Welcome To the Hoffman Amplifiers Forum

September 06, 2025, 12:53:36 pm
guest image
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
-User Name
-Password



Hoffman Amps Forum image Author Topic: AC30C2 volume/gain pots do nothing.  (Read 1431 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline fossilshark

  • Level 2
  • **
  • Posts: 398
  • No life til' leather
Hoffman Amps Forum image
AC30C2 volume/gain pots do nothing.
« on: March 31, 2025, 07:14:54 pm »
Hi all! I got this Vox AC30C2 on the bench with a strange issue. On both the normal and top boost channel the master volume and individual channel volumes do not turn down the volume. The amp is at max (or at least very high) volume at all times. The top boost tone controls, tremolo, and tone cut knobs seem to function perfectly. The reverb does not seem to function at all but I am going to deal with that later.

I am thinking this is a bad ground somewhere, any advice on where to start?

Also this amp gives serious chinesium vibes, anything else I should double check just in case?
~SNOWBLIND~

Offline fossilshark

  • Level 2
  • **
  • Posts: 398
  • No life til' leather
Hoffman Amps Forum image
Re: AC30C2 volume/gain pots do nothing.
« Reply #1 on: March 31, 2025, 07:40:25 pm »
The pots in question seem to be grounded per schematic, could they just be bad pots?

I forgot to mention, this unit is suspected to have water damage, although I cant find any obvious signs of corrosion on the PCB.
~SNOWBLIND~

Offline Merlin

  • Level 3
  • ***
  • Posts: 549
Hoffman Amps Forum image
Re: AC30C2 volume/gain pots do nothing.
« Reply #2 on: April 01, 2025, 03:18:30 am »
Sounds like bad pots, like the ground terminals have corroded or broken away from the carbon track

Offline Latole

  • Level 4
  • *****
  • Posts: 2522
Hoffman Amps Forum image
Re: AC30C2 volume/gain pots do nothing.
« Reply #3 on: April 01, 2025, 04:48:13 am »
Bad solders at the pot or in the circuit close to the pot.
Defective pot

Offline fossilshark

  • Level 2
  • **
  • Posts: 398
  • No life til' leather
Hoffman Amps Forum image
Re: AC30C2 volume/gain pots do nothing.
« Reply #4 on: April 01, 2025, 06:22:08 am »
Awesome thank you guys, I will order and install new pots and see where we are at.
~SNOWBLIND~

Offline fossilshark

  • Level 2
  • **
  • Posts: 398
  • No life til' leather
Hoffman Amps Forum image
Re: AC30C2 volume/gain pots do nothing.
« Reply #5 on: April 11, 2025, 10:43:08 pm »
Hi guys, I could use some help. I replaced all the pots and while some of the issues are fixed, the master volume pot still does nothing to affect the volume of the amplifier.

The normal/top boost gain pots are working BUT no matter what channel I have it plugged into both gain pots control the volume.

Any idea what I should look into next?
~SNOWBLIND~

Offline tubeswell

  • Level 4
  • *****
  • Posts: 4201
  • He who dies with the most tubes... wins
Hoffman Amps Forum image
Re: AC30C2 volume/gain pots do nothing.
« Reply #6 on: April 13, 2025, 04:06:53 am »
Hi guys, I could use some help. I replaced all the pots and while some of the issues are fixed, the master volume pot still does nothing to affect the volume of the amplifier.

The normal/top boost gain pots are working BUT no matter what channel I have it plugged into both gain pots control the volume.

Any idea what I should look into next?


Cracked PCB traces
Cracked jumper wires
A bus stops at a bus station. A train stops at a train station. On my desk, I have a work station.

 


Choose a link from the
Hoffman Amplifiers parts catalog
Mobile Device
Catalog Link
Yard Sale
Discontinued
Misc. Hardware
What's New Board Building
 Parts
Amp trim
Handles
Lamps
Diodes
Hoffman Turret
 Boards
Channel
Switching
Resistors Fender Eyelet
 Boards
Screws/Nuts
Washers
Jacks/Plugs
Connectors
Misc Eyelet
Boards
Tools
Capacitors Custom Boards
Tubes
Valves
Pots
Knobs
Fuses/Cords Chassis
Tube
Sockets
Switches Wire
Cable


Handy Links
Tube Amp Library
Tube Amp
Schematics library
Design a custom Eyelet or
Turret Board
DIY Layout Creator
File analyzer program
DIY Layout Creator
File library
Transformer Wiring
Diagrams
Hoffmanamps
Facebook page
Hoffman Amplifiers
Discount Program