FBT 12MA woes....

S

set theorist

Inspired
I got word from FBT USA in CT. and apparently, they can find nothing wrong with 12MA. This really sucks. It cost me 75 bucks to ship it for nothing. So now the questions is what am I doing wrong here. To remind you guys of the symptoms, I'm getting a fuzzy sound on the B and high E strings both fretted and unfretted and a loud high pitched plasticky crackle when I'm palm muting the low E (which I drop to D) using a high gain setting.

If I can't work this out, anyone want to buy a 12MA with an apparent clean bill of health for $750? At that point, I'd go with a K12 and some creative EQing.

Got a gig Friday night and nothing to run my Axe through. I guess my Dual Rectifier is coming out to play again....and my back can hurt for a week after....YAY : )
 
Another dumb question here: shouldn't you instead be glad and relieved that your 12mA is good to go?

I lost track of what testing you did before shipping it to FBT... but had you tested the speaker with a clean source of audio (cd player with a well recorded cd, preferably one that tests out the full range)? Remember that the Axe-fx can put out insane amounts of high-end and low-end. Enough to rattle everything within striking distance of your 12mA. Perhaps you were just pushing out too much sound?

You have to give the above a fair consideration... if FBT (and the other forum members here who doubt there's anything wrong with your 12mA) are correct, then you may very well go through a useless hassle of selling the 12mA then buying something else and get the exact same problem, right?
 
Gents, there are no dumb questions and I appreciate your collective input.

As far as the grill rattling, I guess the dudes at FBT would have looked into that. As far as me putting out too much power, I guess it's possible; but I don't hear any of these issues when I put the Axe through my Crest CA-6 into my Carvin 15s. I have not attempted playing a CD through it; but it's worth a shot. In the end though, I guess I'd be disappointed if the 12MA wasn't capable of handling all the Axe has to offer. It's not like I'm doing anything crazy with the sound: a recto red emulator with the bass at about 50% and a boutique cabinet...no EQs, no compression...I would think the 12MA could handle that.
 
This you have probably also been through as I know you have been on this board a long time, but did you try the standard PEQ settings that cut excessive bass and high end fizz? I believe its block below 70 on PEQ band 1 and above 10266 (it's in a Scott post) on band 5. That makes a difference with my 12ma.

Or another one you probably checked but do you maybe have something loose on your guitar. I had a loose strap holder deaden strings on certain frets and I've had loose screws on locking tuners do the same.
 
I'm not sure how any of those things would address a loud high pitched plasticky crackle that the OP described. It's the "crackle" part that suggests to me something electrical, and not anything related to overemphasized frequencies, fret buzz, or loose tuners.

I notice something similar (though very subtle and only noticeable as notes fade out) with my own Verve 12ma and it seems to be independent of the guitar. High-gain settings make the phenomenon easier to hear, but it wouldn't be a stretch to assume it is always there, made more or less apparent depending on the settings in effect on a particular preset.

I didn't really notice this when I had my Axe-FX hooked up to my Roland keyboard amp, which suggests it is either related to the Verve itself, or the fact that the whole rig has been moved to a different power outlet in my apartment.
 
just another possibility.i've had a similar issue with my monitors,and it's been driving me absolutely bananas.every time i play an Ab(3rd string 13th fret)i would hear a buzzing high pitched sound,almost like a beat note.real fizzy sound coming directly from the speaker.like the speaker cone couldn't handle the frequency.so i took the speaker out checked it,nothing wrong,checked the inside of the cab for anything loose,checked the hf driver,all good.put it all back together and the same problem.then on a whim,decided to take the monitor too a different room and check it,guess what,loud and clear as a bell!the culprit?the drop ceiling in my practice room,rattling like crazy on that tone at higher volumes.i could of swore on my life that the sound was coming from the speaker directly in front of it,but not so.just the way the sound was bouncing around in the room.

sorry for the long post,but could it possibly be something in your room resonating on those frequencies?or does it happen at other locals as well?
 
Just to rule it out: try swapping in another xlr cable ... not just same brand but actually a lesser-quality xlr. Solved my issue. Seems the real 'spensive Vovox cables let too may high-freqs through the system (and out came broken garbage on certain notes). Weird. Hope it works out for you.
 
My fbt 12ma is being serviced now for making some flubby noise that came out of nowhere. One weekend it sounded fine with my other 12ma and the following weekend I fired them up and got that horrible sound. Luckily I had my other 12ma there to compare the sounds from the AXE to determine something wasn't right. I should find out something soon as to what happened and they better tell me something broke!
 
set theorist said:
I'm getting a fuzzy sound on the B and high E strings...
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If the buzz occurs on two strings only, and the same pitches don't produce a buzz when played on other strings, that points to a problem with the guitar, not the speaker.

Buzzing noises are notoriously hard to diagnose. It's hard to localize the source of the buzz, particularly on a guitar, where everything is more or less firmly connected to everything else, and the rattling part may not rattle at all without amplification. The noise can sound like it's coming from one place, when it may be coming from another. But if it only occurs on specific strings on the guitar, that points a strong finger at the guitar as the culprit.
 
If the recorded music test doesn't reveal anything, Do you have any way of running a variable test tone through your rig? It would be the best way for you to isolate ether the guitar or the Axe or the speaker by creating the same frequency and see what happens.
 
Try recording what you are playing and see if the noise is captured on the recording. This way you can post it and we can get a better idea what the sound is. If it is not on the recording then it could be the speaker or the acoustics and you would rule out the guitar.
 
addedc said:
This you have probably also been through as I know you have been on this board a long time, but did you try the standard PEQ settings that cut excessive bass and high end fizz? I believe its block below 70 on PEQ band 1 and above 10266 (it's in a Scott post) on band 5. That makes a difference with my 12ma.
Click to expand...

Thanks addedc. This is one of the first things I will try.
 
RDeraz said:
just another possibility.i've had a similar issue with my monitors,and it's been driving me absolutely bananas.every time i play an Ab(3rd string 13th fret)i would hear a buzzing high pitched sound,almost like a beat note.real fizzy sound coming directly from the speaker.like the speaker cone couldn't handle the frequency.so i took the speaker out checked it,nothing wrong,checked the inside of the cab for anything loose,checked the hf driver,all good.put it all back together and the same problem.then on a whim,decided to take the monitor too a different room and check it,guess what,loud and clear as a bell!the culprit?the drop ceiling in my practice room,rattling like crazy on that tone at higher volumes.i could of swore on my life that the sound was coming from the speaker directly in front of it,but not so.just the way the sound was bouncing around in the room.

sorry for the long post,but could it possibly be something in your room resonating on those frequencies?or does it happen at other locals as well?
Click to expand...

I appreciate this. Haven't had much opportunity to blast out in other rooms. It's not like i can go very loud in my house. i do think it's a possibility something else could be rattling. There are three drum kits, a ton of other equipment and steel pipes all over the room.
 
GreenTea said:
Just to rule it out: try swapping in another xlr cable ... not just same brand but actually a lesser-quality xlr. Solved my issue. Seems the real 'spensive Vovox cables let too may high-freqs through the system (and out came broken garbage on certain notes). Weird. Hope it works out for you.
Click to expand...

Will do...although, in my case, I think I'll need to step UP from my 15 dollar cable : )
 
elchampion said:
My fbt 12ma is being serviced now for making some flubby noise that came out of nowhere. One weekend it sounded fine with my other 12ma and the following weekend I fired them up and got that horrible sound. Luckily I had my other 12ma there to compare the sounds from the AXE to determine something wasn't right. I should find out something soon as to what happened and they better tell me something broke!
Click to expand...

Please keep me posted...a flubby noise sounds like it could describe what I'm hearing.
 
ang said:
man im really close to pulling the trigger on a verve sale but threads like these are scaring me ;(
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There are quite a few Verve 12mA's out their and there will be a few that have there problems. ANY powered speaker will have it happen Mackie, QSC, Yamaha, FBT, JBL etc... some more then others. My point being is you will always hear about the problems that people are having with a product that is out there in greater numbers.
 
I am going to try using a different XLR cable, and maybe even a different instrument cable. It's amazing how much a bad (or just mediocre) cable can mess with a device as sensitive as an Axe-FX and a Verve.
 
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