Fender Vibroking problems! Tech still fighting!

[corliss1]

Are you saying you pulled all the preamp tubes and there is still crackling?

 

[GotA24Fretter]

If not such preamp tube what else could cause the cracklng?

Almost anything.

 

[kranz]

I had a noisy Vibroking. It turned out to be a faulty input jack.

 

[princejqman]

Just replaced both of these preamp with other ones i have and scratchy noise is still present. What else could cause this slightly crackling noise in the back ground?

 

[corliss1]

We can't guess based on that. You need to answer the previous troubleshooting questions before we can provide more info.

 

[GotA24Fretter]

Just replaced both of these preamp with other ones i have and scratchy noise is still present. What else could cause this slightly crackling noise in the back ground?

Almost anything.

 

[Jasonpatrick]

When you get the new tank, check the inductors. They will probably be loose in their mounts….almost all are. Solidify the inductors in the mounts before installing the tank. I use some super glue. This yields a much better reverb, ime.
And yes….+1 with @GotA24Fretter’s suggestion of finding another tech.

I had one that I tracked down to it being loose like you said and it was causing intermittent static on the low notes. Once I glued it, no more problems.

 

[Peegoo]

If not such preamp tube what else could cause the cracklng?

It could be a bunch of things. If it's crackling with no preamp tubes installed, it could be a power tube or socket, a bad resistor, a bad solder joint, a poor contact in a plug/socket, etc.

 

[Wally]

I have been holding off on posting this, but……
About 25 years ago a young player brought in a VibroKing that he just bought on EBay for $1400. He did not like how it sounded. I installed some new power tubes and biased it. That made a little difference. He played through it for a little while and came back to share that he had put it back up on eBay…starting at $1400. He had reduced it in $100 increments down to $1100. I was starting to get interested. I got in touch with Big Ccokie—-RIP—to ask about his experience with the VK. He related that he had just a week before had a discussion with a tech in SoCal who had had three VKs in his shop for 6 months trying to get any one of them to produce better sound….and had finally had success with one of them. He had stripped all of the components from the board resoldered everything. Voila….the amp came to life. Interesting story that dulled my interest in that $1100 VK.
My only other experience with a VK was with Texas legend Bugs Henderdon’s )RIP) custom ordered VK that had not 3 but 4 10” speakers. After re-soldering the ground on one if the reverb cables that was causing some trailing noise and rebiasing, the amp proved to a great sounding amp.
Bugs had the amp brought to me in frustration since he had told his bass player that every tech in the Dallas metro area had not been able to find the problem. I checked the simple stuff first….five minutes after hearing the noise it was fixed.
Point of the story….as noted above by @GotA24Fretter, there can be a long list of possible problems.

 

[peteb]

The VK is custom shop built, hand wired and well documented.

Crackling is usually some sort of bad connection.


Use a process of elimination to find where the problem is.

 

[zephyrR1]

Far as I know they only came with el84 or 6v6 my amp has a 6v6 after after about about 6 months I noticed the tubes had heavy discoloration, heat I guess. I swapped in a 6k6 never had a problem with my amp. Sorry to hear that you’re having issues with yours I hope you can work it out as they are beautiful amps. I love mine has been heavy used, and was purchased new by my wife as a gift, when they first came out with the 6v6. I’m watching this thread with interest. Good luck

 

[archetype]

I wonder what Pete Townshend's tech's did to his VKs to make them right and reliable. There's probably a book to be written about that.

 

[princejqman]

Here in Panama unfortunately no luck with techs. So i will need to fix it myself with your help. I want to sell the amp but need to fix this crackling noise first. I will clean all the tube sockets and pots and report. Just swapped the preamps in the middle and scratchiness is still there. Mine uses 6v6 for reverb.

 

[princejqman]

What about using this spray with the tube amp on to determine which resistor or cap is out of tolerance or value?

Amazon.com: CRC Duster Aerosol Dust Removal System, 8 Wt Oz, (Pack of 12), 14085CS : Electronics https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Sistema-eliminación-aerosol-paquete-14085CS/dp/B01N9YE0WY

 

[zephyrR1]

The VK is custom shop built, hand wired and well documented.

Crackling is usually some sort of bad connection.


Use a process of elimination to find where the problem is.

Could it be moisture and carbon composite resistors. I had Boogie mark2 C that crackled problem was resistor.

 

[princejqman]

Can i try the duster shown? Or do i need the mg chemical freeze spray?

 

[corliss1]

No..freeze spray is the last thing you need. You need to do some real troubleshooting.

We can try and help talk you through things but so far you haven't been willing to follow the steps outlined.

 

[Wally]

Edit

 

[Wally]

• Fender Customer Relations: You can contact Fender directly for assistance and guidance by phone at 1 (800) 856-9801(U.S. toll-free) or +1 480-596-7195(International), or by email at consumerrelations@fender.com.

 

[Wally]

Do you know of Compañía Alfaro
In Panama City? They offer amp service????