Vox Pathfinder Buzz

[fraggot]

Big hello to all the softies,
i've been a lurker here for awhile now, nice to see such a nice community right in our own backyard.

my question is this,

i've recently bought a vox pathfinder 15R which seems intent on buzzing. weird thing is, there are times in the day (3am-4am) which it is very quiet.

i've tried cutting the 2 pin plug and reattaching a 3 pin earthed plug, still no effect. tried moving the amp around to various sockets and even switched off all the appliances in my room cept for the amp and the thing still has this buzz which comes and goes at about 20 sec intervals...

i'm at my wits end. love the amp but don't know what to do about the buzz

i'm even thinking of purchasing the 'quietline' power filter
http://www.musicaldesign.com/accessories.htm

any help would be appreciated

 

[BlackMoo]

Sometimes electronic appliances in the other rooms, perhaps even your neighbour's houses affects.. I'm getting his on my amp when the TV is turned on.. or whenever a light flickers, and they're all far in the living room, even when the door is closed. perhaps this might help.

 

[fraggot]

yikes!

i dunno how to tell my neighbour to off everything while i practice soloing :wink:

anyone tried shielding guitar amps before?

i know that some people use glue and foil to try to solve these things but i scared i get shocked like cartoon sia..

 

[ShAd3]

actually if u live in a multi story house. Its quite hard to escape this noise interference thingy. Coz u're neighbours appliances from top and bottom floor would affect too. As fraggot had mentioned, i gez the best solution is shielding too. Or u can solo when there's a black out. Run u're amp on car battery :lol:

 

[fraggot]

went ahead and spent $55 on the "line filter" and it did jack shit... amp still buzzes...

oh well that's my review of the a/m product...

so anyone looking to get rid of amp noise gotta try another solution.

i beginning to think it's the area that i'm in (near mt faber), cause the problem seems much worse when i use the "spring reverb" knob on the amp.

sounds like a family of flies on a picnic when i max the reverb.

oh well...

 

[JamesChia]

hey fraggot, how did you change the 2 pin plug out? u literally cut it off and attach a 3 pin plug?

 

[ES335]

If you are using a single coil pickup, you are bound to pick up more buzz, humbucker will cut the buzz off. I myself is using a Pathfinder and initially, i have the same problem, but after replacing it with a 3 pins plug, the buzz went away. Pathfinder is a great amp, cheap and good, very vintage look and sound clean.

 

[fraggot]

yeah i like the sound of the amp too...

just wish there was a way to stop the annoying buzz...

anyone out there know how to properly shield a guitar amp?
-i would pay of course-
(i know they do this for computer speakers and some nearfield monitors)

i'm starting to go bald from pulling out all my hair...

i went back to the shop where i got it from and they changed the old one for a new set and the buzz is still there...

BTW, i'm testing the amp with nothing plugged in...


to the above poster, yes all i did was cut the old 2-pin plug and inside there were 3 wires... so attach to 3 pin plug (please ask someone who knows how to do it, if not can get shocked and die) and wala! still got buzz... hahha sian...

 

[ES335]

If the shop has replaced you with another amp, and it still buzz, look like is not the amp's problem. May be you need to shift house, man.

 

[mikemann]

Hi fraggot,

If you being lurking around long enuff, you should know me. I'm an amp repairman.

Your problem sounds to be not unique one, but at times will be tough to narrow down the fault. As you have replaced the 3-pin plug, which should solve most which have this problem.

One possibility could be your guitar, is it a strat type guitar with 3 single coil pickups?? If so you can try to borrow a guitar with humbucker pickup and see if the noise will reduce. Or simpler still unplug the guitar cable and see if it still hums??

If you need me to check it out, just bring you guitar and the amp to my workshop.

 

[fraggot]

Thanks for the replies guys,

mikeman, i've more or less narrowed the problem down to the amp itself, cause i don't have ANYTHING plugged in when the buzzing is present.

i've found that the "spring reverb" function knob on the amp tends to send this thing into buzzcity...

i don't have much amp knowledge (usually record direct/ modeling software) but i think it may be due to the little spring acting as a mini antenna picking up stray RF frequencies and sending them to the amp out.

I've heard that you can shield the inside cavity of the amp head with a grounding pin and some foil but that operation seems too daunting for me

summore i'm not certain if doing all that work will actually eliminate my buzz problem...

anyways thanks so much for all your help.

i should have given you the 55$ that i spent on that AC power conditioner...

 

[fraggot]

Sorry for the bump, but Mikemann, how much do you charge for guitar amp shielding? and got guarantee or not?

i'll be more than happy to bring my amp down for you to fiddle with.

BTW, whats the address of your musical hideaway?