Lowdown 110 bass distortion

[MoonBassAlpha]

I sourced this for a friend, so feel kind of obligated to ask on his behalf.
It is audibly distorting a bit when played reasonably loud. I used to have one and don't remember it doing this until you REALLY pushed it.
He likes a very bassy sound (Hofner Verithin with nylon flats!) and claims it is pretty much unplayable.
I confess, I hardly noticed it when I played it, and sounded ok in practice with all the other racket going on.
The speaker definitely isn't rubbing and the cab doesnt seem to have any leaks.
Played the amp through my compact and it was fine.

Is it just that the cab is a bit too small for the speaker and some kind of distortion should be expected?
Don't have mine any longer for comparison....

[sblueplanet]

I currently have one but have only been using it for practice and home recording so never played it loud but I remember when I had a Gibson EBO, any small combo I tried couldnt handle the bass end from the neck positioned humbucker.
It is only a 10" speaker with a low wattage rating after all so shouldnt expect a great deal of air pushing.

[tiffen]

Hi,
I had one of these and tried playing it near on max for about 1/2hr or so and it distorted. I believe it was overheating and worked normally when turned down.

Hope this helps

[mdc]

I have been using one of these for a few years and it's always produced plenty of volume and handled low notes really well. I have used it with a 20-piece concert band, indoors & out, and for these gigs I generally have the bass fully up on my 5 string and the bass on the combo full up as well - however I only ever use the 'clean' setting and I've never tried to run it absolutely flat out. The only time I can remember it distorting was something to do with the compressor setting - other than that it's been fine, rich and clear down to low B. In fact the band bought one as well and the performance is identical as far as I can tell. Happy to make any further checks for you if it will help. Cheers.... Mike

[MoonBassAlpha]

Thanks for the replies chaps. Interesting comment about the compressor, I've had it on to varying degrees, thinking it might tame the speaker excursion, but didn't consider it might be causing the distortion. I'll have to try it again soon (at a less antisocial hour...)

[tonyf]

I use one of these at home as a practice amp. Have also use it a couple of times live in an "acoustic/unplugged" situation but with DI support.

You've gotta use some perspective. It's a 10" speaker with 75watts. It's hardly gonna push massive amounts of air. The original brief for the design was that it was primarily a practice or recording tool where quality at moderate volumes was the primary focus. They ain't designed to play wembley stadium with.

In terms of reliability, mine has been rock solid since I brought it 6 or 7 years ago.

[MoonBassAlpha]

Yes, I understand what you're saying, but the issue when played with the Hofner is only at indoors volumes, apparently. Unfortunately, I don't have both items together, so I can't repeat the exact situation. With my bass it sounds pretty much ok until it is pushed quite hard. I suppose I could string up my Sei with flats again and see if it sound odd in that scenario.