Vox AD50VT - cutting out?

[tremoloman]

Since this place is a haven for Vox amps, have any of you had issues with your sound cutting out on you?

The last two nights worth of practice, both my Jazzmaster and MIM Strats have the volume cut out on me repeatedly after roughly a couple of hours worth of use. If I turned it off for a minute, it would work OK again for about 15-20 mins, then the same problem. *shrug*

Could my effects be causing an issue? I was only using a Vox Wah.

 

[Tim]

The last two nights worth of practice, both my Jazzmaster and MIM Strats have the volume cut out on me repeatedly

Trem – I have had a problem with the effects not being where they are suppose to be. I.E. Select Chorus and end up with Flanger. I also read about the ADxxVT amps cutting out on another forum.

A couple of individuals stated that if you “Restore the Factory Settings” (see page 15 in the manual), the problem goes away for sometime. I did the reset and the effects problem went away.

It may have something to do with the memory build up or something. I would suggest that you write down your settings before next practice. If the unit cuts out, do the reboot and install the old settings. Then see if the problem goes away. The reboot takes about one minute or less to do.

Please report back your findings.

 

[tremoloman]

Thank you for the tip! I'll give that a try next practice and let you know how it goes. The amp is only 6 weeks old, so I was a bit disturbed since my Peavey Classic 50 hasn't failed me once in 12 years of service. (Well, except when I blew the speaker a year ago, but that was my fault.)

Take care!

 

[Robert]

I once had a similoar problem once, Tremolodude. I played in a place with very bad power (lights were blinking), and i think the power surges made the amp go a little wonky. Maybe it's best to use a good surge protector to go with the amp. However, it doesn't help if the power goes "too low", if you know what I mean.

 

[jpfeifer]

Hi,

I've seen several posts on the patchtonix.com site with reguard to the Valvetronix amps cutting out in volume. There is a guy on that forum by the name of voxman who is very helpful with troubleshooting these kinds of problems.

The most common reason for the volume cutting out is a dirty headphone jack or effects-look return/send jack. The best way to remedy the problem is to buy some contact cleaner at your local electronics shop, such as Radio Shack. Spray the contact cleaner on all of the jacks in the rear panel, especially the headphone jack. Let the contact cleaner dry before powering the amp back on. If these jacks get any dirt in them they can disengage the speaker accidentally and cause the volume to drop like this. I haven't had this problem with my Valvetronix amp yet, but there are alot of people who have reported this same issue.

I hope this helps, -- Jim

 

[Robert]

Wow, thanks Jim, I didn't know this! Voxman contacted me about a different matter and said that the early versions of the AD50VT had a poor speaker, and an upgrade does wonders.

 

[tremoloman]

jpfeifer,

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll give ti a try, but I never have this problem with my other amp. I reset my amp twice the other night and it sill cut out on me a few times. *shrug*

Hopefully this will straighten it out.

 

[Tone2TheBone]

....no comment = good ju ju.

(no probs here)

 

[Tim]

There is a guy on that forum by the name of voxman who is very helpful with troubleshooting these kinds of problems.

I agree. The “Voxman” is very knowledgeable when it comes to VOX amps. Rich will go out of his way to help you solve any problem you may have. He has been helping people with troubled questions and inquiries since 2004. Rick also knows someone inside the VOX company who works on the guitar amps. Rich does stress spaying down the inputs jacks with contact spray on a regular basis. It has something to do with the material used by the supplier of the jack.

Rich does hang out on the Valvetronics website, but has visited the Fret Net forum more than once. Rick has posted a message or two about Dolphin Street.Com videos and has corrected a few forum poster’s on Robert’s 51 Squire guitar. There a few Valvetronics forum member’s who like to speak their opinion (which is their right) but the language is some times not polite.

I must say I have visited a few forums, but I find the Fret Net forum the best. Presently there are a bunch of great guys who call this place home. Although I know I could be very bothersome with all the questions I ask, everybody is friendly, helpful and courteous. I feel you all live just around the corner, even though some of you live across the ocean, above the northern border or in South America. It goes to show how a passion for music can bring brotherhood (and sisterhood for any ladies reading the forum) together for solidarity. Dang …. I had to wipe away a tear or two.

Rock on brothers (and sisters).

 

[jpfeifer]

Hi Tremoloman,

Yeah, I know what you mean. I've never had this problem on any other amp before but it does make sense that the jacks can get dirty and cause a problem like this. From what I'd heard, the Vox amps use some kind of spring-loaded jack for the headphone and the "spring" mechanism can get stuck if it get's dirty over time. My Eric Clapton Strat has a similar issue with the input jack because it has a spring-loaded circuit that turns on a battery when you plug a cable in. When I haven't played that guitar for a while the jack can get a little noisy.

I hope that the contact cleaner solves the problem for you.

-- Jim