Tubes & Speaker Break In

[Lucid_Lunatic]

Awhile back I put a pair of Celestion V30's in my Marshall 4x12. I havn't played it over much over an hour at gigging levels. Does playing at lower volume level still break in the speaker? If not how many hours does it normally take to break in the V-30's?

Another question, I have the stock tubes in my amp. They are still like new as I seldom play the DSL at gigging levels anyways, so there is no real need to replace them. I was wondering, will a set of something like the JJ's or Winged C Svetlanas improve the tone of the amp enough to justify replacing perfectly good stock tubes, or would you just wait til the tubes need replacing?


Thanks

 

[Rowan]

Re: Tubes & Speaker Break In

If you're happy with your tone then don't fix whats broke. But I must admit that every amp I've owned has improved in some way with aftermarket tubes, sometimes dramatically.

 

[Karmadog777]

Re: Tubes & Speaker Break In

Speaker Break-in recommended by celestion http://professional.celestion.com/guitar/features/drdecibel/index.asp
I think your good to go

incase you didnt see breaking- in speakers in the dropdown list...or you dont care to navigate away ..... Dr. Decible says ...
"" How do I break in my speakers?

Important Note! Before breaking it in it's advisable to "warm up" the speaker gently for a few minutes with low-level playing or background hum.

Break in a speaker with a fat, clean tone: turn up the power amp volume to full, and control the level with the preamp gain. Use a level that will be quite loud, but not painful in a normal size room.

Have the bass and mid up full, and the treble at least half. On your guitar, use the middle pick up position (if your guitar has more than one pick up) and play for 10-15 minutes using lots of open chords, and chunky percussive playing. This will get the cone moving, and should excite all the cone modes and get everything to settle in nicely. The speaker will continue to mature over the years, but this will get it 95% of the way to tonal perfection in the shortest time. ""

 

[ksmith63]

Re: Tubes & Speaker Break In

I've been playing music though my v30 lately to break it in and I may try the celestion thing. Had it for some time in my iso cab but never used it enough because it sounds brittle. Hopefully it will sound much better when broken in.


My amp came with =c= tubes so aftermarket ones weren't better, just different

 

[Stevo]

Re: Tubes & Speaker Break In

In my experience, speakers usually give you a better tone improvement/change than power tubes - but it all adds up.

The speaker break-in idea is definitely significant. I have never been very nice to my speakers during break-in, but I have definitely noticed a difference after a few hours of loud playing.

Hopefully the v30 works out for you after some break-in time. I did try one out but that sound was not for me. I know it works well for many people though. There was a lot of hype about that speaker 3-4 years ago.

 

[Lucid_Lunatic]

Re: Tubes & Speaker Break In

Speaker Break-in recommended by celestion http://professional.celestion.com/guitar/features/drdecibel/index.asp
I think your good to go

incase you didnt see breaking- in speakers in the dropdown list...or you dont care to navigate away ..... Dr. Decible says ...
"" How do I break in my speakers?

Important Note! Before breaking it in it's advisable to "warm up" the speaker gently for a few minutes with low-level playing or background hum.

Break in a speaker with a fat, clean tone: turn up the power amp volume to full, and control the level with the preamp gain. Use a level that will be quite loud, but not painful in a normal size room.

Have the bass and mid up full, and the treble at least half. On your guitar, use the middle pick up position (if your guitar has more than one pick up) and play for 10-15 minutes using lots of open chords, and chunky percussive playing. This will get the cone moving, and should excite all the cone modes and get everything to settle in nicely. The speaker will continue to mature over the years, but this will get it 95% of the way to tonal perfection in the shortest time. ""

Awesome! Thanks for the post!

 

[Buckeyedog]

Re: Tubes & Speaker Break In

I always try swapping/changing around pre amp tubes. It's just too darn fun and they are cheap!! I've also had really good luck with a 5751 in the PI slot with my old Marshall DSL. Smoothed it out a bit and made it a bit fatter. The new Tung Sol reissue's are good as well, but PLEASE get them from a reputable dealer like Doug at dougs tubes or Mike at kcanostubes. There have been bad batches even recently. The cheaper chinese also seem to work well with Marshalls. I like a TS in V1 and chinese for the rest and maybe a 5751 for the PI slot.What kind of power tubes do you have? You should always have a backup pair/quad just in case anyhow. The Winged C's are tough to beat in a Marshall. I've also had good luck with Ruby EL34s as well. I don't normally care for JJ pre amp tubes, but have had good luck with their power tubes.

As far as speaker break in, yes you need some volume for a while for those 30's to break in. You can play and they will break in at low volumes, it will just take much longer. The Celestion instructions above will most definitely help.

 

[DonP]

Re: Tubes & Speaker Break In

I've had my DSL100 since 1998 and haven't changed tubes except for one tube that died after less than a month.

My Marshall came with Svet Winged C's, so if you hadn't changed them that's what should be in there.

Did you try an X pattern of V30's and 75s? (assuming you have a 4x12) I have 75s and I'm thinking of getting a pair of V30s for the X pattern. If so, let us know how the change in tone sounded.

 

[Thermionik]

Re: Tubes & Speaker Break In

Don't worry about breaking stuff in - just get on and play.
Soon they will be broken in just because you are playing them regularly.
Then they will sound tired because you have been playing too long.
Man - it's all dick. Just play the durned thing and enjoy it.....

:wall:

All the time it sounds good - play it.
Soon as it starts to sound bad - change something.
Too much obsessing with tone, not enough just playing music.

 

[trevorus]

Re: Tubes & Speaker Break In

I did notice a difference when I did that "break in" thing on my Vox. Playing the same rig with the same settings in the same venue sounded better and less harsh in the high mids. It worked for me. I have a Vintage 30 and the stock Vox/Wharfedale. Good combo, really!

 

[J Moose]

Re: Tubes & Speaker Break In

I break speakers in at a moderate volume with a CD player in repeat... set that up and let it run for a day or so. Doesn't matter if its guitar speakers or PA speakers... same process. To really get the spiders out they need volume... and several hours worth.

Power tubes don't have as much impact at lower volumes... preamp tubes will make a far larger difference. I also haven't put any time in swapping tubes on a DSL, but with the 900s, or at least the ones I've mucked with the power tubes don't have as much of an impact as say, a JMP or something where the differences are much more dramatic.