Super Reverb tick

[MacGwyn]

Finished a AB763 Super Reverb clone with mostly good results... except for a faint "ticking" sound.  It has the tremolo roach and I've heard that can be a problem, however:
The "tick" is heard on both channels, it continues even when the tremolo tube is pulled out, and it doesn't vary in speed or intensity with the tremolo controls.
Makes me wonder what else could be causing the noise... it's always at an approximate 1 second interval, like a ticking clock... and can't be heard until you turn the volume up to about 6 or higher on either channel.  I've moved the three wires from the board to the tremolo controls away from the audio wires to tone controls and that didn't help.
Any ideas on how to quiet the ticking?

[MacGwyn]

The .02 cap appeared to help for a little while, but the tick tick tick is back.  Anyone have other suggestions to try?

[sluckey]

I don't think your tick is related to the tremolo.

[davidwpack]

The P90's on my 330 will actually pickup the ticks of my wristwatch.

[Willabe]

Makes me wonder what else could be causing the noise... it's always at an approximate 1 second interval, like a ticking clock...

The P90's on my 330 will actually pickup the ticks of my wristwatch.

       

[MacGwyn]

Not wearing a watch... but I have noticed with more tinkering that most of my humbucker equipped guitars do not cause the amp to tick (I almost always play a single coil tele).  With single coils, the ticking in the amp goes away when your turn the guitar's volume control down.  Cause is still a mystery at the moment.

[PRR]

Single coil, wide open, walk around the room until the ticking is loudest.

I started getting an acoustic "wrr" at my desk. Moving around, I traced it to the laser printer. Fan getting old.

[plumcrazyfx]

I used to get a ticking because the modem was in the guitar room. 


I also had to make a choice with my Super Reverb- a quiet tube in the trem or thicker trem that thumps.

[d95err]

Do you have any electric fences nearby your house? I have, and they cause this type of tick in my amps. I suppose the abrupt on/off of several thousand volts in the fence causes electronagnetic interference, which is picked up by my amps.

[MacGwyn]

I've tried turning off wifi and other electronics around the house with no positive result.  I don't have an electric fence, but my neighbors might.  What I do have is an electric coop that puts an electronic monitor on my home electric meter... it reads the meter remotely and shows them when I have a power outage, things like that.  Don't know if that could be the culprit.  It doesn't cause interference in my other guitar amps (about a dozen in the collection).

[sluckey]

Take the amp to another location. Should give you an idea if the tick is internally or externally generated.

[MacGwyn]

And the result at a new location:  NO TICKING!  Sluckey was right again... it's got to be a power line or RF interference issue at my home.  I noticed the tick while trying out another Fender clone, too... a brown Deluxe. 
Anyone have ideas on a good power line conditioner???

[sluckey]

Furman makes some good power line conditioners. Just keep in mind that the tick may not be coming through the ac line. There's a better chance that it's radiating through the air. Try to turn off everything in your house (including lights) except the amp. If you still have the tick it's probably external to your house.

Do you have the tick with nothing plugged into the amp input jacks? I would temporarily put a 100pF cap across the input jacks to see if that helps.

[MacGwyn]

No, the tick is only heard when a guitar is plugged into the input, either channel.

[MacGwyn]

When you say 100 pf across the input jacks, do you mean hot (tip) to ground?

[sluckey]

No, the tick is only heard when a guitar is plugged into the input, either channel.

Try a different guitar?

When you say 100 pf across the input jacks, do you mean hot (tip) to ground?

Yes. I would do this for the "HI" input. Just tack the cap across the 1M resistor.

[MacGwyn]

Tried several cap values from 68 pf up to .001... they had no effect on the ticking sound.