Ska Man Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Hi guys, google is doing my head in on this one. What is the correct speaker replacement for my Big Ben 1 x18 ? its 400watts ,8ohms. Im based in Ireland so would prefer to buy from UK or EU supplier to save on shipping costs. Can you also recommend a supplier? Thanks, Mick PS. Yes I am stupid and bought a used cab without trying it out first although at €250 I thought I was getting a good deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterfire666 Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 (edited) The current 18'' is a custom eminence which should be available through fender. ( any fender seller should be able to order one) If yours has the original bag end driver i would try to get it reconed as they are far superior to the eminence replacements. But i expect that would mean contacting bag end directly. Edited September 14, 2012 by winterfire666 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ska Man Posted September 14, 2012 Author Share Posted September 14, 2012 thanks buddy, its got the bag end still in it. The speaker appears to be in perfect nick but just crackles out distorted noise. the cable connections are sound and i just cant seem to find anything wrong with it physically. Can it be blown without any physical damage??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 Sounds like bad connections rather than blown..blown to me means no sound at all as in open circuit. Abuse would be coil drag...but crackling sounds like it hasn't been stored well and there may be corrosion. Good luck with Bag End as if the chassis was old PAS..you would be in trouble.getting anyone over here to re-cone it I'd go through all the connections and probably re-solder and then start to look at the chassis internals..which means getting Bag End to advise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 Make sure the wires between the contacts and the cone/coil aren't touching sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ska Man Posted September 14, 2012 Author Share Posted September 14, 2012 ok, I have the speaker out and on the floor. It looks fine , theres not a mark on it. in fact apart from a little bit of dust it looks like the day it came out of the shop. the cone is perfect and the skirt at the back around the magnet is also as new. Im lost here and the guy who sold it to me is lost, he claims to have played through it last week and it was working fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzMike Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 Is the speaker connected with spade lugs, or soldered on? If the former, remove and replace them a few times in case there's a bad connection due to corrosion. If the latter, remelt the solder to make sure the connection is good. I've mistaken a loose dust cap for a broken speaker in the past - makes it sound very buzzy. So check the dust cap is attached to the cone properly all round. After that, try pushing the speaker cone in a few times. Can you feel if there is any 'rubbing' or resistance? I've owned a Big Ben before - great sounding cabinet, hope you can get it working again soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ska Man Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 Hi OzMike, Ive been doing a little home work and the speaker isnt moving properly. It was completely stuck at first so I gently pushed and got it moving again. Now it only makes a sound when its pushed inwards and no sound when I release it. So I think its definately the voice coil gone.Trouble is I cant find anyone to re-cone it here in Ireland. Ive been emailing places but nobody has got back to me on it. I watched a youtube vid on diy reconing and I would give this a go myself but cant scource a recone kit for a Bag End E18S speaker. This is a real pain in the arse. Any suggestions welcome, Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 [size=5][sub]I think Wembley loudspeakers are a decent reconing source but with PP etc ...? and can they garuantee like for like..??[/sub][/size] [size=5][sub]Maybe see what Eminence or somesuch do in 18" and get someone here to try and recommend a chassis.[/sub][/size] [size=5][sub]You may need to retune the cab a tad but it seems the cheapest option if you buy stock and then fine tune the ports[/sub][/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Have to say that a burnt out coil on a second hand cab sounds a bit...er..... hmmmm...!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Em 18's [url="http://www.eminence.com/pro-audio/professional-series/"]http://www.eminence.com/pro-audio/professional-series/[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzMike Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Difficult situation, but you need to find a speaker that matches the cab, not be looking at retuning the cab IMHO - at least, how would you do that without getting into running a lot of calculations, fiddling with the ports, and even then the cab size is fixed and the result might be suboptimal. What about contacting Fender Ireland / UK and asking about a replacement speaker (as someone suggested)? If it was me, that's what I'd do; at least find out how much it will cost you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ska Man Posted September 24, 2012 Author Share Posted September 24, 2012 Ive bit the bullett and spoke directly to Bag End. Its gonna cost $237+ $113 slow shipping, so $350 all in. That works out about €270.The E18-S is obsolete now and they now supply the E18-A as a replacement. Ive had the driver checked by a trusted amp repair tech, Martin Nolan here in Dublin and he assures me the centre magnet has shifted and the voice coil is catching here. So the cone ,coil, spider etc are all fine but the driver is only fit for the bin. This could only have happened from a hard drop or knock. This is where it gets interesting as I carried it home in the car like a newborn baby and didnt knock or bang it in any way. I called the guy I bought it from and played it for him over the phone. He denys any deception on his behalf and swears he played it just the other day and it was in perfect working order. He has agreed to refund me €90 towards the new driver, thats just 1/3 of the cost which Im not overly happy about but cant really complain. So all in all this in going to cost me €410 for an early type Big Ben with a brand new driver. Thats just a little more than half the cost of a new unit from Thomann, so Im still doing ok. This has definately taught me a lesson on buying used gear, TRY BEFORE YOU BUY !!! Thanks for all the help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteb Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 PM sent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 (edited) It wasn't possible to determine which Emimence use for Bag End..? and if it is cheaper to buy direct. But I fully understand going with manufacturers recommendations to get the best sounding cab.. it can be a minefield and at least the whole thing should be done and dusted Edited September 25, 2012 by JTUK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzMike Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Not a bad outcome really, and if you buy enough second-hand gear the the good balances out with the bad in the long term. Anyway, once you get the cab working it'll make it easier to forget about the money spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.