Fender Princeton Chris Stapleton: crackling noise at warm up.

[Jimroy]

I've got a Chris Stapleton Princeton that I bought new in December 2022.


When I switch it on, after a few seconds, it starts to make some weird crackling noises that sound like turning an old and noisy pot:
The noise is heard through the speaker, even with all the controls at zero, and is completely independent of any control (the noise does not get louder when maxing the amp's volume, and it is not affected by the tone control either).
It is intermittent and lasts for about 2 to 3 minutes while the amp is warming up. After that, it stops.


The amp performs perfectly fine otherwise, and it is quiet, with no unusual background noise for a tube amp.
I have tried reseating the tubes and also tried contact cleaner on the pins and sockets


Would any forum members have an idea what can cause that?
Is there a simple fix or should I send it back to Fender?


Thanks!
Jim

[phantomman]

Sounds like a marginal solder joint, likely a resistor in the power supply.

An easy fix for a competent tech.

[Michael Smith]

You may want to contact Fender. They may have a local authorized warranty repair tech in your area that you can drop the amp off at their place of business, rather than packing it up and shipping it somewhere.

[Jimroy]

Thanks for your replies. Jim

[DanTheBluesMan]

I had that happen on a brand new FSR Princeton Reverb 15w 12" speaker I got from Sweetwater. From the first time I plugged it in and turned it on, with nothing plugged in, all knobs on zero. Took a video, sent it to my sales rep at Sweetwater.

10 minutes later, I got a phone call. "RMA on its way. Do you want a replacement?" I said "yes". 5 minutes later, I get an email notification of shipping of my replacement. Got the defective amp on Thursday, my replacement arrived Saturday.

[blackonblack]

Though not a mom and pop, Sweetwater has always impressed me with their customer service. If you look at their Corp non sales site, it seems they treat their people the way their people treat their customers. Coincidence?

[OldStrummer]

Add another thumbs up from me regarding Sweetwater. It isn't always the first place I choose when I'm researching gear, but every time I've asked for details, an opinion or a recommendation, my sales agent has always been up front with me. A recent example is my purchase of a guitar case for my old 12-string. My guy there actually suggested I ship the guitar via UPS instead of buying a case, as he felt it would be treated better than if I baggage checked it at the airport. In other words, his first recommendation was to NOT buy something from Sweetwater!

I sent him a photo of the guitar in the new case and he wrote back that he was glad it worked out. Had it not, I'm confident he would have immediately issued an RMA, no questions asked.

One thing I really like about Sweetwater is that you can choose your guitar from actual photos and specs of the instrument. That's how I bought my GS Mini. I liked the wood grain and hues, so no surprises when I opened the box!

[Jimroy]

Thanks to all for the replies. It turns out that I did buy this from Sweetwater. Called them today and they are replacing it with a new one. They don't have them in stock so they reserved one for me and I can continue to use the one I have until I get the new one. Sucks that I have to deal with this but that is pretty good customer service.

Jim

[phantomman]

Glad things turned out right for you, Jim.