Clean Your Jacks

[James Freeman]

A quick reminder that the speaker jacks of your cab and amp have to be periodically cleaned with a contact cleaner.
If the jacks are dirty particularly the stereo/mono switching type on 4x12 cab that is paralleling the speakers, it can cause various noises due to improper power delivery through the unused jack.

I thought I had a blown speaker or it was cone rubbing when I played a low level sine wave at 10Hz, then I heard it was coming only from the top and bottom left side, I figured it was one of the parallel jacks contacts that was causing the issue.
A few sprays of contact cleaner followed by a few quick insertions of the speaker plug and the noise was gone.

 

[Blix]

And while you're at it remove that crap panel and install a single jack!

 

[JiveTurkey]

I always try to get these combo jacks with switches pulled and replaced with a single jack asap.

 

[V|J]

And what kind of muzac is a 10 kHz sine even?
Lol, good point.

 

[James Freeman]

And what kind of muzac is a 10 kHz sine even?

It's my preferred frequency to listen for cone rub and/or loosen the suspension of new speaker, mainly because it is silent and I can torture the cone suspension to its limit.
I unscrew the speaker jack plate to allow more free air movement of the cones.
Signal chain: DAW Signal Generator -> AxeFx -> Power Amp.

 

[HomespunEffects]

This reminds me of a Redd Foxx skit.

 

[Sleezy E]

Love me a clean jack!

 

[Desertdweller]

A quick reminder that the speaker jacks of your cab and amp have to be periodically cleaned with a contact cleaner.

“Have to” is pulling some weight in this sentence. My main 4x12 I bought new in 1999 and have never cleaned the jacks. It works fine.

 

[GuitarBilly74]

And while you're at it remove that crap panel and install a single jack!

I always try to get these combo jacks with switches pulled and replaced with a single jack asap.

This.

This jackplate is utter and complete garbage. Put a single jack in there.
If you need the stereo switching, Mojotone makes a drop in replacement with better components.

 

[holoholo]

Love me a clean jack!

 

[norminal]

Clean your jacks

And your johns!

 

[Byrdman]

And your johns!

View attachment 40336

 

[david57strat]

I highly recommend HOSA DeoxIT D5 for plugs and jacks, and pots - and F5, for faders.

They both work excellently, and help to keep your connections in pristine condition, over the years, even with heavy use of that equipment.

The two are NOT interchangeable. Using the D5 on faders could cause them to become too loose, or gritty/raspy-feeling, since that would destroy the grease that's applied to them at the factory. The F5 will properly clean your faders, while leaving the grease on them, in-tact.

I use these the D5 spray about once a year, on all plugs and jacks (and now, pot's too*)

A little goes a long way. Each of those cans should last you several years. Worth every penny, and a solid investment towards keeping my equipment running smoothly.

The F5 spray isn't needed as often. I use only it when needed - which seems to be rarely.

Edit - As mentioned by Snave, in post 18, the F5 Fader Lube should only be used for faders, while the D5 is optimized for jacks, plugs, and pot's.

Also, once again - a little goes a long way. Be sparing in your use of these sprays.

*Thanks for the correction, Snave! Will incorporate that new info into my future use of these products.

 

[V|J]

It's my preferred frequency to listen for cone rub and/or loosen the suspension of new speaker, mainly because it is silent and I can torture the cone suspension to its limit.
I unscrew the speaker jack plate to allow more free air movement of the cones.
Signal chain: DAW Signal Generator -> AxeFx -> Power Amp.

Is suspension loosening a part of speaker break-in?
And what are using the AxeFx for?

 

[James Freeman]

Is suspension loosening a part of speaker break-in?
And what are using the AxeFx for?

Not necessarily break-in in the "traditional" sense but I like the loosen the moving parts (spider, surround, doping, etc).
I use a Function Generator Plugin in my DAW that can go as low as 0Hz with any wave form, which is connected to the AxeFx via SPDIF, from there into a power amp then the cab.

 

[6CA7-A]

 

[bikescene]

I’ve got a can of WD-40 Specialist contact cleaner, which is different from regular WD-40 lubricant. I’ve assumed that this is the functional equivalent to DeOxit D5 and appropriate for jacks.

It’s probably a good idea to clean the jacks my used stereo 4x12. I probably will eventually rewire to a single jack as many have suggested.

 

[Snave]

I highly recommend HOSA DeoxIT D5 for plugs and jacks, and F5, for faders and pot's. They both work excellently, and help to keep your connections in pristine condition, over the years, even with heavy use of that equipment.

The two are NOT interchangeable. Using the D5 on pot's and faders could cause them to become too loose, or gritty/raspy-feeling, since that would destroy the grease that's applied to them at the factory. The F5 will properly clean your pot's and faders, while leaving the grease on them, in-tact.

I use these the D5 spray about once a year, on all plugs and jacks. A little goes a long way. Each of those cans should last you several years. Worth every penny, and a solid investment towards keeping my equipment running smoothly.

The F5 spray isn't needed as often. I use only it when needed.

This is actually the opposite of what I've heard from an engineer I trust very much (currently employed by Mesa Boogie designing bass amps). The only product one should use on modern pots is a tiny amount of Deoxit D5 because the anti-oxidizing ingredient is doing all the work. People using too much is what makes pots loose. Faderlube contains a lubricant specifically for sliding mechanical surfaces, not rotary pots. It also doesn't have anti-oxidizing properties.

 

[megametal7]

When i cleaned mine it released liquid…..

 

[david57strat]

This is actually the opposite of what I've heard from an engineer I trust very much (currently employed by Mesa Boogie designing bass amps). The only product one should use on modern pots is a tiny amount of Deoxit D5 because the anti-oxidizing ingredient is doing all the work. People using too much is what makes pots loose. Faderlube contains a lubricant specifically for sliding mechanical surfaces, not rotary pots. It also doesn't have anti-oxidizing properties.

I appreciate the correction, Snave. I've updated my post to reflect this information.