Need to fix a Genz Benz cabinet in Austin

macribas · #1 08-22-2010, 11:29 PM

I live in Austin, TX. Any recommendations of a place or person that can service Genz Benz speaker cabinets in Austin? The tweeter on my NEOx 212T apparently blew up, and in the process of trying to disconnect it I accidentally broke one of the fuses' contacts. I have a gig by Thursday.
Thanks!

daflores · #2 08-23-2010, 03:23 AM

Bass Emporium on Research Blvd. has some pretty knowledgeable people working there and they carry Genz Benz.

dozicusmaximus · #3 08-23-2010, 05:26 AM

Its actually on Anderson. Between Burnet and Research(183). I agree, that would be a good place to start.

vin*tone · #4 08-23-2010, 05:38 AM

The Genz cavalry will be here shortly....

Mozilla · #5 08-23-2010, 07:10 AM

Austin Amplifiers is an awesome place to get your gear worked on. Cameron is the guy that runs the amp shop....which is connected to Walter Hutchins Music Excange.

http://www.austinamplifier.com/about.html

They are super friendly and very knowledgible. Located on North Loop and Avenue F.

agedhorse · #6 08-23-2010, 10:10 AM

Your repair shop will be able to get the parts pretty quickly, but they should get them ordered to allow adequate shipping time and thus time for the tech to complete the repair. They should order the parts AFTER looking at the problem to be sure they order the right parts to finish the job.

macribas · #7 08-23-2010, 10:20 AM

Thanks everyone!

Just spoke to Jeff Genzler and he said that it is really weird that there is no sound at all after the fuse was disconnected. According to him the fuses are just for the tweeter and there should still be sound coming from the woofers. I might have disconnected something else that I can't see.

Bass Emporium is my one-stop-shop for all things bass related here in Austin, but they are closed on Mondays. They would probably have the number of a good tech person.

I think I will swing by Musical Exchange to see if they can help me out.

Thanks!

agedhorse · #8 08-23-2010, 10:27 AM

The fuse is for the tweeter only, if you have no sound out of the woofer then something else is disconnected or broken.

Best to Have a tech look at it, though it's easier if things haven't been disconnected inadvertantly.

macribas · #9 08-23-2010, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agedhorse

The fuse is for the tweeter only, if you have no sound out of the woofer then something else is disconnected or broken.

Best to Have a tech look at it, though it's easier if things haven't been disconnected inadvertantly.

Thanks. But inadvertently is kind of harsh. I have an Electrical Engineering degree. I just don't like tinkering with solder irons and such. A service manual or at least schematics for the crossover would be great to have.

macribas · #10 08-23-2010, 11:01 AM

By the way... one more reason why a service manual or circuit schematics would do good.
The twitter level control was in the off position. When I put it in the full position, the woofers came back to life. The twitter is off because the fuses are removed.
So the reason I was not getting any sound is that somehow the twitter level control (which was in the off position) is controlling the volume of all speakers. It does not make sense. I am not the original owner, is it maybe that someone altered the original circuit?

macribas · #11 08-23-2010, 11:29 AM

One more piece of info... the position where I got sound from the woofers is the "infinite" symbol, that is, even weirder: infinite -db is maximum attenuation, which should mean no sound at all. If I put it to -0 db, I got no sound at all. Exactly the opposite what it should be, for the twitter.

macribas · #12 08-23-2010, 11:56 AM

Problem solved: Jeff Genzler is sending a replacement crossover. If I find out the tweeter is fried after I install the new crossover then I will get a new one too. Great customer service, as usual, from Genz Benz!

BassmanPaul · #13 08-23-2010, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macribas

Problem solved: Jeff Genzler is sending a replacement crossover. If I find out the twitter is fried after I install the new crossover then I will get a new one too. Great customer service, as usual, from Genz Benz!

Yes GB IS a good company but it's a TWEETER not a twitter!

Paul

macribas · #14 08-23-2010, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassmanPaul

Yes GB IS a good company but it's a TWEETER not a twitter!

Paul

Gee, thanks! I wonder if that's why it's not working...

agedhorse · #15 08-23-2010, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macribas

Thanks. But inadvertently is kind of harsh. I have an Electrical Engineering degree. I just don't like tinkering with solder irons and such. A service manual or at least schematics for the crossover would be great to have.

Not ment to be harsh of course.

The problem with not knowing what was done to the cabinet before you owned it, combined with operational things not checking out corretly is why I suggested that somebody who looks at this kind of thing all the time would know what to look for, what is typical convention in bass cabinets, and what is the fastest and most logical way to resolve your problem... ESPECIALLY if you need the cabinet in a couple of days.

I would also recommend a new crossover, I would also want to be sure you had the proper drivers installed and that what you really have is a GB cabinet and not a copy or a "clone".

Can you take a photo of the tweeter and the LF driver, specifically the gray S/N tag on the LF drivers so that we know what driver we are talking about? They should be a GNX-12300-8ohm, the label will be either on the outside of the magnet housing casting or on the inside of the cast basket leg. It's also critical thatthe polarity of the LF drivers is observed, the polarity is embosed in the terminal board, red wire goes to the + terminal and black wire goes to the - terminal of the factory crossover. The white wire goes to the tweeter + and the green wire goes to the tweeter -.

If the colors do not match the crossover you have, something is definately wrong with the cabinet you bought and you might want to contact the seller.

macribas · #16 08-23-2010, 02:11 PM

Wow, this is excellent info. I will have a look and take pictures as soon as I get home. Many thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by agedhorse

Not ment to be harsh of course.

The problem with not knowing what was done to the cabinet before you owned it, combined with operational things not checking out corretly is why I suggested that somebody who looks at this kind of thing all the time would know what to look for, what is typical convention in bass cabinets, and what is the fastest and most logical way to resolve your problem... ESPECIALLY if you need the cabinet in a couple of days.

I would also recommend a new crossover, I would also want to be sure you had the proper drivers installed and that what you really have is a GB cabinet and not a copy or a "clone".

Can you take a photo of the tweeter and the LF driver, specifically the gray S/N tag on the LF drivers so that we know what driver we are talking about? They should be a GNX-12300-8ohm, the label will be either on the outside of the magnet housing casting or on the inside of the cast basket leg. It's also critical thatthe polarity of the LF drivers is observed, the polarity is embosed in the terminal board, red wire goes to the + terminal and black wire goes to the - terminal of the factory crossover. The white wire goes to the tweeter + and the green wire goes to the tweeter -.

If the colors do not match the crossover you have, something is definately wrong with the cabinet you bought and you might want to contact the seller.

Datsgor · #17 08-23-2010, 02:20 PM

Great stuff going on here. Never had to deal with customer service, but this is the kind of feedback that makes me glad I own a GB amp and cab. (that and sound makes me glad too.)

RickenBoogie · #18 08-23-2010, 04:53 PM

Me too- not only are the GB guys always on top of things, and taking care of problems that they don't really have to, they make some pretty killer bass cabs too.

crockpot2001 · #19 08-23-2010, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Datsgor

Great stuff going on here. Never had to deal with customer service, but this is the kind of feedback that makes me glad I own a GB amp and cab. (that and sound makes me glad too.)

Only in my dreams do I dance with other brands.

macribas · #20 08-24-2010, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macribas

Wow, this is excellent info. I will have a look and take pictures as soon as I get home. Many thanks!

Wow, agedhorse, I believe you hit the nail in the head. The LF drivers are not the same! One of them does not have the sticker that you mentioned and looks totally different. Who knows what the person that replaced it might have done to the circuit?

I mean, it should be just a matter of disconnecting and reconnecting the leads, but who knows what the person was thinking? What if this isn't a matching driver and that's why the crossover was altered?

Here are the awful pictures I could take with my iPhone:

Tweeter

Crossover

Genz Driver

Unknown Driver

Do you recognize this non-Genz LF driver from the pic? How do I know it is a proper replacement? If I install the new crossover with the correct wiring, do you see any problems? Should I be looking into getting a new driver?

Thanks
Marcel