Destroyed Cab/Amp

[yannik_vargar]

Hey there, first post from a new member, so please forgive me and let me know if I should specify something more/less/whatever.

I just got back from tour with my band and unfortunately destroyed my Peavey 2x15 Cab. Problem is, im not the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to the technology itself, so I’m not sure what exactly went wrong. All the cables were correctly installed and there didn’t seem to be a problem with the stage electricity since only my stuff burned up.

Here is the setup:
Active Thunderbird Bass -> Tuner ->
Boss Line selector LS2 ->
Loop 1 (flat): Behringer Vtone Bass BDI21 preamp
Loop 2 (boosted at 2 o’clock): custom RAT clone, cranked
-> Orange OB-1 500 amp
-> Peavey 2x15 Cab

Both loops of the LS2 are always on and mixed together. The amp EQ is either flat or just slightly enhanced treble, since I use the EQs on the RAT and the Preamp and push these pretty hard ( I play in a stoner metal band, so pushing the EQs and using extensive volume is on purpose ). Input switch on the amp is turned to active.

The volume of the amp was at about 1/3 when the cab started smoking a bit after some minutes of playing. I immediately turned the amp off, waited for 20 minutes to let everything cool off and then put it back on again. There was still sound coming from the speakers, but it had no low end and was really quiet. Turns out, both membranes of the speakers completely loosened from the cones (the wooden things in the middle, I don’t really know the terminology).

Now the questions: was the input into the amp too much, since it is probably pretty high (active bass, two active loops with cranked distortion and preamp..)? With the amp volume not even at half, I wouldn’t expect this to be too much?
Could the amp have clipped so hard that it burned the speakers?

Im gonna get the amp checked as soon as possible, but since it is pretty new and the amp I had before that never showed any problems with the same setup (pedalboard + cab), is rather have it that something in the amp was broken than it just not being able to handle the input, since that’s not something that can be repaired...

 

[mmbongo]

Yeah it shouldn't really be an input issue. If I had to guess I'd say the amp fried and took the speakers with it.

 

[Hoochie Coochie Man]

If your Peavey cabinet has Black Widow speakers, you can easily repair them by buying new basket/cone assemblies. Otherwise, look into having them reconed.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

Is the smoke under warranty?

 

[Dave W]

If the amp is okay my guess is that you were just pushing too much power into the cab and it couldn't hang.
Knob position doesn't mean much and you're boosting more volume with the Rat.

 

[yannik_vargar]

Is the smoke under warranty?

It’s vintage smoke from the 70’s, the funky kind

 

[yannik_vargar]

If the amp is okay my guess is that you were just pushing too much power into the cab and it couldn't hang.
Knob position doesn't mean much and you're boosting more volume with the Rat.

If that’s the case, would it help cutting the volume of both loops on the LS2, thereby lowering the input and in return pushing the amp volume itself, since it might reduce clipping? Or does that not make any difference for the output of the amp and hence for the cab too?

 

[Jeff Scott]

...there didn’t seem to be a problem with the stage electricity since only my stuff burned up...

That is pretty normal really. You should have paid the protection money to the house manager like the rest of your band did........................

 

[BassmanPaul]

In a case like this first question is what is the impedance of the Cabinet?

 

[BassmanPaul]

Is the cabinet working? This cab be checked by placing the terminals of a 9V battery across the tip and sleeve of your speaker cable. You should hear a good thunk from the cabinet.

Also what is the power rating of the cabinet?

 

[Dave W]

If that’s the case, would it help cutting the volume of both loops on the LS2, thereby lowering the input and in return pushing the amp volume itself, since it might reduce clipping? Or does that not make any difference for the output of the amp and hence for the cab too?

I really don't know. To me, volume is volume no matter where it's coming from. Without more info it just sounds like you were pushing the cab too hard.

 

[yannik_vargar]

Is the cabinet working? This cab be checked by placing the terminals of a 9V battery across the tip and sleeve of your speaker cable. You should hear a good thunk from the cabinet.

Also what is the power rating of the cabinet?

It seems to be working, since there was still sound coming from it, just very quiet and no low end at all..
the cab is 4 ohm 400 watts, the amp is 4 ohm and 500 watts

 

[BassmanPaul]

I forgot to welcome you to the site. Pardon for that.

Do the battery test and watch the cones. Both should move an equal amount and in the same direction.

 

[yannik_vargar]

I forgot to welcome you to the site. Pardon for that.

Do the battery test and watch the cones. Both should move an equal amount and in the same direction.

Alright, will do that, thanks!
If they do move, does it mean that the cab itself is still working and that it might be fixed by reconing?

 

[yannik_vargar]

That is pretty normal really. You should have paid the protection money to the house manager like the rest of your band did........................

He didn’t seem that scary, guess I learned my lesson there

 

[mikeswals]

the cab is 4 ohm 400 watts, the amp is 4 ohm and 500 watts

that sounds like the old-old 215 cab. I'd say you easily exceeded it's limits with your new amp.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

He didn’t seem that scary, guess I learned my lesson there

Weeze can payz ya $80 bucks for the gig and give you da good powah.
Or weeze can payz ya $100 and ya takes yer chances.

 

[agedhorse]

If you are not technically inclined, this might be a time to sit down with a (good) service tech and look at your whole rig to see what may have been the real cause, and what is actually damaged. It may be less expensive than making wrong assumptions, even with well intentioned advice given here.

There is a possibility that you had an inaudible oscillation going on that damaged your speakers... could have been your amp but could have been one of the devices in the loop of how it was wired into the loop (I am not very familiar with your amp)

Also, welcome.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

that sounds like the old-old 215 cab. I'd say you easily exceeded it's limits with your new amp.

Uhm Huh.

OP.
Knob position tells you nothing about how hard you're hitting the speakers.
Except that... Turned down all the way is pretty quiet and turned up all the way is as far as you go.
There is no calibration that says turned up 1/3 = 1/3 the power.
The pointer/numbers are just there so you can repeat a relative setting.
Don't trust them to relate to any absolute operating values.

Think about it this way.
If the knob scale goes from 1 to 10 and you had it set at 5. Then you replaced the knob with a 1-20 scale without changing where the control was set and the number says you are at 10, is that twice as much power?

 

[bobyoung53]

I think some of you guys may have missed this:

"The volume of the amp was at about 1/3 when the cab started smoking a bit after some minutes of playing. I immediately turned the amp off, waited for 20 minutes to let everything cool off and then put it back on again. There was still sound coming from the speakers, but it had no low end and was really quiet. Turns out, both membranes of the speakers completely loosened from the cones (the wooden things in the middle, I don’t really know the terminology)."

I don't think the amp is fried, still works just the two 15's don't except maybe except for the voice coils themselves(?) I think he over powered the speakers so much the cones pulled right off the voice coils or the little wires that go into the voice coils pulled right out of the cones or maybe the other end did. A 70's Peavey double 15 cab is not going to be able to handle anywhere near 500 watts. I did that once with a 200 watt Marshall Major going into two Sunn 2000S cabs with JBL D-140's, only approximately 50 watts per speaker, 70's speakers were not rated at anywhere near what they are nowadays.