Hoffman Amplifiers Tube Amplifier Forum
Amp Stuff => Tube Amp Building - Tweaks - Repairs => Topic started by: jordan86 on February 24, 2021, 01:37:46 pm
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This is somewhat of a tweaker question. Not a repair. My favorite thing about a cranked tube amp is what I call "chirp". I know that's a super subjective an imprecise term. Maybe you guys call it something else? It's that really high high almost harmonic grit when the pick first hits the strings. Maybe it's just an artifact/byproduct of sloppy technique. But I love it. It's the sound of tubes cooking. Anyone found any tricks or ways to really maximize that in a circuit? Just lots of gain and a bright cap?
Here's sort of an example of it around 3:00-3:45 mark.
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I thought the official definition of chirp was an artificial harmonic but when I googled it this video came up.
Since I don't really hear any artificial harmonics on the video you posted I guess this is what you mean?
I do hear a bit of "string squeal" going on.
The string chirp and the pick click: do you know it? love it? hate it? - The Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum (umgf.com) (https://umgf.com/the-string-chirp-and-the-pick-click-do-you-know-it-t141906.html)
Pick chirping sound. Love it, hate it, tell me about it. - Seymour Duncan User Group Forums (https://forum.seymourduncan.com/forum/tips-and-clips/320916-pick-chirping-sound-love-it-hate-it-tell-me-about-it#post5383379)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdQ-Yn6k-To (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdQ-Yn6k-To)
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You got to be kidding, there are all kinds of "string noises" in any amp I played. Fenders have their quirks too. It's all in hand, string coordination and your technique. Some people have that sliding string noise, especially with acoustics, other the clicking sound in the video SG posted. Want to fix it, practice till you can play without the click, listen to the greats, no clicks, no pick noise, just my two cents.
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You got to be kidding
Not kidding. Thanks for your 2 cents though, dude. Clearly it’s not your thing.
It certainly would be considered a flaw in some styles, contexts, settings. But if we talking stank face rock n roll, I welcome that chirp in spades. Yes there are all sorts of “string noises”, but I’m just talking about this one. And I certainly hear it more in a cranked Marshall than a Fender Deluxe on 4.
Thanks for the links, silvergun. Interesting reads. Sounds like it’s more of a pick / playing technique thing than a circuit thing. Certainly increases with amp gain though. Maybe I will experiment with different picks to find something that brings it out more.
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Thanks for the links, silvergun. Interesting reads. Sounds like it’s more of a pick / playing technique thing than a circuit thing. Certainly increases with amp gain though. Maybe I will experiment with different picks to find something that brings it out more.
I have done a lot of experimenting while building amps to my own taste.
This one never got completed because it was too revealing, which means I was able to hear way too much string noise, etc...I realized that I'm too sloppy of a player to enjoy this much pure gain up front.
The theory behind it can be found at the bottom of this page:
The Valve Wizard (http://www.valvewizard.co.uk/dccf.html)
So, I would be inclined to say that you can make the amp more susceptible to chirping if you make the front end more revealing.
My other opinion would be that you could enhance this even further by using a high output - bright bridge pickup.