Community: Message List

Rattling sound from the Spider Jam

support@line6.com — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 03:04:25 GMT

I have noticed that my amp has a rattle sound when the volume is set to a moderate/high level. It also happens at much lower levels if I use the crunch or higher setting. It sounds just like a tube amp with a bad tube.
My amp is out of warranty. I initially thought it might be a bad speaker. Of course I wondered why it would be ripping since I rarely tune the amp up real high. But in the interest of verifying, I changed the speaker to a Red Coat series Tonker. The rattle is still there but DAMN this amp has one hell of a full sound now. I have thought from the beginning that this amp sounds a bit thin. Not now, this thing sounds like my Carvin X100B. Talking about sound with body!

Anyway... I decided to tighten all screws etc. that I could access in hopes that it was a jingle I could find. The sound reminds me of keys jingling or something similar. Snugged every screw I could find but still got the rattle.

I pulled the head out and snugged all the screws I could find inside, still got the rattle.

Next I am going to hook the speaker wires to an external speaker box to see if the jingling is still there. If the jingle goes away I will know there is something loose in the case. If the sound is coming from external, I will know the problem is with the electronics. In which case I guess I am just screwed. Gotta tell you, I am really going to be disappointed if there is an electronics problem because I already gave up on my Fender FM212R amp because of electronics problems. I switched to Line6 because I figured I was moving up. Hope I was.

Have any of your had a similar rattling issue and if so, did you find a cure?

Thanks for your time.

Jeff

Re: Compression

support@line6.com — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 04:15:29 GMT

There may not be an onboard compressor but there is a Gate that does what I think you are looking for.

Hit the settings button twice then the right arrow to get to the settings.

Jeff

Re: Attaching a digital recorder

support@line6.com — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 03:49:00 GMT

Are you trying to record to your Boss while the SJ is playing? Or are you trying to transfer a recording from the SJ to the Boss?

Re: Why won't the Spider Jam record drum tracks to my SD card?

support@line6.com — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 03:20:28 GMT

Not sure if this is of help to you but I made so many mistakes when I first began recording songs with my amp that I finally developed a work flow that minimized my frustrations.
I haven't tried recording and then saving directly to the SD card. When I was using the amp to record tracks in the past, I would always save the recordings to the amp until I was satisfied with the song (and had it saved to the amp in it's final or close to final version). Then I would move it to the card and then I would save it as a wav file so I could transfer it to my computer. I am sure there are shorter cuts but that is what worked for me.

Mod to get a ballsier sound from the SpiderJam

support@line6.com — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 02:54:50 GMT

Hello all!

In an attempt to build better speaker boxes, I have spent time over the years learning about speaker enclosures and such.

I have contemplated modifying my SpiderJam for a while now to get a better sound from it. Not that I don't love my amp, honestly I do!

I have learned that open back speaker enclosures have a common problem; The sound emanates from both the front and back of the speaker and the sound coming from the back races around to meet the sound waves in the front of the amp and you get sound canceling/distortion. Very undesirable!

Tonight I built a simple enclosure to fit in the back that is just slightly bigger than the speaker.

I used furniture grade 3/4" plywood,

12 1/4" X 6"

14"X6"
and 2X6" (2 ea )

Amp laying face down on a table with you standing at the base of the amp.

The 12 1/4 X 6 is a partition that mounts vertically beside the speaker on the right side. I used a square to mark a straight line about 1/2" right of the speaker rim. The 6" side is about an inch taller than the speaker. You will need to cut a small kerf for the speaker wires to fit through. Make sure you add some sealer to seal the kerf once this piece is mounted.

I used two pocket hole screws to mount the partition. If you don't have a pocket hole jig, you can glue or silicone it in place. Or if you are handy with a drill you can start the bit horizontally and then as it starts to dig, angle it to create an angled pocket. Make sure you drill a pilot hole all the way through with a smaller bit so you don't split the wood.

The 2 2X6 pieces are screwed to the left wall with one 1 1/4 screw each. These two give you a base to mount the back of the enclosure.

Before you mount the back panel, you will need to make a 45 degree cut on once corner of the back piece to clear the beveled factory corner support. Also, I recommend that you take come silicone or caulk and seal the gap at the base of the metal amplifier head frame. You will see what I am talking about when you put the 12 1/4 X 6 piece in. Also run a bead of silicone around the perimeter of the back piece and along the time of the side wall piece. This will seal the box as close to air tight as possible.

That's it, stand it up, plug it in and fire that baby up. It sounds really awesome now! It make the speaker a bit more bassy and more ballsy.

Of course now I need to paint my new enclosure black to match the amp. But that is a different post... lol

Jeff

Re: Transfer songs via RCA distorted

support@line6.com — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:57:53 GMT

Well I have tried powering the Del C610 laptop on a seperate citcuit, but it didn't change anything.

I haven't tried just using the batter power. The battery doesn't last long these days.

The interesting thing is, the sound I discribed is coming from the amp speaker when the RCA cables are connected. Maybe the laptop is producing the sound and back feeding into the amp.

I don't have a seperate computer to try at the momeny as I am working about 1400 miles from home. But I will try a different computer, at this point its the only reasonable solution.

The input from the amp is under control with the new interface. Thanks for directing me in the right direction. Once I get this other issue taken care of this should work pretty good. Thanks!

Jeff

Message was edited by: badraven

Re: Transfer songs via RCA distorted

support@line6.com — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:10:03 GMT

Hello again!

I purchased a Beheringer line level USB interface. I am still getting this like Moris Code sounding noise any time the amp is connected to the laptop.

This is getting really frustrating. I am at a loss here. Is there something obvious I am doing wrong here?

I tried simple recording using creative's Wav recorder. Noting but problems here.

Jeff

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Transfer songs via RCA distorted

support@line6.com — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:38:43 GMT

Hello all!

When I use the RCA jacks to transfer a song to my computer it is distorted no matter what I do. I can turn the mic setting down to zero and it still comes out distorted like I have the input turned up on high or something. I am hooking the input from the amp into the mic input (1/8" stereo phone jach)

Is there a setting in the Spider Jam that turns the output down? Changing the volume of the amp makes no difference.

Any suggestions? Thanks for your time.

Jeff in Arizona

Re: Spider Jam feature request

support@line6.com — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:20:37 GMT

Thanks for the info. Can't hurt to ask. More of a blind kinda push this button at such and such a time kind of thing is what I have in mond. Nothing elaborate. Well see what they have to say. Thanks agaon...

Jeff

Spider Jam feature request

support@line6.com — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:35:06 GMT

Hello All!

I have seen somewhere on this site, a place to request a featrue be added to your Line6 product. Of course I can't seem to find it now. Maybe someone can direct me.

I want to request a feature be added that allows me to set wey points in a recording for start and ending an editing session.

Its not that I don't want to hear my creation over and over again but, when I am layering the end of the song or the middle for instance, it gets old and very frustrating to sit through the whole thing waiting for that one part or section only to make a mistake out of frustration ot distraction or whatever, just to have to clear that overdub and begine again waiting for that one little part.

Before anyone says it yes, patients is a virtue. True enough but a small addition would make a workd of difference here.

The reason I bought the S.J. is because my Tascam took a poop and I needed a better modeler then I have. I am really coming to like this amp. I find it hard to find any real quality sounds that aren't "over drive" but I am sure it is just a matter of time till I find some users setting I like and save them. I think taking my music from the S.J. and importing to the Tascam to for final mixing will be an awesome combo, just got to get it going again.

I have recorded my first "quality" song on this amp that I think is or quite near "radio quality".

Thanks Line6 for making such a fun and useful amp.

Jeff