Speaker blew. Concerns of happening again

Sounds like a pretty good rig... how long did you have it, before it blew?

 

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

 

How loud are you playing? Is your EQ flat? Are you using a bass boost?

 

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

 

Hate to say it, but that does indeed sound a bit like a recipe for damaged speakers. 700RB in 5-string mode?

 

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

 

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.

 

Times a wastin'... if you can, start now! Good luck!

 

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.