Dodgy Cab Connections

[stewblack]

looks like the old soldering iron will be out when I get home. Can ceased to make a noise during my first set this evening. 

Switched to a different input socket worked for a bit then nothing. 

Luckily have two speak on connections too so swapped cable and so far so good. 

[stewblack]

Hmm. So got it home, opened it up and all connections are solid, clean and as they should be. 

Maybe this should have been posted to repairs and technical, sorry. 

Took the speaker output from the amp, checked it (visually) cleaned and put it back. 

All working, but then it was all working fine until half way through the first set. Only other thing I found was a slightly dirty pot which I cleaned. However I would have thought that ought to cause the sound to deteriorate rather than just cut out. 

What else can I check? 

 

 

[Jakester]

Cable? Amp output?

[stewblack]

I changed the cable on the night and it worked fine bar a couple of brief cut outs. I did check the speaker out.

Think I'll run them for a week practising and at rehearsal. Maybe the clean up has fixed it 

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Simple solution, use the Speakons.

[Phil Starr]

Does the amp have any fx sockets. They can cause problems if they corrode and a bit of switch cleaner and wiggling a jack in and out may clean up the contacts. It's simple enough so worth a try

[stewblack]

Thanks Bill, I switched to speakons during the gig. 

Thanks Phil, I squirted and cleaned all the pots and gave them a good wiggle. 

Been working just fine at home and last night in rehearsal so maybe was just dust. 

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

1/4" can be very finicky. Maybe it's because they don't like being asked to do something totally different than what they were designed for, 20th century telephone switchboards. 😏

[stewblack]

Well my little clean up operation obviously worked. Gigged ťhe same amp/cab combination as last week with no problems at all.

Dust blower and switch cleaner may not be the most hi tech tools but they did the job. 

[Chienmortbb]

It is a hobby horse of mine but as Bill says Jacks were not designed for speakers. 
 

Speakons were and although not perfect, they will do very well until something better comes along. A well known amplifier manufacturer once told me that jack plugs caused most of their amplifier failures on Solid State amps. With two exposed and very close contacts short circuits are not only likely but also inevitable. 

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Inevitable if you insert or remove a plug when the amp is powered up, which one should never do, otherwise no worries. The man problem is the very small contact area between the jack and the plug tip. It doesn't take much corrosion to make for a bad connection, so the plugs should be treated on a regular basis with contact cleaner, which will migrate to the jack to keep it clean as well.

[hubrad]

3 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

It is a hobby horse of mine but as Bill says Jacks were not designed for speakers. 
 

Speakons were and although not perfect, they will do very well until something better comes along. A well known amplifier manufacturer once told me that jack plugs caused most of their amplifier failures on Solid State amps. With two exposed and very close contacts short circuits are not only likely but also inevitable. 

Wasn't it Trace Elliot (quite probably others, too?) that used XLR as an alternative to 1/4"? This was before Speakons really made an entry(!) to the mainstream, so 80s-ish.

Was there a technical reason for this practice stopping, or is it just that Speakon were better/trendier?

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

I know that Ampeg used four conductor XLR for a while, four conductor so that one wouldn't plug an amp output into a console input. It was better than 1/4 inch, not as good as Speakon. A major problem with XLR is that they couldn't handle large gauge wire. I used some speaker connectors back in the 80s that resembled giant oversized XLRs. I don't remember the brand name, they were essentially put out of business when Speakons came along.

[hubrad]

Ah, I wondered, as the TE 3 pin XLR was yet another of those potentials for error, including forcing 500W down a mic cable!

The number of times I've 'gracefully' refused requests to use my 1/4" instrument cables for speakers.. 😬

Edited October 27, 2019 by hubrad
extra words..

[Chienmortbb]

4 hours ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

I know that Ampeg used four conductor XLR for a while, four conductor so that one wouldn't plug an amp output into a console input. It was better than 1/4 inch, not as good as Speakon. A major problem with XLR is that they couldn't handle large gauge wire. I used some speaker connectors back in the 80s that resembled giant oversized XLRs. I don't remember the brand name, they were essentially put out of business when Speakons came along.

Yes Cliff did some that were similar in concept to the Speakon. 
 

The main reason for using XLRs was that they do handle 10amps (from memory).