Speaker cable fell out of my Rockerverb

[Teaboy]

I was moving my cabinet around at a rehearsal and the speaker cable fell out whilst my Rockerverb 100 was on standby. I didn't notice so I switched on the amp and then couldn't figure out why there was no sound for a minute or so.

Is this likely to have done any damage? As far as I can tell the amp still sounds the same.

[a.hun]

If the amp seems normal you are probably alright. But yes trying to play through a valve amp with the speaker disconnected can cause amp damage. (Solid state amps don't usually mind, but valve amps are different.)

Usually there either is output transformer damage or there isn't, and you should be able to notice from the amps performance. Partical damage is possible but unlikely.

Lesson is to always ALWAYS check the speaker connection before powering your amp up. If you don't get sound when you expect to then stop playing and switch the amp IMMEDIATELY to standby before checking all connections starting with the speaker. It isn't automatic that you'll blow things but if an amp is putting out significant power into fresh air with no speaker connected than the chance of sudden expensive damage is very real.


Andy.

[fiveightandten]

You can leave the amp on standby all day long without a speaker cable connected and it won't harm it. It's when signal is passing through that you're doing damage.

Unless you were strumming constantly with the amp turned up to a high volume for that duration of time, I wouldn't worry about it. You should be fine. If you notice any volume drops, start to worry.

-Nick