A Replacement Bass Guitar Speaker for Your Amp Cabinet
It’s not uncommon over time for a bass guitar speaker to blow out and develop a buzz. This can range from a minor annoyance to rendering the amp unusable. Luckily you’re not going to have to purchase an entirely new amp. Instead many musicians choose to purchase a replacement speaker and install it in their existing cabinet. If you’ve never done anything like this before it’s not as difficult as it may sound. On top of that you’ll end up saving yourself a lot of money, and may even end up with a better sounding amp then you originally had.
Step 1 Determine Speaker Size
Determining the size of your existing bass guitar speaker is the first and most important step you need to take. Most cabinets are custom fit to a certain size, so purchasing one that’s too large or too small can cause a big headache when you try to install it. The average range of bass speakers is from 8” up to 15” in diameter. The actual size of the speaker has less to do with the quality of sound than you may think. The cabinet design has more to do with how it handles the lowest frequency put out by your open low B-string than the size of the speaker itself.
Step 2 Determine Correct Speaker Type
It’s very important that when dealing with a bass guitar that you purchase the correct type of speakers. In order to produce the low frequency sounds required by a bass guitar both the diameter of the speaker and range of vibration needs to be correct. This is something a normal guitar speaker is not able to accomplish and is why you get a much different tone when plugging into a normal guitar amp. Mixing a replacement bass guitar speaker with a normal guitar speaker is going to produce a subpar sound.
Step 3 Do Cabinet Maintenance
When replacing the speakers it may be a good time to do some basic maintenance on your bass guitar cabinet as well. Naturally these cabinets vibrate more and require a more sturdy construction and thicker material. Replacing the corner caps as well as the speaker screens may be necessary depending on how rough you treat it. Also when you’re done replacing the speaker it’s very important that the cabinet be properly sealed. This will help the speakers vibrate properly. There needs to be resistance pushing back on the speakers which can be lost if air is escaping.
The bottom line is that replacing your bass guitar speaker when one becomes damaged or you’re looking to upgrade is a great alternative to purchasing an entirely new amp. Often times you may be able to find a great bass amp cabinet that someone is selling cheap because the speakers have blown out as well. There are quite a few different model speakers available, so take a look at the different reviews before making your final decision.