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I recently purchased a Triwatt from Reverb a few weeks ago. I am noticing that the clean channel is not properly clean, it always has a slight break up to it regardless of volume. Also when the overdrive is not engaged, when turning the pot between say 0-1 there's a slight noise that can be heard.
There is a back ground hum also, which disappears when the overdrive is engaged and also when I gently tap V3 there's a massive pop.

Thoughts please ?

I have solved the distortion issue. Had a look at the wiring in detail last night. It would seem whom ever built the amp wasn't too careful. The workmanship is a little rough in places on first look.
There were a couple of resistors, one on the bass pot and one of the other pots (forget which one) that was grounding against the pot itself. I moved them off, slid a little insulation tape in between just for good measure and it went away. The amp now sounds clean when it should so I have to assume that was the problem.
The only other issue I have now is that when the OD pot is on position 0 or 10 there's a buzz ? It happens when it's not engaged. Does anyone have any idea why this would be happening ?

Looked again last night. It seems a sharp solder point on V3 was piercing the insulation on cable on the terminal next to it. It was barely noticeable. Moved it out the way and voila. I'm going to have to rework this amp a little for my own piece of mind.

Just thought I'd pass this along in case anyone else comes across any of these issues.

I took out the EH tubes that were in it, which for some reason couldn't handle a muff pedal very well (it sounded like it was bogging down) and put in some old JJ's I had laying around. The difference was night/day.

I have new tubes on order. I have to say the amp sounds fantastic with the Thames speaker I have.

The. Triwatt is pretty sensitive to wiring and the OD can be one area to review. Also check the wire from the two pots that goes to the OD.

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Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

Thank you for the reply. I noticed the master volume center pin is loose/wobbly and causes noise. My guess, over heating with the soldering iron. I've ordered an ALPS Blue Beauty to replace it, should be here tomorrow. It's obviously affecting the output volume too I've noticed.
Is there a full wiring layout available anywhere, I'd like to tidy this up and reduce any possible noise as much as I can.

Yes, sloppy wiring and poor soldering causes lots of problems.

Links to layouts, schematics, and build guides for all Trinity amps are on the Support page.
http://www.trinityamps.com/support/

Corrected the wiring on the overdrive per the diagram. Needless to say it most definitely wasn't in a straight line !! I also replaced the master volume pot with the ALPS...very nice upgrade ! although it's a stereo pot and you only get to use one channel but even so, very open and clear sounding.

The only thing I notice now is the treble pot makes a weird sound when turned up full and cuts out completely, bad pot perhaps ? I'll be changing that when I get time, not that I max it out but I'd like it to work properly.

Let us know how that works after replacement.

_________________
Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

Sorry for the long delay on replying to this. I think I found the issue. The overdrive stopped working when I pull the switch. Turns out that pin 3 on the pot is loose, intermittent.
I just ordered a replacement so I'm hoping that is causing the problem. I do have a replacement treble pot in case that's not it.

Just replaced the push/pull pot/switch. Problem solved. Everything working as it should. I noticed there was a loose pin on V2 so changed the socket also. Probably due to over heating..there seems to have been a few connections like that in this amp. I'm wondering if the guy's iron was too hot or maybe he just held the heat on for too long ? In either case, everything's fine.

All good then. Good job at getting it going again.

_________________
Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

One other thing, I noticed that where the signal cable from the input jacks connect to V1. I was seeing a slight drop in signal/volume.
If I touched the cable it would jump back up. I eventually spotted a couple of strands of the shielding barely touching the input pin on the socket. This would also affect the controls , causing some of them to pop slightly at max/min settings.
I re-terminated the cable and it's good.
It just seemed like there were a few small things going on with this build. I am hoping that's it all cleared up.

I guess it would be a good Idea to check all internal wiring thoroughly. Especially if you are going to do live gigs.

No offense, but you stated a a couple of small defects caused by sloppy work. It will do no harm to check all joints and perhaps re-solder some bad ones. Last thing you want is a failing amp when you are about to start your beloved 6 minutes comfortbaly numb solo in a live situation.

Geel free to post some pics. I'll be happy to take a look as well if you want! ;-)

Cheers

Hey, I am not at all offended, it's sound advice.
I think you're absolutely correct in what you say. My plan is at some point I will get some nice silver plated OFC PTFE cable and re-work the entire amp, I'd also use decent solder, WBT or Mundorph. I think I may be updating the OT so I can use EL34'S so I may take the opportunity to do it all then.
We had a big show scheduled for Ohio this month but thanks to COVID that along with a few others have been cancelled....I'm not sure I'd have traveled with the amp out of state like that anyhow. It's not about the $$$$ but we have lost so much
I typically use a stereo set up which would now be the Triwatt and my MK3 Mesa, if I was to do a long distance show like the Ohio one. I'd take a third as back up,what's one more lol

Thanks for the update and the photos. I take it you play in a Pink Floyd tribute band. A Triwatt running EL34s would be great for that. Hopefully you got all the bugs out of yours.

Yes Mitch I do, band has the same name as my user name.. That's the plan, EL34's !!! All going well we'll get to play again in August.

Have you tried the EL34s yet? I am curious to your experience with those tubes!

How was your gig in August?

Have you used the Triwatt in practice or shows yet? And how does it compare to the amps you use in your shows? PS Great job diagnosing all the problems that the previous owner built in for you

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"The only problem with being retired is you never get a day off"

Sorry for the huge delay in responding.
Yes, I've done a few shows with it. Mainly Drive in style shows. The amp performs great, cuts through extremely well with plenty of power. I ended up getting a BBQ FC12 with an 2" metal dust cap, this extends the high frequency.
Between that and the Alnico Fane Ascension in my other combo it's an extremely nice combination but like everything that could change over time.
The difference between this and others that took me the longest to get used to was the sensitivity/dynamics. The resolution on the sound stage it produces is greater, like dialing in the focus on a lens so to speak.

Thanks for the feedback on how it performs on stage for you.

_________________
Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps