California Blonde Hums

[charliea]

My wife got me a California Blonde II for Christmas. I love the thing. Best sounding acoustic amp I ever heard, though a little on the heavy side. It has a noticeable hum, which seems odd for a solid state amp. At first I thought the hum came from the speaker. I tried different house power circuits, different parts of the house, even tried a Tripp isolation transformer. No change. The Blonde is essentially an amp head mounted above the speaker enclosure, with an air space between. Putting my ear up to the cab, I realized that the hum doesn't seem to come from the speaker, but from the amp section itself. Is it normal for a solid-state amp head to hum? Is there any way to make it quieter? Thanks for any input.

Charlie

 

[RussB]

California Blonde hums? Maybe she doesn't know the words? :lol:

Does it hum with nothing plugged into it?

Are there fluorescent lights with dimmers nearby?

Does the hum increase as the volume is turned up?

Does it have an internal fan?

 

[charliea]

California Blonde hums? Maybe she doesn't know the words? :lol:

Does it hum with nothing plugged into it?

Are there fluorescent lights with dimmers nearby?

Does the hum increase as the volume is turned up?

Does it have an internal fan?

Hey, RussB. It hums "Why don't you come up and see me some time?", of course. Hums it with nothing plugged in and all knobs set to zero. Turning up the volume just creates a hiss over the steady hum. No fluorescent lights. Doesn't seem to have a fan. Just makes a hum like a loud transformer.

Charlie

 

[Jeff Haddad]

Is there anything loose on the chassis? Even though it's solid state, it has a power transformer, right? Maybe there's a loose mounting screw for the PT.

 

[charliea]

Is there anything loose on the chassis? Even though it's solid state, it has a power transformer, right? Maybe there's a loose mounting screw for the PT.

Doesn't seem to be anything loose. I'm starting to wonder if I'm overreacting to a normal noise. Unlike most combo amps, this amp section hangs out in the breeze with cooling openings and stuff. Maybe the noise is normal. Who else has a Blonde (amp, that is)?

 

[fronobulax]

I am very carefully avoiding blonde comments since Mrs. Fro. is a Texas Blonde.

Many years ago I bought a solid state guitar amp. It hummed. It hummed with nothing plugged in. It hummed in every room of the house. Changing controls did not change the hum. The hum was not noticeable when I plugged in something and played at a comparatively low volume. However the volume required to overcome the hum was louder than acceptable for in home practice. I took the amp back to the store and every sample of that amp model that we tried hummed in the store. I concluded that the hum was a design feature and as a consequence, that was not the amp for me.

 

[dapmdave]

I have one of these. It doesn't hum at all. Great amp, but a real PITA to carry around.

Dave

 

[charliea]

You know, the hum isn't that bad. Just there, when it's very quiet or you're within a few feet of it. Nothing you have to play over. I'll probably live with it. Fact is, I'm coming to love this amp. Makes me sound way better than I really do, and mic's the 12-strings beautifully. I don't believe the 2x8 or 4x6 setups will ever sound as good as the 1x12 for a soloist croaking tunes.

 

[dapmdave]

You know, the hum isn't that bad. Just there, when it's very quiet or you're within a few feet of it. Nothing you have to play over. I'll probably live with it. Fact is, I'm coming to love this amp. Makes me sound way better than I really do, and mic's the 12-strings beautifully. I don't believe the 2x8 or 4x6 setups will ever sound as good as the 1x12 for a soloist croaking tunes.

True, but I think the added "super tweeter" and 160 watts of audio power has a lot to do with it.

If you get the opportunity, try other instruments through your Cali Blonde. A few weeks ago someone plugged a fiddle into mine. Sounded fantastic!

Dave