Need help with speakers

[mtrinkwald]

I have been blowing speakers and would like to some help in what I can do to prevent this and possible problems. I use a Walter Woods Super (the blue light) Electracoustic amp. I believe it tops out at 1200 into 4 ohms. I use custom speaker cabinets, generally two twelves but sometmes just one for quieter gigs. If anybody is from Long Island Ny the may know them, they are Brickhouse cabinets designed by Mike Frost. I have a custom built bass with an active pre-amp built in.

Is It just a case of overloading when using one cabinet?
(generally this happens only in restaurant type gigs, so not to loud)

Could my active pre-amp be to hot?

What are some replacement speakers to look into?
(not cabinets just speakers)

Any help on the matter would be much appreciated, thanks for taking the time.

-matt

 

[Rune Bivrin]

Quite simply, speakers blow because you play louder than the drivers can handle. Either the drivers are weak, or you are expecting too much out of them. With 1200 watts you definitely have the potential to blow just about any 12'' driver on the market. Either way, you should be able to hear them sound bad before they blow. That's a hint right there...

The pre-amp has nothing to do with this.

 

[billfitzmaurice]

What are some replacement speakers to look into?
(not cabinets just speakers)

Since you're using custom cabs these are questions you should be asking the builder.

 

[greenboy]

Yep. Ask the builder. If the builder doesn't know how to address the issue he really isn't a speaker cabinet designer - he's just a cabinetry carpenter with pretensions.

 

[Rick James]

builder doesn't know how to address the issue he really isn't a speaker cabinet designer - .

Judging by the pics on his website that would be my guess. :scowl:

 

[greenboy]

Judging by the pics on his website that would be my guess. :scowl:

Got to agree there ; }

 

[!Rob!]

Judging by the pics on his website that would be my guess. :scowl:

Wow, I went there too, "definitely not my cup-of-tea".

(My Opinion Only)

 

[Jerrold Tiers]

Weeeeesh....... 1200W and ONE 12"?

Do you also juggle jars of nitroglycerine for fun?

There is no 12" on earth that will withstand 1200W as far as cone area etc, let alone direct power handling. I am amazed you get away with it... you must play soft jazz...

1200W will often cause a 4-10 or even an 8-10 to "bottom out", and the 4 10s or 8 10s have a larger "effective area" than actual area due to their grouping.

Yes, it would be a case of overloading the one speaker..........

 

[Rattman]

Uh oh... I just spent a few minutes on Mike Frost's website.. I don't think his designs are gonna pass muster around here.. sorry.

1200Watts? You are gonna need a serious bunch of surface area before you stop blowing/melting your coils down. Better trade up from a "Brickhouse" 112 to at least a Avatar 410 and maybe even add a Carvin 115 to that too.