Farting Speaker

[stewblack]

Bought a cab and made the classic mistake of not listening to it at volume. Played through it before handing over  the cash and it sounded lovely,  got it home and (not remotely at gig volume) can't play below the  5th fret on  the E string without  being accompanied by horrible crappy farting sound. No  question the seller was genuine about not turning up and disturbing the old folk downstairs - I'm not  complaining about that - I want to know is a speaker in  any way repairable and if not  where does one  buy an adequate replacement and how do I  calculate a  suitable  speaker for the particular cabinet into which it must be put?

Thanks oh  bottom end  hive  mind.

[Balcro]

The usual advice in cases like this is try the simplest stuff first. Remove the grille or front cover if possible and check the speaker-unit securing nuts or screws. Undo the nuts and remove the speaker carefully, taking care to disconnect the speaker wires as you do so. Check inside - anything looking loose or unglued? Is the speaker rear connection panel secure? After that, you can post here with any details you can find printed or stamped on the defective drive unit. It may be an inexact replacement from an original.

Tell us the speaker type; 1 x12, 2 x10 etc. Measure the the internal dimensions of the box as well as the diameter and length of any ports.

Picture (front & back) of the croaking unit are often useful. There are a few likely lads on here who can tell you all sorts of things from pictures of the speaker and the code numbers.

Replacement speaker cones and repair kits are available but the option to repair is usually governed by the cost of a new unit.

There are several places to buy new units and as usual a number of us here can do all the calculations for fitting a suitable speaker.

Post in the details as above, and we'll take it from there.

Balcro.

Edited September 27, 2018 by Balcro
formatting

[Steve Browning]

I had a similar thing and found that the cause was some staples that had attached to the magnet by the cone. The guy attaching the wadding when the cab was being made had obviously reloaded the staple gun and dropped some into the cabinet. Took them out and no problem.

[Twincam]

Funny twice a seller hasn't let me put the volume up, each time the item was knackered upon getting it home. Few times it's happened via buying a used item online untested too.

So unless I can crank it a little bit I reject it. I mean 5 or so seconds of increasing volume (So not to suddenly shock anyone) is not going to hurt anyone. 

Bull the seller didn't know! Unless it's something loose which is very possible. Speakers don't just all of a sudden not work and start farting out. Check the driver(s) for coil rubbing because they are ok at low volume, soon as there at volume fart city.

I check for coil rub now as routine, even if I have to remove a grill, also taking along a multimeter you can check that any coils are intact and showing a correct ohm reading. 

I suppose buyer beware etc but I would be tempted to contact the seller (politely) and say hey this is knackered. May or may not get a good outcome but why should you have to shell out for something that wasn't right.

 

[stewblack]

Thanks for that guys, really good advice. I shall follow all the suggestions and report back

[stewblack]

The connecting wires to the rear of the speaker are soldered the plate they're soldered to is loose. First possible problem. 

Edited September 28, 2018 by stewblack

[stewblack]

Nothing else looks unglued or damaged. More pics.. will secure that plate then try it.

[TheGreek]

I have a similar problem on my Mesa Powerhouse cab. I have no faith in my ability to sort out the problem so it's off to my local Amp Tech when I get a chance. I hope it's something simple..

[stewblack]

15" is all I can tell you. Oh but I could upload audio of the fart. 

[stewblack]

3 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

I have a similar problem on my Mesa Powerhouse cab. I have no faith in my ability to sort out the problem so it's off to my local Amp Tech when I get a chance. I hope it's something simple..

I'm already burying my magic mending mate in amp problems. Don't want to bug him with this. Funds exhausted at the moment so professional repair not an option.

[Balcro]

Hi stewblack,

Looked at the pics and listened to the sound. It looks like the solder joint has been repaired once before. With every movement of the cone back & fore, that small plate is going to constantly vibrated. A physical repair by gouging out the top of the broken rivet (watch those fingers!) might be possible. Loosen the top piece of the rivet with whatever comes to hand and then finally remove it with pliers; that should avoid any metal pieces falling into the "back of the cone space".  You could then pass a piece of wire through the rivet / hole and twist it tight to secure the plate.

The solder joints where the inner speaker wire is looped through a hole and then bent round the lug don't appear to be soldered , so give them a good squeeze with some pliers and then apply solder to both joints. After that try the sound test again. If that doesn't improve things then push the cone back and fore, as Twincam said, to see if there's a rubbing sound or unusual roughness.

Balcro.

[Twincam]

3 hours ago, stewblack said:

15" is all I can tell you. Oh but I could upload audio of the fart. 

That's a critical failure of the coils surely!

[stewblack]

Thanks for all the advice. I tried everything suggested but the thing seems dead with no clear cause. As a temporary fix I've put in a 15" speaker I had doing nothing and it sounds pretty darned good. Was considerably heavier than the one I took out too. Don't know if that's significant..

If that solves the problem then I'm content. If it's just a temporary solution until I find a better replacement so be it.

Really appreciate the time you guys have taken to help me out.

[rogerstodge]

21 hours ago, stewblack said:

Thanks for all the advice. I tried everything suggested but the thing seems dead with no clear cause. As a temporary fix I've put in a 15" speaker I had doing nothing and it sounds pretty darned good. Was considerably heavier than the one I took out too. Don't know if that's significant..

If that solves the problem then I'm content. If it's just a temporary solution until I find a better replacement so be it.

Really appreciate the time you guys have taken to help me out.

That sounds exactly the same as my old trace Elliot 1x15 combo when it got dropped, it knocked the  coil out of line apparently, a new driver was required 

[LITTLEWING]

I can only add to weird sounds by saying a cheapy old combo ( I bought for quieter rehearsals) speaker was buzzing/rattling on low notes. I removed the 12" speaker and after a bit of detective work discovered the yellow concertina bit that surrounds the voice coil should have a nice continuous bead of glue around around it and one small section wasn't stuck fast and was vibrating. A squirt of gorilla glue and for good measure a bead of wood glue around the rest of the 360 degrees sorted it completely. 

[lownote]

It can be the nature of some cheap cabs.  I had two TC BC210s which sounded great at practice volume.  The sound of both cranked was ugly. Not farty like there was something wrong, just unpleasant.  So I bought into a couple of Fender 12 cabs, ditto. I ended up with eye wateringly expensive Barefaced cabs and finally quality  wasn't inversely proportional to volume.  There is a reason some things are expensive and others aren't. Depends on what you want from a  cab.  If you're never going above the fifth fret and holding down a rock line in a crowded pub full of pissheads anyything cone shaped will do.  If you're into bass as a musical instrument then you may need a cab to suit.

I'll get my coat.....     

[Newfoundfreedom]

Yup. That sounds exactly like my Laney 1x15 Combo did. Upon further investigation it was the voice coil rubbing.

I couldn't see any way of getting to it without destroying the whole speaker. 

Quick search on eBay and I found a replacement speaker. Brand new (old stock) direct from Ashdowns own eBay store. 15" Blue Line for the princely sum of £19. I don't think I've ever hit the buy it now button so quickly. 

I've since also replaced the amp and use the 1x15 as cab and it sounds fantastic with the new speaker. 

[stewblack]

1 hour ago, lownote12 said:

It can be the nature of some cheap cabs.  I had two TC BC210s which sounded great at practice volume.  The sound of both cranked was ugly. Not farty like there was something wrong, just unpleasant.  So I bought into a couple of Fender 12 cabs, ditto. I ended up with eye wateringly expensive Barefaced cabs and finally quality  wasn't inversely proportional to volume.  There is a reason some things are expensive and others aren't. Depends on what you want from a  cab.  If you're never going above the fifth fret and holding down a rock line in a crowded pub full of pissheads anyything cone shaped will do.  If you're into bass as a musical instrument then you may need a cab to suit.

I'll get my coat.....     

I use Barefaced or Markbass cabs and am happy with both. As you say your bandmates and a whizzed up pub crowd won't know or care what you sound like. 

I once played upstairs in the King's in Southsea and my amp died on me. Not entirely - it still produced the kind of flatulant distorted bellow one might expect to hear if oxen were being chainsawed in half in a steel warehouse. I battled on through the last couple of songs and no one else noticed. No one. Not in the band nor the audience. 

[ScottieB]

On 27/09/2018 at 15:23, Steve Browning said:

I had a similar thing and found that the cause was some staples that had attached to the magnet by the cone. The guy attaching the wadding when the cab was being made had obviously reloaded the staple gun and dropped some into the cabinet. Took them out and no problem.

Hi there, I think I have a similar problem with an old Ampeg ba115 I just got second hand. Definitely a rattle and there is something loose inside the cone when I tip it around. I’ve removed the cone and it’s now unattached but I cannot figure out how to get inside the cone! Is there a way to do this without distorting the thing? Any help much appreciated 

[ScottieB]

3 minutes ago, ScottieB said:

Hi there, I think I have a similar problem with an old Ampeg ba115 I just got second hand. Definitely a rattle and there is something loose inside the cone when I tip it around. I’ve removed the cone and it’s now unattached but I cannot figure out how to get inside the cone! Is there a way to do this without distorting the thing? Any help much appreciated 

Not ‘distorting’ - destroying!