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De-Tweetering a Cab - anything important I should know?


Naetharu
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Hi folks,

I've got an Ashdown 112 MiBass cab that is fine, save for the tweeter. Since I play with some 'nasty' fuzz the tweeter is no good. Alas, these cabs don't offer any form of attenuation/switching and so I am thinking that I might just open it up and give it the snip. Is there anything I should know before doing so or is it safe to just cut the connection to the tweeter and have done with it?

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[quote name='Naetharu' timestamp='1447520620' post='2908308'] is it safe to just cut the connection to the tweeter and have done with it?
[/quote]It's not. Depending on the crossover configuration doing so could cause high frequency oscillation in the amp, leading to amp failure. If it has a crossover it should be removed or bypassed.

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[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1447520963' post='2908311']
It's not. Depending on the crossover configuration doing so could cause high frequency oscillation in the amp, leading to amp failure. If it has a crossover it should be removed or bypassed.
[/quote]

Thank you for taking the time to give me the heads up!

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You need to completely bypass the tweeter. The easiest and reversible way to do this is as follows.

Open up the cab probably by removing the 12" speaker.

Locate the tweeter, main driver, speaker socket, and crossover. you should have a set of two wires going from the socket to the crossover and then one set going to the tweeter from the crossover and one set going from the crossover to the main driver. If not then don't panic but ask again.

If you can solder then I'd desolder the main speaker connection at the speaker and the lead to the crossover at the socket. Then I'd connect the speaker directly to the socket with new wires. That way you can simply resolder the cab back to original and remove your new wires if you want to sell your cab.

If you can't solder and don't mind bodging in a less than ideal way then what you can do is cut the lead/wires from the socket to the crossover a few centimetres from the crossover and the leads to the main speaker also close to the crossover. Now if you are lucky they will be colour coded the same way. Connect the cut leads together so that like goes to like. It is essential that the connection is completely secure and that the exposed joins can't touch and short circuit or you could blow your amp. It's messy but you could use connector block (chocolate box) or some crimp connectors as used in car electrics (I can feel Bill shuddering at this point). Don't trim the wires in case you want to reconnect them.

If you get the wires the wrong way round the speaker will work but if you use it with a second correctly wired speaker you will lose all your bass. If this happens reverse the connections to the main speaker.

Try the speaker at VERY LOW VOLUME whilst it is still out of the cab, it will sound tinny but you at least will know it is working.

Finally tidy up all the loose wires inside or they will rattle once you start playing and put the cab back together.

Alternatively take it to a tech who will do the job in 20 mins and only charge a few quid.

It's not a difficult job but it has to be at your own risk. Do you feel lucky :)

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[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1447526275' post='2908380']
Why not just buy a different cab? If you botch it up then you've got a worthless cab and possibly a broken amp.
[/quote]

Lack of cash :) if I can get away with making what I have work for me that would be grand. If not then sure, another cab will be on the order books, but right now I'm going to need to work with what I have.

@Phil Starr: A massive thanks to you bud, your instructions are just what I was needing. I'm going to have a crack at it later today.

Edited by Naetharu
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[quote name='grenadilla' timestamp='1447980045' post='2912090']
You could also remove the tweeter from the baffle -board (unscrew the mounts ); stuff a piece of foam rubber into the horn and remount the tweeter.
[/quote]
That's kinda what I was going to suggest, but a bit less "bodge it".
Mine was going to be put a piece of foam over the tweeter & hold it in place with duck tape.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thought I'd give this a go with my Ashdown RM210 cabs. The tweeter and simple (series) RC crossover is is parallel with the main drivers so I can't see an issue with just chopping the wires at the tweeter end on this particular cab. Will take the RC crossover out too at some point just to be safe though...

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[quote name='Merton' timestamp='1448724590' post='2917672']
Thought I'd give this a go with my Ashdown RM210 cabs. The tweeter and simple (series) RC crossover is is parallel with the main drivers so I can't see an issue with just chopping the wires at the tweeter end on this particular cab. Will take the RC crossover out too at some point just to be safe though...
[/quote]A high pass filter with no resistive load can present an impedance load approaching zero at high frequencies, which can cause high frequency oscillation in the amp.

Edited by Bill Fitzmaurice
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[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1448725998' post='2917684']
A high pass filter with no resistive load can present an impedance load approaching zero at high frequencies, which can cause high frequency oscillation in the amp.
[/quote]

Cool. They have now been completely removed from the circuit :)

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  • 4 weeks later...

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