Received new ULTRA today! 99% happy....but...that fan noise!! grrr

O

OzGuitar

Member
Hey all,
Finally took delivery of my new Ultra today, pretty happy 'bout that. Immediately updated to the latest firmware (it came with 10.3)....installed 10.5 without any problems.
I only have one complaint, and that's the noisy fan! In my studio when there's no music playing all I normally heard is the faint hum of my TimeMachine drive. The fan noise coming out of the Ultra is very distracting for me.
I have searched the forums and it seems that there once was a large thread regarding fan replacement, several people reference it, but I can't find that thread....maybe it hasn't transferred from the old forum?? So I'm looking for tips from anyone who has replaced their fan.....what brand/model did you get....and what noise reduction did you achieve....(especially anyone here in Oz)

Thanks.....Dave
 
I've heard people complain about the fan noise since back even before I actually bought my Ultra, but to be honest, once I'm playing I don't even hear it. Even when I'm not playing I don't hear it, which likely has to do with the fact that I have it in a rack with a closed back. Trust me, you'll get used to it. If it really bothers you that much though, you can search for threads where people talked about replacing the fan. They say in those what they swapped it with and what worked well and what didn't. I remember some of the replacement fans were actually noisier and some were pretty silent. It's not a big deal to change it though from what I remember. All you have to do is to make sure you get one the right size. The rest is easy.
 
Is the noisy fan an Ultra thing? I don't think I even have a fan in my Standard... it's dead silent.
 
Hi Dave, you're not alone on this. I replaced mine with one of the quiet SilenX ones and it hasn't been a problem since. It's quite easy to do. Just be careful with the screws!

Mark
 
I never understood why this is such a big deal for people. I never notice it. I never think to myself, "That fan is way too loud." Never. Unless you're recording something in the same room while the Axe FX is on, using a condensor mic or something, I can't imagine how it would affect anything. Are you guys (who are bothered by it) playing at extremely low volumes late at night?
 
My Standard's fan was really loud. It was really noticeable when recording. The noise just grinds on you after a while. Replaced it with a SilenX 12dB fan and problem solved.

Now if I could find a fan that works with my SLA-2 - that thing is really loud, but I only use it with a real cab and once you start playing you don't hear it.
 
browlett said:
I never understood why this is such a big deal for people. I never notice it. I never think to myself, "That fan is way too loud." Never. Unless you're recording something in the same room while the Axe FX is on, using a condensor mic or something, I can't imagine how it would affect anything. Are you guys (who are bothered by it) playing at extremely low volumes late at night?
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I'm super sensitive to fan noise after hearing it all day long at work. If there wasn't an alternative solution to quiet it down a bit I'd learn to live with it, but it's just too easy to get rid of and there is something to be said for peace and quiet and one's health....of course I'm usually cranking the living crap out of my AxeFX, but that's a different kind of noise all together.
 
randombastage said:
I guess the fan in my Ultra is quieter than the ringing in my ears because I'm not hearing it.
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Could mean one of three things; your ears are about as good as you say they are, your fan just happens to be quiet or it's not spinning at all. It's not one of those "I think I can hear it so I'm changing it out because I'm anal", it's obvious if its on unless it's been replaced with a quieter one. It's not horrible, but it's definitely present.
 
The Axe-Fx is so good that you don't have to worry if your band has fans or not, the Axe-Fx has them included! [extremely_bad_joke]
 
browlett said:
I never understood why this is such a big deal for people. I never notice it. I never think to myself, "That fan is way too loud." Never. Unless you're recording something in the same room while the Axe FX is on, using a condensor mic or something, I can't imagine how it would affect anything. Are you guys (who are bothered by it) playing at extremely low volumes late at night?
Click to expand...

I think some of it boils down to luck of the draw as to how quiet the stock fan is coming from FA, some of you are getting quiet ones that don't annoy you, unfortunately I didn't!
If I was only using the Ultra for rehearsals & gigs then I wouldn't worry about it at all.
In the studio however it's a completely different story. Fan noise, bad lighting & excessive heat are things I can't tolerate in that workspace. I've spent a considerable amount of money to try and eliminate all three, and it does make a huge difference long term when I'm spending anywhere up to 10 hours in there at a time! (I've worked in electronics production in the past and I always felt drained after working for hours with constant fan & machinery noise, as well as under bright fluoro lights.)
Looks like a simple fan replacement's all I need....just a matter of sourcing a good one. :)

Dave
 
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