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  #1  
Old 11-16-2010, 06:43 PM
Wes Whitmore's Avatar
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Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Columbus, OH
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Rattling Cab...Fixed!

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My Ampeg portabass 1x10 developed a weird buzz/rattle over the past couple of weeks. Odd thing is, it only did it on "A" notes. It would buzz anytime you hit any A on the neck. At first I thought it was the baffle. I pulled out all of the components and used PL adhesive on all the inside corner joints. That didn't fix anything. I put it all back together and try to isolate it again. It honestly sounded like it was coming right from the center of the woofer, but I just couldn't see how that was possible because every other note sounded loud and clean. I took the woofer out, flipped it over, and mounted it to the box so the magnet stuck outwards. I use some alligator clips to bypass the crossover for a second and hooked them right up to the output of the amp. I found it! The magnet is held to the frame with 4 screws, and somehow, they must have backed out and became just a little loose. I touch the magnet and it stopped vibrating. I can't get to the screws because they attach from the inside out, and the spider is glued over the screw heads. I put a thin application of PL adhesive between the magnet and the frame, and it fixed the issue. I put it back together, and rocked with the cab tonight. No more rattles!

I also found that the 1/4" inputs weren't sealed. They are high quality surface mount units, but it's a faulty design where the bottom of the connector isn't sealed against the board. Air blew through them like a wistle...I sealed them up with silicon and all is good now.

Not sure why I posted this, but maybe it will help someone diagnose a problem in the future. Finding that rattle sure made my day because I really like the cab.

Thanks,
Wes
  #2  
Old 11-16-2010, 07:06 PM
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actually it's good you did. small holes in cabs, especially around jack plates, can sound like distortion or rattling.
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  #3  
Old 11-16-2010, 07:56 PM
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Thanks for the report Wes. More good data to add to the (mental) troubleshooting database, always a good thing.

Sad about the "interesting" design choice to make the magnet bolts inaccessible... :\

=wr=
  #4  
Old 11-17-2010, 07:03 AM
Wes Whitmore's Avatar
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyM View Post
actually it's good you did. small holes in cabs, especially around jack plates, can sound like distortion or rattling.
I plugging a speaker cable in there to block the air coming out of them until I got a chance to crack it all open and take a look. It was definately audible even at low volumes.
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