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Oh dear...What does a blown speaker sound like?


MrEdRooney

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Hi there! I own a Fender BXR 300C and at rehersal last night it died. It started off getting quieter and more distorted til eventually there was no sound audible at all. I did have the limiter on!!! Is this typical of a blown speaker? Or does it sound more like a fuse/solder issue to you?

 

Thanks for your help!! :)

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The speakers I've killed have had tears in the cone. This probably isn't the only way to kill a speaker. Mine sounded like crap at low volumes. When you put your ear close to it you could hear the ripped paper move. Horrible. Higher volumes it was just distorted. Also, you could lightly press against the cone to hear voice coil rub-alot=bad.

 

Could be a million things though. Does it light up? Make any noise? Etc?

 

Yo.

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push on the center of the speaker and see if it feels like something is scratchung when you move it if it does your voice coil is probly gone to the big gig in the sky if it dosn't try to see if the speaker has any sond hook a n ohm meter up to it and see if theres any reading or hook a 9volt battery to it and see if it moves and makes a popping sound when you make a contact with it if it dosn't it's the speaker if it does the you have other issues good luck

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jannda's got some good suggestions for testing the speaker. That's what I would do first.

 

Unfortunately, by what you described (quieter and more distorted), I don't think it's just a loose wire. Usually that will make the sound cut out all together, or cut in and out. Doesn't mean you can't check it when you're opening it up, though.

 

Another possibility would be that the power section in the amp has died. It's hard to tell what the price of repair would be for that. It depends on what went and how much you have to pay someone to fix it.

 

Good luck, and let us know what you find out!

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Hmmm. I had the BXR 200 and it's been a tank. Since everything lights up but no noise...

 

Again could be a million things. If I were you I'd take apart as much as I could, look for burnt out components and stuff. Check the voice coil of the speaker. If you can disconect the head from the amp, try another cab (watch ohms though). It's probably the stupidest little thing. Most of the time that's what it is.

 

What did it sound like when it stopped making noise? Any purple gas or anything? Lightning? Or did you just plug it in one day and it didn't work?

 

Yo.

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Originally posted by Apendecto

Hmmm. I had the BXR 200 and it's been a tank. Since everything lights up but no noise...


Again could be a million things. If I were you I'd take apart as much as I could, look for burnt out components and stuff. Check the voice coil of the speaker. If you can disconect the head from the amp, try another cab (watch ohms though). It's probably the stupidest little thing. Most of the time that's what it is.


What did it sound like when it stopped making noise? Any purple gas or anything? Lightning? Or did you just plug it in one day and it didn't work?


Yo.

 

 

We were in the middle of a song, it just started farting a little getting quiter and eventually no noise at all. I'll try all the things you've suggested. It was such a great combo up til now!

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Probably the speaker...my EV 18" died in exactly the same fashion, just reached tge end of its life, wasn't being over-amped or anything....

 

ALWAYS BRING A BACK-UP AMP AND CAB TO A GIG, AS WELL AS A BACK-UP BASS OR AT LEAST STRINGS!

 

I know you were just rehearsing, but I will continue to post this sentence until there's not a single new player left on this forum. If there's one huge lesson I've learned from gigging all these years, that's it.

Be ready for anything!

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Originally posted by jarros



Unfortunately, by what you described (quieter and more distorted), I don't think it's just a loose wire. Usually that will make the sound cut out all together, or cut in and out. Doesn't mean you can't check it when you're opening it up, though.


 

 

I used to have the same amp and the same thing happened. I took it in to the shop for repairs...the guy told me that a solder point had vibrated loose. He charged me $90. Maybe a little steep (in 1998, I think) In retrospect, I probably could have done it myself. But I hadn't had much experience in such matters at the time. And it worked fine from there on out...I traded it in 2002 and it still worked fine then.

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Check solder joints to the speaker.

 

Try attaching leads to the ends of the wires (alligator clips) and attach them to some other speaker. Better turn the amp down!!! Any other speaker will do, you're trying to see if there is any audio output from the power amp section. If you get any kind of noise, that's probably okay. If no noise, try moving the clips to the point where the wires attach to the AMP side. If still no noise, it's the output section of the amp.

 

The others sound right. When the sound fades and gets more distorted, that sounds more like an output going bad, not a speaker. Usually, the speaker will distort (when the cone tears) or just quit (when the coil seizes).

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