Bought one used online, arrived, no sound output

Hello everyone,

I bought one of these Amps used online, the seller said it worked great, however after talking more to the seller they admitted they don't know much about amps and only powered it on but didn't test it with a cabinet.

Anyways, I got the amp it was packed really well looks brand new, even still has the film on the front H&K logo.

Plugged in a guitar and a 1x 12 V30 speaker cabinet and I can't get any sound out of the unit to save my life.  It lights up and looks real pretty though.

I looked in the manual regarding the TSC and the tubes and LED's appear to be working properly.  The tubes glow, and in full 40W mode on standby all LED's light up as they should, and in play mode all LED's turn off.  In all the power soak settings 2/4 LED's light up as they should.

Any suggestions on how to trouble shoot this?  I'm new to troubleshooting amps, but I am not new to electronics in general and have all kinds of electronic testing and repair equipment at my disposal.

I read there are 2 fuses in the unit, but would either of these allow the amp to turn on but not produce any output?

I'm thinking about opening it up and having a look around to see if some component because loose in shipping or something.

Any tips and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I notified the seller and they seem pretty flexible and are willing to work with me.  I said I'd take a peak at it first to see if its something obvious, then if I can't figure it out, maybe I'll take it to a repair shop.

Edit: I opened up the bottom of the unit, fuses were not blown. I carefully visually inspected for any burned/loose/broken components and didn't see anything. I also made sure all plug connections were secure.

Check to make sure the "Effects Loop" button on the front is not engaged. If it is, and there is nothing plugged into the effects loop jacks on the rear, you will get zero sound (I've been caught by that one before).

I would suggest checking the power soak buttons on back to confirm that you don’t have the red box engaged and then if the effects loop isn’t the issue nor is the power soak options around back to blame I would go ahead and do a factory reset via the procedure in the manual since the amp is new to you and patches aren’t a issue with losing them. Hope you get it going

Not to put any further worry into you and your new purchase... but you might be on the right track when suggesting to open it up and have a look inside.

Like you said, it's a possibility that one of the components could have been rattled loose during shipment.

Another thing to look out for is cracked solder joints -- even a cracked solder joint can prevent sound from coming.

Do a good visual inspection too --- when you've got the chassis out of the box, plug in your V30 and poke around the insides with a chopstick or a pencil... just to see if you can make some static or crackle happen...

Good luck with your troubleshooting, and PLEASE keep us updated. This kind of info doesn't just stop at GrandMeister 40 Deluxe amps!

~PT

I'm afraid I have to respectfully disagree with some of the advice given here.  It's pretty pointless opening it up if you aren't experienced in electronics maintenance and have a few diagnostic tools.


EDIT:  This is added after rethinking about your post, (and rereading it with my brain switched on).  I left it in just in case it had already been read and had ticked people off.  My apologies to Phil_T.  I completely forgot the part where you said you have experience in maintenance and access to test gear.  However it still applies to those who don't have that experience and are just inveterate fiddlers. There are many many in this music field! Ok, so you can poke around inside but I promise you there is little you could see or do in there.  It's a tightly packed space with not too much easily accessible.  By all means try it, but don't be tempted to start breaking things down too much.  I know curiosity killed the cat and satisfaction brought it back but what did the feline achieve by its meddling?


The idea that some component could have been jogged loose during transit is pretty much a non starter.  The inter-board connectors used in the amp are top class and not prone to this problem.  The aerospace industry uses the same types.  The only thing that may have been affected in that way is the valves themselves and they can be removed and refitted without opening the chassis up.  And the TSC lights show us that the power amp valves are working, which includes their HT fuse.  The preamp valves could be an issue.  You could think of swapping them out if you have access to a set of spares.

Spotting that old guitar forum favourite, cracked solder joints, is not anywhere as easy as it is made out, nor is it as common either.  Faulty solder joints are very rare!  There, I've said it.  How many washing machines go faulty due to them considering they are incredibly vibration riddled devices?  How many central heating boilers go faulty due to them considering they are very hot environments.  How many cars suffer from them considering they are the worst environment of all, hot, vibrating and often open to the elements at the mercy of water intrusion or at least atmospheric moisture.  And by how many I mean what percentage.  So the incredible number of guitar amps which apparently suffer from them is way way out of proportion with the whole of the rest of the electronics field.  I've designed equipment used in seismic surveys using standard PCB construction where kit is tossed into the sea and towed near arrays of incredibly powerful compressed air guns which fire off every ten seconds for over 72hrs at a time working intensively for months.  I've never experienced a failure!

Let's start with a really simple question.  Is there ABSOLUTELY no sound, or can you hear a faint hiss or hum when your ear is right next to the speaker?  Often people say "there is no sound coming from my amp" when they really mean it doesn't play music.  However, the power amp can actually be working as it should and the slight noise that all valve amps have may be clearly audible if you get close enough and listen.  If there is hum or hiss then the power amp output stages are working and the problem is before that.  If there is none then the problem is likely within the output stage or after, in the power soak unit, either a physical thing or the software control.

You have really good advice from both Ozmick and IrocDave.  I've been caught by the empty Loop issue too, and the factory reset is a very underused function to clear up all sorts of apparently unrelated issues.  Follow that and let us know what you find.

I don't know what the other guys here think but I would be a little suspicious about a seller whose gear behaves like this when it arrives despite him being mystified.  In my opinion sending it for professional repair is a good option as long as they are prepared to contribute significantly to the costs!  Otherwise it may be better to look for a refund and return it.  They may well be genuinely surprised and sympathetic.  They may also not be!  They may simply hide behind "caveat emptor" when the crunch comes.

If you have a distortion pedal plug it into the effects return and see if the amp works. If you have another amp with an effects loop connect the preamp to that amp's effects return.