Walker Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I've had an SVP Pro for a while and resigned myself to the humming. There are a lot of complaints online about this - blinkin' nightmare. I was on the verge of getting rid of it and investing in an SVT Pro of some sort. I bought a cheap [url="http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?&_nkw=behringer+hd400"]Behringer HD400[/url] Hum Destroyer from Amazon, inserted in between the SVP and amp. It worked! Totally quiet and I mean totally. Just thought I'd share this in case this helps anyone else. I'm very, very happy today! Best 24 quid I've spent in a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 hmmm....interesting. or rather no-hmmm...interesting what kind of hum was it ? dependent on the gain/drive/volume settings ? the noise from my svp is the only bad thing about it - how's is yours ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 It was some sort of grounding/ transformer hum, reduced a bit if I bypassed the last tube by coming out of the fx send, but then I couldn't use the EQ. It's a very common problem and the subject of many a thread on various sites. God knows I've read every damned one of 'em. Twice. Now I can use the preamp out, use the EQ and turn everything up with the hideous buzzing. Happy days.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monckyman Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I have this same mains hum on my SVP, it`s fairly normal according to reviews,especially if you crank the output valve.. I also did the re-valve tango and although in a gig situation it wasn`t obvious, it annoyed the feck out of me. So. I just bought one of these doobries Got it for £21.20 delivered from Amazon. Thanks for the heads up and I suspect it`ll come in useful on bits of P.A and monitors as well. MM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted January 1, 2013 Author Share Posted January 1, 2013 Hope it works for you. When researching, some people say theirs is dead quiet, some complain - so it could be a 'building' thing? I was going to get an electrician in to put in a dedicated mains spur for my rig, but I think I'll save my money for the moment. I know it's best to fix the problem at source, but we are renovating the house next year anyway. Let us know if it works. It's a fantastic pre' when it's not buzzing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I've had a few SVP's over the years. All of them arrived with stock valves. I noticed a great improvement when installing premium 'low noise' valves. The old black face SVP used to suffer a lot more than the 'hammerite grey' types - especially with poor valves installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Do the valves in them have screening cans? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 [quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1357236795' post='1919626'] Do the valves in them have screening cans? [/quote] None of mine did! - A good suggestion actually! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohn Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 [quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1357236795' post='1919626'] Do the valves in them have screening cans? [/quote][quote name='dood' timestamp='1357237909' post='1919653'] None of mine did! - A good suggestion actually! [/quote] A very good suggestion. I thought about fitting some in mine, then caught myself on. Mine doesn't hum... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monckyman Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 >old blackface SVP here (no racist intent ..) What, pray, is a screening can? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 These jobs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Mr Foxen beat me to it with the picture posting! They are, as the name suggests a little can that fits over the valve and is 'earthed'. It screens the valve from electronic interference (hum) that can sometimes be picked up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monckyman Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Coo! Well waddaya know. If the Hummer doobry fails then I`ll have a look at these. Do they need pro expertise to fit? MM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 [quote name='Monckyman' timestamp='1357294329' post='1920400'] Coo! Well waddaya know. If the Hummer doobry fails then I`ll have a look at these. Do they need pro expertise to fit? MM [/quote] The can base will either need to be attached to the socket base or around it - you may even have to have a different socket fitted if it is too big for the can base to fit over. The shell is then correctly attached to an earthing point so that it does what it is meant to. So, yup, someone who knows what they are doing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 i'm brining my blackface SVP home in a week or so to give it a once-over - i'm pretty sure mine mainly suffers from hiss tho. which, they all do to some extent don't they ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 Yes, I think they do, mine hisses too, but not to bad. You'd know if you had a hum problem! As I mentioned, I pretty sure its an environmental thing - I tried mine in our practice room and I'm sure there was much less hum. My house electrics are pretty ancient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Mine doesn't like being near magnetic fields - I have it in a rack with an amp using an old-skool non-toroidal transformer and no amount of insulation on the ears or transformer isolation on the output helps. Only distance lends enchantment. I don't see how the state of a building's electrics could have an effect though, Walker...? Maybe your practice room is a louder environment than your house so you notice the hum more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 Hmmm, interesting you should say that as I had an electrician in and he said that if I had an isolated spur, with it's own earth for my rig, that would help. Was he fibbing to me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 Interesting development. I bought a SVT 4 Pro because I really love the the tone of my SVP, and although its not identical (I prefer the SVP tone) it's close enough and growing on me. Anyway, I pulled the SVP out of my rack, plugged it in for one last AB with the SVT and it was as quiet as a mouse. No hissing, humming or anything - just wonderful. So it seems that it wasn't playing nicely with something else in my rack, although the hum destroyer fixed that. So deffo some sort of ground issue with my rig, although everything else is now whisper quiet too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.