SWR Goliath JR started buzzing?

[toneseeker]

I've always been a 15" speaker guy, but I recently found a used SWR Goliath JR III (I think it's a III, front ported, 8ohm, 350 watt, but lighter than 50lbs? SWR label blacked out?) 2x10 cabinet that sounded good, was fairly small and light at a great price and thought I'd give it a try. I got it at Gtr Ctr. with a 60 money back warranty and 1yr full repair warranty including if I blow the speakers.
Anyway I used it at a few practices and gigs paired with a 100 watt all tube head and a 15" cab and it sounded pretty good. Last night I tried it without the 15" cab at a practice and probably pushed it too hard. The speakers don't sound fully blown, but there is an annoying buzz when turned up with any decent amount of bottom end. I checked every screw for tightness and I'm pretty sure it's coming from the speakers.
I'm wondering if I should bother trying to have Gtr Ctr repair it or if I should just return it. I have until 12/6 to get money back.
If I return it, are there other light weight (under 50lbs) inexpensive (paid $199) 2x10 cabinets out there that sound good and can handle some loud rock.
When I'm not using my 100 watt all tube head and one or two 15's, I usually use a 120 watt Harke Kickback 12 or 15 and they handle it fine?
I was really enjoying the sound until the buzzing started.
Thanks in advance any suggestion would be appreciated!

 

[BillyB_from_LZ]

Does it have PAS speakers?

Assuming that it does, there is (IMO) a design flaw in those things (I had two Goliath IIs), but it's an easy fix.

The wiring terminals on the speakers are secured to the cast frame by screws. The flaw is that the electrical connection to the voice coil lead depends on the screw being tight. If it loosens up, the connection can get intermittent and makes the speaker sound like its blown. The solution was to remove the speakers from the cabinet and tighten the terminal screws (it's a phillips head screw and has to be accessed from inside the frame). A screwdriver with a 90 ° angle worked for me.

So try that before you give up on the cabinet. When I had to fix mine, I recall that 7 of the 8 speakers had loose terminals.

Good luck and please let me know if that helped.

 

[lbwdog]

HMM...That's the first I've heard about the PAS flaw...interesting.

My Goliath III JR story.
Two months before Hurricane Katrina, I switched from long time rig of fifteens to a Goliath III 4x10. I loved that cab. Super bass, SPL and tone. The storm destroyed it though, so a couple of months later, i was in my GC where they had a great clearance sale on a new G III JR. I figured if it was half the cab it's big brother is, it would be great for my medium sized/volume gigs. i bought it without listening but when i got it home, it farted like crazy when just barely pushed. this was in my living room, so I knew I couldn't gig with it. Frankly, it didn't sound like blown drivers but like they just reached their excursion limit very early.

I guess this PAS design flaw posted by BillyB might have been in play, but again, it didn't sound blown. I know lots of guys use the JR and are happy with 'em but I returned mine for another G III 4x10 and am still happily gigging it.

BTW, I called my speaker guru about reconing the original, hurricane damaged tens, and asked him if he would suggest going with a different driver altogether. He told me the PAS tens were the best you get get for bass guitar, in his opinion.

 

[dpbass66]

Does it have PAS speakers?

Assuming that it does, there is (IMO) a design flaw in those things (I had two Goliath IIs), but it's an easy fix.

The wiring terminals on the speakers are secured to the cast frame by screws. The flaw is that the electrical connection to the voice coil lead depends on the screw being tight. If it loosens up, the connection can get intermittent and makes the speaker sound like its blown. The solution was to remove the speakers from the cabinet and tighten the terminal screws (it's a phillips head screw and has to be accessed from inside the frame). A screwdriver with a 90 ° angle worked for me.

So try that before you give up on the cabinet. When I had to fix mine, I recall that 7 of the 8 speakers had loose terminals.

Good luck and please let me know if that helped.

I know this post was from more than a month ago, but a similar issue just cropped up on my GIII Jr. speaker sounds blown, but I cant see any insult to the cone, so i suspect other. maybe you cant always see obvious damage to blown speakers??

anyway, I pooped the cone out and from what i see the viring terminal and the cast frame are all one piece (or welded)no screw holding that wiring terminal in place. So, either I dont understand your post (which is quite possible) or I have a different model/year SWR. I bought mine in about 1996 and like I said above it is a Goliath 3 Jr (2x10).

Any input here would be hugely appreeciated!!!

 

[toneseeker]

hi dpbass66, happy holidays!
Interesting you posted this today. I just called Gtr ctr today because they were supposed to have my cab back to me today. They've had it almost 2 months now and say they are still waiting on the warranty company to approve the claim. I believe the drivers are blown and hope they don't try to swap them with a different brand. Maybe the PAS drivers don't handle much power but they do have a nice tone!
I didn't post that quote about the speaker terminals, but I'm glad to hear that they don't all have that issue. I'm no speaker expert and I don't think I could dedect anything except an obvious rip or crease or burnt coil. Didn't see any problem with mine but sure hear it!
Good luck. I've heard reconing is a good option. Not sure about burnt voice coils.

 

[BillyB_from_LZ]

...

anyway, I pooped the cone out and from what i see the viring terminal and the cast frame are all one piece (or welded)no screw holding that wiring terminal in place. ...

Does your speaker look like the one shown in the photo below? If so, the head for the screw is inside the frame (the screw threads into the body of the terminal)...

If it does, see if you can wiggle or rotate the body of the terminal against the frame.

In my case, at low volume the speakers sounded fine, it was only after turning it up that the vibration caused the problem to occur.

Hopefully this helps a bit...

 

[dpbass66]

No my terminals point away from the back of the cone...they dont run perpendicular to it like your picture.

 

[BrianNeil]

No my terminals point away from the back of the cone...they dont run perpendicular to it like your picture.

Hi, I realize this is a really old post, but I'm wondering if you ever found the root of the problem. I have a similar issue and the way you describe your terminals sound like mine. I have a Goliath Jr III in a 4 ohm that buzzes pretty bad when compared to the speakers in my Pre-Fender Super Redhead. The speakers in both are the same and both are 4 ohms so I assume the the Super Redhead is just a Goliath Jr 2x10 in combo form. I disconnected the internal cab of the SRH and I'm running both cabs in stereo on an SM900. Jr III sounds a lot more buzzy while the SRH speakers sound super clean and articulate. I'd think they should sound the same, but I could be wrong.

 

[BillyB_from_LZ]

Hi, I realize this is a really old post, but I'm wondering if you ever found the root of the problem. I have a similar issue and the way you describe your terminals sound like mine. I have a Goliath Jr III in a 4 ohm that buzzes pretty bad when compared to the speakers in my Pre-Fender Super Redhead. The speakers in both are the same and both are 4 ohms so I assume the the Super Redhead is just a Goliath Jr 2x10 in combo form. I disconnected the internal cab of the SRH and I'm running both cabs in stereo on an SM900. Jr III sounds a lot more buzzy while the SRH speakers sound super clean and articulate. I'd think they should sound the same, but I could be wrong.

Can you post a photo of the back of your speakers? Especially the terminals.

 

[BrianNeil]

Can you post a photo of the back of your speakers? Especially the terminals.

I just put the cab back together after checking the terminals, they weren't loose. I didn't take any pics (in hindsight I probably should have), but I have a pic of one of the speakers on my SuperRedhead I took awhile back and it's exactly The same as the speakers in my GJR III. It's not the best photo, but you can see what the terminals look like. Either way, I don't think it's the terminals causing the problem. Any other ideas? Also, thanks for your help

 

[BillyB_from_LZ]

I just put the cab back together after checking the terminals, they weren't loose. I didn't take any pics (in hindsight I probably should have), but I have a pic of one of the speakers on my SuperRedhead I took awhile back and it's exactly The same as the speakers in my GJR III. It's not the best photo, but you can see what the terminals look like. Either way, I don't think it's the terminals causing the problem. Any other ideas? Also, thanks for your help

Thanks for posting the photo. If the terminals aren't loose, the other thing that might look suspect is the length of the tinsel leads (the wire that connects the voicecoil to the terminals). While I never had problems with them on PAS speakers in SWR cabinets, I did on some Eminence Neos in an Avatar cabinet. The tinsel leads would vibrate against the cone and make a sound that gave the impression that the speakers were blown.

I simply heated up the solder connection at the terminal, pulled the tinsel leads out a bit (still leaving enough slack so that the cone could move freely), made sure that the solder connections were good and it did the trick.

Something to consider, although it requires you to take the cabinet apart again...

 

[BrianNeil]

Thanks for posting the photo. If the terminals aren't loose, the other thing that might look suspect is the length of the tinsel leads (the wire that connects the voicecoil to the terminals). While I never had problems with them on PAS speakers in SWR cabinets, I did on some Eminence Neos in an Avatar cabinet. The tinsel leads would vibrate against the cone and make a sound that gave the impression that the speakers were blown.

I simply heated up the solder connection at the terminal, pulled the tinsel leads out a bit (still leaving enough slack so that the cone could move freely), made sure that the solder connections were good and it did the trick.

Something to consider, although it requires you to take the cabinet apart again...

Thanks again for the advice. I took it apart again and it's not that either, but I think I found the problem. I think one of the speakers is actually bad, although I don't see anything out of the ordinary by looking at it. When I move the cones back and forth with my hand, one of the speakers has an audible friction sort of sound while the other one does not. I'll probably just buy a replacement.

 

[Inertialsky]

If the speakers look okay maybe you blew the horn

 

[BrianNeil]

If the speakers look okay maybe you blew the horn

Thanks, but I don't think it's the horn. I can definitely feel it coming from one of the speakers. When I play through it and put my hand on the cone of the suspect speaker, it muffles the buzzing. Also, I always play with the horn turned off, cause I don't like the way they sound. I appreciate the input though

 

[David Jayne]

Thanks again for the advice. I took it apart again and it's not that either, but I think I found the problem. I think one of the speakers is actually bad, although I don't see anything out of the ordinary by looking at it. When I move the cones back and forth with my hand, one of the speakers has an audible friction sort of sound while the other one does not. I'll probably just buy a replacement.

Classic, textbook blown speaker. Bummer.

 

[BrianNeil]

Classic, textbook blown speaker. Bummer.

Yep. Now I need to find a replacement at a decent price.