Running In Speakers

gubble

Hello

My new 2x12 cab arrived this morning from Thomann (ordered monday, arrived wednesday - bonkers fast delivery from Germany).

I'm gigging the cab on saturday and wondered do you need to run new speakers in before giving them a good blast at a gig?

Cirrus

Celestion suggests playing for 10-15 minutes with a clean moderate volume bassy tone to loosen up the cone a bit when you get a new speaker.

Personally, I don't think it matters - I'd be happy to just crank an amp into them from new, though I would expect the sound to change noticeably over the first few hours of use.

ICBM

You don't need to run in new speakers in terms of protecting them, no. They do definitely break-in soundwise though - some models much more than others. (And some other types of speaker probably not at all.)

I would at least try it at louder volume before the gig, though - just in case of problems which you might not be able to spot at low volume (voice coil rub or cabinet buzz, which can sometimes be caused by rough handling in shipping), and to make sure it sounds the way you expect!

gubble

Thank you guys - much appreciated

steamabacus

I watched this interesting vid demonstrating speaker break-in yesterday ...

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

ICBM

That really is a very good demo - and that's with three speakers which I don't think are among the most affected by break-in.

It would be interesting to hear him do the same with a V30 or a G12T-75...

ThePrettyDamned

That's quite an interesting video.

But it just made me want an iso cab and a mesa

karltone

Any new speakers i buy, i connect them to the filament tap on a mains transformer for several hours to break them in. Its good to go out for the day especially if you have wooden floors 50 Hz can get annoying after 5 mins!

Cirrus

Woo Karltone is here!  >:D<

57Deluxe

Tricky prob...

Catthan

 I plug the cab into my ipod and play a noise signal while I'm out. 

You can read about this on the web. 

there are 2 opinions iirc, 1 is to play a bassy noise (don't remember the frequency but it can make you feel sick if you're in the room) and the other is another frequency that supposedly is more even across the spectrum (a loud hiss like old broken TVs). These mp3 files are downloadable. 

Lots to read about this in audio forums. The difference with gtr is the speaker's response to chunky loud chords compared to a constant and uniform noise signal but imho it's better than nothing and is smth you can do while you're away. 

Cirrus

Catthan said:

 I plug the cab into my ipod and play a noise signal while I'm out. 

You can read about this on the web. 

there are 2 opinions iirc, 1 is to play a bassy noise (don't remember the frequency but it can make you feel sick if you're in the room) and the other is another frequency that supposedly is more even across the spectrum (a loud hiss like old broken TVs). These mp3 files are downloadable. 

The hiss is White Noise - it contains basically an even blend of all frequencies, with an equal amount of energy (volume) in all octaves.

Personally, since I think speaker break in is caused by a softening of the speaker edge, doping, suspension -basically everything that physically resists the movement of the cone backwards and forwards - then all that matters is that you make the cone physically move as much as possible to achieve that. That means the lower and louder the better (up to the point you blow it lol) - higher frequencies will just be loud and annoying and not move the cone as much.

Of couse, I'm also a believer in just playing it and enjoying it as it starts to sound better, rather than doing elaborate rituals. 

not_the_dj

I've got a new cab arriving this week, and a gig on Saturday....but won't be able to crank it loud till then, so is there any benefit in trying to break it in at "moderate" volumes?

Is it worth me using a looper pedal and leaving it chugging away for an hour or so (until the neighbours get home).

(I've got a Micro Pog so I could loop an octave under my low E and leave that going).

steamabacus

not_the_dj said:

I've got a new cab arriving this week, and a gig on Saturday....but won't be able to crank it loud till then, so is there any benefit on trying to break it in at "moderate" volumes?

Is it worth me using a looper pedal and leaving it chugging away for an hour or so (until the neighbours get home).

(I've got a Micro Pog so I could loop an octave under my low E and leave that going).

That's exactly what the Gear Gossip guy above did - although for 5 hours at volume (in an isolation cab). It certainly wouldn't hurt to run a looper at moderate volume for a couple of hours.

not_the_dj

Nothing to lose, so I'll give it a go. Must admit I've not watched the vid you linked. Cheers.