High Volume Cabinet Vibrations

[treillw]

I have a Mark V head and a 2x12 horizontal rectifier cabinet (that I play my PRS through ). I purchased both new and they haven't been used that hard. I've taken good care of them. I'm getting these weird buzzing vibration sounds when I hit and sustain one specific note (11th fret on the high E string). I have the main volume and solo boost cranked to ~11:00 on Channel 2. The buzz doesn't really sound like it's a piece of loose metal or wood, it's the actual note that is oscillating like. It's hard to describe.

At first I had the amp sitting on the casters on a concrete floor with a gobo in front of it. I messed with arranging it different ways and it doesn't fix the issue. I tried taking the casters off and just had it resting directly on the concrete floor. No luck.

What do you guys think is causing it? Could the speaker itself be loose?

 

[Rider1260]

try raising the action on your E string just the smallest bit
or you could have a tube starting to go microphonic

 

[László]

Or - this is very common, too - it could be something in the room that sounds like it's coming from the cab. I once had a heater vent vibrating near my piano that drove me nuts until I found it wasn't the piano. But it SEEMED to be coming from the piano.

A concrete floor is not a good platform for a cab, because it transmits all the vibration straight to the building structure, which increases the likelihood of a resonance coming from something like the light fixtures or the ventilation system, etc.

Auralex makes an inexpensive solution called the Gramma, that comes in 3 sizes, if in fact this is your problem.

Then again speakers can rattle inside cabs, screws need to be tightened sometimes, and tubes can rattle. Eliminate the causes one by one, for example, move the head away from the cab and see if that changes anything (for example, tubes are less likely to vibrate and rattle if they're a decent distance from the cab).

 

[treillw]

Think it could be "cone cry"? I did a quick search on it and saw that some people were experiencing issues with vintage 30 speakers...

I had cabinet in another room, so I don't think it's something with the head - microphonic tube or something like that. I'm trying to put the amp behind stage, so I can crank it. It's the first time I did this and the loudest I've ever had the mesa up to. Of course like Les said, it could be anything in the room vibrating too - so I will have to experiment with that. Luckily a speaker cabinet is a tad easier to move than a piano!

Thanks guys!

 

[Bill SAS 513]

Les hit on my two "cents"...I have recessed lights in my jam room and the light's rims were vibrating ...tightening them fixed that, and I have always tried to keep heads directly off cabs...constant vibrations can't be good for electronics...can it??

 

[László]

Les hit on my two "cents"...I have recessed lights in my jam room and the light's rims were vibrating ...tightening them fixed that, and I have always tried to keep heads directly off cabs...constant vibrations can't be good for electronics...can it??

It's either terrible for electronics, or great for electronics by screwing them up just the right amount.

I have a hard time deciding.

 

[Brad737]

Here's a really easy fix that helps a lot of the time. Take a screwdriver and make sure EVERY screw is tight...on the handles, speakers, baffle, etc.