Leslie bass notes are very faint or not coming through !

[Guest]

I have a Leslie type 122. I've recently been experiencing issues where the sound has been largely distorted & as if the organ wants to die. I took the initiative to replace the vacuum tubes (6550) and the quality of the higher end notes sounded better. But as i got ready to play the bass notes they just sounded horrible. Very unusual for what I'm used to hearing out of our church's Leslie. Clueless what the issue is but one suggestion i have gotten is that the bass speaker could be out.

[Brendon Wright]

Hi Jamaal, another thing could be the crossover, perhaps the caps are old?

[Sweet Pete]

My bass notes went missing when I blew up my speaker.Had it reconed good as new!
Guess I hit that old Jensen with too much power for the old paper,it sure sounded great just before it went!

It went like this.
Got the 251 Leslie,reconditioned the innards and amp.That poor old 15" just couldn't handle it.
Great news though,that old P15LL sounds best of this lot!

With the middle back panel removed and a flashlight one can check the paper surround from above and below the deck.
Just spin the rotor and look up.Easy to spot damaged paper without removing the speaker.
Follow back the bass speaker leads to the x-over.Unplug the speaker from the x-over.
Take a 1.5V dry cell battery and some test leads and check that speaker for 'movement'.Rubbing sound or no movement?
Means....repair or replace.

[Brendon Wright]

Ach, Pete's right!
I'll have to remember not to post when my brain's locked in the car with the icecream and the house keys... at the airport in another state.

There's no normal reason the capacitor in a crossover would burst, and in that extremely unlikely happenstance the result would be no bass at all, not horrible bass.

I'll recount the story some other time. (It was both fun and embarrassing.)