Buzzing/farting speaker

[mikebass84]

Ok odd question. I have a 2x10 Ashdown cab and the left speaker is buzzing like f*** on the 12th fret. It's not the bass or head and if you press down on the side of the speaker it's stops. do you have any ideas on what is causing it and how to fix?

[Ou7shined]

Saw something similar to this once when an internal speaker wire had flopped over and was resting on the cone.

[mikebass84]

So if I just unscrew the speaker and check if anything is resting. I can't cause any more damage that way can I? I'm pretty clueless when it comes to repairs

[Grangur]

I had this happen to mine. It was dust in the speaker. I took the small nozzle of the hoover and hovered the cone and all round the speaker.
Just be careful not to poke too hard and damage any delicate parts.

[MoonBassAlpha]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1374783820' post='2153273']

Just be careful not to poke too hard and damage any delicate parts.
[/quote]
Yeah, A & E is full of folks who have done that...

[icastle]

[quote name='mikebass84' timestamp='1374783145' post='2153263']
So if I just unscrew the speaker and check if anything is resting. I can't cause any more damage that way can I? I'm pretty clueless when it comes to repairs
[/quote]

Nope.

Before you do that though...

Lay the cab on its back and look carefully at the cone.

[b]Any tears or holes in it?[/b]
If so, then repair with Copydex and little layers of tissue paper on both sides of the tear.
If you could only find bright pink tissue paper, feel free to use a black marker pen on it once it's all set.

[b]Check around the rim of the speaker where the cone joins the speaker frame.
Any tears or holes in it?[/b]
Same as above, but obviously you can only patch it on the outside edge.

[b]Carefully, place a saucer face down in the middle of the cone.
Gently push it down so that the cone moves backwards.
Does it move freely or is there a grating sound and\or feeling?[/b]
If so, the voice coil is very probably shot and it's time to be considering a recone or a replacement driver.

If those are all OK then undo the screws.
You might have to prise the speaker out of the cabinet (they sometimes get a little bit stuck).

On the back of the speaker you will see the connector that the speaker cables run to.
On the reverse of that connector you'll see two little copper wires running back to the cone part of the speaker.

[b]Are they touching the cone anywhere other than the very tips of the wires?[/b]
If so, gently reposition them so they aren't.

If all of those fail, put the driver back in the cab upside down (so - the weight of the magnet in the opposite direction 'might' pull it back into alignment if that's what the problem is.
At this point you've nothing to lose and you'll not make things any worse by trying.

HTH

EDIT: I should also have mentioned the dome shaped dustcap in the centre of the speaker.
If that's not airtight you need to make it so.

Also, don't be tempted to use Evostick or Superglue - they dry to hard and won't be flexible enough - good old fashioned Copydex works a treat.