Breaking in speakers....

simonbeckwith

.....what's the best way to break in brand new speakers?

ICBM

Turn the amp up and play them for a bit .

TheMarlin

A lot of USA west coast guys use the following 'speedy' method.  They mix a 50/50 solution of purified water and Febreze.  They think spray a fine mist of the solution on the speaker.  They don't saturate the speaker, just a light uniform misting.   They then allow it to dry thoroughly, then leave the amp in a basement (speaker side down to the floor) with an ipod plugged in, playing a mixture of rock, pop and dance music for the entire weekend - with as much volume as you can get away with. 

At the end of a weekend of playing, the speakers should be nicely broken in.

M.

randomhandclaps

ICBM said:

Turn the amp up and play them for a bit .

I would add that I find in the long term it's less hassle to break speakers in at a friends house.

photek

Take amp to rehearsal space, put in room next door, play something on a looper pedal and bugger off for a few hours. Thats what I do haha.

Doesn't work with creambacks though unfortunately

thermionic

photek said:

Take amp to rehearsal space, put in room next door, play something on a looper pedal and bugger off for a few hours. Thats what I do haha.

Leave your new acoustic guitar leaning against it, to break that in as well.

danban

Doesn't work with creambacks in what way?

photek

danban said:

Doesn't work with creambacks in what way?

I missed off the winking smiley. Simon has just got a new amp with a pair of creambacks.

vasselmeyer

Does "breaking in" speakers actually make any difference?

ICBM

vasselmeyer said:

Does "breaking in" speakers actually make any difference?

Yes. Quite easily provable.

Although it does vary a lot between different speakers - some need it much more than others. It seems to depend mostly on the stiffness of the edge surround and whether it's doped. V30s are a good example of ones that show very noticeable break-in, and they have a heavily doped surround.

steamabacus

vasselmeyer said:

Does "breaking in" speakers actually make any difference?

Listen for yourself....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlS_k4niVMs

Maynehead

The speaker will break in naturally if you rehearse regularly at gig volumes, however if it's for home playing then you can put it face down on the floor, pack it well with a few duvets, turn up the volume and play on the clean channel with the neck pickup for about 30 mins. Play mostly open chords interspersed with some muted staccatos. This will ensure maximum movement of the speaker cone.

That's what I did anyway.

ICBM

Maynehead said:

The speaker will break in naturally if you rehearse regularly at gig volumes, however if it's for home playing then you can put it face down on the floor, pack it well with a few duvets, turn up the volume and play on the clean channel with the neck pickup for about 30 mins. Play mostly open chords interspersed with some muted staccatos. This will ensure maximum movement of the speaker cone.

No, it could do the opposite - with the speaker not loaded into a baffle, face down on a flat surface and with the back damped with soft material, you will be reducing the cone movement. Be careful. If you restrict the cone movement too much and the amp power is a significant fraction of the speaker rating (probably anything over half), you could blow it.

simonbeckwith

I like the play loud approach, good job my neighbour is deaf as a post!!

danban

I'm afraid I was the helpful influence on Simons new amp lol

simonbeckwith

We now have matching amps bahahahahaaaa!

Maynehead

ICBM said:

Maynehead said:

The speaker will break in naturally if you rehearse regularly at gig volumes, however if it's for home playing then you can put it face down on the floor, pack it well with a few duvets, turn up the volume and play on the clean channel with the neck pickup for about 30 mins. Play mostly open chords interspersed with some muted staccatos. This will ensure maximum movement of the speaker cone.

No, it could do the opposite - with the speaker not loaded into a baffle, face down on a flat surface and with the back damped with soft material, you will be reducing the cone movement. Be careful. If you restrict the cone movement too much and the amp power is a significant fraction of the speaker rating (probably anything over half), you could blow it.

Probably prudent advice. I actually broken mine in at practice and didn't use any duvets. I just faced my 2x12 cab down on the floor but made sure there's breathing space between the cab and the floor.

I just added the duvet off the cuff for home breaking...

midlifecrisis

surely the speaker gets broken in within a couple of gigs or rhearsals, why bother trying to pre empt it.

photek

midlifecrisis said:

surely the speaker gets broken in within a couple of gigs or rhearsals, why bother trying to pre empt it.

Not really. It takes V30 about 20 hours to get to a nicely bedded in sound in my experience. G12H30's closer to 100! 

Rocker

For hi-fi speakers, place them close together with the drivers facing each other. Wire them as normal but out of phase. Play for a few days....

karltone

I connect them to the filament wiring on a transformer (6.3v) and give them at least several hours with a few breaks in between to bed them in a bit.