Hiss from a speaker cabinet

[slimbassist]

have a brand new Ampeg Venture 2x12 speaker cabinet for my bass guitar that hisses when the slightest bit of signal comes through.

I have my bass guitar plugged directly into a Laney Digbeth amp head, which then runs to the cab.

The hiss isn’t controlled by volume or drive whatsoever. It stays at the same frequency throughout and is only heard when I actively play my bass.

I realize that cabs usually hiss in some way no matter what, but I feel this is unusually loud. It’s annoying when I’m playing at a low volume or micing the cab.

Does anyone have any tips for me to reduce the hiss or get rid of it?

 

[agedhorse]

Does it do this with nothing g plugged into the front of the amp?

How about using only the FET channel?

The cabinet is just reproducing what the amp is sending to it.

 

[Nebadon2000]

The cabinet is just reproducing what the amp is sending to it.

It seems perplexing to me how many here and outside of forum blame noise on Cab/Speakers

I understand some cabs tweeter may have a bump at a certain frequency that exacerbates the problem which may be reason why some think that way even knowing Speakers don't hiss or hum

 

[David Morison]

It seems perplexing to me how many here and outside of forum blame noise on Cab/Speakers

I understand some cabs tweeter may have a bump at a certain frequency that exacerbates the problem which may be reason why some think that way even knowing Speakers don't hiss or hum

Plus one to that.

Also, if someone switches from a tweeter-less cab to one with a tweet, they might start hearing hiss that they never knew was there before - and mistakenly blame whatever changed for the change in noise.

 

[meisi]

I will say I am blown away at how silent my cheapo class D head is.

Growing up, I would hear the kitchen appliances switch on via hum through my amps.

Maybe I’m too used to a single ended guitar tube amps and 100yr old homes but I’ve been loving the silence.

 

[rodl2005]

Try turning tweeter down/off

 

[B-string]

Sound more like you are describing an air leak or a loose component/covering? A "hiss" would get louder with higher amp volume. It really gets no louder or different with volume or note played?

 

[agedhorse]

Sound more like you are describing an air leak or a loose component/covering? A "hiss" would get louder with higher amp volume. It really gets no louder or different with volume or note played?

Very unlikely when it does this with the smallest amount of signal.

If there’s a gate or dynamics stage buried in the signal path, this symptom is a common side effect. I haven’t seen the signal path to know if this Is a possible cause however.

 

[slimbassist]

Does it do this with nothing g plugged into the front of the amp?

How about using only the FET channel?

The cabinet is just reproducing what the amp is sending to it.

When nothing is plugged into the amp, there is no hiss coming from the cab. I’ve tried using the FET channel - along with the FET/tube mix channel - and the issue remains.

 

[slimbassist]

Try turning tweeter down/off

It doesn’t have a tweeter, which is why I’m confused at where the hiss is coming from. The cab has a high-frequency attenuator. There are 3 settings: off, -6db, and 0db. The hiss actually increases in volume at the 0db setting.

 

[slimbassist]

Very unlikely when it does this with the smallest amount of signal.

If there’s a gate or dynamics stage buried in the signal path, this symptom is a common side effect. I haven’t seen the signal path to know if this Is a possible cause however.

Here are some pictures of the entire signal path. It may very well be an internal problem with the head, since nothing on the outside (besides the high-frequency attenuator of the cab) is affecting the present hiss.

 

[agedhorse]

Ok, can you try it with a different cabinet. This way we can at least identify the source of the noise.

I’m assuming it’s not a mechanical rattling noise?

 

[byacey]

If it's quiet with nothing plugged into the input, it must be noise coming from the bass. Onboard preamp?

 

[rodl2005]

It doesn’t have a tweeter, which is why I’m confused at where the hiss is coming from. The cab has a high-frequency attenuator. There are 3 settings: off, -6db, and 0db. The hiss actually increases in volume at the 0db setting.

So the HD attenuator is simply cutting highs from the regular speaker?

I've not seen this before

 

[meisi]

It’s the vb212? It has a tweeter in the description.

Made with 2 x 12-inch custom-voiced Lavoce neodymium woofers and a variable high-frequency driver, the Venture VB-212 is packed with incredible power and undeniable Ampeg tone.