Mesa 4x12 cabinet rattling?

[shreddervince]

Hello! New member here. I'm a long-time Mesa player and am currently having some problems with my 4x12 cab.

My question to you guys is: Does anyone else have problems with the back panel (the metal piece that holds the speaker cabinet's inputs) rattling when you hit low bass notes? This only happens when I'm at band rehearsal and have the amp fairly cranked.

I'm having this problem a lot with my Mesa 4x12. I've tried turning my bass down, but then my tone kinda sucks, so I'm still experimenting. What I'm thinking of doing is getting some padded tape and sticking that between the cabinet wall and the metal panel to see if that cuts down on the rattling. The cabinet used to not do this, I don't know why it recently started doing it, but it's beginning to freak me out.

The funny thing is, my 2x12 doesn't have this problem, even when I crank the hell out of it. My bassist has a Mesa cab as well, and he basses the hell out of that thing, and it doesn't have the same rattle.

Anyone else have this problem? Is there any good solution for this?

Thanks, and nice board you all have here!

 

[diamondschwin]

i believe its just glued (maybed screwed, i dont use mesa cabs) so its possible it just came loose, imagine how violently it gets shaked when you crank your mesa!

id try just gluing it back in, or screwing it in, and of course putting a little baffling (double sided tape, some sort of foam sound insulation) back there would help it

but i wouldnt be alarmed its not going to cause your cabinet to explode

 

[NoGlassNoClass]

The cabinet used to not do this, I don't know why it recently started doing it, but it's beginning to freak me out.

Sounds to me like something has vibrated loose. Take the back off the cab and check the speaker mounting bolts. Reassemble, making sure everything is nice and tight.

I read on another forum something about the wooden post that connects the speaker baffle to the back of the cab causing some rattle. The fix was to put a piece of foam on the end of the post. I dont see why you couldnt run a wood screw through the back of the cab into the post as well. Measure carefully so you dont miss the post.

 

[WillShred4Food]

Yeah, there's a wooden stud that braces the rear baffle. If it's not totally taught, then you get some rattling when palm muting certain notes. For me it was palm muting Bb's.

If the cab's under warranty mesa will give you a foam thing to stick back there. I just used a sock. It sounds fine, no one but me knows whether it's a sock or a foam thing.

You just unscrew the back panel (not the panel with the input jacks but the whole back panel.

Be careful not to pull it too hard when after you unscrew it, as you may lull the wires loose.

you'll see the wooden stud. Put something like a sock or a foam thing over it.

When you screw the panel back on TIGHTLY it will hold the sock or foam thing in place. I've not had the problem since, and I applied the sock or foam thing over three years ago.


Have a happy sock or foam thing.

WillShred

 

[shreddervince]

Yeah, it's not coming from anywhere else in the cabinet other than the small metal panel in the back. I'm afraid to take the ENTIRE back of the cab off, mainly because it appears to be glued on. I'm worried that if I took the entire back off, I'd get more rattle because the back of the cab is already on so **** tight.

Mind you, I play quite a bit of 7-string, so having a decent amount of bass is expected. What I'm thinking of doing is this:

1. Putting some double-stick foam tape between the metal panel and the cabinet.

2. If that doesn't solve the problem, I'm considering possibly creating some air holes in the back of the cabinet, say 1-2 drilled holes roughly 3-5 inches in diameter in the back of the cabinet. It's obvious that I'm getting rattle because the air has nowhere to go, and while I may lose (some) bass response from the cabinet by doing this, it might be a good idea in the long run.

3. Another idea is to order a custom cabinet back from Mesa similiar to the 3/4 back design on the Mesa Road King cabinet. That might actually be a **** good idea.

Any thoughts?

 

[WillShred4Food]

"I'm afraid to take the ENTIRE back of the cab off, mainly because it appears to be glued on."

As far as the back being glued on, mine was just screwed on. What model cab do you have? I have a recto traditional slant 4X12. My other cab's also just screwed on.

"Mind you, I play quite a bit of 7-string, so having a decent amount of bass is expected."

I also play seven string and like I said, I haven't had the problem in 3 years.


"1. Putting some double-stick foam tape between the metal panel and the cabinet. "

I like the non-permanent solutions. Creating shims out of tape is easy and it's not going to cause any harm to the cab.

"2. ... I'm considering possibly creating some air holes in the back of the cabinet . . . "

Well, I'm not a maker/repairer of audio equipment. I don't know. But part of what makes a closed back cab a closed back cab is the fact that the air doesn't have anywhere to go aside from straight through the speakers. I'd call up the people at boogie before doing something permanent.

"3. Another idea is to order a custom cabinet back from Mesa similar to the 3/4 back design on the Mesa Road King cabinet. "

I own a 3/4 back with black shadows, and I think it sounds great. But it will not sound as tight and focused as a closed back with v30's. But honestly I like having both cabs around, they get unique sounds.

The only thing you say that tells me that this problem may differ from mine and the ones that some other people have had is that fact that you can narrow it down to that one spot. If memory serves, I could not find where the sound was coming from aside from "the cab".

So it sounds like it might be a different problem. Personally I don't think the creating a shim out of tape thing sounds like such a bad idea. But I'd definitely call mesa before drilling holes in your cab. The sock, on the other hand, you can remove if it doesn't work.


Good luck.

WillShred

 

[jong]

Dude, do NOT drill holes in the back of your cab. You'll be sorry you did. The tone will not be anywhere near what you're hoping for. And you aren't really fixing the problem, just circumventing it. Its like turning up your radio when your car engine is making weird noises. Besides, resale will be crap when you decide to move it out.

Take the back off the cab. This isn't rocket science, its very easy. Remove all the screws, and you may have to pry a little bit to get the back off, since tolex sometimes sticks to tolex pretty well. Besides, Mesa's are very tight tolerance, so it should be in there tight. That is a good thing. Anyway, once you get the back loose, don't just yank it off since the wires will still be hooked up. Look closely at the wire connections and the jack itself and touch all the parts... see if anything is loose or rattling. By your description, it sounds as if maybe the jack is loose, or maybe the plate mounting screws. If so, tighten it and move on. Inspect all the speaker mounting screws. Look around the inside and see if anything obvious is loose. If you don't see anything obvious, as previously mentioned, turn your focus to the support stud. A sock would work I guess, but I would go the route of putting a screw through the back panel into that stud. I'd get a # 6 drywall screw, about 2 inches long. Predrill the hole just with a number 40 drill bit (or something slightly smaller than the screw) and then install the screw through the back panel. You can now be sure that panel is NOT vibrating on the stud.