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VoxPathfinder15R
เข้าร่วมเมื่อ 29 ธ.ค. 2014
This channel is dedicated to the Vox Pathfinder 15R practice/studio guitar amp. This little amp is becoming a legend in it's own right with an already huge following. I will be dedicating this channel to tips and tricks to get the best tone from this little amp, electrical modifications to the circuitry and assessing the resulting tone. For anyone on a budget, this little amp comes as a blessing for tone chasers and gigging musicians. Yes, you can even gig with this amp! Welcome to this channel!
Oscar Schmidt Jazz box into Vox Pathfinder 15R
Here I am playing an Oscar Schmidt Jazz box into a Vox Pathfinder 15R amplifier. I wired in all new 500k audio taper pots and added treble bleed networks onto the volume pots and put it all back together. Enjoy
มุมมอง: 220
วีดีโอ
Dan Armstrong Orange Crusher into Vox Pathfinder 15R
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Here my neighbor loaned me this Dan Armstrong Orange Crusher built by Vintage Tone Project and I plugged it into my Vox Pathfinder 15R with plenty of reverb and tremolo for that vintage tone. And boy does it make this already great sounding amplifier sound even better!
Fender Bandmaster repair part 5: revealing what's under the dog house
มุมมอง 455 หลายเดือนก่อน
Here we got cut short on part 4 because of my iphone ran out of space, so I am posting this revealing the what is under the doghouse cover.
Fender Bandmaster repair part 4: revealing what’s under the hood
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Here I take out the chassis to see what is under the “hood”. So far looks good.
Fender Bandmaster repair part 3: checking for microphonic tubes
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Here we are using the chopstick test to find noisy microphonic tubes. But no worries, we can dampen those vibrations using tube covers thankfully
Fender Bandermaster repair part 2: checking tube health and power tube bias
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Here I document the health of all these vintage tubes as well as check the bias of the power tubes
Fender Silver Face Bandmaster repair part 1
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Here we have what I believe is a ‘72 fender bandmaster with a customer complaint of noise. We will replace the electrolytic capacitors as a good defensive repair so this amplifier can be gigged reliably. But I am also diagnosing faulty jacks in the normal channel, which can produce a nasty 60Hz hum while you are plugged into the vibrato channel if you don’t know to keep the normal channel all t...
Roland Cube 60 chorus short chasing part 8b
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Roland Cube 60 chorus short chasing part 8b
Roland cube 60 chorus short chasing part 8a
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Roland cube 60 chorus short chasing part 8a
Roland Cube 60 chorus short chasing part 7 hooking up the preamp and tests
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Here I install diode D14 and thus deliver power to the remaining preamp circuit and testing the amplifier plugging straight into the input Jack.
Roland Cube 60 chorus short chasing part 6; power transistors installed and test
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Here I have installed the power transistors and the power amplifier is now 100% intact and I am using a boutique DOD 250 preamp clone with an original 1970s LM741 chip to drive the power amplifier from the effects return Jack
Roland Cube 60 chorus short chasing part 5; reinstall transistors into power stage
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In this video I have reinstalled the 5 transistors Q11 through Q15 back into the power amplifier and check to see if the amplifier remains ok
Roland Cube 60 chorus short chasing part 4b; installing primary filter capacitors
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Here I have installed link W20 back into the board so the negative voltage rail has continuity all the way to the power amplifier and I install new Nichicon 2,200 uF electrolytic filter capacitors
Roland Cube 60 chorus chasing short part 4a
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Examination of the results once the new rectifier chip is installed
Roland Cube 60 - short chasing part 3; rectifier replacement
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Roland Cube 60 - short chasing part 3; rectifier replacement
Roland Cube 60 chorus- chasing short part 2
มุมมอง 3710 หลายเดือนก่อน
Roland Cube 60 chorus- chasing short part 2
Roland Cube 60 chorus- short chasing part 2b
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Roland Cube 60 chorus- short chasing part 2b
Magnavox 1960 15” Alnico vs 1963 Jensen C8R in Vox Pathfinder 15
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Magnavox 1960 15” Alnico vs 1963 Jensen C8R in Vox Pathfinder 15
EHX Octave Multiplexer into Monoprice Stageright 5 watts with Boss DS-1
มุมมอง 118ปีที่แล้ว
EHX Octave Multiplexer into Monoprice Stageright 5 watts with Boss DS-1
Starlight Drive RST Custom Effects into Monoprice Stageright 5 watts amplifier
มุมมอง 92ปีที่แล้ว
Starlight Drive RST Custom Effects into Monoprice Stageright 5 watts amplifier
Documenting 18 watts Marshall Dagnall output transformer part 2
มุมมอง 48ปีที่แล้ว
Documenting 18 watts Marshall Dagnall output transformer part 2
Documenting 18 watts Marshall output transformer impedance and importance of signal voltage level
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Documenting 18 watts Marshall output transformer impedance and importance of signal voltage level
2nd Vox Pathfinder 15 gets restored, with rebuilt vintage Jensen C8R speaker
มุมมอง 792ปีที่แล้ว
2nd Vox Pathfinder 15 gets restored, with rebuilt vintage Jensen C8R speaker
New Optocoupler installed into Pathfinder 15: bench testing depth of tremolo effect
มุมมอง 154ปีที่แล้ว
New Optocoupler installed into Pathfinder 15: bench testing depth of tremolo effect
How to set optocoupler up on a Vox Cambridge 15/30R or Pathfinder 15 LED method
มุมมอง 1.1Kปีที่แล้ว
How to set optocoupler up on a Vox Cambridge 15/30R or Pathfinder 15 LED method
Diagnosing weak optocoupler on Vox Pathfinder 15 as source of low output on the oscilloscope
มุมมอง 154ปีที่แล้ว
Diagnosing weak optocoupler on Vox Pathfinder 15 as source of low output on the oscilloscope
Documenting ripple on 2nd pair/stage of filter capacitors on a Vox Pathfinder 15
มุมมอง 17ปีที่แล้ว
Documenting ripple on 2nd pair/stage of filter capacitors on a Vox Pathfinder 15
Oscilloscope diagnosis to show rectification diodes not operating well in a Vox Pathfinder 15.
มุมมอง 44ปีที่แล้ว
Oscilloscope diagnosis to show rectification diodes not operating well in a Vox Pathfinder 15.
Mine is definitely loud when I have an instrument plugged in. Years ago I had the version without the reverb and it was quiet. Thoughts?
Interesting comparison but I would say it is somewhat confusing and difficult to understand!!!!!!!
This is a very useful video for Cube owners. I have a similar model and also have a problem with the rectifier. Rectifier model M4C32 and I doubt that it is responsible for the main fuse blowing. I need advice on whether I could replace it with a KBPC604 rectifier? I am limited with the possibilities of procurement because in the country where I live (Serbia) we do not have the possibility to get what we want. Thanks in advance
I used an NTE5313
Hi. Just replaced the optocoupler in my Cambridge 30. Is there a set procedure to dial in the VR11 and VR12 ? Thanks
I have another video where I show how to set it with a led soldered in. But I should formalize a procedure using an oscilloscope
The AI-generated video summary says you were "excited to compare the two amps;" that's great! 😂 It also sort of brought me here , because the AI's 'big brother' on Google confirmed what I was thinking, that a 15 watt solid state amp would be the equivalent to a 5 watter tube amp. 4 watts is enough.
I would build amps in DIY do you prefer Jensen or Jupiter speaker ?
I don’t have any experience with Jupiter speakers, so I can’t say
No they don't, though
… this goes to 11
Hi, my Vox Pathfinder 15R has a similar windy sound to the other Pathfinder 15R from the part 1 video with a slight buzz as well when in the boost channel. This is a cheap amplifier so I am hoping to either fix it myself or have a friend with soldering experience fix it. I suspect it is either a faulty power jack, power capacitor or filter capacitor but I am not sure
Hey let me know what it turns out to be!
Sounds fantastic
Thanks Karl
Awesome looking for a solution like it. How did you manage to cut it that round? Trying to get it done with my vinyl cutter and copper slug tape. But failing hard
I would use a hole punch, like for three ring binders, but wouldn’t go all the way, so I could freehand the lead
Man, I have had thoughts of buying this amp. To be perfectly honest I prefer the more boxy sound of the onboard speaker cab combo for the old school Blues your playing. If more volume is needed I would just mic it up. Which do you prefer there in front of it? Thanks for the demo and comparison.
I like ‘em both actually. I have an original Celestion Creamback from like ‘73 and the VX10 speaker blows it away in terms of brute power and lower end. I don’t understand why everyone hates this 10” speaker? It is basically setup like a Vox with the tone cut turned up to a pre-set to remove the high end crap
What if you have a similar him but much louder and is not affected by the volume knobs? Is that still like the jack?
Then it’s probably filter capacitors that are leaking
Orange drops are pretty or blue or black Solen caps😊😊
Hi, could you please tell what epoxy adhesive did you used ?
I just got some generic stuff off of Amazon
Great! Now I gotta get a path 15 and a Dan Armstrong squeezer. But I do thank you.
You won’t regret the purchases!
@@voxpathfinder15r I really wish they would make a path 15 again. There's always hope......Great channel. Rock on!
@@voxpathfinder15r I wish they would make the path 15 again. I can hope..... Great channel. Rock on!
@@christiantaylor4027 someone discussed that in the Vox pathfinder Facebook group. He brought it up at NAMM with the Vox people. Their attitude was there’s no going back to regular solid state anymore. It’s either tube or modeling technology.
@@christiantaylor4027 I am happy you like the channel!
Hi what do you do with the capacitors? I have larger values forsale
I use them in guitar electronics
This dude’s got the shit…pretty impressive…
Thanks!!
The Cambridge has a slight edge in that it compressess a tad to where it sounds softer and more tubey since there is a tube in it. Cool. But the Pathfinder sounds good as well, a bit cleaner.
Thanks for the comment!
I recently moved houses and brought my 2x12 and pedal board with the exact same setup. After getting a new washer and dryer and refrigerator, the normal amp home was amplified substantially. It only dampens when I unplug from the input of the amp or if I turn down my guitar volume. Does this sound like a power problem, an amp problem, or a guitar problem? Or something else?
Sounds like a single coil guitar pickup issue picking up the noisier wiring in your new home. Switch to humbuckers or go to an in between position to cancel hum.
@@voxpathfinder15r All guitars I have tried have humbuckers. Hum does same with solid state practice amp. One other room has hum but softer and another room no hum. Washer cycle pattern can be heard through hum when running.
@@STROA13 you have real dirty house wiring. You need a hum eliminator product
I have a Line 6 Spider 2 75 watt guitar combo amplifier, but I would love to use it as an external Speaker Cabinet for my Line 6 Spider V mk2 60 watt guitar combo amplifier. However, my line 6 Spider V Mk2 60 watt guitar combo amplifier doesn't have any kind of external cabinet output/input.... how should I go about this? I'm looking to take this out to the streets, to showcase my guitar skills, but My Line 6 Spider V Mk2 60 watt amp needs an external guitar cabinet (speaker) for a much wider audience so to speak. Any helpful tips, tricks, ideas, etc. would be great. Thanks. -----> BLACKF1R3 Professional Stagehand, Musician, Model, Aspiring Actor, Digital Artist, etc. Orlando, FL, USA.
What exactly about the video doesn’t apply to your situation?
I replaced the Optocoupler in a Cabridge 30 Twin Reverb this morning. It took about 30 minutes. The innards of the Cambridge, if you have that amp, is similar enough to the Pathfinder. These instructions will get you through. If you can solder your own pickups to pots, then you can do this repair.
Hope your tremolo is working great! Thanks for your honest feedback
I have the Cambridge 30 Twin and it sounds bad when, using the trim pots, too much signal is allowed. I don't know if this is because the optocoupler is bad or that the amp isn't capable of handling the full signal. Question, can I bypass the optocoupler altogether? I'm willing to go without tremolo. If the opto can be bypassed, does anyone know how?
You can’t bypass the optocoupler. It needs to be adjusted to get the right amount of signal through and probably needs replacement
Was a good Amp, until it went haywire, might try this Celeston speakers
Thanks! The video I needed to watch 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Glad you appreciate it!
Am thinking of buying one of these bad boys. I got an AD30VT recently and have been disappointed. How do you feel the PF15 stacks up to the AD30?
I don’t know really. I tried one once, it’s a decent amplifier to get your feet wet with all the different amplifier models. But I like the S.S. Analog circuit that the pathfinder provides, and it’s the amplifier I want to hear.
Tap capacitors too, ceramics go microphonic all the time
I tapped capacitors as well. I actually found a couple polypropylene caps that were microphonic!!
@@voxpathfinder15rSometimes a dry solder joint on a PCB tube socket will mess you up more than you'd think. After a couple decades its worth reflowing the socket joints. The substrate of the PCB breaking down too. All that tube heat cooks the fiberglass and the board itself can become conductive. You can find those spots pretty easy, ground your meter to chassis, set it for DC and probe the board itself. Like you would on a CBS waxed eyelet board in a Fender silverface. No real easy fixes for PCBs tho, often surgery to remove the conducting fiberglass. More times than should happen I'll hear a metered ticking or similar shortwavy sounds like yours and I realize I've set my cell phone on top of the cab, or my Bluetooth headphones. I get both or either 6-10 feet away from the amp and it's quiet. Also, if I've absent mindedly plugged into the same outlet circuit as Bluetooth lights of the Google Nest/Internet router or anything powered by a wallwart switching PSU it's Halloween again. I've got pedals and cables that are more susceptible to RFI than others.
Hey thanks for the video, i got a new mesa markV 25 two days ago brand new and the humm on the channel two is just craazyy , I love the amp but even at low volumes this big big humm is not what I expected, I already tried it in other outlets on my house and still the same, checked the cable all good, so next step i will carefully reseat the tubes as other youtuber advised maybe on the shipping some got out of the socket, also going to try to use that deoxIT cleaner to the tubes connection ........ any suggestions?
You need to be more detailed what kind of hum. Channels with lots more gain will have more thermionic noise which is just physics and only noise suppression pedals in the effects loop can aid in limiting it. But again you could have a different noise. If you have single coil pickups, you will pick up 60 Hz hum in channel 2, but might not notice it’s effects in the clean channel. Humbuckers are your only real solution there.
So…Marshall guy eh?
What do you mean?
It was a joke that didn’t land. You’re THE source on these Vox amps and your videos led me to getting one! Thank you!
@@aperezdeal very cool! Great to hear that I helped. What model did you get?
A 15R that I found for $80. I am very pleased with it.
@@aperezdeal I am glad you got the amplifier!!! Report back how it goes
My Amp makes thay noise butnonly in channel 2, channel 1 is quiet and sounds great. Channel 2 is the dirty channel but sounds clean and hums. I have no idea what it is, and i no longer have any distortion on my amp. Has anyone had this issue?
The simplest thing you can do and check for is bad tubes. If channel 1 works great, then you can kind of assume that v1 and v3 are working appropriately. Perhaps one half of v1 isn’t, but for now assume it is. In which case you will want to purchase a brand new 12ax7 preamp tube and swap it into the v2 position. V2 is wholly contained within channel 2. If that went bad - you would would have low output and anemic distortion without affecting channel 1 at all. If that still didn’t fix it. Then put back the original tube into v2. And try substituting the new tube into v1. This would be to try and diagnose that one half of the dual triode was bad - the one feeding channel 2, but the other half was still good, feeding channel 1. While possible 1/2 of v1 is bad - it’s much less probable. Now it’s possible both v2 and 1/2 of v1 is bad. But that would be ultra rare, and at that point you would want to send it to. Tech that would run your tubes on a tube tester to remove all doubt. But I would stop after testing both v1 and v2 with a single new 12ax7, then send to a technician. Preferably starting with v2. This would eliminate 99% doubt that bad tube is causing your issue, so then you would need to test the circuit board itself. Which you would want a technician to do.
its the reverb tank. yours have a reverb tank, and your reverb is set to 5. if its not that then capacitors probabaly
Nope, that’s not what it turned out to be. Watch video #2!
Its not good to bend the board. You have induced stress which will be problem later. The best way to repair that jack is not to mount it back on the board. Put a Switchcraft jack or equivalent and mount it to the face plate and solder wires from the jack to the board. This will take the stress off the board and allow you mount the jack without worrying about having the correct distant. You risk breaking the board if the amp is knocked over while the guitar cable is plugged in. This design allows the wires to take all the play when plugging into the amp over a duration of time. The more expensive amps are designed that way. Just saying.
I understand your concern, but it’s a feel thing. I didn’t put any undue stress on the board. It was very mild. There will be no issues with this board for another 20 years at which point this amplifier will probably be converted to ptp.
Did you dismantle the transformer to check the winding for the 8 ohms tap?
I mothballed until I have time to mess around with it.
I'd rather try it through an external speaker than one of those crazy mods that even Vox mentions on their Showroom website. Vox used to make a Head version of the P15r that came with a 2x10 cab, and even had one with a 4x8.
I am with you. I think the combo is excellent as is. And it performs beautifully as a head. I think everyone is extreme- they either want to shove in a bigger speaker or cut it up into a smaller head box. I say leave it alone, it’s a head with a built in perfect 8” practice speaker.
@@voxpathfinder15rWhen I bought mine, the salesman demoed it using a Tele. He said something I've never heard anyone else mention, including Vox. He said the Boost is "optimally for use with larger speakers" and it could run a 4×12 with it activated. "Don't expect a Marshall, but you'll get by!" But that was around 2004, and few were doing it that way, using practice amps.
@@DerpRulesAll any and all complaints of the booster circuit and it’s associated diodes totally evaporate once you plug into a larger speaker cabinet
@@voxpathfinder15r Yep, exactly; for the cost of that needless mod, you could get Vox's 2×10 cab. Too bad most salesman weren't like mine. 🤷
jip bad tube
Hey man i have the vox p15 smr and im getting hirrible buzzing how do i fix this please?
Depends, do you have the skills and tools to fix things? What is the source of the buzzing? Is it cabinet related? Is it 60Hz hum from bad input Jack, 120 hz from bad filter capacitors? Or maybe it’s just you have noise in your electricity? I can’t diagnose things online. You could rule out the cabinet by holding it tight in certain areas to make sure that is not the source of rattling. You could make sure screws are nice and tight and there is adhesive foam left intact between back panel and chassis. But apart from that I can only recommend you bring to a amplifier technician
My 15r really came to life with a British made 12'' Heritage Greenback Cab, and a NOS Germanium Transistor Rangemaster clone.
That right there is powerful combination!! Is it open or closed back?
@@voxpathfinder15rClosed. It's a Blackheart cab, which was originally factory fitted with an Eminence speaker. I also have two open backed Vox 2x12''' cabs. One with Wharfedale speakers, the other with G12H Anniversaries. But these are much too loud for home use. I actually own several Rangemaster clones from different artisan pedal makers. with a variety of different transistors. So it's been fun trying them all with the 15R. I own a few affordable Vox valve amps. But none of them have the trem and spring reverb of the 15R. Which is what I most like about it. Ideally, the 15R might work well as a preamp FX in front of, or in the FX loop of a good vintage style valve amp. I tried it a few times, but lacked the best adapters for matching levels and minimising noise. Same with that White tolex Vox Brian May combo from about 15 years ago. It was supposed to work as a preamp, but was far too noisy when connected to other amps.
Thank fir your time in sharing your tone...RocknRollflat5
You’re welcome
Ok so.. all of my guitar amps hum but only in my house. No matter what outlet and all of the outlets are grounded. I have the same sound as you. Nothing plugged in and I get a hum that sounds the same. Do you think this would fix it?
Well if the sound goes away with a humbucker style guitar plugged in. Then it’s a good bet your input Jack is suspect.
Right, …. If the volume is turned up and down and the hum goes up and down, then you are modifying the signal with the knob and the problem is in the signal path.
I did this same wiring to my broken Line 6 Flextome amp, works great. Thanks for showing us
You’re welcome
Mine sounds great witha greenback and a vintage 30.
Doesn’t every amplifier sound good with that combination?
That flux is not for electronic use!
Sorry
the z diode may be blown, it acts like a fuse
This was a while ago, it turned out the protection diode was toast, as well as the opamp chip. It seemed to work for a while, but then it sounded really bad. I sent it out and it got the clipping diodes replaced and it worked great!
the z diode may be blown, it acts like a fuse
Well, I have to disagree about that being the "most common" reason an amp will hum. There really isn't a most common with hum. It can be any number of things and/or multiple things at once. Unfortunately, hum is one of the hardest things to track down and alleviate in an amplifier. Some amplifiers you have to be happy with just taming the hum if you don't want to change its characteristics.
I think it’s the easiest repair to make, and probably should be done before doing anything more invasive
where can i get an optocoupler vtl5c3 ? i am from europe
You will have to research that for yourself
Hi, my amp tremolo effect doesnt work, what can it be? its the v9158 version
The optocoupler needs to be replaced
@@voxpathfinder15r What’s does a optocoupler do?
@@guga040 it’s the main part of your tremolo circuit. Without it, the tremolo won’t work and your amplifier could be stuck at a lower volume and sound distorted but in a nasty way
@@voxpathfinder15rcan you send me your discord? or any contact form?
@@voxpathfinder15rHi, i already replaced the optocoupler for the Vtl5c3 and the tremolo still doesn’t work, the amp works but the effect doesn’t work
So if i have a single 8 ohm 12 spider lll i just need the planet waves plug, can i plug it into the helix?
I am not familiar with exactly how a helix works, so I can’t offer any advice
I heard it said that Stage Right amps, and Harley Benton as well, are clones of Laney amps...have you modified yours at all?
This particular guy is a clone of the Laney Cub 8, the big brother of this amplifier is a clone of the Laney Cub 12R. No I haven’t modded these amplifiers, they are great as is. If something makes me determined to get a particular tone, I will consider modding. But honestly - I can’t find anything wrong with them
Yeh! Rumble, baby!