New love affair with Mark V Combo, Jensen Black Bird

[bandit2013]

Took a few days and the Jensen Black Bird 12" 100W speaker arrived not too long ago. I was not quite in the mood to install it since I recently received a Stiletto and I am going thought the motions to determine if I keep it or take it back. I needed a break anyway so it did not take long to stuff the Jensen BB into the Combo. Since I already modified the baffle board to accept an EVM12L from the front (grill mod also required) it was an easy fit. The 8 mounting holes were the perfect size for #10-24 cap screws. At first I was thinking of rear mounting like the MC90 but since this has a compressed paper seal like the EV, it would rip if I were to remove it. For starters I used the 45W mode. I no longer desire a Fender amp of any type. Bliss to the nth degree. Pristine clarity and shimmering tones along with bold and well defined bass. I thought nothing could sound better than the EV or MC90. Then Moved on to CH2 that still had my settings to cut the treble and boost the bass and mids for the crunch voicing. I can now drive up the treble and presence without an ice pick and the speaker still cranks it out. I could not believe my ears. Then the CH3 Mark IV, had to boost the treble and presence as I have always kept it dialed out. Sweet molasses does the Mark V sound really good to me now. I hope the speaker sounds as good or better after it is broken in. At the moment I am really impressed. Also, having the speaker mounted to the front of the baffle, the bag can stay on the back board. Rear mounting may require it to be removed due to the size of the bell cover. Weight reduction was also another benefit, at 6.9lbs will help compared to the 18.9 lbs of the EV. Not sure how much the MC90 weighs in (10lbs?). Not much of a weight reduction but it is something.

 

[diddlydan]

Interesting,any chance of some audio examples?Really not digging the V30's in my recto 2x12.Especially for cleans.Considering the wide body 1x12 with the open back and C90 but not too sure.So the cleans through this jensen are superb then?Have never been too impressed with distortion through jensen speakers.Well the ones ive heard so far anyway.

 

[bandit2013]

I will try to get something sooner or later and post them here. At the moment it seems to have too much compliance and needs some break in. I have played the speaker loud but not too loud for a short period. However I did notice the channel and master volume level was set high enough to make my ears bleed with the EV (I was adjusting by ear and not watching where I set it). The EV speakers I have are well broken in and sound great at gigging level but seem a bit dark at lower volume levels (typical required to drop the treble at higher volume and boost the mid and bass a bit with the EV). I may end up going back to the EV speaker, depends on how the Black Bird breaks in. At the moment, the tone sites between the MC90 and EV. I doubt it would compare to the EV at higher volumes, that just shakes the house and sounds better though the 4 ohm output (even more so with two EV). What I really want is something closer to the V30 but not...too much mids on an open back cab will sound honky. However a V30 in a closed back 1x12 with the MC90 in an open back combo sounds really good.

If you like your Mark V with the MC90 (assuming you have a combo), an extension cab of the same width would work out great. I have also heard some great clips of the Celestion Crèmeback 75 which is a little darker than the 65 they came out with earlier. I do really like the Mark V thought the new Mesa 412 cab and the restored old cab of the same size I have, but there is little to offer in the 100W+ arena for the 1x12 90W combo amps. IF the black bird does not work out, it will go into my closet of speakers, and I will try something else.

 

[bandit2013]

I will try to endure the break in period, but some how I think the EVM12L will find its way back into the combo. I seem to have a love hate relationship with this amp. For metal or very heavy hard rock, you can't beat the EV. I may just have to face the facts and use it for just that. The RA100 is perfect for classic rock and some heavy stuff, excels with blues far better than any other amp I have. The Roadster is just perfect for all types and probably has the best sounding tweed mode I have heard. There is something different about the RA100 and Roadster such that when I start playing either, I do not want to stop. The Stiletto, better for the hard stuff as well (was hoping for something different and that will come to pass by this Saturday). The Mark V with the Black Bird seems to allow the Mark V to sound more vintage in character but seems to lack the robustness I enjoy with the EV. I will see what I can do this coming week for recording.

 

[bandit2013]

I doubt the speaker is fully broken in but I am going to file for divorce from Jensen. The black bird is a nice speaker if your amp does not the Mark tone. The clean channel sounded superb in all power settings and voicings. This speaker would be at home in a Fender twin or blues deluxe. It does not sit well with the CH3 gain structure or CH2 character. On a clean channel the speaker is full bodied but when the gain switches in it sounds flat. The character of ALNICO is complex in its behavior when there are multitudes of harmonics flooding the speaker. ALNICO will loose its magnetism temporarily which gives it its vintage character, resulting in a flat tone and sharp sounding distortion. This will be my last ALNICO speaker purchase period. The WGS Black Hawk HP100 suffered the same fate under high gain situations. However both offer a deeper bottom than did the MC90 but lacked the mids to sound interesting. I will be going back to the EVM12L black label in the Mark V and just use it for heavy metal chugging as that seems to be all the Mark V is good at. I have tried tube rolling the preamp only to get worse results. Sure my divorce from the Jensen Black Bird may be premature due to lack of proper break in period but I have a feeling the tone will not change all that much in the long run. Besides that if I want to keep up with the RA100 or Roadster half stack I would be drowned out with ease unless there was something that can deliver the goods without requiring a 412 (Two EVM12L black label speakers does the trick quite well and while I still have them, may as well make use of them).

 

[bandit2013]

Hmm, I filed for divorce too soon. The EV sound awful too. :roll: I should have kept the other tubes in even though they rattled. That would explain a lot why the BB sounded great and now it was not so spectacular. I probably have been playing the RA100 and Roadster too long as the Mark V just does not compare. I may go back later on, I will more than likely install the Black Bird into the Carvin V3MC just to break it in with a lower power amp (provided it fits, sucker is long with the bell cover over the magnet). I guess I go back to the drawing board and roll in some more tubes. ( I am starting to run out of the good stuff :x ).

 

[bandit2013]

Perplexing as it is. I will not give up on the Black Bird just yet. The rude awakening of the EV sounding terrible (actually sounded the same as the Black Bird) made me realized I removed it in haste. While I had the EV installed, I rolled the tubes again. With no avail, the power tubes were the culprit of the terrible sound. I started out with TAD 6L6GC-STR but one of the tubes was rattling to the point of annoyance. I installed a quad of Ruby 6L6GCMSTR which are the same tube as the MESA 6L6GC STR440. Had vibrations with them too. Replaced the Rectifier tube with a new one. Still same issue (glass rattle, sounds like a broken filament in a light bulb). I finally found a pair of tubes that did not rattle which were mesa tubes and one pair of the Ruby seemed to be ideal in terms of mechanical noise, but the actual audible sound from the amp got worse. Very muddy, dark and lacking any tone that would make the Mark V appealing. First though it was the Black Bird as it is not broken in yet, removed it and compared the compliance to the EV. The Black Bird is still stiff as a bird and the EV was pliable and easy to move. Regardless I installed a known reference to find a suitable combination of tubes that sounded good. I have yet to try the Mullard EL34 in the Mark V. I have tried them in my other amps and did not care much for them when driving a V30 speaker. They actually sounded good with the EV and the Mark V, so this morning I decided to get marriage counselling with the Black Bird and understand the speaker is not yet broken in. I do expect to hear some odd sounds and such. I re-installed the Black Bird and to my amazement it sounds just like the EV (just not as loud), but with a twist that the clean channel still has that pristine chime that really rings out the sound of the guitar strings. During the break in period, I will use the EV loaded extension cab and run it parallel though the Mark V. The Jensen Black Bird is not a bad speaker, not sure yet if it is the best choice for the Mark V. It does have a bit more tonal character than the MC90 (after the dust cap removed itself from the cone, I am a bit leery on the quality, it appears that there was not a sufficient amount of glue on the dust cap, tried to fix and it sounds better but once installed in the combo, the cone gets distorted from the bending of the thin metal frame when the gasket is compressed. I did not have this issue with the V30 speakers. Perhaps the steel is a bit softer on the MC90 than the V30?) Usage and time will tell if the Jensen Black Bird will hold up in the Mark V since it is too big to stuff into my Carvin V3MC).

 

[bandit2013]

The Mullard EL34 were sounding really good in the amp with the Jensen Black Bird for a while, Started hearing some odd sounds so I decided to switch from the active FX loop to bypass, again sounded good for a short while then the noise returned. Definitely sounded like tube rattle and was getting worse. WTF? decided to watch the tubes in the dark, yep they were beginning to red plate. The Mark V has given me more grief with power tubes (those selected for use with this amp and most if not all Mesa branded power tubes). Perhaps the change in load may account for the red plating, had this issue repeatedly before converting the head to a combo. I am really considering a change in bias to run the amp a bit cooler than it is. I compared the bias network to that of the Mark IVB and there is definitely a difference in control grid bias voltage. If this amp had a different name, say it was called the Roadster, it would have a nickname toaster since that is what it does with power tubes. Some may say the bias is too cold and will sound shrill, not so, the ice pick tone can also result from too hot of a bias, this I found out first hand with the Carvin V3MC and once I reduced the bias it sounded really great but that amp has a bias pot and I was monitoring the current. I know what I need to do but perhaps send it to Mesa instead or just get rid of it and let someone else have the headache. Reason why I have not had an issue since I have converted the amp to a combo is that I was running two speakers (total load of 4 ohms) connected to the 4 ohm jacks. Usually when I order tubes, I request tubes suitable for a hot bias (Mesa Mark V). Sometimes I wish I had a shotgun so I can put the amp out of my misery. I am not trying to flame the amp here, I do like it, just seems to be more trouble than it is worth. Too bad I bought this thing new, it just is not deserving of its price tag! I just might go out to the garage and get the sledge hammer (actually I am not that upset, it is the thought that counts). Time to pull my stash of mesa tubes and watch them burn up. Maybe it will catch fire, I could only wish...

 

[bandit2013]

I believe I have learned something new today. Oh Joy (think of Ren and Stimpy), but not the happy, happy, joy, joy.. Observation of the Alnico Black Hawk HP100 and now the Jensen Black Bird. As it seems the Alnico driver makes noise. More noise than I ever expected and it sounds like noisy tubes or tube rattle. I have gone though several tubes, some new and some old and when used with the Mark V, or shall I say the Jensen Black Bird I get this screaming tube rattle. Not a scratch voice coil but definite response to low to low mid frequency response. As for the Mullard EL34's, I did not specifically order them for the Mark V as I thought, instead, I ordered them for a Dual Rectifier so they sent me tubes with early distortion. They did sound good in the Mark V, actually better in the V than the others. No worries, my KT77 were specifically ordered for the V and they perform quite well. Back to the point, at first I thought the tubes were rattling, I did put my hand on the tip of each tube in hopes to find the suspect but could not isolate the vibration or tube like rattle. Next was to disconnect the speaker (in standby) and plug the amp into one of the 412 cabs. No more rattle noise at all. Did not matter how dark the tone was dialed in, just no tube rattle sound. Plugged in the Jensen Black Bird into the other jack and it returned (yes I had the amp in standby but probably would not matter as there was a load already plugged into the 4 ohm jack). As I recall my experiences with the Black Hawk, I noticed the same thing but did not realized it was the speaker. That may explain why there is a bell over the Alnico puck (either that or for heat dissipation). Some of the noise may be associated with the stiff cone suspension of the new speaker and the magnetic field fighting to pull in the coil thus resulting in a piezo effect of the driver materials. As I played longer though the Black Bird, the noise got louder. If this assumption is correct, I would not recommend any Alnico speaker for use in a combo amp. However, the speaker does sound good even with moderate distortion, sounds very much like the EV with the exception of the noise from the driver. Oh well, so much for that. I could get another MC90 as the one I have is not very useful due to the uneven frame and distorted cone along with the defect of the dust cap which may have been related to the warped steel frame. I will stick with ceramic magnets moving forward. I guess I will be putting the EV back in the combo again. Why am I trying to get away from the EV speaker is a mystery to me anyway. Dang thing can put out and provide quite the same or similar tone to the V30 412 cab when a pair is used. Perhaps it is that I wanted a more vintage sound, but heck I just got a RA100 Combo that will serve that purpose, and it did not come with an ice pick either. Perhaps I need that ice pick for a lobotomy if I believe the Mark V can do anything else but make noise. I may sound negative in my comments, there is still hope for this amp other than a carpet weight. What next.... may be easier to sell it than try to bond with it. :|

 

[crane]

DO a bias mod on the MkV. That amp is **** hot !
Standard Mesa tubes were running over 100% in the Mark V, and they get even hotter in 45W mode.
Now I can adjust the bias and turn it a little down with a bearly noticeable sound change, but absolutely no red plate anymore !

 

[bandit2013]

Yes, I have been contemplating a bias mod. Either fixed or adjustable, Adjustable would be better. I was looking at the schematic again, and noticed that in the 10W mode, the bias voltage to the pair is disconnected and goes to ground, as well as the power tubes get switched to have cathode resistors.

After installing the EV again, I have plenty of practice in tearing down and rebuilding the amp by now, I must be frustrated as the tubes were the culprit in the noise after all. Vibrations from the speaker result in the noise. Reason it went away when changing load to 412 cab was better isolation. Still it may also be current related as well.

I will start with some voltage measurements just to see where the bias voltage actually is. Still need to order current/voltage probes for the tube sockets. Then again, I keep asking myself why should I bother. Both RA100's and the Roadster have never given me this grief, why waist my time with the V?

When I brought the Black Bird to the Kitchen to remove the wires (my soldering iron is in there, but sounds funny in some way) I noticed the bell was quite loose. I rotated it just a little bit and it came off. The puck is not at all small, and the magnetic field is quite strong, similar to the V30 or EV. With the bell off the back, it will fit into my Carvin V3MC so I can use that to break in the speaker. It does sound good but if the noise is from the tubes (which I now know it is) that audible level is almost as loud as the speaker.

 

[bandit2013]

Hmm, I decided to make a minor change but I will not indicate what that was. In essence though, I was able to increase the bias voltage magnitude by 1 volt which really made a difference. The amp still sounds much the same. I installed the Svetlana tubes I used to have in the Mark IVb that have started to get cherry at the seams but took high volume and long play time to get there, also they rattled a bit so I changed the tubes to Mesa and sold the amp. I did try these in the Mark V when they were new and could not stand the ice-pick tonal character they created. I was amazed how good they sounded in the Mark V after the simple mod. Tested out all mode and all channels, and then played an extended session with the 45W mode on Variac power which is has always been the red plate death of power tubes in this amp. So far, not even a cherry seam on the tubes. The amp is still bright but quite tolerable.

Dang it, I am going to go nuts if I have to swap speakers yet again but I am determined to use that Black Bird one way or another. It actually was not bad at all with high gain settings. Before I swap speakers I will explore the potential of the amp with the EV in it first. I may just install the Black Bird in the Carvin as I intended for the break in period since it is only a 50W amp which would reduce the chance of heating up the voice coil too much and I would like to avoid the coil damage that I got with the Black Hawk during the break in period using it in the Mark IVB.

 

[bandit2013]

I am done with it. Too tired to go on and on.... I have to face it, time for new tubes in this thing. Had to track down the goofy tube that was providing a rush sound, only affected CH3 so that lead to the V6. I had to use some of my tube I had on reserve so that fixed the issue. Also installed the Black Bird once again contrary to what I was considering doing with it. Now that I have corrected the power tube issue along with others, the speaker sounds really good and is improving with use. The Clean channel has remained the same to envy the Lone star fans, CH2 and CH3 sounds just as it did with the EV speaker and rumbles with authority as the Mark V is supposed to do. There is one notable difference to mention, sensitivity of the instrument seems to have changed. At the moment, the Black Bird has a faster response time than the EV so there is no lag or residual drone with palm muting. There is a subtle alteration of the top end frequency as there is a smoother tone but the amp's brightness still is intact but not quite ear piercing. What helps is in the cone design as it is ribbed on the Black Bird, where as the EV is relatively smooth but does have a texture. Dust cap is about the same size, not exactly sure how large the voice coil is. The bode plot of the frequency curve is similar to the EV so a change in tone was unexpected, however there is a slight bit more mids with the EV when the volume gets elevated.

Still debating if I should keep it or sell it.

 

[bandit2013]

Everything was fine until, the Jensen black bird did its form of the dreaded fart. Actually it sounded like the voice coil was extending too far or just was confused in the mix of saturated tones on the CH2 crunch with the gain at 80%. Chugging did not sound impressive, actually made a weird noise that made me stop, sounded like someone was trying to kick down the front door (not the first time that happened while playing the guitar since my dog jumped the fence and the woman who was walking her dogs wanted to let me know she had returned the dog to the back yard and wanted to confirm the dog was mine). So once again, out with the new and in with the old. The EV can hold up and dish out what ever the amp throws at it. Unfortunately I am a bit out of patience in breaking in the speaker so back to plan b, put it in the 50W Micro Carvin. Also I was wrong about the driver making noise, I just have crappy tubes.

I do realize trying to make the Mark V sound like something it cannot do is a waist of time. Perhaps I needed a challenge to work on while on Vacation. I get board if I do nothing. This time the EV will stay. Besides that, running two EV though this thing is a pleasure to behold despite the sterile character of the amp. Yes, for lack of a better term I said sterile. When ever I play the RA100 (combo or Head/half stack) or Roadster, I get pulled in and do not want to stop playing. Both amps are dynamic and fluid at the same time. I can loose hours before I realize. When I play the Mark V, I feel that it needs fixing. Change the speaker, change the tubes, convert from head to combo, and repeat. The amp does not pull me in, it pushes away. I get tired of playing it after 5 minutes, I feel it sucks the life out of me if I extend that time. For what it is worth, it is a good amp but once you get used to it, you feel there is something missing. If you turn off the EQ it becomes dull, and when you turn it on you do hear the difference. Once you compare it to another amp of the same caliber of quality and workmanship you find yourself moving away from the mark. I want to play guitar and not spend time analyzing the amp. Not quite sure why I feel it is sterile, is it the solid-state attenuation of the EQ? The EQ circuit also has the attenuator for the FXLOOP. The front end of the eq circuit is active all the time and the back end feeds the send jack. I also have the 5BEQ pedal I have used in my other amps and that does not sound bad at all so I doubt that is the sterile factor. I guess to prove a point to myself I could always slave the Roadster from the Mark V. What is the point, I just have to face it that the Mark V does not fit my taste for what I want to do with it. However, for heavy metal grunge chugga chugga CH2 crunch works great, I guess I am trying to convince myself to keep it. :roll:

 

[bandit2013]

Well, I guess my frustration with this amp is on the surface. The speaker did fart and sounded like voice coil super extending. After swapping back to the EV, dang thing happened again but with a more recognizable sound, Found V10 to be cutting out. I watched the tube, glowing blue and then hit a power chord then it flickered out several times. Either loose pin or bad tube or both. Changed tubes and all was fine. The EV will remain this time around. Plan B will be considered from this point onward in a different amp for the break-in period. As it seems, there is nothing wrong with the speaker and associated problems are tube related or amp.

 

[bandit2013]

The never ending quest of the Mark V combo to make it more appealing is difficult. What I need to do is forget how it sounds with the EV speaker. I will try to bend the MC90 frame back to reduce the distorted cone, may just front mount it like I have done so with the other speakers. After I repaired the dust cap issue it sounded good. I love the sound of the Mark V though the 412, that being said I can use it that way any time I want too. Both the EV and Jensen lack the mid range that I find so captivating and they also exhibit a bit more bottom end than desired. As for tone they seem identical. If the MC90 can perform regardless of the intended volume (I can always plug into a cab or two if needed and have a 412 on reserve that is not too shabby but 16 ohms) I will stick with it. To be honest, when I got the combo shell that came with the MC90 I did not use it and went to the EV right off the bad due to the experience I had with same model of speaker in the Mark IVb. There is always a G12K-100 I could get, not sure if I would like it though.

 

[bandit2013]

I am sorry this has been a miserable post to read through or ignore. I was impressed how the Jensen Black Bird sounded thought the V3MC (50W EL84) as it was full of mid and some interesting tones and it made me wonder why I cannot get something like this with the Mark V, yes the EL84 is similar to EL34 so that is part of it. For a while I was also enjoying the RA100 Combo and the mix of Celestion G12H-75 and V30. Last night I followed up with the Mark V (with the EV) and just could not enjoy it. EV has a smooth cone with a fiber like paper dust cap. Has deep lows and bright highs and does not have much mid presence until you push the volume to the point of earing damage (in a 1x12 combo). This afternoon I figured why not install the MC90 again. Well, the though was right and it sounded great at low volume. Clean channel was okay but not spectacular. CH2 and CH3 sounded better than with the EV that is until I pushed the volume up a bit. I was rewarded with a crackle like noise that would not go away. Checked the tubes in case another failed again, not this time. Changed channels to clean an it was still there. Removed the grill and discovered why the bad sound, paper cone was bent hear the flange and began to rip. I did check for imperfections after I installed it. So much for that. I tried the Carvin G12 100W speaker and it too sounded similar at louder volumes, also was not actually what I wanted anyway. I was not going to install one of the V30 or G12H-75's I have on reserve. Reinstalled the Jensen Black bird and well finally it sounded quite different than it did when I took it out. I can actually tell the mids are getting stronger in the sound. Top end is not shrill at all and actually sounds nice for a change. I did recall reading the speaker sounds better with use. I just have to be patient with the break-in as it will sound worse before it gets better. The bottom end is there similar to EV but not as pronounced. Reminiscent of the MC90 and similar to the RA100 combo speaker set up I have. I guess playing it for almost 4 hours the other day in the Carvin amp did help part of the break in process as the cab is too small to be useful for low frequency response like the Mark V combo is. I will get something recorded with the Jensen soon. Perhaps on Monday as I have off from work. Also have resolved the tube issue, had loose pins and replaced the PI tube as well as the volume kept dropping out a bit. Perhaps I am nuts but the Jensen Black Bird is really sounding much better (more to what I expected it to sound like for an Alnico driver).

 

[bandit2013]

I do not need to extent this thread any longer. Recordings are in a new thread, link below

http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=70870

 

[bandit2013]

Yes, I did modify the bias circuit and the recordings I made sort of reveal it. Last night I decided to hear what the RA100 Combo would sound like though the Jensen speaker and it had plenty of bottom end with the Hi/Lo channel. I then realized even if you are successful in changing the bias, the PI circuit was design such that the proper signal is supplied to the power tubes. Raising the bias voltage even by a 1 volt (more negative) will drastically effect your tone, if you want that Marshall sound that will do it. All I want is an amp that does not burn up tubes every two weeks. It is too bad that SED shut its doors to the consumer market, if they were still producing tubes I would not be in search of other brands that would last more than 2 to 3 weeks of use without red plating. To date the SED or =C= has been the best performer longevity wise. Every other tube I have used had the tendency to reach the onset of red plate (similar to a normal operating 6V6 tube) which usually results in shortened tube life and or degraded tone. I may try the Tung Sol 7581A tube as that can operate at higher plate currents, I did try the standard 7581 which did last for at least 5 months of use. The Ruby tubes also seem to have held up but I have not been using the Mark V as much since the RA100 and Roadster came into my life. Since I wanted the bottom end back in the signal chain I restored the bias circuit to its proper form and the end result was the amp I was familiar with. As for the pair EL34 Mullards (had less than 4 hours use on them) that went cherry on me prior to the bias adjustment, I did not order them for this specific amp so shame on me. I would not recommend altering the fixed bias of your amp as this will affect your tone considerably. Also note that the center two tubes operate in Class A push pull mode (aka Extended Class A which operates nothing like a Class A/B) so the bias will be different for the center pair. The outer tubes do operate Class A/B which gives rise to the Simul Class name. I can really admire the circuit design of the power section and respect how it all ties together. I may sort of miss the tonal character I got with the mod but I did miss the bottom end much more as I also like to channel the Mark V though other speakers to achieve different gain and character. At least the Jensen Black Bird has given me interest in the amp more than the EV. I hope it will sound great after it breaks in as the low end is still struggling a bit but I can tell it is improving with use.

 

[bandit2013]

I still had some vibration at certain frequencies. I decided to investigate where the origin of vibration was coming from, also had this issue with other speakers in the combo which was getting worse. Since I had modified the baffle to fit an EV for front mounting (sanded the speaker mounting hole just a bit) I took the easy route and mounted the Jensen the same way. If the frame does not have enough clearance between the baffle and speaker frame this could be a source of noise if the fame and baffle are not vibrating at the same frequency (in my case this was the issue). Other source of noise could be the baffle itself and how secure it is to the shell. With all components removed, the shell does not seem completely secure as it can be twisted a small amount. Based on what I learned with my 15 year old 412 cabinet, having a secure baffle makes a difference since the combo did not have a floating baffle to begin with. I had some 1.5 x0.5 inch poplar so I cut it down to fit between the bottom of the shell just above the baffle strip and the transformer support shelf. I glued and screwed it in place to improve the baffle to shell support and also ran a few screws along the bottom. Painted everything flat black. Almost looks like it was there from day one. Based on comments I read on other forums about speaker mounting and vibration, I decided to try the rubber and steel grommet type washers typically used on roofing or flashing materials. Also added a rubber seal along the speaker mounting hole on the inside of the baffle. This time I mounted the Jensen on the back (inside) of the baffle. I may have to remove the footswitch pouch from the back board as there is no way the footswitch would fit with the bell installed on the speaker. 95% reduction in vibration related noises. One recommendation before tackling frequency dependent vibrations; best if done in a dead space free of items that may oscillate due to the sound pressure changes caused by the speaker (windows, floor, items hanging on walls, cabinets, objects on shelves and such). I had a reason to move everything into one of the spare bedrooms since objects in an adjacent room were falling off the shelves when I was using the largest room in the house for my gear.