I was at band practice Sunday playing on the guitarists fender rumble. I couldn't hear myself but I was plenty loud, the rafters were shaking, figurines were falling, the drums snares were rattling. So I reached for my eq turned down the 60 to flat and 250 to near flat and boosted 500 a tick and solved the problem. The resulting sound may have been offensive to him somehow bc he started fiddling with the amp eq a song and a half later a speaker failed. I'm saying act of God. He hasn't asked for money yet, but I feel like it's coming around the corner..
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Whos at fault?
- Thread starter ghiggin1079
- Start date
Which Rumble model was it? 200? 500? And in what speaker configuration?
Ironically the drummer is currently also the guitarist in question
EQ settings as you described wouldn't typically be a problem but it's also linked to overall volume. You might not have been hearing yourself but may have been loud enough to be overpowering the speaker enough to cause it stress (ever hear a speaker fart out?), which can ultimately lead to failure.
Maybe he’s tone deaf and sets the amp so he can feel the speaker sucking and blowing.
This is just me…..
But if I’m using someone else’s equipment and it quits for whatever reason, I offer to pay for repairs or
replacement. Only once did the owner take me up on my offer and that’s because he stayed broke…
.
Nothing particularly upstanding or noble about it, just how I feel if it happens. No biggie.
But if I’m using someone else’s equipment and it quits for whatever reason, I offer to pay for repairs or
replacement. Only once did the owner take me up on my offer and that’s because he stayed broke…. Nothing particularly upstanding or noble about it, just how I feel if it happens. No biggie.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,996
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- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
It may be possible that the amp was being overdriven hard enough that the speaker (or the amp) got damaged. If you try hard enough, it's possible to break most things, especially if this adjustments boosted the low end a lot.
It's almost impossible to fully protect an amp/speaker from "loss of common sense".
It's almost impossible to fully protect an amp/speaker from "loss of common sense".
Right, after I EQed, it eliminated all the noise of the ductwork and other house problems I could hear find, but I'm definitely not say it still wasn't too loud...
Honestly, your changes in EQ probably put a few more hours into its life before it croaked. If he had the Bass and Low Mids cranked up, those are gonna be a lot meaner to speakers than a mid or hi-mid boost.
I'll just say that if I was in his position, I wouldn't be putting my hand out asking for money simply because you were the last one to play out of it (even though he was the last to touch it). If your friend borrows your car for the day, and all the sudden the starter goes out, are you going to expect them to replace the car? As if thousands of miles of driving by you beforehand had absolutely no effect on it?
I'll just say that if I was in his position, I wouldn't be putting my hand out asking for money simply because you were the last one to play out of it (even though he was the last to touch it). If your friend borrows your car for the day, and all the sudden the starter goes out, are you going to expect them to replace the car? As if thousands of miles of driving by you beforehand had absolutely no effect on it?
Never use someone else's amp. Just because of what happened to you. If it was your amp, what you do? Do the same in this situation and get yourself a practice amp.
Just good logic.
JJ
Just good logic.
JJ
weird i had same situation when a "guitarist" lent me a fender rumble, dunno what kind it was 1x15 possibly, the model with the lights on the bottom. Brought it home to practice for a week, never cranked it at all, and took it back, when he got the thing was farting out on him
..Only thing i thought maybe a loose connection when rolling it across rough concrete.....nonetheless he asked for 50bucks on a repair..no biggy but not using other ppls gear for this reason, should've known.
..Only thing i thought maybe a loose connection when rolling it across rough concrete.....nonetheless he asked for 50bucks on a repair..no biggy but not using other ppls gear for this reason, should've known.
in that situation, if it were my amp, i wouldn't ask for anything. you guys were playing, you were using his amp but it doesn't sound like you were beating the snot out of it. seems like it was just the amps time to go. i wouldn't blame the player, i'd blame the equipment.
if i were playing it at the time, i MIGHT offer to help out with the repair. that would depend on how old the amp was and what condition it was in. did the owner beat on it? old, lousy condition or the owner routinely beat it, nope. it just failed. sorry.
also, as others have said, i try not to use other peoples gear. avoids the situation. may not always be possible though.
kgb
if i were playing it at the time, i MIGHT offer to help out with the repair. that would depend on how old the amp was and what condition it was in. did the owner beat on it? old, lousy condition or the owner routinely beat it, nope. it just failed. sorry.
also, as others have said, i try not to use other peoples gear. avoids the situation. may not always be possible though.
kgb
Never borrow, never lend. Your band is too loud for that size bass amp, and trying to get a big fat bass sound will stress speakers to the breaking point.
I recently started using a HPF to roll off subsonics that you can't hear and suck power ... huge improvement and my sound is big and clear.
I recently started using a HPF to roll off subsonics that you can't hear and suck power ... huge improvement and my sound is big and clear.
IMO, you're not liable. He assumed the risk by letting you use it. And, he was the last one touch it.
Well, IMO, whenever you are using just about anything that you have borrowed from someone else, if it breaks or suffers some kind of problem/damage, you should be held at least 50% responsible. Obviously, there could be exceptions, such as if there are witnesses who can corroborate that a third person sat on the borrowed instrument or crashed into the borrowed car, and so forth.
There's good reasons for why we have age-old expressions like "Never a borrower nor a lender be."
There's good reasons for why we have age-old expressions like "Never a borrower nor a lender be."
In this situation, one of the things you should learn is that, if you ever have something you're convinced is on its last legs, make sure to not play it again yourself - let someone else use it from then on. That way, when it breaks, even if you don't get any money from the person who was playing through it when it broke, you at least have the knowledge that you have made someone else feel really bad and/or guilty.
Obviously, this is a sucky situation. There is no real good answer for this.
Obviously, this is a sucky situation. There is no real good answer for this.
I'd say meet him half way. For the bands sake and friendship sake (if your friends). He's letting you use it for free I'm guessing, cost of business. I get that he messed with it, but there are a lot of variables here.
In the future, either rent or buy your own amp. Then he should not be touching it at all. But then 100% of the responsibility and cost is on you. Don't know what rental places do when you blow a speaker. I'm guessing there's some insurance or something. Or they suck it up because it's the cost of doing business. Good to ask that in advance.
In the future, either rent or buy your own amp. Then he should not be touching it at all. But then 100% of the responsibility and cost is on you. Don't know what rental places do when you blow a speaker. I'm guessing there's some insurance or something. Or they suck it up because it's the cost of doing business. Good to ask that in advance.
So Anyway, everyone's at fault for having to play that loud.
Consider the life of the amp (months, years). You just happened to be playing it when it failed.
Unless you were way louder than everyone else, I wouldn't assume total responsibility.
Bring your own amp next time, and dial everything down a notch.
Consider the life of the amp (months, years). You just happened to be playing it when it failed.
Unless you were way louder than everyone else, I wouldn't assume total responsibility.
Bring your own amp next time, and dial everything down a notch.
