Tapping sound in Fender tremolo

[überfuzz]

I changed power transformer in a Fender amp to European voltages. The amp sounds great, all voltages are slightly higher with the new PT. Only thing not funky is the tremolo. There's a tapping sound when it's running. Laymans guess, it's because the higher voltages. I tried a different lead, don't know the proper term, red/black instead of green/black to lower the AC out from the PT. It seemed to fix the tapping, but the voltages throughout the amp was quite low. Also, the amp seemed to have lost a bit of it's fenderish tone. So, the black/green was reconnected.

Now, I have two different things in mind. Either I change the anode connection in the filter pan. It's connected to the highest, voltage, as it is now. Or I'll try fatter anode resistors in the tremolo circuit, there's a 220k sitting there now. I thought I might fix it by lowering the voltage. Is this a good idea at all, is there any chance I'll nail the tap-tap-tap this way?

(I'm not interested in doing the Fender tremolo tap fix at this stage. I want to see if I can kill the tapping in it's cradle.)

[akimball442]

I think the main thing to check is lead dress, lots of Fender tremolos can do this. I just rebuilt my twin and had a similar problem. Moving the wires around near the oscillator tube eliminated the problem. You could also try upgrading the ceramic caps in the circuit if they are original, to something of a higher quality. I also read a fix online that you can strap a .02uF cap across the 10M resistor in the trem circuit to eliminate the tapping. Never tried it myself, I haven't needed to.

[überfuzz]

Lead dress, what would that be? You're talking to a Swedish dude. :-)

Edit: I googled and found some info on how to tinker with the 'lead dress'. I'll try that and report back.

[überfuzz]

Ah, you're talking of how the wires are situated in the amplifier. Right..? Here's a picture of the wires around the tremolo tube.

V5.

[akimball442]

If my memory serves me, it might have been the lead to the foot switch jack that was causing the noise. Try moving it with a wooden stick. I have some cheap chopsticks that I use for this purpose.

[Raybob]

Ah, you're talking of how the wires are situated in the amplifier. Right..? Here's a picture of the wires around the tremolo tube.

V5.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]12285[/ATTACH]

Actually, the problem is not the wires to the tube but the wires to the mixing resistors many times go over the opti-isolator (bug) on the board with later SF amps. Be sure those wires are routed around that bug, not over it.

[überfuzz]

Actually, the problem is not the wires to the tube but the wires to the mixing resistors many times go over the opti-isolator (bug) on the board with later SF amps. Be sure those wires are routed around that bug, not over it.

I'll put that on my list of things to try. Thanks!

[überfuzz]

I tried all the wire things suggested but nothing seemed to help. I had a probe to calibrate my ears. Every time I connected it to pin 6, v5 the tap vanished. So, I did the 0.01 cap trick and now it not tapping.

Thanks for helping!