Any reason a cab would cause sound to cut in/out?

  • Thread starter Thread starter dirtyfunkg
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dirtyfunkg

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Had a jam session today. Sound was cutting in and out. Was playing my Sig:X through my Fatbottom 412. Tried different guitars, cables, speaker cables... even tried another head through the cab and had the same issue.

Then I tried the one of the heads through another cab and the issue was gone so I think I eliminated all variables and was able to isolate the issue to the cab.

Any suggestions on what might be wrong and how to fix it? I'm hoping the sockets just need cleaning. I did try both jacks on the cab and still experienced the issue.

Ended up getting through the session with a Helix/K10.2 rig and was happy enough.

Appreciate any pointers. Thanks
 
Well, I guess the connection between the jack and the speakers could be loose. This also means that the head doesn´t see a load when the sound cuts out, which is not something you want to experiment further with.
 
Agreed, might damage a tube amp if you keep trying to use a cab that is having issues and may periodically be showing the amp an open load.

It could be a number of things. A dirty or loose jack on the cab would be the easiest to fix but I would also check the wiring in the cab. Could be a loose connection, bad solder joint, or one of the wires in the cab could be broken. Worst case scenario is a problem with a speaker which would be harder to fix.

My guess is something before the speakers, because unless they’re all wired in series, a problem with one speaker wouldn’t cause complete loss of sound.
 
Is it one of those stereo jack plates? I had the same issue with a Marshall 4x12. It turned out to be a bad switch in the jack plate.
 
cavitation":9c44a7ba said:
Is it one of those stereo jack plates? I had the same issue with a Marshall 4x12. It turned out to be a bad switch in the jack plate.
Click to expand...
This. I'd just plan on replacing the jack plate, grab a replacement or change it out to a mono input plate. Those switchable plates aren't very reliable, no matter the manufacturer.
 
Stick a meter on it and see how many ohms you are reading. That will give you a quick clue.
 
I would guess the jacks in the plate are going. Whether it's a two jack scenario or one of those stereo switching plates (Marshall or plug n play, etc) with the PCB board, they have a history of cracking the PCB traces and doing this. I've also seen/heard the jacks get corroded and you have to clean them with deoxit, or a similar cleaner.

I finally gave up on all of them (got a few lying around in the shop) when I had to resolder the traces in a Marshall stereo/mono plate, then remove the spade terminals and hard wire/solder in the speaker wires. That was enough for me.

I just use single mono jacks now, either Cliff, or Switchcraft, and gave up on the switch plates.

Good luck!
 
Racerxrated":yba6nzgl said:
cavitation":yba6nzgl said:
Is it one of those stereo jack plates? I had the same issue with a Marshall 4x12. It turned out to be a bad switch in the jack plate.
Click to expand...
This. I'd just plan on replacing the jack plate, grab a replacement or change it out to a mono input plate. Those switchable plates aren't very reliable, no matter the manufacturer.
Click to expand...

It is one of these types of jackplates. I tried both jacks, BTW... same issue in both. That would isolate it down to the switch, I would think.

I've sent Fryette support an email asking about a replacement jack-plate for the cab. We'll see what they come back with.
 
Hardwire it. That is honestly the only way I would go. You don't want to gamble on transformers.
 
So I ended up buying a pair of new Switchcraft TS jacks, and rewired the entire cabinet for series-parallel, with a parallel output. The stereo-mono switch is still there, but it's completely disconnected from the rest of the circuit. Now the issue is completely resolved.

It was kind of a pain in the ass--literally--from hunching over the 4x12 for a long time. My back is pissed at me.

While I was at it, I took the opportunity to swap some speakers in the cab, also. See, soon after I bought the cab used in ~2013 or so, I realized that one of the P50E's in there was not working. At the time, Fryette didn't have any of them in stock and there was no word on how long it would take for them to get a shipment, so I ended up buying a pair of G12-K100's to put into the cab in an X pattern. For the past 5 years or so, I had the one working P50E sitting in a box on the shelf. Well... last summer I found a used 16 ohm P50E on eBay and bought it. So, today, I took the opportunity to revert the cab back to its stock speaker configuration with the two P50E's I had sitting around.

Man, it smokes! I had no idea what I was missing! I used to actually prefer my Genz Benz G-Flex 212, which is also loaded with G12K85's, but now I may have to reconsider. At least with the CLX, the Fatbottom is cooking. I feel like I just got a new cab!

I need to check my Diezel through this cab also -- that one really likes the Genz Benz / K85's... I have a feeling it will continue to be a better fit on that cab. But the CLX... woo! Match made in hell--it's brutal!
 
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