Ultra & Treadplate Similarly Voiced? Ultra "ultra&

[Mike P]

I just received an Ultra module via an Ebay purchase. First off, it's unbelievably noisy. The gain knob doesn't even begin to work until 10 O'clock but the amount of gain is absolutely insane. It's go so much gain, I can't even imagine a module with more gain.

Is this normal? Are the Ultra preamps super high gain and are they noisy? Comparatively, the Treadplate (brand new) is silent. Also, they seem to have the nearly the same exact voicing. When I set up the controls to be exactly the same, they have the same exact tone, except that the Ultra has four times as much gain.

What was the Ultra modeled after and are there any killer mods out there for it?

Thanks!

 

[Jaded Faith]

Sounds to me like you might need some repairs (your gain pot sounds like it's broken) and might like some mod work. Shoot me a PM and we can chat.
Rob

 

[Mike P]

Here's a sample of the noise. The gain knob doesn't even begin working until 10 O'clock. I'm turning the gain clockwise. The level is at 9 O'clock.

www.mikeplas.com/mike/ultra.mp3

That's with an MXR Smart Gate.

Does this sound like a simple problem with the gain pot or something far more? Should I just get a refund? Thanks!

 

[isburgracing]

I had the same problem with my ultra, I sent it to have it modded by pete instead of returning it...

 

[Mike P]

I had the same problem with my ultra, I sent it to have it modded by pete instead of returning it...

Was it just the gain pot or something more?

Is there a design flaw in the Ultra?

 

[isburgracing]

It's an Ultra, those things are full of gain and, that's why i think its noisy. Is it at full gain, or you backing off on the gain a bit and its noisy?

 

[Mike P]

That was a bad module and maybe even a scam.

I bought it off of Ebay. As soon as I plugged it in, it made a loud humming noise, worse than a ground or than just a "high gain" noise. I contacted the seller, who was nothing less than a jerk. He claimed it was fine when he shipped it, so he asked I write a letter to USPS describing the damage so he could file a claim and get his money back.

After I wrote the letter and shipped it back to him, I asked for the $12 dollar reimbursement for shipping, to which he denied. So ultimately, I paid $12 dollars and wasted my time so this guy could get $200 dollars and his module back.

Needless to say, he'll be receiving a negative on Ebay, which will be the first for me in more than 400 total transactions.

After that incident, I purchased an Ultra from Sweetwater it works perfectly.

 

[chameleon2112]

The Ultra is a little noisy, but with my decimator it was tamed fairly easily.

 

[bktele989]

That was a bad module and maybe even a scam.

I bought it off of Ebay. As soon as I plugged it in, it made a loud humming noise, worse than a ground or than just a "high gain" noise. I contacted the seller, who was nothing less than a jerk. He claimed it was fine when he shipped it, so he asked I write a letter to USPS describing the damage so he could file a claim and get his money back.

After I wrote the letter and shipped it back to him, I asked for the $12 dollar reimbursement for shipping, to which he denied. So ultimately, I paid $12 dollars and wasted my time so this guy could get $200 dollars and his module back.

Needless to say, he'll be receiving a negative on Ebay, which will be the first for me in more than 400 total transactions.

After that incident, I purchased an Ultra from Sweetwater it works perfectly.

I had an ultraxl that i had the same, found out it was "modded" poorly by someone else. Thanks again JF!

 

[chickenspank]

My ultra is a little noisy...noisier than some of the other high gain modules I have. But I don't think it should be unbearable. I agree with the others...sounds like something is wrong...