AC30CC2 help!!

[joshuanick]

Hi guys, i just got the ac30cc2 from a friend. It was left backstage for like about 2-3 months?
When i brought it home, i tried it with just my guitar. The LED lights up, both the standby and power were lit. Every knob were set to 12 o clock. With my guitar in the normal input, i waited for about 5 mins for the amp to warm up. But when i tried playing after that, no sound came out from the speakers, the only sound i can hear is just the soft sound of the strings of the guitar vibrating. Can anyone help me please?

 

[mightyboy88]

Hard to troubleshoot the problem man, could be anything from a transformer in the amp spoil to a spoilt tube

since the led still lights up probably shouldnt have been a blown fuse

yours is a combo amp right? if its just a amp head it could be that somebody plugged into the amp without connecting the speakers to the amp and caused the transformer to fry. but if its a combo amp then such a situation should not have arised.

you sure your guitar or cables is not the one causing the problem?

 

[J.custom]

Check the glow of the tubes. I had this issue with my old jet city amp, one tube had only the glow of one filament instead of 2, replaced it and it worked perfectly again

 

[joshuanick]

I see thanks!... Shall check it again, I'm new to all this tube stuff man.... Oh and yeah its the combo

 

[joshuanick]

Anyway, shouldn't be my guitar or cable, I tried two cables yet still no sound. I also tried touching the guitar end of the cable when connecting to the amp, also no buzzing sound

 

[tongski_02]

better send it to a qualified tech. tubes are dangerous.
just my 1 cents

 

[joshuanick]

ah guys, i can finally use the amp! turns out that i thought that when the standby is off, there should'nt be any standby, i did'nt know that i need to switch both switches to on. Anyway, thanks for your help, i learned more things about tube amps through this thread.

 

[tongski_02]

that was funny man. haha
you got a very nice amp. rock it hard

 

[CyanideJunkie]

Just remember to be patient and organised when changing the tubes out; the CC series are a pain in that aspect.

 

[joshuanick]

haha yeah, i could'nt even find the tubes, they were hidden behind the circuits. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions!

 

[simplecomplexity]

glad u "fixed" it! hehe

 

[joshuanick]

And now. .. Another problem surfaced, LEDs did not turn on when I turn the amp on again, is it possible it's because I turn the amp on and off a couple of times in less than 5 mins that the fuse blow or something? No sound coming from amp also

 

[Junior_]

Could be due to alot of different reasons... Could be due to a faulty power cable, transformer, fuse etc. Best is to bring it down to a certified tech or citymusic(local distributor) to get it checked out.

But do take note that when using a tube amp like the ac30cc or any tube amp for that matter, always remember to turn on the power switch and let the tubes warm up first before turning on the stand-by and doing the opposite when turning it off, or at least that was what I was told. From what I understand, turning both switches on/off together at the same time can shorten the lifespan of your tubes.

 

[joshuanick]

really? i thought i should'nt use the standby switch, so i always left it on...... ah. i think some damage have been done to it..

 

[Junior_]

I was told as such when I got my ac15. You should turn on the power and let it sit for 5mins before flicking on the standby switch, and the opposite when shutting down(flick the standby switch let the amp sit for 1-2mins before turning it off). Then let is sit for awhile before moving the amp. That was what I was told and Marshall also wrote something similar in a guitar magazine I saw few months back. So I think it should be right.

 

[joshuanick]

ah i see.....but now i think i better send it to citymusic to have a check. Can't do anything now, LEDs are'nt even on ..

 

[mero]

actually, it's been recommended not to use the standby switch on the CC series due to the nature of the amp. something along the lines of too much voltage hitting the rectifier tube when you flip the standby off, which could kill the rectifier tube. more info on this on the voxamps.com forums, I've been following that for 4-5 years now with no issues.

note that this only applies for ac15/30 type amps, they're unlike the other tube amps with a solid state rectifier.

for the led issue, if you leave the standby set on off and then turn on the power switch, it will take a while (5-10s) to light up and for sound to start coming out from the amp. but if there are still no lights or sound after awhile, unlikely that it's a tube problem, probably power-related

 

[joshuanick]

SO as i on/off the amp, i just leave the standby switch on?

 

[mero]

Yup that's right. For my AC30CC1, I leave the standby switch in the ON position permanently (meaning not on standby, counter-intuitive I know)

To switch the amp on, I just flick the power switch from OFF to ON. The red power LED should light up immediately. After a couple seconds, the green standby LED should light up and sound should start coming out. (Both switches should be in the same direction at this point)

To switch off I just flick the power switch back to OFF.

Again I gotta reiterate that this is an abnormal procedure only for vox-type amps with a tube rectifier. The more conventional tube amps should follow the on standby > power up > standby off procedure.

 

[joshuanick]

AH i see... thanks, i have been doing that all the time, but i think its spoilt now due to excessive on-ing/off-ing.
Do i have to turn the whole amp off if i want to change guitars? or the jacks?