Speaker problems

I finally got to crank my new amp yesterday at my buddy's house (i live in an apartment). The speakers were giving off a terrible bass feedback kind of sound...louder than the amp itself. Usually happened when I was palm-muting. It is extremely obnoxious sounding and pretty much ruins an otherwise killer crunch sound. Any ideas what the problem is? The speakers are 2 Carvin 100 watts, 8 ohms each. If they're wired parallel, then the amp should be set for 4 ohms, correct?

At low volumes, bass sounds weak, so you probably had that part of your EQ turned up a bit at bedroom volume, and it was way too high for balls-out crankin'.

If the room was fairly small, bass would have been exaggerated, too.

Your amp is OK - you just have to learn how to set it up in different circumstances.

The bass was set at 3...out of 10 lol. The bass sounded fine and balanced when straight strumming, but when my plam would even graze the strings, it would distort with this terrible noise which i am positive was coming from the speakers themselves. The volume of the amp was set at about 4 (which was still screamin loud). Anyways, I probably wont get to try it again for another week or so, but i'll will try turning the bass down to 2, as silly as it sounds :p

some form of pinched harmonics perhaps ?

Originally Posted by: iceandhotwaxsome form of pinched harmonics perhaps ?

Yeah... I'm interested to know how that would work too! haha.

What kinda guitar are you using?
Sounds like it might just be massive feedback from unshielded pickups.

Originally Posted by: schmangeWhat kinda guitar are you using?
Sounds like it might just be massive feedback from unshielded pickups.

Carvin DC 127....Ducan and Dimarzio pickups. I dont think its feedback. Sounds more like the speakers are having trouble handling certain low frequencies. But like i said, I do not know. Whatever it is, it shouldnt be doing it.

Is there anyway you can make a small recording of this noise? This would help alot with regard to troubleshooting your speakers.

I agree with the advice Schmange gave in regard to checking your pick-ups as well. If the coils wound into your pick-ups become free to vibrate, a noise results. That noise runs through your amp and out it's speakers. The resulting soundwaves interact with your pick-up. Potted pick-ups can lose their effectiveness as the wax can deteriorate over time, even the covers can lose that snug fit they originally contained. It's worth checking out.
Good cables are a must for noise reduction as well.

One other thing you could check out is a possible Ground-Loop. Try different Outlets in search for a isolated circuit with a full 120v current needed for most Amps in North America (A lot of recent players have plugged into 120v and fryed their Vintage Amps because in the 60's the US Standard current was 110v and they didn't know the older amp needed to go through a Variac).
A looped circuit is where other componants (like a TV) also draw from the same amperage as your amp draws from and will cause interference.
Isolated Circuits are one of the most important specifications dedicated to the Recording Industry Today.

It sounds like you guys keep explaining how to eliminate feedback and noise and that is NOT the problem...it is a BOOM when I hit low power chords (especially palm muting). And I will attempt to get a sound clip of it as soon as I can.

Have you only had this problem playing in the same space? If so, it sounds like a standing wave kinda thing(boomy with odd order harmonics.) Similar to problems thay have setting up subwoofers. It may very well be the room and not the guitar or amp. I'd have someone play with the EQ and gain, while you're creating the problem. That will give you an idea what freq. and amplitude the problem is in. Good Luck!