weber beam blockers

[gwr]

O.k. I admit I was a little skeptical at first but I put a pair of Weber c12nt's in my '66 pro reverb because I play trad. country and I like a bright speaker to get that twang but the tone change's as you stand in different spot's in front of the amp and I thought it might be a little bright out front so as to not kill the patrons I'll give it a try,DAMN IT!! it really works and it allows me to turn the treble up a hair more and no matter where I stand it sound's the same!! Kudo's to Ted and the group @ Weber,this is a fine product and for the price it's a cost effective measure to get great tone on stage AND out front regardless if you mike up or not,it'll sound the same.

[jay42]

I use them too. Just be aware that they've been around since he was in short pants. I've seen a representative design from a 1946 Magnavox console. They undoubtedly go back farther.

[davec69]

While they are a great idea, it's funny that I never thought of using them until I bought my first set of Weber speakers.

All of my cabinets usually have Tone Tubby alnico and/or ceramic speakers or EVM-12Ls in them, and I've never felt the need for beam blockers. Recently, I picked up a 10' Weber blue pup, and an Weber silver Bell, and my first thought upon trying them was "Beam Blockers".

I guess I may have to give them a try myself.

[DoobieK]

I have them in my 1x12 Allen Old Flame and 1x12 Dr. Z Maz Jr. I couldn't imagine playing without them. The other guitar player in my band stands across the stage from me and says he can hear me really well, but nobody has ever complained that I am too loud. Very good sound dispersion with the Beam Blockers, no matter who invented them.

[Trout]

I use them too. Just be aware that they've been around since he was in short pants. I've seen a representative design from a 1946 Magnavox console. They undoubtedly go back farther.


Bingo,

I have pulled them out of Zenith and Motorola Console stereo's also. they are not a new idea, but like so many other things from back in the day, they were a damn good one.

[Dave Orban]

I've used one in my Matchless Chieftain 1x12 combo for several years. I find it to be really helpful, especially in smaller rooms, like restaurants. Knocks a bit of the edge off, for folks sitting right in front of my amp.

[Todd Lynch]

Got 'em on all my amps; love 'em.

[UMT]

I made mine out of 1/2 of a sump pump float, a piece of brass, and a few nuts/bolts from the hardware store. Works great! I actually tested plastic vs a metal disc and the plastic sounded better to me. Easy to do if you enjoy little projects like this.

[RedMan]

Duct tape works too. It can fix just about anything.

[UMT]

But duck tape don't resonate like 1/2 of a plastic sump pump float! Ha.

[jockman]

I liked the end result with the weber (sound), but there was just to much rattle, out it came. I now have a peice of circular foam stuck to the inside of the grill cloth, does the same job, no rattle.

[MikeNiteRail]

I have a 2x10 Allen Old Flame. The amp is hard to hear/sounds different when I stand next to it. Front of house is has much more punch and bite. Would the Beam Blockers help me hear the amp better on stage?

[Dave Orban]

I have a 2x10 Allen Old Flame. The amp is hard to hear/sounds different when I stand next to it. Front of house is has much more punch and bite. Would the Beam Blockers help me hear the amp better on stage?That has been my experience. The sound disperses a bit better directly in front of (and above) the amp, with the beam blocker installed...

[Axekisser]

I use and love 'em! Got on everything but my Champs.

[rockon1]

I have a 2x10 Allen Old Flame. The amp is hard to hear/sounds different when I stand next to it. Front of house is has much more punch and bite. Would the Beam Blockers help me hear the amp better on stage?

Absolutely. Bob

[erikm5150]

I now have a peice of circular foam stuck to the inside of the grill cloth, does the same job, no rattle.

Can you explain further, or maybe even show pictures of how this is done?
what kind of foam, and how is it attached?
thanks!

[picnic]

I had them in my
Allen Accomplice
Bogner Metropolis
Sommatone R40
DRRI
I liked the results, nice wide even dispersion
In my Mesa Lonestar Special and my Carr Rambler, the BB did have the same effect. That could have been my ear, but I took them out of those two amps.
YMMV

[TheLemon]

I have them in my Vox AC15 and they do work great.
Do you guys have problems finding good mic placements on them though?

[sharpshooter]

Based on comments here, I think I will try a BB, or something. The treble comes out of my altec 417 like a laser beam,stand 2 to 3 feet either side, then cab sounds great.

[Webfoot]

I had it in a small amp when the speaker was new. After the speaker broke in, I removed the beam blocker. I think though that some speakers will always be beamy and may need them all of the time.

[hasserl]

I've made my own out of thin gauge sheet metal, cut out with tin snips, with some vinyl glued to the side facing the speaker. They are not expensive to buy from Weber, I just like making my own stuff. On one amp which I was cutting a new speaker baffle for, I cut the diffuser right into the baffle, that worked out great.

The idea is simple yet delivers great results.

[cram]

all of these positive reviews and no input on the diameter of the circle portion that diffuses...

What are you guys putting infront of your speakers for size?

I see that weber offers 4'' and 5'' domes. Is the change not much of a factor between one of the other?

[KeithC]

I use the smaller ones. I had a bigger one and it didn't seem to make much difference.

To me the use of them in general is subtle.
I had them in my 112 amp and the 112 ext cab I carry too.

Took them out thinking I didn't really need them anymore just last week.
We played two gigs this past holiday weekend outdoors and I missed them. I had them in the amp and cab for some time before that and had played lots of indoor and outdoor gigs with them.

Didn't have anything to do with reducing highs but more to do with hearing myself more the same no matter where I stood. At both these gigs this past weekend I found myself not getting that evenness as I moved around a bit. And more importantly only feeling "comfortable" in a very small area where as with the BB's my range of comfortableness is much larger!

Again, I find it subtle but still useful in that regard.

YMMV!

[Mapleneck]

I put the 4" BB in front of a celestion blue on my 5e3 clone. Sounds great.

[mbratch]

I have them in my Vox AC15 and they do work great.

Do you guys have problems finding good mic placements on them though?


No. A common placement of about half way between the center and the surround works well. And you have a little room for altering that, and mic angle can still be changed to affect sound.

[Webfoot]

I think the above comment is real interesting... using the beam blocker so as to hear your self better... not so much for beaminess. I tend to agree. My speaker does not need the bb for beaminess anymore but maybe I should put it back in so there is a wider sound field. With the bb in, the sound is little more diffused and not quite as rich but on the other hand, I can also hear myself everywhere much better.

[nnick]

I have them in my Top Hat Club Royale and the biggest difference is on a stage where I can hear myself better while moving around. I do not have any issues with them rattling.

As far as mic placement goes, I have been placing the mic near the outer edge of the speaker and angling it in towards the center.

[Mapleneck]

I think the above comment is real interesting... using the beam blocker so as to hear your self better... not so much for beaminess. I tend to agree. My speaker does not need the bb for beaminess anymore but maybe I should put it back in so there is a wider sound field. With the bb in, the sound is little more diffused and not quite as rich but on the other hand, I can also hear myself everywhere much better.

This is a great point, but for me it is both dispersion and better tone monitoring. The sound from my amp, with the BB, is much better dispersed. Other band members or up close audience members don't get laser beamed with treble. Even mic'ing seems easier (I can mic close to the edge, pointing towards the center, and still get plenty of treble reflected from the BB). And at the same time, the "tone monitoring" is better because my amp sounds approximately the same no matter where I stand, so long as I am some where in front of it.

[tim boehlert]

I bought two from Ted a couple of weeks ago after reading this thread - gotta say it works great for me on my Mesa Boogie Mk1 RI combo. I use a Palmer PDI-09, so mic placement is not an issue, and it does an amazing job of stopping that beaming as maybe only a Boogie can/does. I wrote to Ted and asked how to install it for the Boogie, as most of the info on his site only shows HOW-TO install for a reverse mounted speaker(back of baffle board). After thinking about it, I diagrammed it to send off to see if my way of installing it was proper or not. Ted wrote back it was, and liked my diagram. It's now being used on the site to help others install a front-mounted speaker!

I've also installed it on a standard (old-style) Mesa Boogie 1x12 open back cabinet, with their Celestion C90 I think - it wasn't as effective for me. I really noticed the difference with the Vintage 30 though...

I think it's a great idea, and wish'd I'd seen it much earlier! Thanks guys!

[Birddog]

I ordered a pair yesterday from MF, after reading this thread. They seem like just the ticket for taming my Valveking 212 which I otherwise love. It just has that pesky problem when you step in front the 'beam' at gig volumes, it throws out enough treble to make even the deafest 41 year old guitarist (...) wince in pain.

Hopefully this will help.

[jockman]

Can you explain further, or maybe even show pictures of how this is done?
what kind of foam, and how is it attached?
thanks!

All it is, is a bath sponge (foam) of the circular type, cut to about 1/2 inch thick, double sided tape on that, then stuck to the inside of the grill cloth.:D

[Zero]

I've got this little Crate V58 and the speaker is brighter than hell. I took off the grill and made my own beam blocker and spray glued a round piece of foam to it to absorb sound. I seemed to notice a big difference right after I did it but now that I'm used to it , it still seems really bright. It's almost like, I hate to think if I HADN'T put it in there.

[scottpic]

I have a slant 4X12 wired stereo (2 top together, 2 bottom together).
I use the beam blockers on the top 2 speakers only.
This works nice.

But I love a previous post of "foam on the inside of the spraker grille"!
Way cheaper!

[rockon1]

I have a slant 4X12 wired stereo (2 top together, 2 bottom together).
I use the beam blockers on the top 2 speakers only.
This works nice.

But I love a previous post of "foam on the inside of the spraker grille"!
Way cheaper!

Yep. I used 4 in. cardboard circles painted black attched to the inside of the grill too. Bob