Breaking in a speaker.....questions...

[SheDoesntDoIt4Me]

How long does it take? How can it be accomplished (besides playing) I bought a vintage 30 and dont really care for the sound...the lows seem a little weird... But, will I like it better when its broke in? How much difference can I expect and whats the best way to break in? Thanks

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Breaking in a speaker.....questions...

I've picked up a few neat little tricks here on the board over the years.

1. Hook up the speaker to your home stereo. Place it face down on a towel, turn the volume up way up and leave the house for a few hours (or not). This will break in the speaker nicely and naturally,

2. Hook the speaker up to home stereo again, this time face up. Get some acetone and a small paint brush. As the speaker is playing, "paint" the glue edges at the edge of the speaker...round and round. This will loosen the joint where the paper cone is attached to the rim...and break it in. This is what ultimately happens thru use.

3. According to Lew, spray some fabric softner on it as it's playing. This will soften the tone as well.


Hell, you might try all three. Any of them will be faster than breaking it in while playing, unless you have an arena tour scheduled.

 

[SheDoesntDoIt4Me]

Re: Breaking in a speaker.....questions...

But, before I sell it, Will its tone change enough that I may like it? How much different do they get.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Breaking in a speaker.....questions...

A speakers tone can change significantly from being brand new to being broken in. Think of the way you need to strech and break in strings. I would honestly try hooking it up to your stereo and running a good bit of volume thru it for 7-8 hours. That way there is no possibility of damaging or discoloring the cone by using acetone or fabric softner.

Then plug it back into your amp and see what you think. I'd bet you'll find the before and after sound quite noticable. If not, you haven't hurt anything by blasting some tunes thru the speaker, and you can sell it....knowing that it's not the speaker for you. It is possible that the V30 is just not what your ears like, although it's a pretty smooth speaker.

 

[Hellion]

Re: Breaking in a speaker.....questions...

I've never taken the time to break them in.