Clean channel on my VC15 has disappeared.... ?

timbuk02

My humble Laney VC15 has had a very easy home life and is about 6 years old. Last night the clean channel stopped working. Footswitch still turns reverb on/off ok. The button on the amp to toggle drive channel on/off now has no effect. When the amp was warming up I thought it did make a small pop - has a valve gone? And if so is it ok to keep using as is? (tho I want my cleans back!)

ICBM

It won't be a valve because there is no valve half that's used on the clean channel that isn't also used on the overdrive channel - the overdrive simply adds one.

It sounds like something in the switching control circuit. The reverb switch is purely passive (just grounds the reverb output) so that won't be affected.

Voxman

This happened ages ago on my VC30 - the physical switch contact got dirty is all it was.  Squirt some electrical switch cleaner on the switch so that it dribbles inside, rock the switch back & forth several times and it should clean the contacts so that your clean channel comes back both manually & with the footswitch. Since spraying mine 3 years ago its been perfect ever since.  

steamabacus

Voxman said:

This happened ages ago on my VC30 - the physical switch contact got dirty is all it was.  Squirt some electrical switch cleaner on the switch so that it dribbles inside, rock the switch back & forth several times and it should clean the contacts so that your clean channel comes back both manually & with the footswitch. Since spraying mine 3 years ago its been perfect ever since.  

It's actually a small push button on the VC15 but that should probably still work if you're liberal with the switch cleaner.

timbuk02

steamabacus said:

Voxman said:

This happened ages ago on my VC30 - the physical switch contact got dirty is all it was.  Squirt some electrical switch cleaner on the switch so that it dribbles inside, rock the switch back & forth several times and it should clean the contacts so that your clean channel comes back both manually & with the footswitch. Since spraying mine 3 years ago its been perfect ever since.  

It's actually a small push button on the VC15 but that should probably still work if you're liberal with the switch cleaner.

cheers @Voxman - great that someone has seen the same thing (well not great but you now what mean) shall give it a go. had plasterers in last week and loads dust around despite best efforts - so this is making sense. interesting that the small switch glitch affects the footswitch too. off to maplins for some contact cleaner

thanks @ICBM good to hear its def not its not a valve thing

ICBM

timbuk02 said:

cheers @Voxman - great that someone has seen the same thing (well not great but you now what mean) shall give it a go. had plasterers in last week and loads dust around despite best efforts - so this is making sense. interesting that the small switch glitch affects the footswitch too. off to maplins for some contact cleaner

I don't think it can be since the footswitch would still work. The switching circuit seems to be slightly different from the VC30 - or it's possible there's more than one version. Worth trying the cleaner anyway though.

timbuk02 said:

thanks @ICBM good to hear its def not its not a valve thing

No, that's a bad thing - since if it's not the panel switch it's now going to be something more expensive to fix than a valve.

Voxman

My footswitch didnt work either til I sprayed the switch. The stuck switch over -rode the pedal signal. It would switch but it stayed on gain channel. 

steamabacus

ICBM said:

... or it's possible there's more than one version.

There's definitely two versions from a cosmetic perspective - I have the later version (smaller logo) and a friend had the earlier version (larger white logo). I know they upgraded the speaker from an HH to a Jensen but I'm not sure if they revised the circuit at all?

timbuk02

I've got the uk made version - metal logo wth a Jensen speaker and a small plastic push push switch for gain. Have read Laney later moved production overseas so was pleased to have a uk made one. High hopes for the contact cleaner then.

stickyfiddle

steamabacus said:

ICBM said:

... or it's possible there's more than one version.

There's definitely two versions from a cosmetic perspective - I have the later version (smaller logo) and a friend had the earlier version (larger white logo). I know they upgraded the speaker from an HH to a Jensen but I'm not sure if they revised the circuit at all?

They switched to digital reverb so entirely possible they also made some minor circuit changes as well. 

ICBM

There's clearly a difference because the push switch will be PCB-mounted whereas the rocker switch isn't. They may have changed the circuit too, if the switch overrides the footswitch on one of them. I've never tested whether it does or not on any of the ones I've worked on, I don't think.

Worth trying the contact cleaner first anyway, it's something that's always useful to have.

EricTheWeary

The switch over rides the footswitch on my (Chinese) Lionheart FWIW.

ThePrettyDamned

On the lh50 I had the footswitch was overridden by the amp switch I think. I have a vague memory of having to set the amp to be dirty in order for the footswitch to work - if the switch was clean, it stayed clean. 

Or maybe it was the other way around... Completely useless comment award?