Good day. It is 7/15/2023. I purchased a Vox VT100 that fuzzed out. I purchased it cheap probably because of that. I was on my way to do something drastic and then I saw this video. I had a short 90 degree pedal cable and connected the send/receive jacks in the back. You are absolutely correct. I will never use the loop jacks so the cable will remain. I now have full volume all the time. Maybe I will try the cleaner though. Thank you so much. Correct Information is powerful.
This was so helpful! It’s been an issue with my Marshall DSL40C, and now doing good so far. Such a simple fix. I was dreading having to take it in for expensive diagnostics and repairs
My problem is that I lose volume when I use the effect loop... For years I plugged a Boss GE into the effects loop to boost my solos, but suddenly when I press the pedal I lose volume.. a lot of. If I switch the amp off/ on the power comes back. I use a DSL 2000 50 watts. Can anybody help me?
I never would’ve thought of this on my own. But it makes so much sense when you explain it. It was sure a lot easier than opening up the amp and tinkering around. Thanks for the simple fix.
My man, you just gained a subscriber. Wow...I've been fighting this one for a couple of days and was getting ready to take it in. Found your video and it's been playing absolutely clean for about 45 minutes now. Thank you!!!
I ran the pre-amp external output of my Marshall 8040 to its main amp external input and voila! Problem solved! No more clipping and fade-out! Thanks for providing us with your knowledge!
HOLY CRAP THIS FIXED IT. My Marshall did this almost since I bought it back in 2004, I would clean everything out and it would seem to fix it. I even brought it to shops and they didn’t know what was wrong, they would just clean everything and it would work again. The problem came back today after 7 years and this fix was perfect.
Just bought a used amp that appeared to be in great condition and worked great when I was testing out at the previous owner's house. When I got back to my place and started playing with it, the signal "buzzed out" as you described a few times. Flipping it on and off standby fixed the problem in the short term, but I was understandably concerned about my new purchase. Then I tried this solution while it was in "buzz out" mode, and the signal returned right away. Thank you so much! I should get around to cleaning/replacing the effects loop jacks, but this fix is wonderful.
@@jamelectronicshis story is my exact story to the letter, only 5 years later. Thank you so much, it saved me from ripping the speakers out of an amp I just paid $240 for to try and salvage it. (Vox ad 120 VT)
I just fixed my Bugera 1990, thank you so much James!! That explains why the output transformer was working so hard, because of the resistance in the FX loop. Transformer is staying cool and the amp is running great. Very helpful!
Wow, thanks so much! I have a 30 year old jcm600 marshall replaced tubes and was so puzzled thinking power drop off meant a power tube problem. Not my old Marshall friend and I can get on with things until I get a permanent fix. Much appreciated!
Just bought a Marshall Valvestate 40 amp off ebay it was 1994 version with original box pristine condition got is unpacked and you guessed it the sound faded out! My little heart sunk, what can I do? Get on RU-vid and see if there is a solution ..... Thank you my friend worked a treat Ill give it a good clean with some electric cleaner now or buy a new fitting.
Thanks a lot James. I ran into this when re-tubing a Marshall JTM 30, and this bypass loop keeps input signals very consistent and I haven't heard anything since from the musician. So thanks for the reminder since I just got in a 1980's Roland Bolt 60 with the same reported issue. You saved me a lot of angst!
Man this made my whole night! My Blackstar HT Stage 60 has been down for over a year now and that just brought her back to life. Didn’t work on my Marshall DSL40 Vintage but that might be a preamp tube. Thank you for this video!
Thank you so much for this video!! I've spent months trying to figure out what could be the issue and finally it worked like magic! I was just about ready to throw my amp out the window as the local tech could not remedy it. Thank you!!
OMG TYVM MATE YOU SAVED MY LIFE I have a rocktron rampage rt122c, it has 2 speakers and sometimes the volume dropped suddenly to almost 0 in one or both speakers and this solved my problem, thank you very much. You should definetly try this if you had this problem before
Thats exactly what I did whahahahah. Just had new tubes installed and the amp cuts out. I read somewhere that effcts loops jacks go bad over time, and cuts the signal. If you plug into these jacks they may not return to the bypass position and remain cut off becuase contacts are dirty or the spring doesn't want to come back to the proper position. So the signal gets cut. And I figured what if.....I patch a cable into this. Lo and behold the problem vannished. Looked online for a video regarding this and found this. Thanks for the confirmatory info James. This fix will save you a costly trip to your tech.
Thank you James, my amp had all the symptoms you mentioned, I tried replacing tubes but the patch cable fixed my mess boogie dual rectifier amp, now it sounds great, many thanks to you for sharing this fix 😎👍
I’ve done a lot of diy fixes to save my amp except spraying contact cleaner in the input jacks. My amp doesn’t have a send/return, but tried the fix on the main input, the footswitch input, line out , and headphones outc and it worked! Crackling and sound dropping are gone. Thank you!
I have a Dean Markley K100B. I purchased new in 1993, the signal seems like it's starting to need time to warm up before it will actually play consistently. I've sprayed dialectic spray were I can. I've played different guitars thru it so its not the guitar. Any Idea's? Does solid state need time to warm up over age? Rust, etc ? Let me know. Thanks.
Have you tried the fix I talk about in this video? If so and it didn’t work, I would suspect a cold solder connection. Try banging on the top of the amp with your fist when it’s working. If it causes a drop out, then possibly there is a bad connection. Then you just need to examine circuit board for bad solder connections. Good luck!
@@jamelectronics Hawdy thank you, I've not gotten into the fix yet. Input 1 has the drop outs. Input 2, is fine. I'm currently running my bass into the 'line in' right now, My bass now sounds like a stand up. I'm very happy with it at the moment. I just don't use input 1. I play twice a week so it's not easy to do without. I can't find that sound on my Peavey Bandit 65 either.
@@WorldRockumentaryChannel Gotcha! Based on what you’ve said, I would suspect input 1 jack. It’s common for the solder on jacks to break down due to stress from the plug on the guitar cable.
@@jamelectronics Yeah I was thinking that, but what throws me off it's that it's such a smooth drop out, not like a crackle, it will fade real dim, and then phase back in to it's normal level.
Excitedly, I tried this to no avail. That said, I took the circuit tray out of my amplifier and turned it over. I found that a resister had come loose in the solder connecting it to the board. I reflowed this solder and added a touch. Now, all is good. Thankfully, mine was a easy fix. (Amp: Marshall MG50DFX combo)
wow lol. If only I knew haha. I've been pulling my hair out trying to figure out this issue. For once, I found someone who had an answer!! You are the man my friend.
By plugging in a Patch cable in send - Return loop ( Never used the effects loop ! ) , It definitely solved the "Drop out -volume " & Noise problem with my 10 year old SOLID STATE Amp ( Hughes & Kettner - Edition blue ) ! Seemed those send-Return inputs were heavily corroded ! THNX !
It didn't work but you are great at teaching! I have a Fender Mustang 3 amp with no sound to speaker? It works flawlessly with headphones and an aux device but neither will come through speaker! I'm certainly not an Electronics tech but I know enough to check my guitar cord for continuity, checked the input jack, cleaned all jacks with Deoxit still no sound. I'd sure like to have your input if you're willing to give it :) Thanks in advance!
Man, thank you!! I bought a used Peavey Supreme XL (solid state) head and shortly after i started having volume loss issues to the point where it was unplayable and I got the recommendation to patch the effects loop and it worked perfectly! But I couldnt find any info anywhere as to WHY that works... I much appreciate this video!!!
Amazing!!! I got a Vox AD60VT amp from 2001 year, that was completely dead with no sound! I plugged in a guitar cable into the Loop effects Send and Return.....and it now everything Works just like New!! Even the foot controller pedal. Unbelievable! Amazing! THANK YOU! So much Sir!
Thank you sir, you have saved me. I just bought an amp yesterday after testing it in the ex owners house, where it worked just fine, but had this issue when i got home. I thought it was a voltage problem in my apartment or that i may have damaged it on the way. What a bummer, until i found your video. Thanks again, the least i can do is subscribing to your channel, so there you go.
What really sucks is that the guy that sold it to you obviously knew of this issue and he didn’t say a word besides “O hell ya it’s great it’s awesome “ I hate dickheads like that , Well my head just started doing this so I ain’t gonna lie I’m scared 😟 even though I make three times the amount of money when I bought my set up well you know i ain’t gotta tell you about the hear and now that you already don’t know your self,Man I hope this works just I hope I have half the luck 🍀 you did pray 🙏 🙏 haha sorry about my problems didn’t come here for that just saying that guy had to know ,I mean how could he not ,ya know
@@anthonysthellhammerg4388 Yeah he must have known, and when i told him what was happening he just said "thanks for the information"... buying used things sometimes is such a headache. I ended up selling that amp and bought a new one. But instead i did tell the new buyer about this and gave him a patch cable to close the loop in case he wasn't gonna use it.
Likewise man you saved my laney tube amp thank you you are a guru of the amps awesome I found out it was effect loop circuit fortunately amp has a bypass thanks again absolutely awesome
Thanks, I have a older tech 21 landmark 60 bass amp that was cutting out, worked a plug in and out of the effect loop Jacks (that I have never used) and amp came back to life.
Oh wow damn. I've been having these kind of problems. I have a sonic maximizer going through my effects loop. Thank you sure! I haven't tried it yet, but this gives me hope that when I sober up I can fix this.
I rarely use my Fx loop, but I have this fade-out problem. Does this usually happen when the FX loop is unused or the other way? Oh and I just found your video and subscribed.
This worked on my Marshall 5210. I ran out of contact cleaner but have some on the way. I cleaned the pots today and will try cleaning out all the inputs. The amp has a bit of static going on but a cable in the effects loop prevents the cutting out and volume drop like magic.
This actually works. Thankyou so much I've spent two days trying to fix this issue, thought it was my guitar at first was devastated .Again thankyou so much . Pulse 200 pa system 4 channel.
can i do the same cable patch method on the power amp input and output.?? ...Edited comment well i did the patch on the effects loops i just bought an ampeg VH-140C for 100 bucks the owner stated on the sale add the volume cut off i tell him I'll take it maybe i can fix it i did a throughly clean-up but the problems did not get fixed with the volume cutting off on the high and low channel even one of the speakers wasn't getting signal out weird that i use a effects modeler on the efffect loop input and i switch it to preamp input to and it work fine i was watching videos about fx loop and came across this one and i did exactly this i patch the effects loops and voila problem fixed thank you very much
Great tip, thanks for sharing I usually replace parts as I have an electronics degree and don't mind soldering. But that is an excellent way to troubleshoot the fx loop section 👍
how can you tell if you have good guitar chords? What type of reading with an ohm meter should I get? I am guilty of buying cheap guitar chords and putting switch craft jacks on the end after I shorten them from 10 feet down to 7 feet which gives me a 3 foot jumper out of every 10 foot cord I shorten. I am a retired electrician and I do know that the bigger the wire, the more amps it will flow. You cannot have two large a gauge of wire when it comes to electrical wiring. Does that matter that much with guitar cords..Is there a Maximum acceptable resistance reading I should get for my guitar chords? What is the problem with cheap made in China guitar chords? Is it too small of a gauge of wire, is it bad insulation that could be causing a problem? Thank you for that way to bypass a possible problem by plugging a short cord into both the in and the out of the effects loop.. I also have a tweed Peavey deltablues 15 inch amplifier, one of the last ones made in the United States. Never been out of my house. it has a common problem to these amplifiers. If I have the reverb set above six on the dial, the amp will start slowly building feedback. I have seen on RU-vid, that this is common with this amp.. some people say that I need to somehow insulate the reverb tank up off of the floor of the amplifier somehow to eliminate this phenomenon.. have you seen this in person, and how did you fix it. If you haven’t, there are videos on RU-vid, one guy does a lot of guitar & amp reviews from Australia. He’s very good. He showed that all he had to do was turn the dial up past six, and just touch the amplifier with his finger, and it would start to feedback, I don’t think he even had a guitar plugged in to get it to do that. Thanks for the information, I will clean my jacks with “contact cleaner “and I will try that jumper on the effects loop in/out
Brand new amplifier had this problem and this fixed it. Initially I thought it was power amp tubes but I plugged my guitar into the FX return and the issue didnt occur. Was happening on both channels so I shorted the send and return and havent had the problem since.
HEY!!!!!!!!!!! THAT WORKED!!!!!!!!!! I had just purchased a used VOX ACCX2 and it was spiking tone dropping down to nothing with an occasional spike back up and then finally stayed that way. Your amazing. Ok so now I have no effects loop which I can deal with. I have other amps and can now see if I like my new used VOX or not (always been fender guy blah blah etc and wanted to own a Vox too). So the only thing left is when I move the volume up and down I get a slight (very slight I almost didn't notice it and sometimes it didn't do it at all) crackle. Nothing that noticeable except to a guy like me who records. What can I do about that? Spray the contacts???????? THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I can now see if VOX amps are for me or not. Ive always been a fender guy so probably stick with what I've always loved but you never know i might dial something in nice. How do I permanently fix the FX loop? Is this a permanent fix? Thank you so much!!! Thumbs up!
Glad it worked for you! BTW you can still use your effects loop. It should work fine. Just unplug your jumper and plug in your effects and it will work. As to the noisy volume control, try this: Just exercise the control, that is, work it clockwise and then counterclockwise over and over until the crackle disappears. If this doesn't work you will have to open up the amp and spray some contact cleaner on the POT.
James!!!!! I had the same problem with my ht club 40 blackstar....I tried the clean method like you mentioned and plugged the fx loop with a short patch cable....I THINK IT FU#$% WORKED . will try it out in a bit again. If it works...daaamn you saved me a lot of hassle ...thank you !!!!!
I’ve noticed the last 2 times I’ve played my Peavey Bravo 112, the volume cut out, and quickly went down to barely audible. I’m going to try using a patch cable before messing with replacing tubes. Thanks for the advice!!!
I just did the exact thing you said. I sprayed it with contact spray and plugged in them cable a few times and bam! Thank you very much, I was going to throw out this cheap practice amp!
Well Mr Pattillo I jammed for about 45 min and I believe that did the trick thank you so much 😊 You just saved me a lot of stress,pain and money I’m supposed to get paid sometime today and we’ll I can’t give you much but I can at least shell out five bucks so you can at least get a cup of coffee, do you have pay-pal or something? O yeah and I’m gonna subscribe too
I just want to thank you so much for this advice. I had an old Marshall jcm 2000 dsl 100 that I stopped using years ago because of the volume fading out intermittently. I replaced all preamp tube sockets and resoldered everything in the amp, thinking it was a cold solder joint but nothing worked. Finally I had to purchase a newer version of the dsl that in my mind is sub par to the original. I just found your video today and tried your solution. It worked wonderfully and I’ve been playing for several hours now without any issues!! Again, thank you so much for this advice!!!
Awesome and helpful video's. I have a randall rg100 G3 plus. It's a solid state/valve hybrid amp. The distortion channel works fine. But the clean channel not so much. The lights on it light up when I switch channels. But the knobs other than master volume, do not respond /work. I don't know why?
I’m a little confused what piece is the one he’s holding exactly? I’m dealing with my sound just randomly dropping and then going right back and can’t seem to figure it out
I’m sure that could be why an amplifier with an effects loop could misbehave, but there are far more issues other than an effects loop jack that would trigger this problem. Power tubes, preamp tubes, output transformer, etc… etc… etc…
You are right but as seen from other posters they had looked at these potential issues you refer to and it hadn't solved their issue. This potential fix should be your first port of call. Its a quick fix and cists no money. Never overlook the simple things otherwise you could spend a lot of money and be no further on.
