Post by Kevin on Oct 29, 2008 2:35:06 GMT
From: Mr V (Original Message) Sent: 06/10/2008 20:53
Hi Charlie,
Long time no speak :-))
Some time ago I seem to remember someone posting on this same subject, last evening one of my CCX2's started acting up, the volume would dive quite rapidly and then without notice return.
Any idea of the cause ( valves :-( ) would be appreciated before I take it in for repair and get faced with a second mortgage.
Regards
Steve Valentine
Toronto
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Recommend Delete Message 2 of 12 in Discussion
From: Charlie Hall Sent: 06/10/2008 22:37
Hi Steve,
How are you?
I'm not too familiar with those amps. It could be a valve or (if the amp has an effects loop?) it could be a bad switching contact on the effects return jack. Or it could be a bad solder joint, or bad valve base pin connection.
You might narrow down the area of the fault by checking to see if it happens on all channels. If so, then the problem area is in the power amp or the power supply.
Regards,
Charlie
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Recommend Delete Message 3 of 12 in Discussion
From: MSN Nicknameguitarmark-67 Sent: 07/10/2008 08:46
The Vox AD120 series suffered with this - and it's due to the effects loop. A jack plug sprayed with switch cleaner rapidly pushed in and out of the effects send and return usually cures this - does the cc2 have an effects loop ?
regards
Mark.
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Recommend Delete Message 4 of 12 in Discussion
From: Mr V Sent: 07/10/2008 20:46
Hi Charlie,
Some time ago I had the same problem which I thought was caused by a volume pedal, so tried my DiArmond pedal and the problem went away.
I have it set up so the guitar goes through the pedal to the Magicstomp and then the amp, dont use the effects loop unless I use my Q2, which seems to work better through the effects loop.
And to answer your question Charlie, I'm fine, was in the UK for Shadowmania and did not have a chance to get to Ely, next year I will make time.
Well I think I will try a few things at home to see if the problem is fixable, if not then its off to to the mender :-(
Thanks for your help
Steve.
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Recommend Delete Message 5 of 12 in Discussion
From: Charlie Hall Sent: 08/10/2008 01:55
Hi Steve,
Glad to know you are OK.
It could be the Magicstomp causing this problem. Try running the amp without it for a while.
If you haven't seen it, have a look at the recent thread called Info for Magicstomp users.
Regards,
Charlie
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 6 of 12 in Discussion
From: Mr V Sent: 17/10/2008 18:18
Hi Charlie,
I have had the amp checked out and no faults were found and all tubes working well.
You mentioned that it could be the magicstomp causing the problem, also I had the same problem when using the Q2 through this same amp, so now I need your suggestions asap as we are about to do a showcase and naturally I cant have the same fault during that event.
Your advice appreciated.
Regards
Steve.
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 7 of 12 in Discussion
From: Charlie Hall Sent: 17/10/2008 23:37
Hi Steve,
Was the amp checked by Vox or a Vox service centre or by someone else?
It seems more likely to be the amp causing the volume loss as far as I can make out from what you are saying. I think you need to give the amp a good thrashing (volume wise, not with a stick) by just connecting the guitar to it to see if the fault occurs without the other units confusing the issue. It could be something heating up with internal heat build up (which may not show up if the amp is being tested out of the cab). If you can get the amp to reproduce the fault, try then hitting the cabinet hard with your hand to see if it goes back to normal. If that happens, there is probably a bad connection or bad solder joint somewhere in the amp. At the very least, if the amp can be proven unreliable at this point, you should not use it until it is fixed if troublefree operation must be avoided.
To check the Magicstomp, if you have a digital multimeter, set it to the 20V DC (or some setting higher than say 10 volts range) setting and put a signal cable in the normally used output of the Magicstomp, then check for any DC voltage by putting the meter probes on the two conductors of the other end of the cable. It doesn't matter which way round you connect the meter probes, if a value other than zero +/- a fraction of a volt is read, there is a problem with the Magicstomp. If any voltage reading gradually fades to nothing the output being tested is probably OK. Anything higher than a fraction of a volt could give trouble.
The Q2 is unlikely to have a similar fault but you could try checking it in a similar way.
Regards,
Charlie
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 8 of 12 in Discussion
From: MSN NicknameJohnnyshadow1 Sent: 18/10/2008 06:45
Hello Steven,
I'm a new member, that's why you didn't hear earlier from me.
I had the same problem and nobody could find the fault. Later did one heating all and then we saw that it were the valves of the pre-amp. After chancing the valves there were no troubles anymore.
I hope you will have someting on my experiences.
Regards,
Jan
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Recommend Delete Message 9 of 12 in Discussion
From: Mr V Sent: 19/10/2008 19:29
Thanks Charlie and Jan,
I will most certainly give the amp a full workout without effects next Sunday, and we will see what comes of it.
The amp was looked at by one of the larger specialist amp repair shops in Ontario, after which I went to my prefered shop, The Arts Music, and their luthier suggested that the connectivity is quite a big issues these days, be it dodgy patch chords or the valves making a solid contact, he suggested using sandpaper to make all the pins on the valves obtain a good contact, particularly as this amp has not really got the number of hours on it to cause valve failure, he also suggested the same with the patch cords, which I should be able to avoid now as I have purchased new ones with a lifetime warrantee ( who's life I dont know ).
For a while now I have experimented witha small Roland Cube 20X, mainly for home practice, and the sound I get with the Alesis combined with this unit set on the tube setting is quite amazing, so the band will borrow 2 60W versions for our next rehersal, which of course we can mike up through the PA, and if the sound translates the way we think it may, then the Vox's could just be history....yet another test eh.
Will let you know on all counts what is found to be wrong, or indeed right with the Rolands.
Regards
Steve.
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 10 of 12 in Discussion
From: Charlie Hall Sent: 19/10/2008 20:03
I think the term lifetime warranty is more of a marketing ploy than a guarantee. As you say, whose life, the owner or the product?
Good luck with finding the cause. Most new valves have clean shiny pins but I have seen some new ones that are not so clean, more of a dirty grey colour.
Regards,
Charlie
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Recommend Delete Message 11 of 12 in Discussion
From: MSN NicknameShannock6 Sent: 20/10/2008 13:30
Hi All,
Can I stick my two pennorth in here. When I got my AD50, I went to try an AC30CC1 in the shop. Straight out of the sealed box, it was as dead as a Dodo. I suggest therefore that Vox quality control really sucks, as I have heard of other AC30's having severe problems when new. If your amp is still within its guarantee Steve, I would take it back and demand either a replacement or a refund. Presumably they have similar consumer rights in Canada as in the UK, and it would appear that your amp is "not fit for purpose".
Kevin
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Recommend Delete Message 12 of 12 in Discussion
From: Mr V Sent: 20/10/2008 13:41
Hi Charlie and Kevin,
Hope its the life of the product Charlie...the alternate is very limited :-)))
Regretfully Kevin both my Vox's are well out of Warranty, I bought them when first released and due to the weight it was easier to use the rehearsal studio's equipment, so I pay the price for laziness eh?.
Regards
Steve
Hi Charlie,
Long time no speak :-))
Some time ago I seem to remember someone posting on this same subject, last evening one of my CCX2's started acting up, the volume would dive quite rapidly and then without notice return.
Any idea of the cause ( valves :-( ) would be appreciated before I take it in for repair and get faced with a second mortgage.
Regards
Steve Valentine
Toronto
First Previous 2-12 of 12 Next Last Delete Replies
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 2 of 12 in Discussion
From: Charlie Hall Sent: 06/10/2008 22:37
Hi Steve,
How are you?
I'm not too familiar with those amps. It could be a valve or (if the amp has an effects loop?) it could be a bad switching contact on the effects return jack. Or it could be a bad solder joint, or bad valve base pin connection.
You might narrow down the area of the fault by checking to see if it happens on all channels. If so, then the problem area is in the power amp or the power supply.
Regards,
Charlie
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 3 of 12 in Discussion
From: MSN Nicknameguitarmark-67 Sent: 07/10/2008 08:46
The Vox AD120 series suffered with this - and it's due to the effects loop. A jack plug sprayed with switch cleaner rapidly pushed in and out of the effects send and return usually cures this - does the cc2 have an effects loop ?
regards
Mark.
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 4 of 12 in Discussion
From: Mr V Sent: 07/10/2008 20:46
Hi Charlie,
Some time ago I had the same problem which I thought was caused by a volume pedal, so tried my DiArmond pedal and the problem went away.
I have it set up so the guitar goes through the pedal to the Magicstomp and then the amp, dont use the effects loop unless I use my Q2, which seems to work better through the effects loop.
And to answer your question Charlie, I'm fine, was in the UK for Shadowmania and did not have a chance to get to Ely, next year I will make time.
Well I think I will try a few things at home to see if the problem is fixable, if not then its off to to the mender :-(
Thanks for your help
Steve.
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 5 of 12 in Discussion
From: Charlie Hall Sent: 08/10/2008 01:55
Hi Steve,
Glad to know you are OK.
It could be the Magicstomp causing this problem. Try running the amp without it for a while.
If you haven't seen it, have a look at the recent thread called Info for Magicstomp users.
Regards,
Charlie
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 6 of 12 in Discussion
From: Mr V Sent: 17/10/2008 18:18
Hi Charlie,
I have had the amp checked out and no faults were found and all tubes working well.
You mentioned that it could be the magicstomp causing the problem, also I had the same problem when using the Q2 through this same amp, so now I need your suggestions asap as we are about to do a showcase and naturally I cant have the same fault during that event.
Your advice appreciated.
Regards
Steve.
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 7 of 12 in Discussion
From: Charlie Hall Sent: 17/10/2008 23:37
Hi Steve,
Was the amp checked by Vox or a Vox service centre or by someone else?
It seems more likely to be the amp causing the volume loss as far as I can make out from what you are saying. I think you need to give the amp a good thrashing (volume wise, not with a stick) by just connecting the guitar to it to see if the fault occurs without the other units confusing the issue. It could be something heating up with internal heat build up (which may not show up if the amp is being tested out of the cab). If you can get the amp to reproduce the fault, try then hitting the cabinet hard with your hand to see if it goes back to normal. If that happens, there is probably a bad connection or bad solder joint somewhere in the amp. At the very least, if the amp can be proven unreliable at this point, you should not use it until it is fixed if troublefree operation must be avoided.
To check the Magicstomp, if you have a digital multimeter, set it to the 20V DC (or some setting higher than say 10 volts range) setting and put a signal cable in the normally used output of the Magicstomp, then check for any DC voltage by putting the meter probes on the two conductors of the other end of the cable. It doesn't matter which way round you connect the meter probes, if a value other than zero +/- a fraction of a volt is read, there is a problem with the Magicstomp. If any voltage reading gradually fades to nothing the output being tested is probably OK. Anything higher than a fraction of a volt could give trouble.
The Q2 is unlikely to have a similar fault but you could try checking it in a similar way.
Regards,
Charlie
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 8 of 12 in Discussion
From: MSN NicknameJohnnyshadow1 Sent: 18/10/2008 06:45
Hello Steven,
I'm a new member, that's why you didn't hear earlier from me.
I had the same problem and nobody could find the fault. Later did one heating all and then we saw that it were the valves of the pre-amp. After chancing the valves there were no troubles anymore.
I hope you will have someting on my experiences.
Regards,
Jan
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 9 of 12 in Discussion
From: Mr V Sent: 19/10/2008 19:29
Thanks Charlie and Jan,
I will most certainly give the amp a full workout without effects next Sunday, and we will see what comes of it.
The amp was looked at by one of the larger specialist amp repair shops in Ontario, after which I went to my prefered shop, The Arts Music, and their luthier suggested that the connectivity is quite a big issues these days, be it dodgy patch chords or the valves making a solid contact, he suggested using sandpaper to make all the pins on the valves obtain a good contact, particularly as this amp has not really got the number of hours on it to cause valve failure, he also suggested the same with the patch cords, which I should be able to avoid now as I have purchased new ones with a lifetime warrantee ( who's life I dont know ).
For a while now I have experimented witha small Roland Cube 20X, mainly for home practice, and the sound I get with the Alesis combined with this unit set on the tube setting is quite amazing, so the band will borrow 2 60W versions for our next rehersal, which of course we can mike up through the PA, and if the sound translates the way we think it may, then the Vox's could just be history....yet another test eh.
Will let you know on all counts what is found to be wrong, or indeed right with the Rolands.
Regards
Steve.
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 10 of 12 in Discussion
From: Charlie Hall Sent: 19/10/2008 20:03
I think the term lifetime warranty is more of a marketing ploy than a guarantee. As you say, whose life, the owner or the product?
Good luck with finding the cause. Most new valves have clean shiny pins but I have seen some new ones that are not so clean, more of a dirty grey colour.
Regards,
Charlie
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 11 of 12 in Discussion
From: MSN NicknameShannock6 Sent: 20/10/2008 13:30
Hi All,
Can I stick my two pennorth in here. When I got my AD50, I went to try an AC30CC1 in the shop. Straight out of the sealed box, it was as dead as a Dodo. I suggest therefore that Vox quality control really sucks, as I have heard of other AC30's having severe problems when new. If your amp is still within its guarantee Steve, I would take it back and demand either a replacement or a refund. Presumably they have similar consumer rights in Canada as in the UK, and it would appear that your amp is "not fit for purpose".
Kevin
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 12 of 12 in Discussion
From: Mr V Sent: 20/10/2008 13:41
Hi Charlie and Kevin,
Hope its the life of the product Charlie...the alternate is very limited :-)))
Regretfully Kevin both my Vox's are well out of Warranty, I bought them when first released and due to the weight it was easier to use the rehearsal studio's equipment, so I pay the price for laziness eh?.
Regards
Steve