Vox AD30VT - problems

fungusyoung · May 11th, 2005, 10:15 AM

Everyone else I know that has one of these loves them. And I do too, tonewise, but... I think I got a lemon and Vox's authorized tech rep hasn't resolved anything.

The amp was bought late last summer, and when we set it up to record (a song with fairly high gain and lots of starts and stops) there was an annoying buzz particularly when I would mute the strings. It sounds almost like some sort of shorting out or grounding problem. It was more prevalent when using a single coil guitar (we tried a Tele, Strat & LP Jr.), but we finally did get a fair take when using a standard LP.

I bought this out of state (near my buddy's home stuido), and it's been down there all the while. Took it back to the store earlier this year, and they had me take it to their local Vox authorized repair place. It has been there a couple/three months, and they called me a couple weeks ago & claimed they couldn't find the problem.

I went there yesterday, plugged in my Tele and bang! The buzz is there. Tech tells me he thinks it's the guitar. I say, "nope, we tried others, same issue". He had an old Crate with buckers, so I showed him again that this wasn't the problem, though it was less pronounced. Next he tells me that it's likely a proximity issue (his best guess) since I was playing with a short patch chord. Nope, I assure him I tried recording with a 15 - 20 foot leash and was playing variable distances away from it.

We tried different chords, different guitars, different amounts of power from the amp (I think you have the option of playing at either 15 W or 30), etc. Nothing made a difference.

I took the amp back to my buddy's. Warranty is dead at the end of July. I emailed Vox a shorter version of the story (sorry, you get the long version), but am curious to know if anyone here has any idea what this could be. It was only $240, but it annoys me to no end that I've gotten no satisfaction on the repair side. And, I'd really like to use this amp for some upcoming recording later this summer. It is not useable for that as is, and I doubt I'd even use it much for practice much either. Only has about 10- 12 hours of total playing time on it to date.

As always, thanks for any comments.

Tim Kelly · May 11th, 2005, 11:31 AM

Have you adjusted the Noise Gate? All the model presets have the Noise Gate set pretty high. Read the manuel more than once. There is just a short sentence which discusses the Noise Gate adjustment.

When I received my AD15VT, I had the same problem. After I lowered the setting the noise went away.

If this does not solve your problem, go to forum section of http://www.patchtronix.com/ . There are many helpful VOX users there that will help you solve your problem. There is also a lot of useful information on the site.

Good luck.

Tim

Tim Westcott · May 11th, 2005, 12:03 PM

I'd second the suggestion to join the forum at Patchtronix.com as that is a site devoted to Valvetronix users.

I have an AD30VT and also use a Tele. I regularly have buzzing but that is the problem with single coil guitars and occurs when using both of the amps I have. Teles are susceptible to interference no matter how well they are grounded. This noise is worse with the higher gain models on the AD30VT. From your comments though it sounds like this is not the problem you are experiencing.

fungusyoung · May 11th, 2005, 09:16 PM

Thanks, Tims! Truly appreciate it. It will be a little while before I get down there again & have time to fuss with it, but I can't thank you enough for getting me headed in the right direction. Didn't check the Noise Gate, and I'm gonna re-read the manual within the next day or two.

rmielech · May 12th, 2005, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fungusyoung

Thanks, Tims! Truly appreciate it. It will be a little while before I get down there again & have time to fuss with it, but I can't thank you enough for getting me headed in the right direction. Didn't check the Noise Gate, and I'm gonna re-read the manual within the next day or two.

Other forums have posts complaining about the same thing with that amp, and the noise gate was the problem. I've got the 50, and I haven't noticed this, but noise seems to be a part of my style, so if it's broke i don't want to fix it.

Wally · May 12th, 2005, 08:02 PM

When one runs high gain, one also introduces noise.

The noise gate is there to subdue the noise when a signal is not being processed and therefore making enough musical(hopefully) sounds to override the inherent high gain noise. 8)

May 11th, 2005, 10:15 AM	#1 (permalink)
fungusyoung Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Eastern PA Posts: 1,017 22 Photos	Vox AD30VT - problems Everyone else I know that has one of these loves them. And I do too, tonewise, but... I think I got a lemon and Vox's authorized tech rep hasn't resolved anything. The amp was bought late last summer, and when we set it up to record (a song with fairly high gain and lots of starts and stops) there was an annoying buzz particularly when I would mute the strings. It sounds almost like some sort of shorting out or grounding problem. It was more prevalent when using a single coil guitar (we tried a Tele, Strat & LP Jr.), but we finally did get a fair take when using a standard LP. I bought this out of state (near my buddy's home stuido), and it's been down there all the while. Took it back to the store earlier this year, and they had me take it to their local Vox authorized repair place. It has been there a couple/three months, and they called me a couple weeks ago & claimed they couldn't find the problem. I went there yesterday, plugged in my Tele and bang! The buzz is there. Tech tells me he thinks it's the guitar. I say, "nope, we tried others, same issue". He had an old Crate with buckers, so I showed him again that this wasn't the problem, though it was less pronounced. Next he tells me that it's likely a proximity issue (his best guess) since I was playing with a short patch chord. Nope, I assure him I tried recording with a 15 - 20 foot leash and was playing variable distances away from it. We tried different chords, different guitars, different amounts of power from the amp (I think you have the option of playing at either 15 W or 30), etc. Nothing made a difference. I took the amp back to my buddy's. Warranty is dead at the end of July. I emailed Vox a shorter version of the story (sorry, you get the long version), but am curious to know if anyone here has any idea what this could be. It was only $240, but it annoys me to no end that I've gotten no satisfaction on the repair side. And, I'd really like to use this amp for some upcoming recording later this summer. It is not useable for that as is, and I doubt I'd even use it much for practice much either. Only has about 10- 12 hours of total playing time on it to date. As always, thanks for any comments.

May 11th, 2005, 11:31 AM	#2 (permalink)
Tim Kelly TDPRI Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: St. Augustine, Florida Posts: 30	Have you adjusted the Noise Gate? All the model presets have the Noise Gate set pretty high. Read the manuel more than once. There is just a short sentence which discusses the Noise Gate adjustment. When I received my AD15VT, I had the same problem. After I lowered the setting the noise went away. If this does not solve your problem, go to forum section of http://www.patchtronix.com/ . There are many helpful VOX users there that will help you solve your problem. There is also a lot of useful information on the site. Good luck. Tim

May 11th, 2005, 12:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
Tim Westcott TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 11	I'd second the suggestion to join the forum at Patchtronix.com as that is a site devoted to Valvetronix users. I have an AD30VT and also use a Tele. I regularly have buzzing but that is the problem with single coil guitars and occurs when using both of the amps I have. Teles are susceptible to interference no matter how well they are grounded. This noise is worse with the higher gain models on the AD30VT. From your comments though it sounds like this is not the problem you are experiencing.

May 11th, 2005, 09:16 PM	#4 (permalink)
fungusyoung Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Eastern PA Posts: 1,017 22 Photos	Thanks, Tims! Truly appreciate it. It will be a little while before I get down there again & have time to fuss with it, but I can't thank you enough for getting me headed in the right direction. Didn't check the Noise Gate, and I'm gonna re-read the manual within the next day or two.

May 12th, 2005, 08:02 PM	#6 (permalink)
Wally Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Lubbock, TX Posts: 4,212	When one runs high gain, one also introduces noise. The noise gate is there to subdue the noise when a signal is not being processed and therefore making enough musical(hopefully) sounds to override the inherent high gain noise. 8)