Fun with speakon

January 30, 2011 4:04 PM

I've managed to put a speakon cable into to my bass amp upside down. I had no idea such a thing was even possible, but now it's stuck. Can I get it out myself or do I need a tech?
posted by Wolof to Technology (2 answers total)

I think about the only thing that you can try is solid but gentle pulling on the base of the plug. A thin blade or butter knife might help you to work it out as well - pry in a circle around the base.

If it is not removable in this way, I think you're looking at complete jack/plug replacement. Speakons are essentially one piece molded units and if the above doesn't work, I don't think that much else would.
posted by davey_darling at 4:41 PM on January 30, 2011

Wow. Did you manage to twist it in clockwise, or did you just jam it in and now just need to pull it straight out? If you just jammed it in wrong without twisting, pulling straight out should work.

If you need to twist, be firm and consistent. Looking on my speakon setup here, I don't think you can physically turn it the wrong way without cracking the plug, or the jack. You'd be able to see the deformation. If that's the case, it's probably not safe to use after extraction. Replace the cable, get the jack replaced.

In the end, you will have ruined the cable, the jack, or both by widening the narrow tab slot in the plug and/or squeezing down the wide tab on the plug. If you are careful...and are able to extract it with minimal damage...and if all the connections are still good, you're at more risk of plugging it in upside down again. If you're careful but unlucky, you're not going to get good positive connections out of that jack anymore, and have a hazard on your hands.

tl;dr: It will take the same force you used to jam that in upside down to get it out, and you'll likely want a new cable right away, and possibly a new jack installed down the road.
posted by graftole at 6:26 PM on January 30, 2011