mozart999uk Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 Noticed that lately my old variax 300 has got noisy when using the xps mini power supply. Years ago when I had valve amps we used to call the sound "blowy" - white noise of varying amplitude with a bit of crackling thrown in. Tried a new PSU on the XPS and also a new balanced cable between variax and xps mini. Noticed that rotating the plug withing the socket on either variax or xps end creates a lot of noise but thought that might just be normal seeing as how the power is running through that ..... Any ideas on a fix? If not, any other ways of powering it without going through tons of batteries? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codamedia Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 19 hours ago, mozart999uk said: Noticed that rotating the plug withing the socket on either variax or xps end creates a lot of noise but thought that might just be normal seeing as how the power is running through that ..... That shouldn't happen. I suggest you clean the jacks on both the XPS and the Variax. Do not spray cleaner directly in... spray the jack then plug it in/out several time and repeat. Find quality cleaner (deoxit or similar) and NEVER use WD40. 19 hours ago, mozart999uk said: any other ways of powering it without going through tons of batteries? Although I have an XPS mini... I most often power mine through a VDI cable connected to my HD500. The VDI is extremely useful for much more than power, but you do need a VDI compatable (XT, X3, HD) device for it to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart999uk Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 Thanks for your reply. I've cleaned the sockets several times using Deoxit and have also run a jack burnisher in there gently a couple of times. Doesn't seem to sort it. I've got one of those USB to variax boxes and tried powering it via that and the VDI cable but it didn't seem to power the guitar up. ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psarkissian Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 Regarding cleaning contacts,.... From the Line 6 Knowledge Base. Don't spray directly in, cotton swab and drip it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart999uk Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 Thanks. Yeah I've already tried cleaning the contacts. No change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psarkissian Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 6 hours ago, mozart999uk said: I've got one of those USB to variax boxes and tried powering it via that and the VDI cable That's for updates thru Monkey and for using with Workbench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psarkissian Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 It's probably going to need to be checked out by a Line 6 authorized service center. In your area that would be E&M Electronics in Milton Keyes. Also, a former Line 6 tech has his own shop, Mark Wright Music in Northampton, he knows his stuff, good tech. An older product like that, there's probably a loose connector, oxidized solder joint or similar. Don't try doing this yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart999uk Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 Thanks It's fine on batteries so I'll use those for now. Unfortunately those service centres are a long long way away from where I live so I'll have to keep them as a last resort Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mincer Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 My regular XPS started doing the exact same thing with my Acoustic Variax. Dead quiet with batteries. Did you ever find a solution? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart999uk Posted October 5, 2020 Author Share Posted October 5, 2020 On 10/3/2020 at 6:12 AM, Mincer said: My regular XPS started doing the exact same thing with my Acoustic Variax. Dead quiet with batteries. Did you ever find a solution? Unfortunately not. :-( I've just ended up using batteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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