Will distortion hurt my Session 400 w/ BW?

Travis Bernhardt · Post by **Travis Bernhardt** » 30 May 2004 2:47 pm

I've been playing it clean and using my other amp for distortion, but in the case that I wanted to stick a pedal in front of it, or something, is it possible to do damage to an amp (particularly the speaker, I would imagine) which isn't designed with distortion in mind?

-Travis

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 30 May 2004 4:02 pm

I don't see why it would..it's not the amp distorting..the signal is distorted before the preamp..

I sometimes put a stomp box on my Tele or Strat with my Nashville 1000 so far all that happened was it was real loud !

I think the main issue is how much overall volume you are pushing and can a single speaker deal with it.

t

Ron Sodos · Post by **Ron Sodos** » 30 May 2004 11:02 pm

I was on the road with my session 400 for over 10 years playing 6 nights a week. I play steel most of the time and guitar on rock and blues tunes. I use a tube screamer at a pretty loud volume and very distorted when I play guitar. I had to replace the basket on the black widow twice. Not bad for 6 nights a week for over 10 yearts and weekends since then. I wouldn't worry about it..

[This message was edited by Ron Sodos on 31 May 2004 at 12:04 AM.]

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 31 May 2004 9:53 am

Distorted sounds, especially at high levels, are very hard on a speaker. This is because the overtones (complex frequencies) are so profuse.

A speaker (or an amp, for that matter) is exactly like any other mechanical or electrical device...the harder you push it - the sooner it will break.[This message was edited by Donny Hinson on 31 May 2004 at 10:54 AM.]

richard burton · Post by **richard burton** » 31 May 2004 10:58 am

If the speaker in the Session 400 is a 1501-4, it is specifically designed for steel guitar.It is not kevlar impregnated, unlike the Vegas speaker, which has to cope with lead guitar/fiddle etc, so be careful putting a stomp box in your line.
R B.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 31 May 2004 12:11 pm

kevlar impregnated ? what is that? a special treated cone paper ?

I have friends that have been playing 6 stringers thru Peavey N400's with BW 15's with stomp boxes , all sorts of front end stuff for years and the only issue they all dealt with was the overall volume may have been too much for the speaker.

What does the kevlar do ?

t

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 31 May 2004 12:43 pm

Makes it bullet proof?

Travis Bernhardt · Post by **Travis Bernhardt** » 31 May 2004 1:07 pm

Okay, so it seems like there shouldn't be a problem with the speaker getting damaged unless I play extremely loud and distorted for a long time. That's good to know. I'm curious though, about the difference (if any) between a "steel" speaker and a normal one...

-Travis

Stephen Gambrell · Post by **Stephen Gambrell** » 31 May 2004 1:57 pm

A Kevlar speaker...must be some rough joints over in Britain, too! Steel guitar SWAT team---"PUT DOWN THAT THUMBPICK, AND STEP AWAY FROM THE GUITAR!"

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 31 May 2004 5:15 pm

The Kevlar-reinforced cones and Kevlar formers are very durable. (Yes, that's the same stuff they make bulletproof vests out of!) This pretty much puts an end to cone failure, but it doesn't do anything for the tinsel-lead breaking problem, the voice-coil burnout problem, or the diaphragm (dust cover) loosening problem.

Steel speakers are voiced (weighted) more for lower frequencies. Straight guitar players aren't concerned with nice round lows like we are, they'd rather have strong mids and screaming highs.

Jonathan Cullifer · Post by **Jonathan Cullifer** » 1 Jun 2004 4:29 am

The frequency response on a steel speaker is good over a huge range. A steel can play almost as low as a bass and much higher than a six-string.

I occasionally run a little distortion through my amps for playing here at home. Low volume, though, and low distortion. Not too hard on the amp.

Mike Brown · Post by **Mike Brown** » 1 Jun 2004 6:51 am

The Kevlar impregnated cone is more durable and can better handle erratic distortion signals. In most cases, steel guitar signals are smooth with no distortion. The paper cone of the Peavey 1501-4 ohm shallow basket Black Widow sounds better for steel guitar applications.

Kevlar speakers are used for high powered concert speakers and other instrument speaker designs.

Mike Brown
Peavey Electronics Corporation

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 3 Jun 2004 12:43 pm

IMHO you WILL damage your session 400 and/or BW speaker if you play it so loud that there is audible distortion with no help from a stomp box. That's loud, and transistor amps can do nasty things when pushed to the limit of their rated power (which is what you would need to hear any distortion from this amp)>

But I really don't believe you will damage the amp simply by using a distortion pedal.