So my Avatar 210 was smoking last time I jammed...

[rbuist]

Title says it all really.

I played plenty of gigs/practices with this particular cab in my band but that was 3 years ago. The cab has pretty much sat in my room and been used for recording at relatively low volumes (well low compared to show volume).

So I was jamming with a few friends pretty loud for about 30-45 minutes and we smelled something burning- look down at my amp and there is literally smoke coming out of the port underneath the speakers. It was loud, but not ridiculously high- the only really difference I can admit is that I did dial up the treble quite a bit (I wanted to cut through a little more).

Just so you know, I was using the amp for about an hour before at a decent volume when I was recording so the amp had plenty of time to warm up. I muted the amp for about 20 minutes before we started jamming and I turned up the volume/treble.

Playing through the cab now, I haven't noticed any problems in sound (or fire haha), but I had to post about it- it's definitely not going to make me feel safe jamming on a cab that has the potential to light the practice space on fire. What do you guys think?

FYI I was playing with an active P bass, an MXR M80 bass DI, and a GK 1001 MkII head

Thanks,
Ryan

[Jaco who?]

You might have exceeded the voltage rating for a capacitor in your crossover, you might have partially cooked one or both of the voice coils, who knows, but you can't expect one poor little 2x10 to hang with a 1001RBII.

[rbuist]

Originally Posted by Jaco who?

You might have exceeded the voltage rating for a capacitor in your crossover, you might have partially cooked one or both of the voice coils, who knows, but you can't expect one poor little 2x10 to hang with a 1001RBII.

I wasn't blasting the volume- at least not more than I used to in my high school rock band- the same cab used to jam hard back then. Also, at 8ohms, my output is 500W and each speaker is rated at 250W so I thought I was good- it's the reason I went with Avatar.

[JimmyM]

That is the wattage it takes to blow the voice coil, but there is no way any 210 can take that without farting out on you at a much earlier wattage point, generally half the wattage, sometimes a little higher, sometimes lower, but certainly not 500w. And when you push them hard, heat will generate. If it's still working fine, you're likely still good, but do it too much and you won't be for long.

[RickenBoogie]

+1 never depend on wattage ratings, unless you fully understand the difference between thermal and mechanical limitations. 500 watts can certainly fry that cab.

[JimmyM]

Always remember the credo: "If it sounds like it's going to blow up, it will."