Peavey Nashville 400

[Nicholas Cox]

Bought a used Nashville 400 here on the forum a couple months ago. When I first plugged it in I noticed it had an unpleasant rattle. Told the guy about it and he did nothing. Haven’t messed with it much since but went to take it apart today and only now noticed it has an 8 ohm JBL D140F in it but the amp says 4 ohms. This is not a speaker that should be in this amp correct? Anybody else have issues with rattle on these? And any recommendations on 15” speaker that works well with the Nashville 400 if I have to replace this one?

Thanks,
Nick

[Nicholas Cox]

Also can anybody tell me the point of this piece. It just seems to add weight and I’m not sure if it’s purpose.

[Stew Crookes]

Also can anybody tell me the point of this piece. It just seems to add weight and I’m not sure if it’s purpose.

That’s a heat sink - it dissipates the heat to keep the components at a safe temperature - my knowledge ends there, someone more tech skilled could tell you if it needs to be so big or if you could even get away without one in certain situations but I suspect not

[Nicholas Cox]

Thanks Stew

[Steve Spitz]

It may help to isolate the following :
1 turn off the reverb. Does the noise stop ?
2.if you can, test the speaker using another amp, and check the amp using another speaker.

The piece you’re questioning is a heat sink. It uses those fins to dissipate heat. It needs to stay. It’s also not as heavy as it looks.

Can you test the speaker for the 8 vs 4 ohm issue ? Could be a recone, and I’ve also seen 8 ohm speakers read out around 6 or so.

There’s a zillion 15s people on the forum like, I’d do a search. I’d avoid a vintage speaker , which may not be rated for high output. I believe that’s why Peavey used the Black Widow.

I’m no electronics wiz, so I’d wait for someone smarter to weigh in before making any big moves.

Let us know how it works, best of luck!

[Nicholas Cox]

Thank you very much for all that info Steve. I just pulled the amp out of the cab and was going to test it with another speaker today. Good idea to test the JBL ohms.

[Dave Grafe]

The amp will be fine with an 8 ohm speaker, it allows you to add another 8 ohm extension speaker to get a 4 ohm load.

Don't mess with the heat sink, without it the amp will last minutes only, and re-installing it after even loosening it requires much more than just screwing it back on. There are no unnecessary parts in a Nashville 400 amp.

As mentioned above, test the speaker with another amp. A JBL D140f is a great steel guitar speaker with smoother, wider response i.e. higher highs and lower lows, and twice the volume per watt of most other guitar speakers. It is also rated for half the power the NV400 can deliver into 8 ohms so has most likely been thrashed. I suspect that is your problem, especially as you describe the issue as "a rattle" which is exactly what a loose voice coil sounds like.

Forum member Jeffrey Maxwell does outstanding JBL recones at a fair price, and the classic sounding original Peavey BW speakers are still to be found, that's a great combo if you clean it up.

[Nicholas Cox]

Took the amp out of the cabinet and plugged it into an Evans speaker and the rattle is gone so I suspect you’re correct Dave. Thanks for your reply. Good to know 8 ohm speaker would be fine in that amp.

[Dennis Detweiler]

I think I have a spare 1501 BW 4ohm in my closet. It's been there for several years. Works good. I think it's from the late 80's - early 90's. I can get it out and test it to make sure it works. However, I wouldn't have kept it and stored it if it wasn't working. They are heavy and shipping would probably not be cheap.

[Nicholas Cox]

Sending you a pm Dennis. Thanks

[Dave Grafe]

There you go

[Tim Whitlock]

Voice coli issues create a sort of fizzy buzzy sound. A rattle may be something loose in the cabinet or it may be something else in the room rattling. I was going crazy trying to track down a rattle in one of my amps. I finally tracked it down to a picture frame just above the amp that was rattling when I hit certain notes. Just a thought.

[Dennis Detweiler]

Yes, a room within a house can create different vibrations. I've been through that may times. Sometimes I thought my speaker cabinet developed a crack and a buzz. Eventually figured out it was something in the room vibrating. A stack of CD cases.

[Pat Chong]

Hi Nicholas,

Dave is right, adding an 8 ohm extention speaker would not only bring it down to 4 ohms, but also double your speaker area (making it louder, too).

Steve mentioned 8 ohm speakers reading 6 ohms. That's normal, because the speakers resistance rating is impedance instead of dc resistance. Testing for dc resistance will always give a lower reading.

.......Pat

[Colton Stokley]

Just bought a NV 400 too. Mine also sounded like it had rocks in it. It turned out to be the foam and dust + actual little tiny rocks behind the cone. Cleaned that out. Sprayed all the pots with contact cleaner. Made sure all the connections were good pushed dents out of the cone and now it sounds great.

Mine has a black widow though. Wouldnt think the same would happen to a JBL but maybe worth a check?