Horn blown?

KANEfreak69 · #1 11-07-2011, 06:34 PM

How do I know if the horn is blown. I was playing last night and when I was playing a song the speaker just cut out then I shut it off and turned it back on and it worked again so I thought nothing of it now it has a dull sound to it when I go to play. Thanks.

Joe Louvar · #2 11-07-2011, 07:07 PM

If no sound is coming out of the horn, a solder joint/wire is lose, the crossover has a problem or the horn is dead!!!

bobcruz · #3 11-07-2011, 10:50 PM

Turn on your amp with the speaker and bass connected and turn up the volume as far as it will go (but don't play any notes!). Crank up the treble on your amp to the max. You should hear some hiss with your ear next to the tweeter, and it should be reduced as you turn down the treble and/or volume. If not, you've got a blown tweeter fuse (if the tweeter has one) or blown diaphragm in the tweeter (either is a cheap replacement).

Gearhead17 · #4 11-08-2011, 03:57 PM

Follow what bobcruz said and make sure you are boosting everything 4khz and above.

Keep in mind that if you already blew the horn, you were most likely pushing too much treble through the tweeter. Everything at 4khz and above goes to the tweeter (typically, there are exceptions), so next time you need a high end boost, try boosting around 1khz to 3khz. Those high frequencies are easier to hear and they are coming out of the speaker cones.

The tweeter is great for some clarity, but keep in mind that your bass cab's tweeter is going to spread those frequencies in almost a straight line from the tweeter. So if you stand to the right or left of your cab, you will not hear much of the tweeter at all.

KANEfreak69 · #5 11-10-2011, 10:43 PM

Ok I did the turning up the volume and treble and I do hear the hiss but I'm still wondering what the original problem.

Joe Louvar · #6 11-11-2011, 07:49 AM

Did you move the amp - maybe room acoustics? Also as you turned down the treble did the hiss also reduce?

KANEfreak69 · #7 11-11-2011, 12:15 PM

No it was not moved at all and the hissing did go down when the knob was turned down

Joe Louvar · #8 11-11-2011, 08:40 PM

I’m not sure what caused it to shutdown - maybe it overheated., and intermittent problems can be hard to track down - if the amp is new so you can exchange it for another one that might be a good idea.

KANEfreak69 · #9 11-12-2011, 11:15 AM

Last night it started to act up again, the sound was in and out alot until I shut it off and turned it back on. I tried the treble method and I still hear the hissing noise.

Joe Louvar · #10 11-12-2011, 11:21 AM

That's not good. Personally, I’d get a new amp. Good luck.