Studio .22 Hiss

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swix76

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Hi,

First time poster, first time mesa boogie owner

I recently acquired a studio .22 (no lead volume, graphic EQ) for which I traded a blues jr III. I was never a fan of that blues jr so I figured it was worth the risk.

The previous owner didn't play out and didn't use the amp much so the physical condition is excellent but the pots were very dirty. After cleaning the pots, all seems mostly well except the amp is a bit noisy. The best way I can describe the noise is as white noise. The tubes are mesa boogie and probably original to the amp although the power tubes look newer. I thought maybe it was preamp tubes in v1 and v2 as thats what I read on forums and the manual for initial trouble shooting this so I switched them out with v3 and v4 and that made no difference. I also tried another 12ax7 I had on hand in both v1 and v2 with same results.

However, I made a curious discovery: When the volume is at 0 or 10 (technically passed 9), this hiss/white noise went away and this made the amp about as quiet as most tube amps i've heard. Amp worked while dimmed (cool slight break up on rhythm channel). This noise happens on both channels but was much less prominent on the lead (I thought that was odd since the lead channel is a lot louder than the clean).

Any thoughts or advice?

Thank you so much for any help.
 
These amps hiss, some more than others. The rhythm mode hisses more than the lead mode because of the 3.3m resistor/47pF capacitor between the input and the 1st gain stage of the rhythm mode. That resistor is bypassed in the lead mode.

I had an '89 .22+ the didn't hiss a lot and now I have an '86 .22 that hisses more. I can't hear it while playing with a band, though recording might be an issue. The amp sounds so darn good that I ignore it.

Supposedly, trying different tubes can help. You might want to try different tubes than you already have in the amp, though this did not seem to help with my .22 either.

Later amps like the DC series, F series and Express used a 1.5m resistor/180pF capacitor. This might help with the hiss.
 
Thanks for the response. I should I have proof read my initial post. There were so many mistakes but i've edited so I should sound a little more coherent now.

Here's a short video of what I am talking about:

https://youtu.be/FrF08822URs

I am not sure how to embed the video.
 
I'll try to remember to try that with mine tonight.
 
My amp does the same thing as in your video- it hisses on the clean channel and the hiss goes away when you turn it up over 9.
 
Thanks for checking that out!!!

I'm glad theres nothing wrong with my amp but also slightly disappointed.

Although I like the tones from the Studio .22 so much more than the blues jr. I had traded it for, unfortunately I am not sure it will be quiet enough for recording. Might have to sell it.

I got a list of amps I'd like to test out in the $800-1200 price range: Fender Princeton Special Edition with 12" jenson , Fender Deluxe Reverb 65 Reissue, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV, Marshall Origin 50 combo, Mesa Boogie 5:25 12" combo (if i can find one used), Orange Rocker 32.
 
I have an Express 5:25 1x10" combo that I was pretty happy with until I bought my Studio .22- in fact, it replaced my Studio .22+! Although it's more versatile (arguably- depending on how you want to use you guitar's controls), it doesn't sound anywhere near as good as the .22! Not dirty or clean. Not even through the same speaker.

I had an Express 5:50 years ago and now the 5:25 and I really like them a lot, but they seem like they need a presence control that's turned up just a little. I've tried them with various tubes and speakers.

Plus- the Express still hisses a little on the clean channel!
 
That's interesting that you prefer striped down .22 over the the .22+. I would have thought they'd sound the same and the only difference being the ability to control the lead channels volume with the additional lead pot.
 
Some of the differences might just be tubes and the tolerances in parts. Also, a .22 and .22+ have a few different components besides just the lead master control. Finally, my .22 is an old one- it doesn't even mention .22 on it, and has a different (though original) Eminence speaker without the Mesa Vintage Black Shadow label.

Maybe I just got lucky and got a great sounding amp!
 

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