StephenYork Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 As the title says I think I've just blown a speaker in my TC Electronic BC212, lots of buzzing when I play. I've tried a new cable, different bass and another amp all resulting in the same thing. I didn't think I pushed it that much but I guess I have done some damage somehow. Anyway, does anyone know what the speaker is and if I can get one to fix said cab? I am also thinking if one cab wasn't "man" enough already I'm only going to do it again. I have been looking for an excuse to change my cab and this seems like the right one. Can people recommend a cabinet for me, I have a budget of £500ish but I do need it to handle some use of a low B and also some Octaver. As with a lot of people asking this I'd prefer it to be lightweight and not massive. Speaker size doesn't matter to me and it can be a single or pair of cabs. Thanks all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 I. too, would also be quite concerned about how you could blow a 212 cab..!!! That cab should be rated 500w at least...and I think it is a poor show if its blown. I'd be tempted to think, just unlucky with a duff unit, but it would also make me lose confidence in the quality of units they use..?? Depends what amp you run with it, but I wouldn't look at a 15 if 2x12 aren't man enough..?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moos3h Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 Low B and Octaver could be enough to cause problems through the BC212 as whilst it's a good little cab, I can't imagine the drivers have great Xmax - you still running the MB LM3 head? I'd go Genz Benz - if you can get one of their 2x12s they are light, loud and go low...perfect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moos3h Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 There's a BF Compact in the classifieds at £315 too. I didn't dig the sound of one on its own but worth a look! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 Just thinking around this one. How does one tell what the problem is ? after all, in many cabs there's the crossover and tweeter as well as the main driver Is it possible the problem may be something other than the driver ? loose wire ? Just some ideas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 Don't despair quite yet, buzzing can be something simple. Open up the cab and have a good look, sometimes bits of the speaker work loose, check the drivers are screwed down tight and check inside that nothing is touching the speaker as it vibrates, leads sometimes work loose and buzz against the cone. Now examine the speaker cones themselves, a common fault is the dust cover dome in the middle becoming detached and less often the corrugated surround separating, both can be stuck back with copydex, even small tears can be repaired by laminating across them with tissue and copydex. Try pushing the offending speaker cone gently backwards with a large diameter glass or cup, if you hear scratching it is the coil rubbing against the magnet and the speaker is dead. Go to the manufacturer. Using an octaver could reduce the available power by a factor of 4, your 500W speaker could easily become a 125W speaker under certain circumstances due to the extra excursion you are calling for. It's unlikely the deep bass is actually what you want as we hear those frequencies so poorly but the octaver is thickening up the harmonics. If you need the octaver I'd strongly recommend a Thumpinator or similar subsonic filter to protect your speakers, unless you can afford/want to carry four times as many speakers or are happy to periodically replace blown units. 8x10 anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 [quote name='essexbasscat' timestamp='1423388699' post='2684114'] Just thinking around this one. How does one tell what the problem is ? after all, in many cabs there's the crossover and tweeter as well as the main driver Is it possible the problem may be something other than the driver ? loose wire ? Just some ideas [/quote] Take it apart and isolate every unit. Apart from a loose/bad connection, it's a fair bet one unit has 'blown' or is failing. I'd turn off the horn and see if the problem can still be heard and then connect one speaker up and test that...etc etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenYork Posted February 8, 2015 Author Share Posted February 8, 2015 [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1423385801' post='2684065'] I. too, would also be quite concerned about how you could blow a 212 cab..!!! That cab should be rated 500w at least...and I think it is a poor show if its blown. I'd be tempted to think, just unlucky with a duff unit, but it would also make me lose confidence in the quality of units they use..?? Depends what amp you run with it, but I wouldn't look at a 15 if 2x12 aren't man enough..?? [/quote] I'm concerned for my hearing too if I'm blowing speakers. As I said, I didn't think I was that loud, in both my bands I just use my cab for monitoring and most of my volume comes from the PA. I've got some time today to pull it apart and have a look, thanks for the pointers. It must be a faulty unit which really knocks my confidence in the brand and what they use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 I thought I'd read about the scandal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 (edited) [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1423385801' post='2684065'] I. too, would also be quite concerned about how you could blow a 212 cab..!!! That cab should be rated 500w at least...and I think it is a poor show if its blown. I'd be tempted to think, just unlucky with a duff unit, but it would also make me lose confidence in the quality of units they use..?? Depends what amp you run with it, but I wouldn't look at a 15 if 2x12 aren't man enough..?? [/quote] I used to have one of these cabs. It's rated at 250w. It was great at low/medium volumes but turn it up loud and it farted like crazy (large crowded venue with insanely loud guitarist). But saying that the next week I brought my Ashdown ABM rated at 400w and it did the same with crazy loud guitarist. The moral of this story is don't get rid of the cab.......get rid of the guitarist. Edited February 8, 2015 by gjones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twincam Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 [quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1423429325' post='2684702'] I thought I'd read about the scandal [/quote] The level of humour on here is disgraceful...... I like it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenYork Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 [quote name='gjones' timestamp='1423429873' post='2684714'] The moral of this story is don't get rid of the cab.......get rid of the guitarist. [/quote] We have one of the rare guitarists who you have to tell to turn up, I'm quite thankful of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 [quote name='gjones' timestamp='1423429873' post='2684714'] I used to have one of these cabs. It's rated at 250w. It was great at low/medium volumes but turn it up loud and it farted like crazy (large crowded venue with insanely loud guitarist). But saying that the next week I brought my Ashdown ABM rated at 400w and it did the same with crazy loud guitarist. The moral of this story is don't get rid of the cab.......get rid of the guitarist. [/quote] If a cab is farting out it's a sure sign that it is exceeding it's excursion limit. The cabs have Eminence drivers in them, even the very basic Eminence Alpha is rated 150W so at 250W for a pair so these probably aren't going to be good at handling high power deep bass. If you like the sound then get a filter or you are likely to get more problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Doesn't sound like a very capable chassis then..??? and you are running quite a signal into it where you can't or maybe don't always get to hear the chassis's struggling..? I'm old skool in that regard so I've always been paranoid that I don't have enough power in hand and also why I'm not into effects... using distortion? what's distorting..?? FWIW, I always try to get a sense of what the limit of a cab is by running it very hard and then using that as my limit at gigs. As for watts and power, I never take that as gospel as what should and what does happen can be too different things.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregBass Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 One other problem that I've had in the past is dangling wires in the cab. Open it up and check that the wires are not hanging onto the speaker cones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadofsix Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 [quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1423388826' post='2684117'] Don't despair quite yet, buzzing can be something simple. Open up the cab and have a good look, sometimes bits of the speaker work loose, check the drivers are screwed down tight and check inside that nothing is touching the speaker as it vibrates, leads sometimes work loose and buzz against the cone. Now examine the speaker cones themselves, a common fault is the dust cover dome in the middle becoming detached and less often the corrugated surround separating, both can be stuck back with copydex, even small tears can be repaired by laminating across them with tissue and copydex. Try pushing the offending speaker cone gently backwards with a large diameter glass or cup, if you hear scratching it is the coil rubbing against the magnet and the speaker is dead. Go to the manufacturer. Using an octaver could reduce the available power by a factor of 4, your 500W speaker could easily become a 125W speaker under certain circumstances due to the extra excursion you are calling for. It's unlikely the deep bass is actually what you want as we hear those frequencies so poorly but the octaver is thickening up the harmonics. If you need the octaver I'd strongly recommend a Thumpinator or similar subsonic filter to protect your speakers, unless you can afford/want to carry four times as many speakers or are happy to periodically replace blown units. 8x10 anyone. [/quote] /\ This /\ Many, many, years ago I used to work in a shop that repaired cabinets and reconed speakers. You are getting good advice here. Just be very careful when you handle the speaker cone. <><Peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenYork Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 Thank you everyone for the advice, I had a chance to open it up the other day and have a look. To my untrained eye everything looks in good order, all the wires are kept away from the speakers, the solder joints look good and both speakers are moving freely without any noise. Also a side note, these cabs seem to be very well put together, took me an age to get round all the screws to open it up. Unfortunately I'm not very handy with a soldering iron so I didn't want to go de-soldering the speakers to test them individually. I am going to be taking it to my local shop and hopefully they can point me in the right direction. P.s I am now the proud owner of a Barefaced Compact to tide me over until I get this repaired! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 I`d keep hold of that Compact if I were you Stephen, and plan on capturing the Midget that`s up for grabs too if funds permit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 If the chassis cone travels well, then I am not sure where the buzzing comes in... If you can't take it apart then maybe a repair shop is the best course of action... If one unit has gone open circuit, that unit can't buzz as it wouldn't work at all..?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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