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Post by jeffmp on Dec 31, 2018 8:45:54 GMT -7
How can i speed this up? Big time speed it up? I have a new cab coming (EMS head and matching cab),and i know it will be a long wait to see the true color of the spk/cab personality! Please be specific. Thanks,Jeff I've heard of hooking up something and letting it run?overnight? Over the weekend? What does it take?
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Post by juanka78 on Dec 31, 2018 11:44:34 GMT -7
Usually 40/50 hours are enough for any speaker. If you can let it run with “big bass music” you can speed up the process😉
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Post by daddyelmis (Greg) on Dec 31, 2018 13:27:59 GMT -7
The Celestion site has a process where you play a lot of full barre chords for a while. I know guys that have pumped heavy bass music (metal, rap, edm) through the amp for a day or so. Your neighbors won’t like it so using some blankets as covers and laying the amp face down on carpet is a good idea (don’t cover the chassis so it doesn’t get too hot).
You basically want to make the speaker move through it’s physical range to loosen it up a bit.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Dec 31, 2018 14:19:26 GMT -7
I follow that process on the Celestion site but I run it into a looper and let it go for an hour or so, let it cool off and do it again. Works like a charm and you don't have to hear a real loud amp playing the same chords over and over. I usually back another cab up to both sides of the one that I'm breaking in to absorb some sound. It also benefits the other speakers by moving them without power. Just don't over do it. What you don't want is to run continuous power into the speaker and overheat the voice coil.
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Post by goodez on Dec 31, 2018 15:16:29 GMT -7
iPod/IPad with Pandora. Throw some heavy bass music in there (rap) lay the cab on a carpeted floor, throw some blankets over it and run the head outside of a closet for a few hours at a time (keep a fan on). If able hook the cab up to a cheap amp that you don’t have to be concerned about burning tubes up. I actually did this the last several days with a new 10” gold speaker and quickly racked up 15 hours on it.
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Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Dec 31, 2018 15:46:13 GMT -7
Hammer it with a variac. Take it out if the cabinet first and lay it face up on the carpet or padded surface. Refer to the Weber speaker site for proper voltage for your speaker wattage.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2018 16:21:13 GMT -7
Total non subscriber to the break in thing.
It's not like the brand new speaker is going to sound awful. The break in thing is a percentage, a small percentage difference. Play your new rig and enjoy it as it gets even better through your own playing.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Dec 31, 2018 16:22:21 GMT -7
Hammer it with a variac. Take it out if the cabinet first and lay it face up on the carpet or padded surface. Refer to the Weber speaker site for proper voltage for your speaker wattage. It works, but don't over do it! I wrecked the surround on an Eminence RamRod. I've never seen a failure like it, an amp I sold to Captainron here had the surround separate about halfway around the outer edge of the speaker. Never saw anything like it, but I ran that speaker for three days on a variac, at a little under the recommended voltage.
Just sayin'...I'm never going to use that method again. It tends to heat up the voice coil and magnet structure, since you're sending a steady signal to the driver that never gives it a rest. It just runs at 60Hz for however long you do it.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Dec 31, 2018 16:25:00 GMT -7
Total non subscriber to the break in thing. It's not like the brand new speaker is going to sound awful. The break in thing is a percentage, a small percentage difference. Play your new rig and enjoy it as it gets even better through your own playing. After the experience I documented above, I'm leanin' toward your view, Eric. I do think it won't hurt to bang it for an hour or so but...I'm beginning to doubt it's worth the risk.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2018 16:34:13 GMT -7
Total non subscriber to the break in thing. It's not like the brand new speaker is going to sound awful. The break in thing is a percentage, a small percentage difference. Play your new rig and enjoy it as it gets even better through your own playing. After the experience I documented above, I'm leanin' toward your view, Eric. I do think it won't hurt to bang it for an hour or so but...I'm beginning to doubt it's worth the risk. Yeah, use it! Play guitar through it! Happy New Year!
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Post by GuitarZ on Dec 31, 2018 16:58:11 GMT -7
I'll second (or is it third) the idea to just play it. After writing my post above, it kind if hit me that I can't really discern the difference between a well broken in speaker vs one that's not. I never really detected any difference in my V30 that came with my IsoCab after I ran the break in process. That's just my ears.
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Post by jeffmp on Dec 31, 2018 17:38:21 GMT -7
I'm sure you guys are right. I'll just have to be patient and play through it! Can't wait for that! Next, how can I speed up the fed-ex truck???
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Post by limenine on Dec 31, 2018 21:46:43 GMT -7
The only way to speed up the truck is to not be home
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Post by 2Cents on Jan 1, 2019 1:54:19 GMT -7
Total non subscriber to the break in thing. It's not like the brand new speaker is going to sound awful. The break in thing is a percentage, a small percentage difference. Play your new rig and enjoy it as it gets even better through your own playing. Nailed it with a sledgehammer—could not agree more forcefully!
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Post by helmi on Jan 1, 2019 12:05:35 GMT -7
Good luck with that one! I've been waiting 9 days for the "buster brown package girl thingies" at UPS to get me my new"used" PRS.
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Post by LT on Jan 7, 2019 9:20:25 GMT -7
Total non subscriber to the break in thing. It's not like the brand new speaker is going to sound awful. The break in thing is a percentage, a small percentage difference. Play your new rig and enjoy it as it gets even better through your own playing. I'm with ya Eric. I've yet to be able to tell any noticeable difference......especially on stage.
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Post by John on Jan 7, 2019 9:54:14 GMT -7
Total non subscriber to the break in thing. It's not like the brand new speaker is going to sound awful.
Have you played a new V30??? (you probably have, I was just goofing) -------------------------
Some speakers benefit from a break in period more than others. I bought a new 10" gold for my ghia, and I didn't bother to do anything other than just 'play it'. But other speakers I've had do sound noticeably better if hooked up to my PA head and have bass/drum loops run through them for a few days. (I take the speaker out of the cabinet (if there is one) and wrap it naked in a sleeping bag)
To me, the V30 really benefits from the "PA driven loops". A speaker can sound a bit nasal when new because the cone can't move back and forth as it should. This accents the mids and highs. Once the cone can move more freely, this results in more bass, and the speaker gives a more balanced tone.
I bought a stangray combo years ago. (used) It had a gold in it. But something didn't sound quite right. I didn't know if it was the amp or the speaker. (Don't even THINK it was my playing!! ha ha) I took the speaker out, ran the loops through it for a few days, put the speaker back in....presto....everything was fine. It was a very small change in tone, but enough that I was glad I did it.
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Post by goodez on Jan 7, 2019 12:13:28 GMT -7
I think certain bedroom players never get to the volumes that some speakers require to be broken in. For others it doesn’t matter, power it up, hit the stage, and hit the ground running.
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bzl
Junior Member
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Post by bzl on Jan 8, 2019 12:09:19 GMT -7
When I got my maz 8 with a blue, it sounded great but still had this occasional harshness that has gone away with playing...it sounds better.
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Post by zpilot on Jan 11, 2019 3:16:44 GMT -7
I've broken them in both ways. I play them in if I have the time. If I want to expedite it I use the variac method. I've NEVER damaged a speaker using the variac. I run them at 1/3 their rated power for about 8 to 12 hours. Ok, I might fudge on that a little if the speaker has a paper voice-coil former or I think the manufacturer is optimistic in their rating. That gets a speaker most of the way to being broken in. Close enough that I can go ahead and play it the rest of the way and not notice much of a change.
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Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Jan 11, 2019 3:23:02 GMT -7
After it’s been on the variac awhile you can actually hear the 60hz timbre deepen as if the low end has gained some presence, which it has. It’s annoying and noisy, but the technique works. I’ve often wondered how playing a bass guitar through the speakers for awhile would work.
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Post by jhen86 (jordan) on Jan 13, 2019 14:36:28 GMT -7
Like others, I have used Celestions recommended method. With a looper it’s great. It’s not terrible fast but it’s a start. Only bummer is you are burning up tubes when you use your Z Just recently, I hooked a new 65 watt speaker up to my little Fender G-Dec. it’s a 15 watt fool around practice amp. It’s actually fantastic for this application though because it has dozens of full band tracks built in that you can play along to. The bassy metal stuff is great. Just ran some band tracks through for 30 minutes at a time. Did several styles in several different keys. Also has an AUX input which allowed me to use the computer to send some constant sub frequencies to the speaker instead of using a variac. Used this website onlinetonegenerator.com. Can send any frequency you want. Just make sure it’s the smooth sine wave. No idea how much Watts I was sending. Just cranked it up as loud as I could before the cone would start to make that flapping sound.
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Post by jhen86 (jordan) on Jan 13, 2019 14:39:02 GMT -7
For your listening (and debating) pleasure....
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Post by 2Cents on Jan 14, 2019 1:31:11 GMT -7
For your listening (and debating) pleasure.... For whatever it’s worth: In short, the producer of the nearly 9-minutes long video concludes that the differences between a new speaker, a 1-hr break-in, and a 24-hr break-in are ‘subtle’. My ears are not good enough to distinguish any difference at all.
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Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Jan 14, 2019 7:23:05 GMT -7
I definitely heard the difference at the very end of the video, but earlier when he was switching between them I could not. Could have been the difference in what he was playing through them music wise as the last piece was a bit different. I guessed them correctly for once.
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Post by John on Jan 14, 2019 11:27:25 GMT -7
This video could have been less than 90 seconds long and still gotten the point across. I think this guy likes to talk.
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