Marshall VS100 Loose Capacitor

[Nevinco]

I just bought a Marshall VS100 and a Marshall AVT412 cabinet for my 14 year old son. I plugged it up to check it out and it played great. I left it on playing it on and off for a few hours. It sounded great and then all of the sudden it starting humming and the volume dropped out. The sound was pure inaudible crap.

I opened it up and found one of the 2200 uf capacitors was loose on the board. I touched the top of it and it sounded great again but when I put the amp back together it went came loose again.

I was going to take the board out and solder the connection but I stink at soldering and will probably burn up the whole board. I have a friend that will solder it for me but I want to wait until after Christmas because I don't want to take a chance on breaking it before I can give it to my son. If I break it after Christmas he can wait a week or two until I can get a replacement but if I break it now he won't have it for Christmas. I have it rigged up and help in place now with a peice of plastic and it is working.

Should I leave it alone until it stops working or get it fixed? How much is reasonable to have a shop fix it for me and is this a common problem with these amps? I have a friend that will sell me a MARSHALL G100R CD for $100. Is that a better way to go or are the VS100s better?

Thanks,

Nevin

[Sweetfinger]

Resoldering the component is easy, getting the board out so you can do the soldering is the horrible part prone to break even more things. Once you get the board out, usually you just need to 'touch' the connections for the loose component(s) to resolder them. Larger components can then be staked with some silicone sealant to keep them from working loose again. The Valvestate is usually considered a better amp than the MG series, although a hundred bucks is a good deal on the G100. If you don't feel confident, take the thing in for repair. If it isn't quite done by Christmas, well.....the kid is 14, about time he learns that Santa's elves don't make as good quality stuff as they used to, and sometimes things need repair and are worth waiting for. That last notion is probably the BEST gift you could give a young person these days!

[Nevinco]

Thanks

Thanks for the advice. Taking the board out was what stopped me from trying to fix it by myself. I got the nuts off of the input jacks and the ribbon cables but I was having trouble with the connections from the power supply. The posts that hold the board in place were nothing nice either. The board started to flex and I didn't want to crack it.

The amp is working for now and I will get someone that knows how to permanently fix it for me later. I think I will buy the other head also as it is so cheap that it would be worth buying just to have a backup in place.

Thanks,

Jim

[Paleo Pete]

I just bought a Marshall VS100 and a Marshall AVT412 cabinet for my 14 year old son

New? Then it should be under warranty. If it did this the first time it was turned on I would be back at the store I bought it from in minutes. Exchange it for one that works. There's no reason for a new amp (or anything else) not to work, if it doesn't they should exchange it for one that does, if they won't I'd be plenty angry. And take my business somewhere else.

Also, if it is new and under warranty, you void your warranty if you disassemble it, so I would leave it alone and take it back.

Soldering is not that difficult, but it does take a bit of patience and know how. I got lucky, I was taught by a friend who spent 8 years soldering calculators and such for Westinghouse 8 hours a day. Re-soldering components is fairly simple. Get the iron hot, use resin core solder only, NOT acid core, it's for plumbing and will corrode electronics. Melt a very small amount of solder onto the tip of the iron and touch it to the connection. The already melted bit of solder transfers heat really fast, as soon as the original solder melts pull out, you're done. The trick is to do it fast, heat can damage some components. That's why the tiny blob of melted solder is great, it transfers heat really fast and you can get outta there before the part even knows it's hot...Finished connection should be smooth and shiny, if it's grey and lumpy let it completely cool and start over, it's a cold solder joint.

All guitar players should learn to solder, it can be an invaluable skill when you're getting setup for a gig and someone trips over a cable. I don't know how many times I've had to fix a mic or instrument cable 10 minutes before we start, someone freaks out because their cable just got trashed and no spares, I just pull out my repair bag...I carry soldering iron, 2 or 3 sizes of solder, a few paper towels, wire strippers, guitar jacks, speaker jacks, screwdrivers, electrical tape, heat shrink and blow dryer, everything I think I might need to fix cables, speaker cabinets, mic stands, you name it. Lack of a couple of screws made us prop a corner of a PA speaker on a brick one night when a roller fell off. I keep those in the bag now too. (I had screws, just not large enough)

Anyway, that's all just helpful info for down the road, the main point is if that amp is new it should be under warranty, use the warranty.

[Enzo]

They still MAKE VS100s?

I agree, the VS100 is a real amp, whether one likes it or not tonally. The MG100RCD is really a practice amp - the CD in the name means it has a couple input jacks for your CD player so you can play along with your favorite CDs.

If you are anywhere near Lansing, Michigan, I'll solder it for you while you stand there. But I am only here one more day before my own Xmas break.

[Nevinco]

I bought it used.

I bought the amp used. It sounded great for the first few hours. I have rigged it up and it sounds great now.

Thanks for the offer to solder it for me but I am near Philadelphia. I am going to let it be unless it starts acting up again. For now it seems fine. I have played it for a few more hours and it sounds great. I will get it fixed but I will wait until it is a problem again. As long as it is working good I will let that sleeping dog lay where it is.

I went and got the G100R CD, for $100 I couldn't pass it up. It is in mint condition and came with the footswitch and speaker cable. The owner was the original owner and said that he will waranty it for 30 days for me. I have another son that is playing so if nothing else he will have a little Marshall head when he is ready for it.

Thanks,