Added an Archon 100 and Stealth Cab to the arsenal but....

Hey all,

I've received my amp back from PRS with the mod implemented. All in all, I'd have to say it's an improvement. The loop noise is now much quieter and actually usable. It's definitely not silent but it's quiet enough that I can live with it. The RFI noise I had is much quieter but the loop cables are still very sensitive to picking up interference. I put a few ferrite cores on the cables and it's helped a bit. The loop is now tolerable, which is a win of some kind.

Btw, how noisy are your Archons with the gain channel master volume knob at, say, 9-11 o'clock? I seem to remember mine being quieter than it is now. When I crank the gain channel's master volume, the background noise is very loud. I'd have to speak up to be heard over it :( However, if I keep the gain channel master down very low (like just above the minimum), it is very quiet. Is this normal for Archons?

Also, anybody used a wireless unit into their Archon? I use a Line 6 G50 and the noise floor rises considerably using that vs. just a cable straight from the guitar to the amp. The noise floor with the wireless is now about the same as the noise floor not using the wireless but with the loop engaged.
 
Hmmm, I don't find either of my Archons very noisy and I run the gain around noon. Master is usually around 10:00, give or take depending on venue. I run the older X2 rack wireless(precursor to L6) and have never noticed additional noise with it. Maybe make sure all your tubes are seated properly and give them a tap with a pencil eraser to be sure none have gone bad during the shipping?
 
No noise issues here, other than the loop, which also pops rather loudly when engaged/disengaged. I'm hoping the "fix" addresses the latter issue, in addition to the hiss.
 
As expected, the loop mod doesn't solve the huge variety of issues reported.

As for the loop popping, I actually have this issue as well and the fix did not improve it. On the other hand, it didn't make it any worse :p
 
I've never had radio interference except when I had a dimmer light switch on the same circuit. I had my Strymon timeline hooked up with 25 foot cables and hadn't had any issues.
 
Thanks for the feedback. Good to know what everyone else is experiencing.

I discovered another odd issue last night. The clean channel doesn't get nearly as loud as the gain channel. For example, with individual channel volumes set at about 12 o'clock and master volume settings of about 10 o'clock, the gain channels is way way way louder than the clean channel. In fact, the clean channel doesn't ever get as blisteringly loud as the gain channel no matter what volume it's set at. Is this normal for Archons?
 
Thanks for the feedback. Good to know what everyone else is experiencing.

I discovered another odd issue last night. The clean channel doesn't get nearly as loud as the gain channel. For example, with individual channel volumes set at about 12 o'clock and master volume settings of about 10 o'clock, the gain channels is way way way louder than the clean channel. In fact, the clean channel doesn't ever get as blisteringly loud as the gain channel no matter what volume it's set at. Is this normal for Archons?
My volumes are pretty even, I run settings similar to yours. Sounds like something else is going on. If the tubes are all good, my experience has been either a capacitor or relay going bad. Although, most of the time, both channels were affected. I'm no expert on the inner workings of amps, but that's been my experience with channel switching amps. Had another brand amp with that type of issue.
 
Well my technician at my office just did the mod for me. Well i turned it on and engaged effects loop with nothing in it and it was exactly the same. Hooked up effects and no change whatsoever.
I do say that this is pretty disheartening......
 
This is what I was afraid of. Since the idea of dismantling the amp gives me the willies anyway, I may just skip the mod and keep dealing with the noise.
 
Well my technician at my office just did the mod for me. Well i turned it on and engaged effects loop with nothing in it and it was exactly the same. Hooked up effects and no change whatsoever.
I do say that this is pretty disheartening......

Hi Friends, I'm curious if others have attempted this Mod? If so was there any noticeable change or were your results the same as stevan5150. Since there have been no other posts on this subject in over a month I'm assuming there is no improvement for anyone.

This noise was a huge disappointment for me as I returned my Archon 100 before this thread was created and before PRS offered the explanation and the Circuit mod. I'm tempted to investigate a Archon 50, but only if I can tame the Effects loop Hiss.
 
I have yet to do the mod, hoping to do it this week. Will give update if I get it done.
 
Stillcenter sent his back to PRS for the mod, and it seems to have worked. Why wouldn't you do that, especially if it's free to customers?

No way I'd do it myself or trust someone other than PRS to do it right.
 
Stillcenter sent his back to PRS for the mod, and it seems to have worked. Why wouldn't you do that, especially if it's free to customers?

No way I'd do it myself or trust someone other than PRS to do it right.
A) it leaves me without the amp
B) it's not cheap to ship the amp
C) Shawn has stated it's a very simple mod and easy to do

I change my own guitar pickups, caps, etc within the guitar all the time. The build style of this amp makes it pretty easy to perform this. If I have any doubts when I pull the chassis, I won't do it. But I'm confident in my soldering skills and this looks straight forward.
 
My typical mode of operation for live applications with the Archon have me using time based effects on the clean channel with boost and drive pedals in front. This thread got me curious though and spent a few quality hours with a TC flashback in the loop and the amp set on the lead channel and it was dead quiet oddly enough. I'm too lazy to run the extra cables at gigs to run in the loop, which is why I typically run on the clean side with dirt pedals live...but it sounded fantastic to me when I was monkeying around with it. Odd though as I have one of the first Archons, which is presumably without any mod...
 
Hi Friends, I'm curious if others have attempted this Mod? If so was there any noticeable change or were your results the same as stevan5150. Since there have been no other posts on this subject in over a month I'm assuming there is no improvement for anyone.

This noise was a huge disappointment for me as I returned my Archon 100 before this thread was created and before PRS offered the explanation and the Circuit mod. I'm tempted to investigate a Archon 50, but only if I can tame the Effects loop Hiss.

I wouldn't take the silence on this as meaning the mod doesn't work or that the problem exists. We haven't seen more complaints, either, so it may mean the folks that did the mod are content with it.

This all reminds me that I've never tried the effects loop on my Archon, so I don't know if I have the problem or not. I have kicked on the loop w/nothing in it and didn't notice anything. I usually only play w/my G-System into the front of the amp, so I'm not the best example to use here.
 
Ok guys I am in the uk and due to buy one of these amps this week and this has really put me off. :confused: I use a tc electronics flashback delay and T. rex room mate reverb in the loop I am assuming I am going to counter these problems?
 
Ok guys I am in the uk and due to buy one of these amps this week and this has really put me off. :confused: I use a tc electronics flashback delay and T. rex room mate reverb in the loop I am assuming I am going to counter these problems?

My Advice is to Plug in and play the actual one you are about to buy, hear for yourself and decide if the potential Hiss is bothersome for you. Aside from the possible noisy effects loop it is just a great sounding amp. I also used The Flashback delay, but for me it did not matter what combination of effects I used, the Hiss was consistent in any configuration.
 
Fwiw- I plugged just a short cable send to return in the loop the other day and got no noticeable noise of any kind. This archon was back at PRS since this thread started- for all I know they did the mod while it was there, although nothing was noted on the work order. I'm feeling under the weather and haven't messed with it any more since I did the cable test.
 
I just got a 100 watt Archon head. Loving it so far. I haven't had too many issues with the loop but I did notice when I had my Decimator G String pedal sitting on top of the head it hummed. Moved it to the floor and problem solved. I do notice a little RFI noise from the pedal on the clean channel but it's still very useable. Overall I love the tone of the head and the build quality. I will probably do the effects loop mod since it's quick and easy though. Very happy with this amp!
P.S. what's up Vchizzle??
 
What's up Wally?!? Long time no talk! Welcome to the forum.

Side note, I put a Line 6 M9 in the loop and that worked equally as well as my Strymon timeline- still haven't gotten around to the mod. :-/
 
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