Doping....

[zozoe]

Greetings,,, I'd like to perform some light doping to some speakers, & wanted to know if one could use GE Silicone applied sparingly with my pinky? Or is Corona Dope any better? I've had good results with the silicone to repair small rips & moth holes on very old cones....
thnx

 

[Securb]

I have heard of people using everything from rubber cement, silicone, carpenters glue to Corona Dope. Doping will definitely change the tone and sensitivity of the speaker. If silicone is working for you, I would continue to use it. Just remember the less you use and the more flexible the substance you are using, the less dramatic the change in tone.

 

[GuitarDoc]

I've heard of using lacquer thinned down considerably. I imagine that it might make the tone a bit brighter?
I also imagine that using silicone will dull the tone and lower the sensitivity, even used sparingly.

Somebody clue me in on this, it's new to me.

 

[Securb]

It really depends on how much material is being used. If someone is trying to fix a large tear they are better off reconing. The change in the sound and performance will be dramatic the more of the surface of the speaker that is doped the more dramatic the change, but sometimes a desired effect. In fixing a small tear or puncture so it doesn't continue to get worse, the change in tone most likely will not be audible to the human ear. If the goal is to dope the entire ring around the cone the result will be a tighter-sounding more modern-sounding speaker.

The problem with lacquer is it dries hard and is likely to crack and fail with the movement of the speaker. It is better to use a substance with more flexible properties.

 

[GuitarDoc]

I was thinking more of the paper cone itself rather than the ring.

 

[ICTGoober]

Shellac or lacquer should stiffen the cone. Have you seen Johan Segeborn's video experiments on YT? He has a recent one using clear packing tape on the cone.

 

[Demanic]

I would almost think that some sort of wipe on poly, thinned out and applied with multiple coats, might be the best. It's stiffer than silicone but more flexible than lacquer.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

This is an idea I've been curious about for a long time.
If anyone here tries it, please post a description - both the process/materials you chose, and the results.

 

[Securb]

I have fixed small tears and punctures but never doped an entire speaker. From what I understand, doping the entire ring or speaker aims to tighten up the sound of vintage-sounding speakers. It removes that raw "papery" sound and eliminates ghost notes and unwanted overtones. The goal is to give the speaker a more modern sound. One byproduct is that the speaker travel is slightly impaired, and the sensitivity drops slightly. My Excelsior has that raw sound but does not suffer from ghost notes, and it is a desirable tone by design.

 

[Ewizard]

I've doped some speakers before using Elmer's glue. The same stuff we used as kids at school. You can add water to it to thin it out.