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Speaker cable question

B

Bobby Newbie

May 2, 2020
14
3
#1
Hello talk bass community.

Let me first say that I am a novice in every sense of the word, so it should come as no surprise my that my question will be just that...novice.

I have a speakON NL4FX cable going to my parallel speaker output on my amp and the other end going to the speaker cabinet.

Power is on to the amp but there is no amplification.
What’s wrong with this picture?
 
#3
Malcolm35 said:
My first reaction is the Cable has a short in it. Never did use one like the NL4FX cable, but, normally a little solder will fix the problem.

Cables get stepped on, stuff rolled over them and countless other reasons for them to develop shorts.

Good luck.
Click to expand...
Unlikely that there's a solder problem since the plugs are solderless pressure screw terminals. Properly assembled using genuine Neutrik plugs, they are VERY reliable.
 
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#4
What amp, what cabinet?

Did you make the cable yourself or is it factory made?

Are they real Neutrik plugs?

The standard wiring code for 99% of all NON BRIDGED bass applications is 1+ to 1+ and 1- to 1-

Generally the problems are reasonably straight forward to figure out. Don't assume something complicated without troubleshooting the simple stuff first.

There are some goofy exceptions, but they are rare.
 
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#5
Malcolm35 said:
My first reaction is the Cable has a short in it. Never did use one like the NL4FX cable, but, normally a little solder will fix the problem.

Cables get stepped on, stuff rolled over them and countless other reasons for them to develop shorts.

Good luck.
Click to expand...
Thank you Malcolm for your response.
These are brand new cables, so maybe a short? It’s possible.
 
#7
agedhorse said:
What amp, what cabinet?

Did you make the cable yourself or is it factory made?

Are they real Neutrik plugs?

The standard wiring code for 99% of all NON BRIDGED bass applications is 1+ to 1+ and 1- to 1-

Generally the problems are reasonably straight forward to figure out. Don't assume something complicated without troubleshooting the simple stuff first.

There are some goofy exceptions, but they are rare.
Click to expand...
 
#10
It's possible that it's a defective cable but first verify that it's wired 1+ to 1- at both ends.

A bridging cable will be wired 1+/1- at the speaker end and 1+/2+ at the amp end. This is for pro audio applications where the bridging is done via a 2 channel power amp.

Generally, but not always (should be always) the cable will be marked as bridging, with the amp and speaker ends identified.
 
#11
Don't automatically presume the new cable is working right...it is possible for one end or the other to be mis-wired. It's easy enough to unscrew the strain relief and slide the connector body out of the back-shell for a visual inspection. Check to be sure that it's +1 to +1 and -1 to -1; the terminals are marked, although they're kind of hard to see. Also, check that both terminal screws are tight at each end...A Posi-drive is the right tool, but a Phillips driver will do. Alternatively, if there's a real enough music store available, maybe take the cable in and see if they can test it or at least check it with an amp and cab that are known to be working.
 
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