The simple, cheap way to cure speaker ice pick effect

[Toneseeker361]

This is old info, but may be new to someone....
I just duct tape a 4 or 5 inch circle (criss cross) inside the speaker grill cloth directly in the center, across from the speaker dust cap... Done
I tried it on the outside first to test, then went to work.
Hope this helps someone.....

[dazco]

When i was gigging i did that for years. Works quite well, but i abandoned it when i had amps that were much less harsh or bright.

[stratman_el84]

SRV used gaffer's tape the same way on some of his amps. In some of the video of SRV playing live at the Mocambo on YT, the gaffer's tape is plainly visible on his Super Reverb in the backline.

Weber speakers sells a well-known widget called the "Beam Blocker" which mounts between the speaker & the baffle that does effectively the same thing, available for different diameter speakers and with different sizes of "dispersion cone".

Gaffer's tape IS much cheaper, though maybe not as aesthetically-pleasing.

Strat

[Stu Blue]

Originally Posted by Toneseeker361

This is old info, but may be new to someone....
I just duct tape a 4 or 5 inch circle (criss cross) inside the speaker grill cloth directly in the center, across from the speaker dust cap... Done
I tried it on the outside first to test, then went to work.
Hope this helps someone.....

What is old misinformation is the idea that the treble beam comes from the centre of the cone. It doesn't. In fact it's produced by the varying distances to the edges of the speaker.

I wish people would stop repeating this rubbish, especially since the TGP Magazine carries Jay Mitchells correct explanation of speaker directivity.

[Toneseeker361]

Originally Posted by Stu Blue

What is old misinformation is the idea that the treble beam comes from the centre of the cone. It doesn't. In fact it's produced by the varying distances to the edges of the speaker.

I wish people would stop repeating this rubbish, especially since the TGP Magazine carries Jay Mitchells correct explanation of speaker directivity.

There are other threads that may be more pleasing to You ya know

[stratman_el84]

Originally Posted by Stu Blue

What is old misinformation is the idea that the treble beam comes from the centre of the cone. It doesn't. In fact it's produced by the varying distances to the edges of the speaker.

I wish people would stop repeating this rubbish, especially since the TGP Magazine carries Jay Mitchells correct explanation of speaker directivity.

People can say whatever they want. I'll believe my own ears in judging the effectiveness TYVM, and wherever the icepicking comes from, the gaffer-tape trick works. For many, many years it was thought that bumblebees shouldn't be able to fly either according to the "experts", but apparently the know-it-alls forgot to tell the bumblebees.

Strat

[Stu Blue]

Originally Posted by stratman_el84

People can say whatever they want. I'll believe my own ears in judging the effectiveness TYVM, and wherever the icepicking comes from, the gaffer-tape trick works. For many, many years it was thought that bumblebees shouldn't be able to fly either according to the "experts", but apparently the know-it-alls forgot to tell the bumblebees.

Strat

Science is science... be careful or you'll wind up in magic mojo land. You ( and many others) fail to distinguish between overall tone and directivity. Anything you put in front of a speaker (including the cloth) will change the tone thru various phase cancellations... but that doesn't change the directivity of the speaker... the shorter frequencies will still appear to be louder in a narrow beam as you move across the axis. All frequencies are radiated by all part of the cone.... as you move off axis, there is a difference distance from one edge of the cone compared to the other so the same frequencies arrive at different times (out of phase) and cancel each other out... so you get less treble off axis.

[geetarplayer]

Originally Posted by Stu Blue

Science is science... be careful or you'll wind up in magic mojo land. You ( and many others) fail to distinguish between overall tone and directivity. Anything you put in front of a speaker (including the cloth) will change the tone thru various phase cancellations... but that doesn't change the directivity of the speaker... the shorter frequencies will still appear to be louder in a narrow beam as you move across the axis. All frequencies are radiated by all part of the cone.... as you move off axis, there is a difference distance from one edge of the cone compared to the other so the same frequencies arrive at different times (out of phase) and cancel each other out... so you get less treble off axis.

Never realized that. Nice explanation.

[EFK]

Very interesting - and very clearly explained!

[PhilosoPhrets]

Isn't the OP just mentioning a way to make the speaker more balanced-sounding, or less "beamy"? Don't a couple of pieces of tape on the grill help toward that goal? Doesn't the Mitchell Directivity Mod offer a soultion towards that same end? And the Beam Blocker?

If so, I don't read any misinformation in the OP - or even see the word "directivity" for that matter.

Oh well.
Rock on.

Eddie

[WesKuhnley]

Originally Posted by PhilosoPhrets

Isn't the OP just mentioning a way to make the speaker more balanced-sounding, or less "beamy"? Don't a couple of pieces of tape on the grill help toward that goal? Doesn't the Mitchell Directivity Mod offer a soultion towards that same end? And the Beam Blocker?

If so, I don't read any misinformation in the OP - or even see the word "directivity" for that matter.

Oh well.
Rock on.

Eddie

If you read the directivity thread, it's pretty plain why tape and "beam blockers" are inferior solutions to the problem.

[PhilosoPhrets]

Originally Posted by WesKuhnley

If you read the directivity thread, it's pretty plain why tape and "beam blockers" are inferior solutions to the problem.

But we're not talking about me, or which solution is best. For all you know I have the MDM installed on all of my cabs. But, tape is a sort of solution, as you rightly point out, which is all the OP says.

Eddie

[stratman_el84]

All I'm saying is that tape/BB seems to help reduce the problem of the icepick effect for small/medium sized club venues. I'm not saying anything about directivity or anything else. I'm not trying to offer any technical explanations of why it works. Frankly, audio wave propagation science & engineering isn't part of my sphere of technical expertise.

I've done it many times over many years, and it/they work. I got the impression that I was being told I didn't hear what I've heard literally for decades, so I stood up for what I stated and knew to be true. Nothing personal about it at all. If I was mistaken in my impression of what was meant and I stepped on some feelings, I apologize.

Strat

[westerhever]

this might be the best way to solve the beam problem :

http://hoovi.at/

though it's very expensive.

[MarkF786]

The OP was talking about curing the "ice pick effect" and then Stu jumps in talking about directivity; they're two different things. Apples & Oranges.

I have used Beam Blockers and they indeed did remove the ice pick highs. I wasn't trying to affect the directivity, so I can't comment if they work in that regard.

Though Jay Mitchell's foam donuts might help in directivity, do they also remove the ice pick highs? Maybe they eliminate the directivity so now everyone can enjoy the unpleasant sound