NAD- And possibly the dumbest Noob question of the century!

[Auslander]

Guys-

 

Santa just brought me my present early- my first "real" amp. It's the Epi Valve Jr. head with the matching cabinet. Yay me!!

 

Anyways, I unboxed everything and proceeded to set it all up. There was no cable included to run between the head and the cab, so naturally, I grabbed a spare guitar cable, and ran it from the head to the cab input. When I test everything out, I get no sound whatsover. So- the dumb question is, do I need a cable that is different than a standard guitar cable to run between the head and cab? If not, what other way can I test the two components to ensure that they are working?

 

tia,

 

Chris

 

Once my amp is working, I will post pics. (I know, there is not a soul here who doesn't know what an Epi Jr. looks like, but what the heck.)

[dcindc]

You need a speaker cable. I'm surprised you got NO sound though.
HNAD:wave:

[Alchemist]

you should never run a guitar cable from the amp to the cab...... you need a speaker cable..

[Le Blur]

yeah guitar cable = eventually ruining everything

[IRG]

Yeah, speaker cable. But I am surprised you got no sound, that might be a bad thing. But try a speaker cable - you'll have to get one anyway.

[Auslander]

Yeah the "no sound" thing kinda has me worried too, but I will wait to see what happens when I have a proper cable. Can I get a speaker cable from Radio Shack, or do I have to head to GC to get a $pecialized cable?

[Standard8]

Damn.... I've been using a guitar cable into my crate cab for years and years and years! What can happen? Is it bad just because of the voltage? Please expand.

[Pope on a Rope]

Yeah the "no sound" thing kinda has me worried too, but I will wait to see what happens when I have a proper cable. Can I get a speaker cable from Radio Shack, or do I have to head to GC to get a $pecialized cable?

 

 

Not sure if Radio Shack would have speaker cables with 1/4" jacks but, you can buy what you need to make a speaker cable there.

[dcindc]

Damn.... I've been using a guitar cable into my crate cab for years and years and years! What can happen? Is it bad just because of the voltage? Please expand.

 

 

Conductors not big enough. Steals power and probably tone. Coaxial construction might be a tone sucker too.

 

With a less stable amp it may cause oscillations and blow the amp. Slim chance, but possible.

[IRG]

Conductors not big enough. Steals power and probably tone. Coaxial construction might be a tone sucker too. With a less stable amp it may cause oscillations and blow the amp. Slim chance, but possible.

 

 

But do you think he should be getting some sound using the wrong cable?

[dcindc]

I absolutely do. I don't know what's up with that. But the easiest troubleshooting step is to get the right cable.

I bought a TON of speaker cables with 16 guage conductors from Partsexpress.com. Best price I found at the time cuz they were on sale. Also Planet waves speaker cables are often on sale at MF. and Radio Shack may have the cable. The other poster is right, they do at the very least, have what you need to make the cable.

['s mel gibson]

Guitar cables short out. They break. We all throw out at least one or two a year.

 

I don't think I'm exaggerating.

 

Most guitarists have a pos guitar cable that they automatically use as a speaker cable. This is a dangerous thing to do because if the cable is shorted out, ...no signal is happening and this is like running your tube amp with out a speaker box connected.

 

I think the smaller the amp, the more times you get to make this mistake before you burn something out but with bigger amps, and bigger loads, ...buddy, you are going to burn something out. And if it's a transformer in your 100w Marshall, it's going to cost some money.

 

Just some good old heater cord (definitely not co-ax)with good jacks soldered on correctly.

 

To the op, toss that cord out.

[Brewski]

you should never run a guitar cable from the amp to the cab...... you need a speaker cable..

 

 

 

It's not that serious but you need a speaker cable - a speaker cable has two wires that are the same guage and transfers the signal and power to the speaker.

 

A guitar cable has a ground around the ceonter wire with a dialectric where the signal is transferred and using this cable for the speakers makes it get real hot and causes signal build-up and that's what cuases havoc. However it takes some time or high volume to toast the amp or the cable

 

 

BTW - you should have heard something out of the cabinet. make sure the power tubes are glowing and make sure the power cord is plugged into the outlet.

[Runn3r]

the brand new Valve Jrs are notorious for having their tubes not installed properly ... or physically not connected properly out of the box

open up the back of the head cab by unscrewing the back panel and pulling that panel out ..it is a tight fit and you might require a flat head screwdriver to wedge it out of there in steps

then check the 2 tubes are properly inserted fully into their sockets

and yes the speaker cable ought to be an unshielded cable ....shielded guitar cables can potentially cause damage to you amp

some guitar cables are actually unshielded so you might be lucky here

then post the pics for all to enjoy here


.

[mrbrown49]

Tube amps always need a speaker load or things will fry. I am worried you may have blown something up while monkeying with it, given the no sound thing.

[tlbonehead]

But do you think he should be getting some sound using the wrong cable?

 

Of course not. There should be sound. And with an amp that small, a shielded cable would provide a pretty small risk, especially for short term playing. Of course, it is a much better idea to use a speaker cable.

[tlbonehead]

My guess is that kit is just a bad or unseated tube or a bad cable.

[dcindc]

open up the back of the head cab by unscrewing the back panel and pulling that panel out ..it is a tight fit and you might require a flat head screwdriver to wedge it out of there in steps

 

 

Use a butter knife and go at it from the bottom.

 

Those top ears will break easy.

[Auslander]

Ok-

I opened up the head and I re-seated both tubes- and still no sound. When I turn up the volume, the tubes do not light up. I guess the head is DOA. It was purchased from Musician's Friend, so I guess I have to send it back. Man, this sucks....

[dcindc]

Does the power switch light up?
Do the tubes glow after the amp has been on for a few minutes?

[Auslander]

The power switch does light up, but I haven't seen the tubes light up yet. I will leave it on for a few minutes and try again.

[mrbrown49]

Ok- I opened up the head and I re-seated both tubes- and still no sound. When I turn up the volume, the tubes do not light up. I guess the head is DOA. It was purchased from Musician's Friend, so I guess I have to send it back. Man, this sucks....

Are you doing this with out a known good speaker connection? Did you hear a sizzle yet?

[Auslander]

I am testing it while it is connected to the cab that came shipped with it- I would think that there is very little that could be defective with the cabinet.

[Mr JinX]

^^ inside the cab, wires can be loose, clips can come off, and jacks can be bad

 

I use these speaker cables- good wire, good jacks, cheap

http://cgi.ebay.com/10-Ft-Speaker-Cable-w-Neutrik-Connectors-Made-in-USA_W0QQitemZ330095508795QQihZ014QQcategoryZ47069QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

[Vibroluxman]

I had a friend give me a "dead" amp once. The speaker was unplugged. If you have another amp with a speaker out, try hooking it to the cabinet, or try hooking the other speaker to the amp (as long as the ohms are the same)