Fabric softner to break in speaker

[deeval]

I was reading in anothe Fourm That using fabric softner on your speaker can break it in sooner.
Anyone try this and if so what where your results.
PS
Iam sure there will be someone saying it softens the tone.:rolleyes:

[SecretAsianMan]

Never heard of that. I'd be afraid of using any method besides the tried and true method.

[HEY!YOU!]

I think they meant "break" it sooner.
Don't do it.

[LSchefman]

So the stuff sits on the paper cone, and what stops the chemical softener from turning the speaker to mush eventually?

[JLee]

This is a method recommended by Ted Weber of Weber VST Speakers. You put a bit of liquid fabric softener in a spray bottle and LIGHTLY spray it on the paper cone, making sure to get a thin and even coat. Haven't tried it personally, but as I said, it's been recommended by Ted Weber himself.

[electronpirate]

This sounds like good recipe for paying for disaster.

[ericb]

This sounds like good recipe for paying for disaster.

Yep, you guys should either buy really BEAT speakers, or actually play thru them . I'm shocked at all the 'breaking in ' speakers stuff I read. Play guitar thru them , it really works well!


Eric

[LSchefman]

>>Play guitar thru them , it really works well!<<

+1

[StompBoxBlues]

Yep, you guys should either buy really BEAT speakers, or actually play thru them . I'm shocked at all the 'breaking in ' speakers stuff I read. Play guitar thru them , it really works well!


Eric

I have a new "incredible" story now. Up til now, I marvelled at, years ago but probably still, the rec.guitar.acoustics crowd that devoted just hours and hours to talking about how to "season" or break in their guitars...some sat them up in front of their stereo speakers, letting the sound waves bounce off the wood...then they would get into arguments about whether it mattered if they played the same style music into the idle guitars that they would be playing actually by their owners.

Many tried to point out, that if they spent that time actually playing their guitars they also would certainly hear a difference...as they got to be BETTER guitarists...

I mean, I know that a used guitar, a guitar that is played, does sound better than that same guitar when it was just new, but my god...the quick solution just gets too me sometimes. How about this, if you can "magically" (I'm saying, if Weber really does advise this...but keep in mind Weber SELLS SPEAKERS :) but okay, he's honest, it really does work. So what?) do this, look at what you miss out on. You miss out on actually playing in the speakers...in getting the best tone out of the amp, being happy with it and THEN...as the speakers work in, it GETS EVEN BETTER!!!

But you'll have misssed that little pleasure because you cheated.

I know there is a functional reasoning at least behind this, but it does smack of the the same things...like new black belts in Karate trying to "age" their belts so they would seem like they have been BB for ages, or guys sanding up, chain-whipping, etc. their strats to get the SRV look.

You can do whatever you want of course. I'm just sayin' I'd be embarrased doing these things and I would feel cheated out of working it in myself.

[electronpirate]

You can do whatever you want of course. I'm just sayin' I'd be embarrased doing these things and I would feel cheated out of working it in myself.

+1000

[SteveVHT]

Though the cone has a slight effect on the sound, isn't it the voice coil that needs to be broken in????

[ericb]

I have a new "incredible" story now. Up til now, I marvelled at, years ago but probably still, the rec.guitar.acoustics crowd that devoted just hours and hours to talking about how to "season" or break in their guitars...some sat them up in front of their stereo speakers, letting the sound waves bounce off the wood...then they would get into arguments about whether it mattered if they played the same style music into the idle guitars that they would be playing actually by their owners.

Many tried to point out, that if they spent that time actually playing their guitars they also would certainly hear a difference...as they got to be BETTER guitarists...

I mean, I know that a used guitar, a guitar that is played, does sound better than that same guitar when it was just new, but my god...the quick solution just gets too me sometimes. How about this, if you can "magically" (I'm saying, if Weber really does advise this...but keep in mind Weber SELLS SPEAKERS :) but okay, he's honest, it really does work. So what?) do this, look at what you miss out on. You miss out on actually playing in the speakers...in getting the best tone out of the amp, being happy with it and THEN...as the speakers work in, it GETS EVEN BETTER!!!

But you'll have misssed that little pleasure because you cheated.

I know there is a functional reasoning at least behind this, but it does smack of the the same things...like new black belts in Karate trying to "age" their belts so they would seem like they have been BB for ages, or guys sanding up, chain-whipping, etc. their strats to get the SRV look.

You can do whatever you want of course. I'm just sayin' I'd be embarrased doing these things and I would feel cheated out of working it in myself.

Thanks for the excellent read. .I'd feel cheated and embarassed too

ERIC

[el34power]

hhhhhhhhhmmmmmm "Country Fresh Drop D":p

[Calloway]

I have two Eminence Big Ben speakers that were "broken in" through this mannner by Nate @ Bumbox amps. He saw it on Weber's site and figured he would try it out with the Big Ben. It made a huge difference in the tone, took some of the brightness out of it, which made it sound better for me. I don't know if I would do it with all kinds of speakers, but it definately worked for my case, you just have to make sure that you don't leave it on for too long, or spray too much. Nate also hooked the speaker up to a machine sending current, so this too has something to do w/ it. Sure I cheated, but oh well. :D

[pyt]

I recently bought some Weber speakers. One was kinda buzzy but it didn't sound like it was really broken. The dude's at Weber said to try Downey in a spray bottle. I did it and it works. No disaster. No chain reaction that lead to a mushy speaker cone. Just good tone now.

The downey has "fiber relaxers" in it. I'm guessing this what helped out my stiff, buzzy cone.

[dbeeman]

I like to play as much as I can, but I still don't have time to "break in speakers"

any kind or variac and or stereo playing through them I can do is good IMHO - then I can spend my time playing hearing good tone, rather than 10s of hours hearing a new speaker.


just my 2c

BTW I believe much of what happens during break in is a loosening of the surround and spider and in some cases addtional flexibility of the cone

This lowers the resonance of the driver and may soften the highs

[OOG]

ok
so next time i get a new pair of jeans
i'll hang them in front of my cranked stereo for a few days

[Slygo]

Another method (I verified this with Ted) is to run one of the old toy train or slot car transformers through the speakers to break them in - as long as it is AC and not DC.

The old trains were all AC, but the HO and other smaller gauge train sets are DC as far as I know. I have never tried this myself, but I would bet it makes one hell of a racket (60 cycle hum).

[Dirge]

I've done it to reduce the brightness of a speaker and it worked a little bit. It also smelled nice for a couple of weeks :)

I wouldn't call that breaking the speaker in though.

[dbeeman]

ok
so next time i get a new pair of jeans
i'll hang them in front of my cranked stereo for a few days

Yeah, but make sure you spritz them with fabric softener first ;)

[StompBoxBlues]

I recently bought some Weber speakers. One was kinda buzzy but it didn't sound like it was really broken. The dude's at Weber said to try Downey in a spray bottle. I did it and it works. No disaster. No chain reaction that lead to a mushy speaker cone. Just good tone now.

The downey has "fiber relaxers" in it. I'm guessing this what helped out my stiff, buzzy cone.

Maybe I have to rethink this...maybe there CAN be good reasons for trying it. Legitimate (and of course...as I always said, you guys can of course do whatever you want I'm just saying for me...) problem solving reasons, but I do prefer to wear in my acoustic guitars, my speakers (providing they don't sound like a cat being dragged across a blackboard) etc because...I just feel like it is a real pleasure and very fun to do.

But that said...there are two things that bother me. First is, if this is a great way to "burn in" speakers...how come nobody does this in the factory? (unless some do...in that case, never mind). I haven't heard anyone mention Weber, who recommends this, offering to pre-breakin speakers for say a 10 dollar or 20 dollar extra charge. I think it would be interesting too, if they offer any warranties to hear if they would honor a warranty on a speaker that has been "softened"..

I know Weber is reputable, and I trust them, but as I mentioned half in jest, they DO sell speakers.

The second thing, I wonder what gets the softener to stop working. I mean someone with a good chemistry background would be really welcome in this discussion, because I wonder...if it shortens the "life" or elasticity of the speakers, or the opposite...do the speakers keep getting softened every time it is slightly humid (there comes another question...do you apply it differently if it is summer and humidity is in the high 80 or 90s, than if you live in the desert?) out...what stops the process, because you can imagine that the material gets "flabby" and too loose at some point, or else the manufacturers would have started with a less "tight" material in the first place? I think about film developing and how you need a "stopper" chemical reaction to stop the developing process, and how this seems similar to me unless the fabric softener eventually evaporated fully...but it doesn't seem to me that it would.

AND...didja ever think about carting in your stuff for a gig, when it's raining, and you start playing and people suddenly mistake you for Lawrence Welk (only older folks are gonna get that one :) ?

I just don't know. I do know if you don't do this at all, if you have a "normal" speaker it will break in after some time of playing.

As I mentioned, for me, I love getting a good sound with an amp, and just hearing it get better and better. Same thing with acoustic guitars.

[Lucidology]

Whoal.. this is a first!! Fabric Softener..!!

[MichaelK]

Play guitar thru them , it really works well!

Play... guitar?? Wha...?

[Lucidology]

Here's another thread which goes into more detail...
Ultravex applied this to his Carvin speakers using
Tedd Weber's instructions... check it out!


Cheap Carvin 12's: wow! - The Gear Page (http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=95742)

[Doug's Tubes]

I was reading in anothe Fourm That using fabric softner on your speaker can break it in sooner.
Anyone try this and if so what where your results.
PS
Iam sure there will be someone saying it softens the tone.:rolleyes:

And if you use too much or spill some, you can use Bounty, the quicker picker upper.

[macmax77]

get an album of whomever u want and play it thru the speaker instead of doing that.

There is a better method yet,
Play your guitar thru your amp and speakers and in time you will see, hehehhe

[boogieplaya]

geez, i just posted in another thread about the joy of PLAYING IN new speakers..it doesnt take long, and its really fun hearing them soften and "age" right in front of you..quite a joy for me...

[LSchefman]

Interesting to see this thread resurrected!

Here's something to consider:

I was talking to a guy who reconed speakers who told me that he could tell a lot about a player by looking at a disassembled speaker; that the parts would wear in different places.

I have no idea if this is true, or not, but it kinda makes sense in a way.

I do agree that it's fun to break in your own speakers, and heck, they don't sound THAT bad breaking in...I like it, but I'm usually pretty patient.

Of course, if you want to break in a speaker very quickly, the easiest thing to do is have your son slam it with hardcore punk shredding with his Mesa at high volume for hours on end. ;) Ah the joys of having a son! He broke in one of my cabs in an afternoon!

[MichaelK]

I soak mine in extra-virgin olive oil. Gives it that mid-70s Mediterranean swinging discotheque mojo. Think "Abba."

[unklmickey]

...I was talking to a guy who reconed speakers who told me that he could tell a lot about a player by looking at a disassembled speaker; ...

i'd love to see the look on his face when he sees one that's been "softened". :rolleyes:

[lastwinj]

it's been recommended by Ted Weber himself.

hmm....

[RL in Fla]

If you live close to an airport you can hang em on the fence at the end of the runway . I think Steve Miller did it thataway....

[mwoeppel]

The downey has "fiber relaxers" in it. I'm guessing this what helped out my stiff, buzzy cone.

I wondered what the problem was! I'm gonna have my wife stop using it on my underwear! (sorry, couldn't resist)

[guitarman1956]

Doesn't Dave at Avatar Speakers use the fabric softner and 15 hours of tone pumped thru them?

[Griz]

Fabric softener... Eewww!

Just use a dryer sheet and put the speakers in the dryer for a hour. Should work out about the same.

And no need to halt the rinse cycle to add softener. :D

P.S. Ignore the thumping noises.

[1964]

The Avatar Hellatones are pre-broken-in.

And Ted Weber will break-in his speakers on request.

What I want to know is if buying used gear is cheating? ;)

[unklmickey]

Fabric softener... Eewww!

Just use a dryer sheet and put the speakers in the dryer for a hour. Should work out about the same.

And no need to halt the rinse cycle to add softener. :D

P.S. Ignore the thumping noises.

good one! http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b269/unklmickey/smilie/yerkillinme.gif

[Plague Dog]

I just load up my speakers in the trunk and drive through Downy... It works every time...

Actually I did use a silicon based spray to clean some dirt that had accumulated on the cones over a period of years... I thought it might soften the paper as well, since it brittle.
I don't know if it did anything but the speakers still work.

[RevelationAmps]

You know there are many legitimate reasons to want a speaker to be broken in from day 1. Mostly for consistency. I mean, I would much rather know that a speaker is going to sound pretty much the same from day 1 to day 10,000, so I would prefer it to be broken in right up front and that's the way Revelation amps are supplied. Many frustrations with gear have to do with the transient nature of some things as they wear or break in. It's just one less variable to be concerned with.

[BBQLS1]

You know there are many legitimate reasons to want a speaker to be broken in from day 1. Mostly for consistency. I mean, I would much rather know that a speaker is going to sound pretty much the same from day 1 to day 10,000, so I would prefer it to be broken in right up front and that's the way Revelation amps are supplied. Many frustrations with gear have to do with the transient nature of some things as they wear or break in. It's just one less variable to be concerned with.

Do you break them in yourself and if so, how?

[RevelationAmps]

Yes I break them in myself, and I might even massage the doping etc. to match an amp better (for example, there's no need for so much dope on a speaker going into a Serena, but I like the Wizard in there so I would soften up the dope for a Wiz going into a Serena).

I just hook it up to the stereo and let it play for a couple of days while I'm working. If it's a high-power speaker I might stick it in the booth or a closet or something so I can crank the stereo real loud while it's breaking in.

[daveski]

This is a method recommended by Ted Weber of Weber VST Speakers. You put a bit of liquid fabric softener in a spray bottle and LIGHTLY spray it on the paper cone, making sure to get a thin and even coat. Haven't tried it personally, but as I said, it's been recommended by Ted Weber himself.

Chemical alteration of that paper is not a good thing.
I never quite understood why they need to be 'aged' or 'broken-in' anyways. You people make all this simple stuff way too complex. Plug it in - play.

[harryjmic]

Buy better speakers, if it takes this much effort to break them in they can't be that good to start with.

[Chuck Snider]

If you live close to an airport you can hang em on the fence at the end of the runway . I think Steve Miller did it thataway....


His pants or his speakers?

[hasserl]

A little clarification, I'm not sure if Ted recommends the practice, or promotes it; or if he just says it is something you can do to speed up the process. I bet if you ask him he'd agree that the best way to break them in is to play thru them, just like most of you. But he must get hundreds of requests on how to break speakers in and how to do it faster. This is just one of the things he's said you can do.

[tweber]

Chemical alteration of that paper is not a good thing.

Ummm... errrr... ahhh.... chemical alteration of the paper is part of the standard speaker cone manufacturing process.

[HeeHaw]

Ummm... errrr... ahhh.... chemical alteration of the paper is part of the standard speaker cone manufacturing process.


*thread hijack*
Hey Ted. I've owned 6 of your speakers now, and they kick ass!:dude

as you were men,

-Rich

[nickreynolds]

yes! Ted is the man!

[Lucidology]

... chemical alteration of the paper is part of the standard speaker cone manufacturing process.

:AOK

[doctorx]

Ted has a calculator on his site to figure out how much voltage to use to break in a speaker. I have a JBL D130 he reconed for me and I ran a 12v AC transformer into my Power Soak, dialed it down to about 6 volts and ran it into the speaker for two or three days to break it in. It didn't hurt the speaker and it made a world of difference.