Farty speaker

djspecialist

One of the speakers in my 2x12 is making a rasping / farting noise, particularly noticeable if I play the low E string and let it decay.

I think I need to disconnect one speaker at a time to figure out which.  (It has 2 x 8R speakers wired in series, and my amp has 8R and 16R outputs).

The problem is all the connections are soldered rather than hard-wired.  Is there any quick way I can do this, without lots of unsoldering and resoldering?

Once I do figure out which one is at fault, is there any chance it is something which can be fixed, or am I looking at getting a new speaker?

Cirrus

Rasping noise makes me think voice coil rub, and no, you're going to need to unsolder the existing wiring then plug each one into the amp at a time to narrow it down, if it's not obvious from listening in front of the cab.

If you have something that can totally cover the front of each speaker in turn, that might help you narrow down where the bad sound's coming from in the first instance.

If it *is* voice coil rub, it'll probably need a recone.

What speakers, out of interest?

djspecialist

Cirrus said:

What speakers, out of interest?

WGS ET-65 + WGS Reaper HP

ecc83

If soldering is a bit of a bind for you, get some 5amp "choc block" connector strip from Wickes (don't buy cheap) then mark each wire, smudge it then chop and choc away.

Dave.

ICBM

Since they’re in series you can temporarily bypass each speaker by wrapping some wire (paper clip, old guitar string etc) round its terminals, and set the amp to 8 ohms.

djspecialist

ICBM said:

Since they’re in series you can temporarily bypass each speaker by wrapping some wire (paper clip, old guitar string etc) round its terminals, and set the amp to 8 ohms.

That's a lot easier.  At least it delays the unsoldering until the point I have to replace one of the speakers ...

Bygone_Tones

Don't panic until you have removed the speakers and had a good look at them. It could be something really simple like a piece of metal magnetised to one of them, eg a washer or screw. 

If any of the parts are loose then that will also cause rattling. So check the dustcap is glued on properly and the spider support edge is glued down properly. An overly long lead wire can hit the cone too and cause a rattle, but I doubt it's that.

I just updated this blog post a few days ago:

http://www.bygonetones.com/common-speaker-problems-how-to-check-for-them.html

If you run through the 5 basic tests shown there, then you should definitely find the problem. Whether the speaker is repairable depends on what the problem is, but most of the time you can avoid having  to recone. 

sev112

What do you do when you’ve found the farting speaker

thats what I have on my cube.  I’ve just presumed the cone is damaged or peelingnand there’s not much I can do. Unless I can ...? 

Bygone_Tones

sev112 said:

What do you do when you’ve found the farting speaker

thats what I have on my cube.  I’ve just presumed the cone is damaged or peelingnand there’s not much I can do. Unless I can ...? 

To repair it you need to determine what the problem is. If you check the link in my previous post you should be able to find what the fault is with those tests. You only need your hands, eyes and ears for the first 3 tests, and they should give you a good idea about what is wrong with your speaker. Basically:

1) check everything is glued down that should be glued down

2) check cone condition (look for tears, cracks, and other damage)

3) check for coil rub

djspecialist

Strangely enough I can no longer reproduce this problem.  I'll keep my ear out in case it recurs, and fingers crossed that it doesn't.

normula1

I had a buzzing speaker that turned out to be a staple that had found its way under the cone

stephen.wood125

Wasn't Farty Speaker a Jazz Musician?

Slightly more seriously though I've also had a stray staple from the baffle find it's way into an old 2x12 cab I had a few years back.

pintspiller

In my Hartke 410 I put a clear tub from a Chinese across the speaker under the grill and left it for six months. I wasn't in a gigging g band at the time. It's fine now.

djspecialist

It turned out not to be the speaker after all - one of the power valves was mismatched and glowing a lot hotter than the others.  Swapped them all out for a different set and it sounds much better.  Haven't yet had chance to test it at band volumes, but I'm hoping the problem is fixed.