Eden WT550 problems

[scrumpymike]

I acquired a Traveler 550 a few days ago which appears to have a couple of functional issues as received.  The seller has flat refused to refund my money so I'm trying to assess the damage (to my wallet).

The first problem is that, as soon as I back off the volume switch on my bass, I get a loud continuous buzzing.  This ramps up quickly after the pot has turned a short distance, remains constant for most of the control-knob travel, and ramps down a short distance before the fully off position, at which point it completely disappears.  I've tried a couple of my basses and it's the same on both.  Everything goes back to normal when I change the amp head btw.   Any ideas?

The potential problem is that the fan hasn't come on yet.  So, it's either faulty or it works off a thermostat and hasn't reached operating temperature.  (I've only run it at home for a couple of one-hour sessions thru a single 8ohm cab, so that's possible.)  I've asked the seller about this a couple of times and had no answer.  I've also downloaded the Eden manual but couldn't see anything about this.  Does anybody know?

I paid £450 for this on the basis that it was "mint" and I'm not best pleased!!

[Trueno]

I hope you can get it sorted quickly and cheaply. I assume the seller finds it within himself to sleep soundly at night. Shame on him.

[itsmedunc]

A lot of Eden's (valve) have a hum but yours sounds a bit more than that. I've heard a lot of stories of the transformer moving around in transit. I can't find the video but there's one on youtube showing how to reposition one and make the hum much less noticeable. 

Had a Metro combo for a good number of years and eventually took it to a tech to sort the hum but he said it was normal. Send yours for a service. Great amps.

[Danuman]

Sorry to hear it. That must've thoroughly spoilt the excitement of getting a new amp.

I have one and I just love it to bits. Depending on the electrics, it does hum a bit every now and then, but never anything that causes any concern. The fan tends to come on only after pushing it quite a bit.

Unfortunately I don't have any real technical insight to offer, but it's fairly easy to swap out the valve. I believe it has something to do with input impedance, so you might try that and see if it helps. (As always, be careful when poking around in there!)

Apparently these amps are easy to service, so it shouldn't be crazy expensive to get it fixed. It won't take away the bitter taste, but at least you'll have a brilliant little amp!

[itsmedunc]

Just remembered... try another power outlet in a different room. Mine hummed if it was plugged  in, in a certain room at home.

[BassBod]

I had a WT400..the fan was thermo controlled, and only came on if I was driving a 4ohm load.  It was a bit hissy, but no hum.  It was a lovely amp, and very well behaved.  

I’d suggest Jon Godsland (Orchid Electronics) in Exeter.  

[scrumpymike]

Thanks for replies, which have made me feel a bit better - especially the comments about what a good amp the WT550 is.  The fan being off is obviously normal for an 8ohm load at normal ambient temperature, as the seller has also now confirmed.  Re the hum/buzz, it's beginning to sound like it may have had a jolt in transit, although there was no damage to the packaging.  Also, as already mentioned, the weird thing is that the noise completely disappears when the volume control on my bass is fully on or fully off.

It's a difficult situation this.  The seller swears everything was fine when he shipped the amp - and he may be right - but he arranged and paid for the delivery so technically the ownership only transferred to me when I received it - at which point it was faulty.  I know one thing: him trying to claim on the delivery insurance would be a non-starter, and the claim window has almost certainly timed out by now.  Bug*er!

[BassBod]

One quick thought - swap the preamp valve?  The hum seems to be input/load related, and it’s the most likely thing to be damaged or unseated in a “drop”.  

[scrumpymike]

OK, so I'm going to try all of the above.  If, as I expect, I end up having to get it repaired, I'll hand deliver/collect rather that entrusting it to a carrier.  In that case, I've had two local-ish recommendations: BassBod's vote for Orchid Electronics and another one (from Gilly via pm) for Pete at V Amps in Dunkerswell.  I'll have a chat with both on the phone and go from there.

Looking forward to getting the amp I thought I'd bought - and paid for

[Dan Dare]

I second the recommendation for John Godsland/Orchid. Incidentally, his DI boxes and preamps are excellent and cost a lot less than other premium brands. See https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/orchid-electronics-di-boxes. 

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

On 5/12/2018 at 05:21, scrumpymike said:

The first problem is that, as soon as I back off the volume switch on my bass, I get a loud continuous buzzing.  This ramps up quickly after the pot has turned a short distance, remains constant for most of the control-knob travel, and ramps down a short distance before the fully off position, at which point it completely disappears. 

Passives, I assume. Most of the noise issues with passives have to do with their high output impedance, compounded with the relatively low input impedance of valve amps. Back when I ran passives straight into valves my solution was to never back off on the volume control. The issue went away when I installed my first on-board pre. 

[scrumpymike]

3 hours ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

Passives, I assume. Most of the noise issues with passives have to do with their high output impedance, compounded with the relatively low input impedance of valve amps. Back when I ran passives straight into valves my solution was to never back off on the volume control. The issue went away when I installed my first on-board pre. 

That's interesting - passives, correct.  I'll try my active!

 

5 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

I second the recommendation for John Godsland/Orchid. Incidentally, his DI boxes and preamps are excellent and cost a lot less than other premium brands. See https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/orchid-electronics-di-boxes. 

Thanks Dan - that's 2 votes for Orchid now.

[BassBod]

Long time ago, but I’m sure my WT400 went to Jon for a check over soon after I got it, partly to check the fan worked.  He was impressed by the quality of the construction and components.  Good amps.  I only sold mine because it went into thermal shut down driving two 8ohm cabs at volume.  Later, I discovered those 8ohm cabs contained speakers labelled 4ohms by their makers 😳 so I was actually running it down to 2ohms.  Thank you Euphonic Audio. 

[Brother Jones]

As the buyer of BassBod's WT300 (well...I think I am anyway), it's still sitting here as I type this and I've had no inclination to buy another head. Well worth getting them sorted IMHO, because they are such nice amps, and I've never had a problem with this one.

[BassBod]

Nice to hear it’s still performing - lovely amp😎.

[scrumpymike]

On 5/18/2018 at 08:39, Brother Jones said:

As the buyer of BassBod's WT300 (well...I think I am anyway), it's still sitting here as I type this and I've had no inclination to buy another head. Well worth getting them sorted IMHO, because they are such nice amps, and I've never had a problem with this one.

Hopefully mine will soon be sorted - just about to phone the two repairers.  The other was Pete at V Amps near Dunkeswell.  Got him via pm from Gilly, who used him some time ago.  Anyone have any more recent experience of his work?

[chardbass]

Jon always serviced my Eden heads when I lived in the SW. You won’t go wrong with him. 

[Dood]

Get in touch with Marshall who service Eden kit as they own Eden. I ended up doing the same and even on a non -warranty I ended up not having to pay a great deal. They also arranged all of the shipping too! 

[scrumpymike]

17 hours ago, dood said:

Get in touch with Marshall who service Eden kit as they own Eden. I ended up doing the same and even on a non -warranty I ended up not having to pay a great deal. They also arranged all of the shipping too! 

Thanks Dood, I ended up hand-delivering the amp to Pete Searle in Dunkerswell (not too far from me) but that's worth knowing for the future.

[scrumpymike]

Collected the Eden yesterday and now, thankfully, the only noises it makes are the ones I want to hear 😊  I told Pete I was in no rush so he said he'd work on it in between other more urgent stuff - hence the extended timescale.  He traced the problem to the pre-amp circuitry and, before fault-finding down to component level, checked out the price and availability of a replacement populated pcb with Marshall UK.  This was in stock at such a reasonable price that it was definitely cheaper to go this way.  So, Pete's charge for giving it the once-over, replacing an almost dead master volume pot and supplying/fitting the board was a very reasonable (IMHO) £120.  That's exactly what I paid EMS (plus outward delivery cost) to service and replace a faulty pot on my TE AH300SMC over 10 years ago.  Obviously it significantly increases the cost of this allegedly "mint" WT550 (don't know how the seller can sleep at night - hopefully he can't) but it now works a treat and I feel confident about its future reliability.  Not gigged it yet but this thing sounds totally amazing through one of my BF SCG3 cabs - can't wait to hook it up to both and turn the wick up!!

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

This brings up two points. First, when someone's selling a really nice piece you have to question why. In this case it's because it was faulty. Second, never pay via a method that doesn't have buyer protection. The decision whether or not you're entitled to return it for a refund should be yours, not the sellers.

[Brother Jones]

10 hours ago, scrumpymike said:

Collected the Eden yesterday and now, thankfully, the only noises it makes are the ones I want to hear 😊  I told Pete I was in no rush so he said he'd work on it in between other more urgent stuff - hence the extended timescale.  He traced the problem to the pre-amp circuitry and, before fault-finding down to component level, checked out the price and availability of a replacement populated pcb with Marshall UK.  This was in stock at such a reasonable price that it was definitely cheaper to go this way.  So, Pete's charge for giving it the once-over, replacing an almost dead master volume pot and supplying/fitting the board was a very reasonable (IMHO) £120.  That's exactly what I paid EMS (plus outward delivery cost) to service and replace a faulty pot on my TE AH300SMC over 10 years ago.  Obviously it significantly increases the cost of this allegedly "mint" WT550 (don't know how the seller can sleep at night - hopefully he can't) but it now works a treat and I feel confident about its future reliability.  Not gigged it yet but this thing sounds totally amazing through one of my BF SCG3 cabs - can't wait to hook it up to both and turn the wick up!!

Very pleased to hear it's sorted. I have a dim sense that one day these will actually become pretty sought-after. 

The only time I really use the EQ is as a notch filter - rest of the time it's just flat because the thing is so well voiced. The 'Enhance' knob is pretty much always at minimum on mine,  and the compressor goes largely unused because the valves give such a sweet natural compression if you push them anyway. 

Finally, to echo Bill's point, I've bought things on BC described as 'mint' that patently were not, and it is (very occasionally)  a problem. Didn't we used to have a feedback mechanism for this?

[stevie]

Yes, you should always leave feedback in the Feedback section - even (or especially) if you're not happy, as Basschatters tend to trust their fellow forumites.

Edited July 21, 2018 by stevie