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Speaker blew. Concerns of happening again

Chris1985

Chris1985

Guest
Sep 5, 2017
16
10
#1
1st post on this web site, tho I’ve read a lot of different threads from other bassists that have been very helpful to me. So thanks to everyone in advance! I have to mention: I am not a hardcore gear head nor do I have a lot of technical knowledge so dumbing down your responses would be helpful! Haha! On to the problem at hand: blew a speaker (crack and popping sound) continued playing, then...complete deadness from the cabinet. No sound

Gear: Ibanez 806SRFF, GK 700rb ii head, Ampeg SVT410HLF cab.
Pedals: MXR bass di +, Korg Pitchblack tuner, Dunlop Crybaby q95(guitar wah)

Both the head and cab were bought used. Was this maybe a fluke? I am getting it repaired under protection plan, just don’t want it to happen again. We do tune very low (standard C guitars) so I tune GCFA#D#G#. I know of many bands that play this low and even lower. I’d imagine they don’t keep blowing speakers and just keep replacing them? Should I add another cab to help disperse the air pushed? I know an obvious answer would be to turn low end down, but for me, seems hollow and thin. Is there a way to still get the booming lows when you dial down low end eq? Thank you for suggestions
 
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#3
Not enough info but I will venture to say that, given a "healthy" enclosure, you pushed the drivers beyond their limits. I can think of a half-dozen suggestions including amplitude modification (...turn down the volume), quit bumping EQ settings, add HPF, add compression...the list goes on.

You're lucky it's being covered by a protection plan. Depending on the damage, it could be deemed "abuse".

Riis
 
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#5
BassAndReeds said:
How loud are you playing? Is your EQ flat? Are you using a bass boost?
Click to expand...

GK’s head maunal suggests to have the main volume (woofer) at 12 o’clock. That’s where I have it. Input volume was maybe at 8 o’clock possibly lower. The eq on my bass guitar is all the way up for bass, mid, and high knobs. Eq on my GK head is highs at about 3 oclock, high mids and low mids at 4 o’clock, and lows at 3 o’clock
 
#6
Zooberwerx said:
Not enough info but I will venture to say that, given a "healthy" enclosure, you pushed the drivers beyond their limits. I can think of a half-dozen suggestions including amplitude modification (...turn down the volume), quit bumping EQ settings, add HPF, add compression...the list goes on.

You're lucky it's being covered by a protection plan. Depending on the damage, it could be deemed "abuse".

Riis
Click to expand...
The volume shouldn’t have been a problem. I can understand my bumping of eq and my settings there. But the volume wasn’t even a quarter of the way up... that’s too loud?
 
#8
Chris1985 said:
The volume shouldn’t have been a problem. I can understand my bumping of eq and my settings there. But the volume wasn’t even a quarter of the way up... that’s too loud?
Click to expand...

I can't. Can't say exactly what happened but your speakers apparently didn't care for it.

Not exactly how I would EQ any amp: volume at 25%, EQ bumped to the nth degree.

Riis
 
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#9
Chris1985 said:
The volume shouldn’t have been a problem. I can understand my bumping of eq and my settings there. But the volume wasn’t even a quarter of the way up... that’s too loud?
Click to expand...
What is HPF? And also add a compression pedal? I will also reevaluate my eq settings on my head. Again, I want the boom and thunder from the lows while having articulate midrange growl. So I guess I need to find a sweet spot to not make the lows sound thin instead of round and full. Think compression would do this?
 
#11
Chris1985 said:
What is HPF? And also add a compression pedal? I will also reevaluate my eq settings on my head. Again, I want the boom and thunder from the lows while having articulate midrange growl. So I guess I need to find a sweet spot to not make the lows sound thin instead of round and full. Think compression would do this?
Click to expand...

High Pass Filter. I like compression irrespective of the situation. You're on the right track: normalize your EQ settings, A/B your 4/5 string voicings as @Kro suggested. Keep in mind that EQ is essentially band-specific volume(s). Erase boom and thunder from your lexicon...what you really want is a thick & rich bass response across the entire spectrum. May even want to check in with the other G&K users for additional tips & tricks. Let me add I owned and used a 2001 RBP preamp and it's more than capable of producing the desired results.

Riis
 
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#12
This sounds like a nightmare for any speaker cab I can think of for bass. You're nearly a full octave below a standard 4 string, you've got the bass eq at 3:00, and you're using a single cab that is known to be very deep sounding with a standard tuned, basically flat signal.

Now I'm not going to show up and half-heartedly scold you and run. I will make a few suggestions, and hopefully you will try them.

First, tell your guitarists to get the hell out of your sonic space. Okay, this won't happen, but it's worth a try.

Second, re-learn those songs in a more normal tuning, maybe a standard 5 tuning. I'll explain. The rumble you seek is eating up all of your power, but your speakers can't reproduce these lows with anywhere near the volume you are asking for. They aren't designed to. Besides once you start going below low B, human hearing basically can't really hear it anyway. And also, chances are your amp is high passed around the B fundamental as well.

Third. Use a realistic and less boosted eq. It seems counter-intuitive, yes, but look up Fletcher-Munson. The louder you turn up a signal that is boosted heavily in the low end, the more out of control the low end will get. Your cab is already a low end beast. Let it do what it was designed to do.

Fourth, lurk a bit, use search, read the stickies, use search, and ask more questions about how this stuff works in reality. It seems from what I had read when I started typing that you've listened to too many guitarist myth and common misconception about how bass gear works and low frequency is perceived.

Good luck, and ya, sorry to say, you abused the crap out of that cab.
 
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#14
basscooker said:
This sounds like a nightmare for any speaker cab I can think of for bass. You're nearly a full octave below a standard 4 string, you've got the bass eq at 3:00, and you're using a single cab that is known to be very deep sounding with a standard tuned, basically flat signal.

Now I'm not going to show up and half-heartedly scold you and run. I will make a few suggestions, and hopefully you will try them.

First, tell your guitarists to get the hell out of your sonic space. Okay, this won't happen, but it's worth a try.

Second, re-learn those songs in a more normal tuning, maybe a standard 5 tuning. I'll explain. The rumble you seek is eating up all of your power, but your speakers can't reproduce these lows with anywhere near the volume you are asking for. They aren't designed to. Besides once you start going below low B, human hearing basically can't really hear it anyway. And also, chances are your amp is high passed around the B fundamental as well.

Third. Use a realistic and less boosted eq. It seems counter-intuitive, yes, but look up Fletcher-Munson. The louder you turn up a signal that is boosted heavily in the low end, the more out of control the low end will get. Your cab is already a low end beast. Let it do what it was designed to do.

Fourth, lurk a bit, use search, read the stickies, use search, and ask more questions about how this stuff works in reality. It seems from what I had read when I started typing that you've listened to too many guitarist myth and common misconception about how bass gear works and low frequency is perceived.

Good luck, and ya, sorry to say, you abused the crap out of that cab.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I am also a guitarist switched to bass. Been playing fingerstlye for 2 years now and this is my 1st “real rig”. I play metal (probably obvious from tuning) that’s why I “know” maybe I don’t... haha) that bassists have used this low of tuning before with success. Listen to the bassist from Obscura. He now has a custom 7 string fretless. Amazing bassist. But his “fullness” is what I’m after while having the mids and clickity clack Steve Harris sound. (Btw- the presence feature on my GK head made all the difference in hearing the strings slap against the fretboard! Awesome!)
 
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#17
It happens. We hear a tone we like on a recording and chase it... Sometimes for years. The thing is, though, you are likely hearing a tone created with four, five, who knows how many different sources mixed together; not to mention tweaked all sexy in post. I'd bet the actual cab being mic'd (if there is one) on the recordings you hear sounds quite thin and "regular" compared to what you think his tone is.

When you see this band live, I'd bet my last-beer-funds that his tone and super low oomph is coming nearly entirely from FOH magic and subs; his stage rig more "middy and less boomy".

High pass filters (a circuit that lets the frequencies above a chosen spot in the spectrum "pass through", and attenuate frequencies below that spot) are usually used in bass amps to keep your speakers safe. A speaker reproduces (or tries to reproduce) whatever it is fed, even if it will kill itself doing so. HPFs help keep the frequencies you are trying to create from causing your speaker to kill itself.

Try keeping the bass knob a bit more towards noon, and bump up low mid instead. Also boost high mid instead of high or presence. Just my suggestions, they might not work for you.
 
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#18
Zooberwerx said:
High Pass Filter. I like compression irrespective of the situation. You're on the right track: normalize your EQ settings, A/B your 4/5 string voicings as @Kro suggested. Keep in mind that EQ is essentially band-specific volume(s). Erase boom and thunder from your lexicon...what you really want is a thick & rich bass response across the entire spectrum. May even want to check in with the other G&K users for additional tips & tricks. Let me add I owned and used a 2001 RBP preamp and it's more than capable of producing the desired results.

Riis
Click to expand...
You’ve been very helpful. Thank you. So again, I’m not very hear savvy, is A high pass filter different or the same as compression? Is it, or does it come in a stomp box? First I’ve heard of HPF. Sorry for the ignorance
 
#19
basscooker said:
It happens. We hear a tone we like on a recording and chase it... Sometimes for years. The thing is, though, you are likely hearing a tone created with four, five, who knows how many different sources mixed together; not to mention tweaked all sexy in post. I'd bet the actual cab being mic'd (if there is one) on the recordings you hear sounds quite thin and "regular" compared to what you think his tone is.

When you see this band live, I'd bet my last-beer-funds that his tone and super low oomph is coming nearly entirely from FOH magic and subs; his stage rig more "middy and less boomy".

High pass filters (a circuit that lets the frequencies above a chosen spot in the spectrum "pass through", and attenuate frequencies below that spot) are usually used in bass amps to keep your speakers safe. A speaker reproduces (or tries to reproduce) whatever it is fed, even if it will kill itself doing so. HPFs help keep the frequencies you are trying to create from causing your speaker to kill itself.

Try keeping the bass knob a bit more towards noon, and bump up low mid instead. Also boost high mid instead of high or presence. Just my suggestions, they might not work for you.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much! Good info!
 

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