Any way to break in a speaker?
Question:
I recently got a new Fender Blues Jr and it sounds very brittle and shrill. Despite having the tone knob down and the bass way up. A friend has said that the speaker will break in after about 40 hours of playing time. Is there anyway I can break it in quickly?
Response:
> I recently got a new Fender Blues Jr and it sounds very brittle and shrill. > Despite having the tone knob down and the bass way up. > A friend has said that the speaker will break in after about 40 hours of > playing time. Is there anyway I can break it in quickly?
Look at the letters section of webervst cb
Response:
>I recently got a new Fender Blues Jr and it sounds very brittle and shrill. >Despite having the tone knob down and the bass way up. >A friend has said that the speaker will break in after about 40 hours of >playing time. Is there anyway I can break it in quickly?
Do a Google advanced groups search of alt.guitar.amps for the phrase "need convenient way to break in speakers" Or cut and paste this link http://www.google.com/groups?as_epq=Need%20convenient%20way%20to%20br… -Scott McKnight
Response:
> I recently got a new Fender Blues Jr and it sounds very brittle and > shrill. Despite having the tone knob down and the bass way up. > A friend has said that the speaker will break in after about 40 hours > of playing time. Is there anyway I can break it in quickly?
Jam a screwdriver in it. Now its broken. 
Response:
>I recently got a new Fender Blues Jr and it sounds very brittle and shrill. >Despite having the tone knob down and the bass way up. >A friend has said that the speaker will break in after about 40 hours of >playing time. Is there anyway I can break it in quickly?
The break in won’t really change the sound a whole lot… it mostly allows the speaker to play bass notes better and smoother… but it sounds to me like you will want a much bigger difference… The speaker can be broken in by !! disconnecting !! it from the amp and running it from an AC doorbell transformer for a day, you can use this formula to find the power: P = V^2 / R So if you have a 12 volt transformer and an 8 ohm speaker, it would be: P = 144 / 8 = 18 watts If the speaker can take at least 25 watts you could do this… but it’s gonna be LOUD!! Where you gonna put it? LOL!! If I were you I’d try other speakers with the amp to make sure the speaker is the source of the problem…
Response:
> Jam a screwdriver in it. Now its broken. >
Yes, Ms Hendrix 
Pete
Response:
record your self playing guitar with your computer and then play it back through the amp looped
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I recently got a new Fender Blues Jr and it sounds very brittle and shrill. > Despite having the tone knob down and the bass way up. > A friend has said that the speaker will break in after about 40 hours of > playing time. Is there anyway I can break it in quickly?
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->I recently got a new Fender Blues Jr and it sounds very brittle and shrill. >Despite having the tone knob down and the bass way up. >A friend has said that the speaker will break in after about 40 hours of >playing time. Is there anyway I can break it in quickly? > The break in won’t really change the sound a whole lot… it mostly allows the speaker to play bass notes better and > smoother… but it sounds to me like you will want a much bigger difference… > The speaker can be broken in by !! disconnecting !! it from the amp and running it from an AC doorbell transformer for > a day, you can use this formula to find the power: > P = V^2 / R > So if you have a 12 volt transformer and an 8 ohm speaker, it would be: > P = 144 / 8 = 18 watts > If the speaker can take at least 25 watts you could do this… but it’s gonna be LOUD!! Where you gonna put it? LOL!! > If I were you I’d try other speakers with the amp to make sure the speaker is the source of the problem…
You’d have to make sure that the 12V supply is rated at at least 1.5 amps. Personally, I probably would not exceed 1/2 the speakers maximum rated. This is the DEFINITION of continuous power, and voice coils can heat up. The other issue is the fact that you are running it at a very low frequency, 60Hz, below the Fs. I don’t know whether or not this can be a concern for damage, but that cone will be bouncing! I have some audio test CD’s that have narrow band pink noise, which may be a much better option.
Response:
>> Jam a screwdriver in it. Now its broken. > > Yes, Ms Hendrix
Thankya, thankya. And for my next trick, watch me pull a rabbit outa my hat!!
Response:
>>> Jam a screwdriver in it. Now its broken. >> > Yes, Ms Hendrix >Thankya, thankya. And for my next trick, watch me pull a rabbit outa my >hat!!
But that trick never works. — Now you know why I used the qualifier "practically" –Bender
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> >I recently got a new Fender Blues Jr and it sounds very brittle and shrill. > >Despite having the tone knob down and the bass way up. > >A friend has said that the speaker will break in after about 40 hours of > >playing time. Is there anyway I can break it in quickly? > The break in won’t really change the sound a whole lot… it mostly allows the speaker to play bass notes better and > smoother… but it sounds to me like you will want a much bigger difference… > The speaker can be broken in by !! disconnecting !! it from the amp and running it from an AC doorbell transformer for > a day, you can use this formula to find the power: > P = V^2 / R > So if you have a 12 volt transformer and an 8 ohm speaker, it would be: > P = 144 / 8 = 18 watts > If the speaker can take at least 25 watts you could do this… but it’s gonna be LOUD!! Where you gonna put it? LOL!! > If I were you I’d try other speakers with the amp to make sure the speaker is the source of the problem… >You’d have to make sure that the 12V supply is rated at at least 1.5 amps. Personally, I probably would not exceed 1/2 the >speakers maximum rated. This is the DEFINITION of continuous power, and voice coils can heat up.
It’s hard to say sometimes what the manufacturer means when he rates power… sometimes it’s just bullshit! Doorbell transformers are pretty rugged, and if it can’t supply all the power it will self limit… a good guitar speaker should take its rated power with no problem. Anyway, I kind of hinted that he may want a bigger change in the sound then just a lower FS in the speaker… >The other issue is the fact that you are running it at a very low frequency, 60Hz, below the Fs. I don’t know whether or >not this can be a concern for damage, but that cone will be bouncing!
Thats kind of the idea… he wants to break it in… you got to draw blood! > I have some audio test CD’s that have narrow band >pink noise, which may be a much better option.
Probably would have no effect… the movement of the cone may not be much with pink noise… it may take a month to wear in… I have some EVM15Ls that are about 10hz lower in resonance from when they were new… they took a long time to change, I never played a bass thru them…
Response:
Evening, I ran-in two Eminence GB12,s and they responded well to the treatment. http://www.ncable.com.au/~tony.r/Cabinet_Page.html A bit of punishment wont hurt them at all. tony.r
Response:
> >I recently got a new Fender Blues Jr and it sounds very brittle and shrill. > >Despite having the tone knob down and the bass way up. > >A friend has said that the speaker will break in after about 40 hours of > >playing time. Is there anyway I can break it in quickly? > The break in won’t really change the sound a whole lot… it mostly
allows the speaker to play bass notes better and > smoother… but it sounds to me like you will want a much bigger difference… > The speaker can be broken in by !! disconnecting !! it from the amp and
running it from an AC doorbell transformer for > a day, you can use this formula to find the power: > P = V^2 / R > So if you have a 12 volt transformer and an 8 ohm speaker, it would be: > P = 144 / 8 = 18 watts > If the speaker can take at least 25 watts you could do this… but it’s
gonna be LOUD!! Where you gonna put it? LOL!! > If I were you I’d try other speakers with the amp to make sure the
speaker is the source of the problem… > You’d have to make sure that the 12V supply is rated at at least 1.5 amps.
Personally, I probably would not exceed 1/2 the > speakers maximum rated. This is the DEFINITION of continuous power, and
voice coils can heat up. No kidding. Seeing as ALL guitar speakers are under 10% efficiency, that’s at least 90% heat! > The other issue is the fact that you are running it at a very low
frequency, 60Hz, below the Fs. I don’t know whether or > not this can be a concern for damage, but that cone will be bouncing! I
have some audio test CD’s that have narrow band > pink noise, which may be a much better option.
under 1/4 power I’d be guessing that it’s going to break the speaker in a bit quicker… Pink noise sounds good though (pardon the pun) cb – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –
Response:
>>> Jam a screwdriver in it. Now its broken. >> > Yes, Ms Hendrix >Thankya, thankya. And for my next trick, watch me pull a rabbit outa my >hat!!
Do not, repeat, DO NOT put the hat back on after you pull out the rabbit. Texas Pete
Response:
> Jam a screwdriver in it. Now its broken. >
My kind of girl! After many dozens of "spkr breakins" I’ve concluded it’s all a waste of time, slightly diluted with a little truth and a lot of snake oil. Sure, most spkrs have stiffer spiders & cone suspensions when new. But running then at one freq like 60hz, at any power level, seldom does the deed, though it seems to help in the tiniest way. The vibration & movement patterns of a guitar signal on a spkr cone ass’y are complex and also differ with every possible combination of spkr design. Only real playing makes things respond like real playing. Some spkrs also hardly "break in" at all and are what they are as-new, while others do benefit from playing-in. But I believe the degree of the latter is much over-estimated. I’ve "broken in" spkrs at 60hz, 400hz and 1khz (the latter a real noise problem), and some at all three, with no noteable difference in results. The chief accomplishment in all cases, was temporarily harassing the rodent population in the roof space above the impervious shop ceiling (it’s a 40′ shipping container converted to a building, and rodents love to destroy the external insulation). As for 60hz, it takes 1/2 the rated RMS power or more to do much – if much is even in the offing. A 12vac doorbell xfmr won’t do dogshit on most spkrs because the real-life current drain is high enough to drag the voltage ‘way down below the needed power, as anyone who ever broke in a spkr on 60hz & measured what was going on would know. Once can even connect up to one’s 5 amp 120vac Variac through a 100w bulb, and still have to crank it halfway up to obtain (say) 25w into a 50w/8z typical guitar amp spkr, and this is the easiest practical setup. Also, if you stick around and monitor its temp, you’ll see that the "1/2 RMS rating" is very conservative and that most spkrs (at least the ceramics with bigger mags) can take almost full power at 60hz for 12 hrs with no significant heating-up. The only way you know you’ve gotten anywhere, it that it’s a little louder at the end of this routine than the beginning, and even that is easy to misjudge on the over-optimistic side. If someone has a good acoustic DB meter maybe they can check this out for themselves. It will almost always still do most of its changing, if any is going to happen, after being installed & worked at not-timid volumes. And after about 3-4 hours of thrashing – about what one typical gig provides – it’s done whatever it’s going to do in any significant sense, in most cases. I’ve come to see it all as unnecessary & don’t bother with hooking 60hz to spkrs anymore, except to help test for v/c rubs etc. YMMV. I’d rather focus on the basics of installing correctly (perfectly plane & clean baffleboard circumference, careful gasket seating, 5 in/lb torque in 3 stages with the correct tool & the right washers, mechanically-integral solder joints or tight spade clips), and be done with it. A lot, but not all, of what you hear as a spkr "breaks in", is your own ears getting used to how it responds. But I’d be happy to build you a Professional Speaker Break-In Controller with autotransformer, isolation transformer, pilot, fuse, 2 switchable bulb dummies and pin jacks for your DMM, cased in acoustically-superior old-growth Maine White Pine and Tweed-covered, as seen in Guitar Payer issue #69, for only $1,795 plus shipping. Supplies are short, so order quickly or miss out.
Response:
45972.news.uni-berlin.de: > I recently got a new Fender Blues Jr and it sounds very brittle and shrill. > Despite having the tone knob down and the bass way up. > A friend has said that the speaker will break in after about 40 hours of > playing time. Is there anyway I can break it in quickly?
The only way to make an Eminence/Fender Special Design speaker sound good is to use it as a doorstop. Install a Celestion Vintage 30 in your BJ. — TOMMY HOMICIDE http://www.tommyhomicide.com
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hammer
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> >> Jam a screwdriver in it. Now its broken. >> > Yes, Ms Hendrix > Thankya, thankya. And for my next trick, watch me pull a rabbit outa my > hat!!
That brings to mind a story. I was in a band that rehearsed in a barn once. One time birds flew out of my Marshall cabs at the start of one of the more heavier numbers. We kept laughing and had to do the tune again after a few beers. How did those birds get in there? That was the mystery.
Response:
> record your self playing guitar with your computer and then play it back > through the amp looped
LOL
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