• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Speakon intermittent

Ewo

Ewo

a/k/a Steve Cooper
Apr 2, 2008
7,871
10,285
Huntington WV
#1
Seems like the Speakon connection between my amp and cab is bit twitchy. Sometimes it's open (no sound), and if I rotate the Speakon connector behind the amp just a couple degrees it makes the connection. Once I get it in a sweet spot, it works fine.

The cable's good (continuity, pin to pin), and it's a Neutrik connector. Maybe a bit of corrosion on the contacts, amp or cable end? DeOxit good for cleaning things?

Other possibilities I should check into?
 
#2
Ya, deoxit is good for cleaning. Those Neutriks are solderless terminals, you can take them apart/put them together again with just a screwdriver. I'd take the cable ends apart and look for a frayed strand of wire or loose terminal anyway. The continuity may check good even though everything isn't just right inside there.
 
#9
BassmanPaul said:
You do know that you have to insert the connector and twist it until it locks?? Not calling you in any way just making sure you know. :)
Click to expand...

No prob! Yeah, I know that.

Actually, when I rotate the connector fully home the intermittent occurs. Backing it off a degree or two (there's enough play, when it's locked) makes the connection. That's why I was thinking there might be a bit of corrosion.

The head's a Markbass F1, and the connector is Neutrik, not a knock-off.
 
#10
The speakon design has changed a little over the years. The original model had a locking ring that you would turn CW once you had the connector seated. Don't know if yours is like this, but I know a few people who have overlooked locking it in. Of course, the newer ones have a thumb tab. It is also perfectly acceptable to solder the wires into the connector, in fact, a lot of pro audio guys swear by this. Hopefully, just a little cleaning will correct your issue.
 
#11
Thanks for the post.

Yeah, the connector is the new design with the locking tab. I've rotated it fully CW, and heard/felt it lock.

What's odd is that full CW causes the intermittent. Backing it CCW just slightly (still locked; within the play) makes the connection.

I was thinking a bit of corrosion, or maybe a bit of wear on the amp's connector..?
 
#12
Hopefully a cleaning will handle it. The speakons are a very robust connector. If I had to guess, I would suspect that the connector in your amp is loose. I'm not familiar with the Markbass topology, but the speakon is probably a circuit board mount and possibly one of the solder joints is loose. People do tend to twist a speakon when they insert it.
 
#13
dmac1961 said:
Hopefully a cleaning will handle it. The speakons are a very robust connector. If I had to guess, I would suspect that the connector in your amp is loose. I'm not familiar with the Markbass topology, but the speakon is probably a circuit board mount and possibly one of the solder joints is loose. People do tend to twist a speakon when they insert it.
Click to expand...

Aha! Again, thanks; I hadn't thought of that. I'll see if they (two of 'em on the back of the amp) wiggle at all.
 
#14
dmac1961 said:
Hopefully a cleaning will handle it. The speakons are a very robust connector. If I had to guess, I would suspect that the connector in your amp is loose. I'm not familiar with the Markbass topology, but the speakon is probably a circuit board mount and possibly one of the solder joints is loose. People do tend to twist a speakon when they insert it.
Click to expand...

That is certainly a possibility. Check the easier things first, then open it up if you haven't yet found the cause.
 
#15
dmac1961 said:
<SNIP> It is also perfectly acceptable to solder the wires into the connector, in fact, a lot of pro audio guys swear by this. Hopefully, just a little cleaning will correct your issue.
Click to expand...

To clarify, for those who aren't pros and are unlikely to solder wires directly to Neutrik connectors: if using screw terminals, do not tin the wires. I don't solder directly to a Neutrik connector because it makes battlefield repairs slower and more difficult (I don't carry lots of spare cables to gigs).
 
#16
Thanks, all, for your assistance!

Some DeOxit on the connector, followed by a bit of exercise, did the trick. But I'm gonna keep the other advice in mind, if I run into the problem again on this or my other gear. :bassist:
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back