F2-B alembic extreme hiss

[Sunder]

Hey guys. im new to the forum. and i own one of the old blue f2b alembics purely because of my obsession with david gilmour.

But recently it has started to hiss extremely when i put it in front of an amp.

I do not have this issue when connecting it directly into my daw for example.

Any help is appreciated!

[JimmyJ]

Hi Sunder (or Sander?).  Welcome to the club.

You probably know that the F-2B is essentially the preamp section of a vintage Fender amp.  It's designed to connect directly to the input of your power amp to complete the rig.  If you're running through the F-2B and then into the front panel input of a combo amp (for example) then you have two preamp sections in a row and the gain stages may not be happy.  If possible, try running the F-2B into your amp's FX return (if it has one) and see what happens.

Glad it's working as expected with your DAW.

Cheers,
Jimmy J

[Sunder]

The thing is. as im using it as david gilmour used it. im putting it in front of my yamaha RA100 amplifier.

Therefore i have no idea what to do. As it does not have a send return.

[rv_bass]

Sunder,

Does this happen with both the high and low inputs?

[gtrguy]

Well, for starters, always check the tubes.

[Sunder]

Yes,

And ive had it service too. TWICE!

They switched out all bad electronics and fixed some WAGO work that had been done to replace the old power chord which was like 10 cms long.

Its been tested by them, allthough not before an amp i suppose. but yes both inputs has this extreme hiss. Which is no where to be heard when i plug it directly in to my daw.

[JimmyJ]

Wow, an RA-100 is an historic piece of gear.  But I bet it will make an interesting sound when you get it running.  My guess is the "high" input is meant for a hotter signal so that would be your best bet.  [edit; on the other hand it might mean higher gain so see if you notice a difference in hiss volume between those two inputs to determine what is what.  Also, try just plugging the guitar straight in and see what you get.]  And of course experiment with the volume controls - low on the R-100 and higher on the F-2B - or the other way around.  But yes, this should work because it was made for electronic organs which have a fairly hot output level.  Keep trying!  It's going to be a cool sound!

Jimmy J

[Sunder]

The issue when i turn the amp volume down and alembic up it goes full overdrive.

And when the amp is high and alembic low it just goes completely extreme on the hissing again.

[JimmyJ]

Try plugging the guitar directly into the RA-100.  Maybe it will surprise you!

Jimmy J

[Sunder]

I have. There is no problem when i do that.

Only through the alembic do i have this extreme hissing. It wasnt like this when i got it.
I tried putting it before my hiwatt dr103 aswell and it hisses extremely there aswell.

I just dont understand how something can be wrong with it now as its still perfect when plugged in direct to DAW.

[NachoGomez]

Just my two cents here.

You said it was serviced twice to change all bad electronics... Well, did "they" put the same components your unit was designed to have?

Just curious, who are "they"?

BTW: I don't own an F2-B, but this came to my mind when I read your post

[JimmyJ]

Yes,

And ive had it service too. TWICE!

They switched out all bad electronics and fixed some WAGO work that had been done to replace the old power chord which was like 10 cms long.

Its been tested by them, allthough not before an amp i suppose. but yes both inputs has this extreme hiss. Which is no where to be heard when i plug it directly in to my daw.

You're talking about the F-2B here not the Yamaha, right?  What do you mean by "WAGO work" and do you think the unit has been put back to its original configuration or are there mods?  Hey, you could even post some pictures in here if you don't mind.  We like gear!

We're getting closer to some answers so keep the info coming. 

What interface are you using for your DAW, what input on that device, and from which output of the F-2B?

The F-2B is a stereo pre in that the two channels can be used independently.  To help determine what's going on could you try using Channel-A only (A-out on the rear panel) and the same with Channel-B?  Let us know if both channels have the same issue.

Jimmy J

[JimmyJ]

And again your Hiwatt has no "return" to tap into its power amp so running the output of the F-2B into the input of the DR103 is putting 2 preamps in a row.  Not ideal unless you are purposely trying to overdrive the 2nd pre. 

When you plug your guitar directly into the Yamaha RA100 can it get pretty loud?  Does it sound sweet?  If so, perhaps you don't need a preamp in front of it.  (I had never heard of that machine before today and have enjoyed researching it.)

Jimmy J

[Sunder]

So, The alembic when i got it it was original and working perfectly.

The power cable was about 10 cm long so i switched it out. something my friend did with wago. "Trained electrician"
After a couple of months. maybe 6-7 months of use it started hissing before my yamaha amp. Something im pretty sure i would remember if it did when i originally got it. so that is out of the question.

So i sent it into service at my local music store. They serviced it, switched out 8 blown capacitors.

So i picked it up thinking yeah this thing is gonna work now. but no it was still hissing extremely. It works perfectly DI but that is not what i wanna do with it. and something david gilmour for example hasnt done for 50 years.

So i sent it back to them. They switched out alot of stuff im, going to attach pictures


PS - I dont know anything about circuitry or anything like that, i just enjoy playing my guitar

[Sunder]

Here are pictures