Vox AC4-C1 Choke Issues

[jonathanac30]

Go easy on me guys, as I'm new to modifying/working on amps.

So I recently ordered a Mercury Magnetics choke for my Vox AC4-C1. After talking to Patrick (The owner of Merc. Mag.) we agreed that the best place to the choke in the circuit would be in place of the 1k resistor. So, I correctly identified the only 1k resistor on the board and replaced it with the choke. However, the problems began once i tested the amp. First off, there was a strange hum coming from the circuit, (not the speaker, as it was not hooked up yet), and an occasional sparking coming from around the EL84 socket. Also, all four knobs, but mainly Volume, Bass, and Trebel would make the circuit produce a grinding sound when I would attempt to turn them up. To avoid ruining the amp, I shut it off and left it alone. It is also important to know that the two 12AX7 preamp tubes did not even warm up when turned on. Any ideas what could be going wrong? It would be simple enough to wire a 1k back into its original position, however I would really like to get the choke problem figured out without taking it to an amp tech, since I'm a gigging musician and can't really afford to have significant work like that done.

Thanks!