HELP - VOX PATHFINDER 15R CRACKLING NOISE & SOUND CUT OFF WHEN STRUMMING

[Hoplite22]

Hello everyone,

I just purchased a used Vox Pathfinder 15R, and I have a major issue 

Every time I strum hard, the amp makes a crackling/popping sound and sometimes the sound cuts off, and then comes back on again !!!!

Does anyone here have any idea what the problem may be ??

Thanks in advance

[J M Fahey]

NOBODY answered in ALL of FIVE hours?

Hi hoplite, welcome.
Please notice this is > A FORUM< , a place where people just hang out (exactly like yourself), who get paid nothing/zero/zilch (just like yourself)  and who being generous people often read some other people's problems and >if possible<  , try to help.

To begin with, nobody actually lives here, and even if it were a shop with paid employees, >charging<  for the Technical help, it would still have working days, and working office hours.

You placed your question in the middle of the night (if you are somewhere in the USA)  and asked again in the early morning hours.

FWIW I was the first to read it and that only because I am I Argentina, 3 to 5 hours ahead of USA, and still drinking my morning coffee.

When and if somebody can contribute something, they will definitely do.

PS: not forgetting that most anybody around has a life, work, family, etc. , besides this Forum walls.

EDIT: now I know you are from Australia.
Ok, then you posted your question around noon and bumped it again in the afternoon (Australia time).
Please consider that in most guitar related Forums, *most*  members (as in well over 90%) generally are from USA, so do a little Math and estimate whether *they*  are awake and, more important, able to read and answer (driving to/from job is not exactly the best moment) .
And since at least some members may be anywhere in the world, wait at least 24 hours to give everybody a chance.

That said, I'm sorry you have an intermittent type of problem, the hardest to find, specially because when you search for them, they fail to appear.
Just as a possibility: squirt *a little*  contact cleaner or WD 40 or kerosene in the loop in/out jacks and also in earphone out jacks and work a plug in/out 10/20 times.

They often fail or make poor contact due to grime, corrosion, etc.

IF you repair it, please post results, they may help a fellow musician at a later date.

[DrGonz78]

Hey I drink my morning coffee at 1pm everyday... xP

I guess there was an edit to the first post or something....?

Anyhow Hoplite try to give the top of the amp a good thump or two to see if the amp reacts to the jarring. Put some audio of different amplitudes into the amp and while that is going on ball up your fist to thump the top of the amp. If there is a loose connection inside then this might help confirm this idea. Start there and let us know.