Warwick Gnome (and other micro amps) fan noise and mod to cure it

[Johannes]

Sometimes I hear and read fellow bassists complaining about the fan noise these amps tend to have. My experiense is similar.
I have the smallest model Warwick Gnome for practising at home. It’s driving a markbass 12-inch wedge, 8 ohms so there is 130 W on tap, plenty for my practicing needs. Usually I use very modest volume but after a while playng its fan started to make really annoying and loud high-pitched whining noise. It is rather cheap amp so I didn’t care about voiding the warranty and decided to mod it. Original fan is a 12-Volt Crown-branded 30 mm fan. So I got the smallest high quality fan I could find, Noctua NF-A4x10 FLX, it is 40 mm and cost about 15€. First I removed the stock fan and drilled the holes on the top plate a bit larger. Then I removed the welded screw closer to the middle of the amp, it gives up easily by twisting it back and forth with pliers. Fixing it to the top needs some creativity, I managed it with the remaining screw and bolt, some heat-resistant glue, a twistable scrap metal piece and self-made silicone washers. 
When started, Gnome gives only couple of volts to the fan. Voltage raises according the temperature. Noctua kicks in at about 6 volts. It moves much more air than the stock one. After this mod it has been really quiet, even after playing long session I must take my ear few inches to the exhaust to hear it is spinning.

One thing puzzles me is the eq of this amp. For live gigs I use Markbass amp, . To get somehow similar sound like eq set flat  with mb You need  to set Warwick’s bass at 3 a clock and mid+ hi at 8 am. 
My biggest wish is the ability to choose d.i. to be pre or post. By the way, gnome doesn’t need those (airflow obstructing) aluminium add-ons. Actuallylooks better without.

[Johannes]

Sometimes I hear and read fellow bassists complaining about the fan noise these amps tend to have. My experiense is similar.
I have the smallest model Warwick Gnome for practising at home. It’s driving a markbass 12-inch wedge, 8 ohms so there is 130 W on tap, plenty for my practicing needs. Usually I use very modest volume but after a while playng its fan started to make really annoying and loud high-pitched whining noise. It is rather cheap amp so I didn’t care about voiding the warranty and decided to mod it. Original fan is a 12-Volt Crown-branded 30 mm fan. So I got the smallest high quality fan I could find, Noctua NF-A4x10 FLX, it is 40 mm and cost about 15€. First I removed the stock fan and drilled the holes on the top plate a bit larger. Then I removed the welded screw closer to the middle of the amp, it gives up easily by twisting it back and forth with pliers. Fixing it to the top needs some creativity, I managed it with the remaining screw and bolt, some heat-resistant glue, a twistable scrap metal piece and self-made silicone washers. 
When started, Gnome gives only couple of volts to the fan. Voltage raises according the temperature. Noctua kicks in at about 6 volts. It moves much more air than the stock one. After this mod it has been really quiet, even after playing long session I must take my ear few inches to the exhaust to hear it is spinning.

One thing puzzles me is the eq of this amp. For live gigs I use Markbass amp, . To get somehow similar sound like eq set flat  with mb You need  to set Warwick’s bass at 3 a clock and mid+ hi at 8 am. 
My biggest wish is the ability to choose d.i. to be pre or post. By the way, gnome doesn’t need those (airflow obstructing) aluminium add-ons. Actually looks better without.

[Dan Dare]

1 hour ago, Johannes said:

One thing puzzles me is the eq of this amp. For live gigs I use Markbass amp, . To get somehow similar sound like eq set flat  with mb You need  to set Warwick’s bass at 3 a clock and mid+ hi at 8 am. 

 

"flat" is very much a notional concept. The fact that the dials are at midday/neutral means little. The sound depends on how the amp designer voiced the preamp. MB are anything but flat in my experience. I'm partial to the sound they make, but "flat" they ain't.

[Hellzero]

You could have used the provided rubber clip system instead to attach this Noctua fan (which are the only really silent fans available): it would have been way more fast and easy. 😉

 

I've done this modification to all the amps with fans that I came across.

[Johannes]

Ok, thanks for Your tip! I’ll try it next time. Noctua really does its job whitout bells and whistles😀 

[Johannes]

Yes, that is true. There isn`t an amp designed for live gigs that sounds ”true” to Your instrument like a pair of high quality studio speakers in a pro studio. A system like that wouldn`t be even practical for live gigs. I am just wondering why the eq of this warwick gnome is so much different to all the other amps, warwicks included, not just mb`s.

[naxos10]

There is a thread on here somewhere which compared the eq of the popular micro amps including the Warwick Gnome. Would be worth a search.

Edited November 16 by naxos10

[Hellzero]

The Bugera Veyron Mosfet is the only bass amp close to that requirement: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/bugera-veyron-mosfet-eq-analysis.1459228/

[Phil Starr]

2 hours ago, naxos10 said:

There is a thread on here somewhere which compared the eq of the popular micro amps including the Warwick Gnome. Would be worth a search.

The Gnome is really odd in its eq with lots of boost in the mid/tops, The frequency response we measured was like the side of a hill, though it sounds very 'clean' through a small speaker. I can't find the response curve but this was our attempt to get a flat response from the Gnome. The midrange centre frequency was 400Hz btw

 

[Chienmortbb]

On 16/11/2024 at 12:56, Phil Starr said:

The Gnome is really odd in its eq with lots of boost in the mid/tops, The frequency response we measured was like the side of a hill, though it sounds very 'clean' through a small speaker. I can't find the response curve but this was our attempt to get a flat response from the Gnome. The midrange centre frequency was 400Hz btw

 

 

Gnome with all EQ set to 12 o'clock,

[Obrienp]

Agree with everything said about the Gnome’s EQ. What I find odd is the fan noise bit. Yes, the fan comes on very quickly but it doesn’t seem intrusive to me. That said, I’m sure they vary example to example. I’ve also got the 280 watt iPro version now. 
 

Returning to the EQ, the Gnome sounds pretty horrible into my FRFR LFSys Monza with the controls all at 12 o’clock. Conversely it sounds pretty good into my BF Two10. The two seem to compensate for each other’s built in character. Having seen the analysis work that @Phil Starr has done, I can set the Gnome to sound good through the Monza but it’s easier just to use my MB LM III, or Blackstar U700, which have better baked in tone (to my ears) to pair with an FRFR cab.

[fretmeister]

On 15/11/2024 at 22:36, Hellzero said:

You could have used the provided rubber clip system instead to attach this Noctua fan (which are the only really silent fans available): it would have been way more fast and easy. 😉

 

I've done this modification to all the amps with fans that I came across.

Next time you do this can you do a video of the process?

 

That would be very useful.

[Hellzero]

59 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

Next time you do this can you do a video of the process?

 

That would be very useful.

Will try to remember. 😉

[Phil Starr]

12 hours ago, Obrienp said:

Agree with everything said about the Gnome’s EQ. What I find odd is the fan noise bit. Yes, the fan comes on very quickly but it doesn’t seem intrusive to me. That said, I’m sure they vary example to example. I’ve also got the 280 watt iPro version now. 
 

Returning to the EQ, the Gnome sounds pretty horrible into my FRFR LFSys Monza with the controls all at 12 o’clock. Conversely it sounds pretty good into my BF Two10. The two seem to compensate for each other’s built in character. Having seen the analysis work that @Phil Starr has done, I can set the Gnome to sound good through the Monza but it’s easier just to use my MB LM III, or Blackstar U700, which have better baked in tone (to my ears) to pair with an FRFR cab.

To be fair John @Chienmortbb did all the real work

[stevie]

On 16/11/2024 at 07:33, Johannes said:

 I am just wondering why the eq of this warwick gnome is so much different to all the other amps, warwicks included, not just mb`s.

 

I suspect it's been voiced to complement the kind of small, inexpensive speakers the manufacturer expects it to be paired with. That is to say, middy, not much bass and lacking in top top end. With that kind of speaker, the amp's boosted bottom and top will tend to be more impressive In a shop demo situation.

Edited November 18 by stevie

[Chienmortbb]

3 hours ago, stevie said:

the amp's boosted bottom and top will tend to be more impressive In a shop demo situation.

Its why most TVs have a Dynamic or Shop picture setup choice. Neither is natural but when you are fighting against the bright shop lighting, a natural picture would be swamped.