Struggling Scorpion Speaker—Help, Please

[agedhorse]

Black Widows get all the praise but I think the Scorpions are very under appreciated.

I agree, I really like the Scorpions, well designed and built drivers and a reasonable weight to performance ratio.

 

[Riff Ranger]

About 20 years ago, I happened to acquire a pair of 15" Scorpions and decided to use them as the basis of a custom 3 way PA cabinet build - simply as a learning experience.

I used WinISD to design the cabs and ports. Mids are Eminence Alpha 6as and Eminence horn tweets are on top.

Naturally, I'm limited to the amount of low end boom the Scorpions can handle, but they sound amazingly good for modest gigs and I've gotten lots of compliments about how clean and articulate they sound at all frequencies.

Black Widows get all the praise but I think the Scorpions are very under appreciated.

I agree, I really like the Scorpions, well designed and built drivers and a reasonable weight to performance ratio.

Keep this talk up, and I might not get rid of anything, haha.

 

[Riff Ranger]

I agree, I really like the Scorpions, well designed and built drivers and a reasonable weight to performance ratio.

I don’t know if anybody’s still interested (long story, but COVID ruins everything somehow and my family ended up moving to Oregon, minus the 1516 and Scorpion) but it turns out it’s something in the head. I’m now getting these results even in standard tuning with standard output pickups and a lot of bass cut and at low volume and through the newer heavy duty cab (as well as the period correct 1x15 I finally found, pictured here).

An e-cquaintance of mine who has referred to the Mark IV as her “desert island amp” says this sounds like the power filter capacitors wearing out. @agedhorse I have heard you lament people assuming caps need replacing as a first resort more than once, but does this seem likely now that it would appear it’s not a dirty jack or power handling issue after all?

 

[agedhorse]

There are way too many possibilities to guess, but generally internet’s guesses are worth what you pay for them.

a qualified tech will troubleshoot and properly diagnose before replacing any parts or claiming to know what’s wrong.

 

[Riff Ranger]

There are way too many possibilities to guess, but generally internet’s guesses are worth what you pay for them.

a qualified tech will troubleshoot and properly diagnose before replacing any parts or claiming to know what’s wrong.

I think I might have found somebody qualified here in Ashland.

 

[gitfiddl]

I don’t know if anybody’s still interested (long story, but COVID ruins everything somehow and my family ended up moving to Oregon, minus the 1516 and Scorpion) but it turns out it’s something in the head. I’m now getting these results even in standard tuning with standard output pickups and a lot of bass cut and at low volume and through the newer heavy duty cab (as well as the period correct 1x15 I finally found, pictured here).

View attachment 4024136

An e-cquaintance of mine who has referred to the Mark IV as her “desert island amp” says this sounds like the power filter capacitors wearing out. @agedhorse I have heard you lament people assuming caps need replacing as a first resort more than once, but does this seem likely now that it would appear it’s not a dirty jack or power handling issue after all?

I can't comment on the problem but I will say that is one beautiful rig!

 

[Riff Ranger]

I can't comment on the problem but I will say that is one beautiful rig!

Thank you. The Scorpion in question has since found a new home, as has the 1516. I’ve got a period correct 1x15BW now with a similar 2x12 on the way. The lower cab in that first image has tremendous low end, but the period correct cabs sound better full range without sacrificing much low end (to my ear).

 

[Riff Ranger]

I can't comment on the problem but I will say that is one beautiful rig!

Oh, you meant the new one, haha. Hopefully you like it well enough to see it twice!

 

[gitfiddl]

Oh, you meant the new one, haha. Hopefully you like it well enough to see it twice!

I'll never get tired of ole Peavey gear! I owned my share over the years, although I'm down to just one MKIII head these days. For a little while back in the late Eighties i ran a bi-amp 15BW/2x10 Scorpion rig with a MKIII powering the lows through the 15 and a Monitor 260 head pushing the highs through the 2x10. Then I got an 1820...

 

[Riff Ranger]

There are way too many possibilities to guess, but generally internet’s guesses are worth what you pay for them.

a qualified tech will troubleshoot and properly diagnose before replacing any parts or claiming to know what’s wrong.

I have started a new thread on this here: Peavey Mark IV *requires* 2ohm cab?! Does that sound right?!