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Post subject: HELP Bassman 250/210 Combo HELP
Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 9:18 pm
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So for Christmas I got a 150 Bassman amp. After a few days of playing, I began to notice that the low notes (notes on the E string) sounded bad. There was a distinct vibration behind the low notes, and it sounded like a baseball card being hit by the spokes of a bicycle. I took the amp in. They said there was a problem so they sent it to Fender to be fixed.

While I waited, they gave me a Bassman 250/115. It was great, but this amp vibrated too on some notes. After tinkering around with it, I found a loose screw. When I tightened it, the vibrating stopped and I was pleased. I wanted to buy it.

I went back to the store. They said they'd sell me a Bassman 250/210 for the same price. So I gladly bought it, it being "better" than the Bassman 250/115. Here's where my problem is.

Whenever I played a D the amp vibrated, but this vibration isn't a fault speaker or a loose screw. After hours tinkering with it, I have found that the subwoofer, on the D note (primarily the tenth fret on the E string), will vibrate against the wood and sound terrible. I tried tightening the screws, but that changed nothing. I loosened the screws, but then when I played lower notes the vibrations came back. In short, loosening and tightening the subwoofer didn't help.

My question is, does anyone have these problems? Do bass amps just have some notes that vibrate and you have to accept it? Or is something wrong? Should I use a drill to really tighten the subwoofer and see if that stops the vibration? Or do I take it in for a third time? I'm really at a loss.

Thanks in advance guys. Sorry for the wall of text.


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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 5:10 am
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Sorry to hear this, I have the 150 and love it. Do you play the amp cranked? I just cranked mine and it was clean, you really have the luck to get two with the same issue. :(


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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 12:12 pm
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NYMark99 wrote:
Sorry to hear this, I have the 150 and love it. Do you play the amp cranked? I just cranked mine and it was clean, you really have the luck to get two with the same issue. :(


Even at half vol the D note will vibrate the note. I figured Bassman amps are crap after having vibrating issues with three of the amps, but maybe I'm just really unlucky.

fjbass wrote:
I have had some crunch sounds, but I use a very high setting on the bass level. Sometimes a certain note does resinate more. I also have some items in my room I practice in that vibrate with certain notes as well. Try moving the amp around in the room. My Ampeg BA115 to me, does seem to have less issues, set the same as my former 250/115 Combo did.


I've played the Bassman in different rooms and everything. The vibration definately comes from the amp, and I've triangulated it to the subwoofer. Something about the subwoofer and how it's positioned or screwed in must be faulty.

Do you think I should take a drill to the subwoofer screws and really screw them in hard? Maybe if I tighten them with a power tool instead of a screwdriver the subwoofer will stop vibrating?


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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 4:38 pm
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Nevermind. Just tried it. Didn't work. Looks like I got gypped again.


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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 9:32 pm
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I was going to suggest that you move the amp to another room because of a problem I had with mine. I was getting a nasty buzz every time I plucked a "B". Didn't matter if it was on the seventh fret of the E string or second fret of the A string. It was a nasty sound that made me think that one of my speakers was faulty. Changing speakers didn't help. I started to think it was the head, itself. But I couldn't find anything wrong in the circuitry. Finally, my six year old granddaughter solved the problem. She thought it was cool the way one of the photos on my wall jiggled when I played. I took the photo down and like magic, the noise was gone. This happened with a Bassman 250 head and separate 410 Bassman cab.


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Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2010 1:31 pm
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doowop14 wrote:
I was going to suggest that you move the amp to another room because of a problem I had with mine. I was getting a nasty buzz every time I plucked a "B". Didn't matter if it was on the seventh fret of the E string or second fret of the A string. It was a nasty sound that made me think that one of my speakers was faulty. Changing speakers didn't help. I started to think it was the head, itself. But I couldn't find anything wrong in the circuitry. Finally, my six year old granddaughter solved the problem. She thought it was cool the way one of the photos on my wall jiggled when I played. I took the photo down and like magic, the noise was gone. This happened with a Bassman 250 head and separate 410 Bassman cab.


I thought of this. But I've played this amp all over, and after messing with the subwoofer, I know it's the subwoofer itself vibrating. Maybe I should get different screws and see if that solves the problem?


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Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2010 8:47 am
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To me it sounds like an issue with space between the speaker basket and the wood it is mounted to. I wounder if some sort of a 'gasket' would do the trick?

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Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2010 8:28 pm
I can see why Fender cut out the Bassman Line. They will shake themselves apart.


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Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 10:55 am
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try a thin layer of silicone rubber around the speaker where it makes contact with the wood,but not too much or you'll have it ozzing out. wipe off excess before it dries, the two faces are not meeting flat enough, and causing the problem, most likely the plywood has an uneven surface, this should fix the problem.


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Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2010 3:56 pm
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If the amp is still under warranty, I wouldn't go messing with sealers or changing screws, etc. Take it in and let someone else get their hands dirty.

If your amp was OUT of warranty, I'd look into the cabinet itself. Sound directions, especially low frequencies, can be tricky to pin down; they appear to come from one place when they are actually coming from somewhere else. Occasionally, reinforcement baffles inside the cab can resonate (rattle, buzz, hum) if they are even slightly loose. You will have to remove the 10 inch bass speakers (you don't have subwoofers, which tend to be larger and lower frequency) and look around for any bracing within. If anything has any discernable play, i.e. if it shakes or wiggles, it needs to be resecured.

If you are still convinced one of the speakers is at fault, disconnect one at a time internally. Put a separate wire nut on each loose wire lead to keep from grounding it out. You will be running on a single 8-ohm speaker as you do so. If you isolate the problem, great. If you still have the noise after trying both speakers separately, the problem has to be elsewhere.


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Post subject: Re: HELP Bassman 250/210 Combo HELP
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 4:34 pm
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I have the same problem with my Bassman 250 and have addressed it a couple of times with the dealership. If it doesn't get resolved I simply will stop buying Fender amps.


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Post subject: Re: HELP Bassman 250/210 Combo HELP
Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 2:38 pm
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Just read this after posting my issue in a new post. I have a 1 month old Bassman 250/210 and, for the first time, had a bass plugged into it (I am a keyboardist and LOVE bass amps for 'boards). The low E string made the left 10" speaker "crackle", even at low (1-2) volume). Turning it up made it even worse. The only way it would go away is if I EQ'd the bass all the way off. I am assuming the speaker is shot? I removed the grill and insured that its mounting bolts were tight (which they were for the most part--I had to turn a couple just a little to snug them--this was a floor model bought from G.C. so it probably got a workout on occasion). Same problem. Even tried my keyboard through it and when playing low bass notes on the board it did the same thing.

I am confident that the warranty will cover this but wanted to know, based on the issue, if anyone out there had an opinion as to whether I could fix this myself without the hassle of finding a local service center and lugging the amp in to leave for who-knows how long.


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