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Author Topic: LED lights creating noise and possible damage to guitar amps  (Read 10347 times)

Matthew Whitman

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LED lights creating noise and possible damage to guitar amps
« on: April 09, 2014, 11:50:15 AM »

We have several Generico MW-56 lights that have created issues for our Fender Hot Rod DeVille and Vox AC30 amps.  The lights cause a buzz in the Vox, and seem to have even damaged one of our Fenders.

In the case of the damaged Fender amp, a guitar player had his tone dialed in and ready to go.  Before the show, I switched on the power strip for the lights.  The amp instantly went kaput, and is now in the shop.  I do not yet know what is wrong with it.

Any ideas?  Thanks in advance.  Here is a link to the troublesome lights:

http://www.genericoep.com/products/moving-heads
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Ted Christensen

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Re: LED lights creating noise and possible damage to guitar amps
« Reply #1 on: April 09, 2014, 12:20:23 PM »

We have several Generico MW-56 lights that have created issues for our Fender Hot Rod DeVille and Vox AC30 amps.  The lights cause a buzz in the Vox, and seem to have even damaged one of our Fenders.

In the case of the damaged Fender amp, a guitar player had his tone dialed in and ready to go.  Before the show, I switched on the power strip for the lights.  The amp instantly went kaput, and is now in the shop.  I do not yet know what is wrong with it.

Any ideas?  Thanks in advance.  Here is a link to the troublesome lights:

http://www.genericoep.com/products/moving-heads

Did  you call the company?  Did you meter the power before you plugged everything in? I doubt it was the leds that did that

On a side note those fixtures look a lot like blizzards stuff.
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Paul G. OBrien

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Re: LED lights creating noise and possible damage to guitar amps
« Reply #2 on: April 09, 2014, 12:31:05 PM »

These LED fixtures could emit some RF noise that an electric guitar/amp combo could pick up.. if you put one of these LED fixtures near a portable radio it will interfere with reception.. have experienced this myself, but as for damaging the amp I just don't see it, it's more likely this was a simple coincidence and the amp was about to break down anyway.
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Steve Oldridge

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Re: LED lights creating noise and possible damage to guitar amps
« Reply #3 on: April 09, 2014, 02:59:59 PM »

.. but as for damaging the amp I just don't see it, it's more likely this was a simple coincidence and the amp was about to break down anyway.

I would agree.. have run my LED stage lights on numerous gigs.. if there's hum, it's more likely a ground loop with the embedded electric motors versus RF noise from the LED's. It could also be the tubes going microphonic and the power surge killed 'em. IOW - coincidental.
My whole LED light system uses less than 200w, tho' these are rated at 67w each..
« Last Edit: April 09, 2014, 03:02:39 PM by Steve.Oldridge »
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Brian Jojade

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Re: LED lights creating noise and possible damage to guitar amps
« Reply #4 on: April 09, 2014, 04:03:48 PM »

I have seen LEDs cause noise in a system with certain guitar pickups.  It is NOT a ground loop situation, as the noise pickup happens even if using a wireless body pack.  Facing away from the lights, the noise goes away.  An additional solution to the problem was to affix a metal mesh screen in front of the lights.  This greatly reduced, but did not completely eliminate the issue.

It's reasonable to believe that LED lights can also cause noise directly into the electronics of an amplifier, if not well shielded.  Enough noise and at the right frequencies could definitely cause damage.
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Brian Jojade

John Roberts {JR}

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Re: LED lights creating noise and possible damage to guitar amps
« Reply #5 on: April 09, 2014, 04:11:09 PM »

It seems unlikely that the LEDs caused the amp failure.

Perhaps if there was very flaky power and the LEDs caused a transient on the mains power, but again that seem unlikely too.

JR
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Re: LED lights creating noise and possible damage to guitar amps
« Reply #6 on: April 09, 2014, 04:35:55 PM »

We have several Generico MW-56 lights that have created issues for our Fender Hot Rod DeVille and Vox AC30 amps.  The lights cause a buzz in the Vox, and seem to have even damaged one of our Fenders.

In the case of the damaged Fender amp, a guitar player had his tone dialed in and ready to go.  Before the show, I switched on the power strip for the lights.  The amp instantly went kaput, and is now in the shop.  I do not yet know what is wrong with it.

Any ideas?  Thanks in advance.  Here is a link to the troublesome lights:

http://www.genericoep.com/products/moving-heads

What model was the Fender amp?  Would it happen to be one of the new fangled ones?

We had some fluctuating stage power a couple of years ago and the fancy new amps power supplies blinked once and fried.  The older amps just kept ticking
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Ivan Beaver

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Re: LED lights creating noise and possible damage to guitar amps
« Reply #7 on: April 09, 2014, 07:26:35 PM »

I am with the others.  I can see no way the lights could have damaged the amp.

It failed simply because it was turned on-and the incoming current rush (to the amp) caused the damage.

It would take a lot more evidence to make me believe otherwise.
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Ned Ward

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Re: LED lights creating noise and possible damage to guitar amps
« Reply #8 on: April 09, 2014, 07:58:55 PM »

The Fender Hot Rod series amps are unfortunately very poorly made. PC board-mounted power and preamp tubes, low quality parts, and lack of QC let them hit a price point, but make for a very unreliable amp.

If the Vox AC30 in question is the CC model, it suffers from similar quality issues.

On both, it was probably just a matter of time before these happened.

If the Deville circuit board is fried, it will cost considerable $$ to replace and reinstall. I'd think about a Silverface Deluxe Reverb, or a Bandmaster and a 2x12 head. They can be found cheaply, are all hardwired, and can sound amazing.

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Bob Leonard

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Re: LED lights creating noise and possible damage to guitar amps
« Reply #9 on: April 09, 2014, 09:38:17 PM »

And I agree with Ned. The majority of the Fender LOW COST circuit board amps can be a nightmare for both reliability and service. Find and old silver face non master volume amp, have a good tech re-cap it, and be very happy for years to come.
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Re: LED lights creating noise and possible damage to guitar amps
« Reply #9 on: April 09, 2014, 09:38:17 PM »


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