nut, foam/tissue stopped it, perhaps something to try for you

i can imagine that kind of high pitched ring might induce some kind of feedback,
single coils can be a bitch in some places, picking up all sorts of humming and other stuff going on, if it's squealing the whole time when you select that pickup no matter where you are, might be an idea to get the pickup checked out, potted and what not
 
Random Hero":2p7sfcvz said:
Yah, I think it is.

Would a dodgy preamp tube have caused the squealing last night when the volume was up on the guitar?
Click to expand...

Possibly. Tubes might not be microphonic at all times. Check this:

 
I will get some microphonic squeal in our rehearsal space if the gain and or level is too high on channel 3. When gigging it doesn't do it so I'm chalking it up to being too close to the speakers/size of the room and being too loud. Single coils are notorious and you may have a pickup going microphonic. Did you try backing off the level on the amp to see if that helped?
 
micros have some different sounds as well some like springs clanking when you play in the amp similiar to the sound of trem springs but yet different,,,:(
 
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