Possible Blown Speaker?

[Jd261808]

Ok, I am narrowing down the vibrating sound of my Emperor cab. It really sounds like the vibrating is coming from the lower 15" speaker (it is a 2x15). I only get the vibrating from the 12-14 fret on the bass. Is it possible the speaker is blown or damaged? If it is, would some notes sound normal and some not? Let me know.

[craig.p]

Yes to both questions, but first lay the cab down on its back, pull the driver, check the driver's gasket and check whether the wires to the speaker might be resting on the cone when the cab's upright, then put the driver back in place, center it so the mounting holes line up, and tighten the screws in a star pattern, a little at a time, just like you'd do a wheel on a car. You want to go around the star maybe three times as you go tighter and tighter. Don't sock the screws down, just snug 'em up barely hand-tight, else you'll strip wood or warp the driver frame or strip the screw heads. You can always go back in a month and re-tighten, but you can't go back and un-warp or un-strip.

If that still doesn't fix it, try swapping the drivers top/bottom, and see if the problem follows the driver you're hearing the buzz from.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by Jd261808

I only get the vibrating from the 12-14 fret on the bass. Is it possible the speaker is blown or damaged? .

Possible, but not likely. Blown drivers usually sound bad on every note, though worse the lower you go. It's more likely something in the cab that's loose and resonating.

[Jd261808]

Well I tightened everything that I know off. Real tight. Should I just replace the speaker?

[craig.p]

In addition to the other things I recommended you do, try isolating the amp (head) from the cab, on the outside chance that cab vibrations are exciting a loose solder joint or cracked etch (trace) in the amp.

[Jd261808]

There is an UPDATE: ok the guy I bought this thing from purchased it new brand new. He said almost immediately after receiving this cab , the bottom right speaker blew. He sent the speaker back to Eminence and they sent him a new one no charge. Well, the vibrating is coming from that new bottom right speaker, NOT the top one. What do you think now?

[lbwdog]

If it were me, I'd call Eminence Customer Service, explain the entire situation (with the date of the replacement, if possible) and see if they will help with any type of warranty or good will. If nothing else, they may offer another replacement at cost, or maybe not.

They have been very helpful with my only dealing with them in the past. Eminence is a large company and seems to be very conscious of their CS reputation. It's worth a try.

edit: But only after doing all you can, including swapping speaker positions, checking cabinet and bracing, etc., to ensure the problem is with the driver.

[bjm]

I don't want to hijack this thread, but my story may be useful to some since I had similar symptoms to the OP.

After two years of gigging on my 15" Celestion in a 1x15" w/ tweeter configuration was making a buzzing/rattling ugly noise on certain notes, mostly on low E, F, F#, but it was intermittent. One day I'd hear it, the next day at a gig or rehearsal I wouldn't.

It is important to note that the sound still had a lot of bass content and full body in it. It wasn't really thin and weak like the blown speakers I have heard. It just had this additional annoying sound that was driving me nuts.

I opened it up and did all the checks for loose wires and parts, tried it after unhooking the tweet and x-over, etc. The sound was clearly coming from the 15" inside the sealed speaker unit.

I took it to my local amp tech who turned it upside down, carefully thudded it with a fist in certain places, etc. and proved something was mechanically loose inside. I was somehow unable to determine this and I needed to know I was not crazy

Whatever was loose sometimes got lodged somewhere, then popped loose, got lodged again, etc. all depending on the notes I played, the volume level, and the handling and moving of the cab. The result was a frustrating buzzing/rattling sound that appeared and disappeared in a seemingly (but not actually) random way.

Anyway, I am getting a new speaker, so all should be good.

Now I just need to figure out if I can open up this Celestion and somehow salvage it. It seems to be "glued" together rather than assembled with screws and hardware, so I don't hold out a lot of hope...

-jeff

[AwkwardLoudness]

Make sure the mounting screws are tight on the bottom speaker.

[Jd261808]

So did you end up getting a new speaker? I just don't see anything loose. I am no expert at this either, but it all seems good inside the cab. I really think the speaker is bad.