Breaking in a speaker

[Berto]

I got a Blues Jr with the CRex speaker. Everyone talks about breaking these speakers in.

We have a gig in 3 weeks and i was wondering if I just play some SRV or guitar heavy music and run it through the amp, will this help and speed up the process?

I don't have a couple of months to play this hard through before the gig.

Also, what differences will I hear once it's broken in?

[Lance]

You're on the right track. I would try to find a cd in your collection that has the widest clear, clean frequency range. Run that through the amp, almost cranked, maybe shove it in a closet, or cram pillows in front of it to deaden some of the sound, if that's an issue. Let it roll 24/7 if you can, and it'll loosen up a lot, and sound much warmer. They can be a little bright, and treble spikey. This will warm them up a lot. That cannibis material is much tougher than traditional cone paper, so they take about twice as long to break in. 80-100 hours or so outta do it nicely.

[Berto]

Thanks. Wow, 100 hours, wife may get mad over that... Haha

[Tuberoast]

I have a CRex in a Marshall combo, it was a little bright out of the box, three weeks of hard playing (maxed out volume isn't necessary) it turned into this warm speaker with a great thunk in lows and low mids. Good choice, you'll be happy you bought it.

[plexistack]

I heard it only takes like a millisecond to break in a speaker. I'm not sure I buy into this "break in" stuff.

Anyone have A/B clips?

[Rambergwest]

I would be cautious putting any amp in a closet without ventillation and running flat out for any extended period of time. Especially if it is a tube amp. Put a fan on the back side and keep everything cool and I would limit the amp volume to the max clean tone and maybe increase as the parts settle in. It is going to be a lot easier on the amp but that is not to say Lance is wrong. Just wanted to be safe.

[Rambergwest]

Originally Posted by plexistack

I heard it only takes like a millisecond to break in a speaker. I'm not sure I buy into this "break in" stuff.

Anyone have A/B clips?

http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazin..._Speakers.aspx

This is a well written explanation and another V30 thread has an audio comparisonlink. I would not expect the clip to reveal much though and the impact of the breaking in has as much to do with the way the amp responds to the player as the tone itself. I would also expect that you might not notice the changes as much if your amp is dimmed all the time.

[Rambergwest]

This was a really good string from years ago and there are some very credible people that absolutely agree on a speaker changing over time. Can you hear it? I couldn't say but guys like Ted Weber and Andy Fuchs can and that says a lot.
have fun experimenting

[Rambergwest]

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/arc...p/t-19629.html

[mAx___]

I wonder why the Celestion factory doesn't break in their speakers before shipping them. It would be great at least as an option. Are there any retailers that would do this if you buy from them?

[solitaire]

Originally Posted by mAx___

I wonder why the Celestion factory doesn't break in their speakers before shipping them. It would be great at least as an option. Are there any retailers that would do this if you buy from them?

Of the same reason car manufacturers don't run in or break in their car engines. Speakers evolve slowly but shurely from being stiff to quite vivid and eventually to becoming worn out.

The biggest change occurs early on obviously, so there's no particular point in time at which the speaker can be said to be fully broken in.

[mAx___]

I don't think the car analogy applies here...speaker break-in has a desirable and noticeable effect whereas a run in car not so much. Engine break in is something I rather do myself, thank you very much

[Jay Filippone]

Originally Posted by mAx___

I don't think the car analogy applies here...speaker break-in has a desirable and noticeable effect whereas a run in car not so much. Engine break in is something I rather do myself, thank you very much

Max:

Avatar Speakers will break in your speaker for you for $25 using a Variac.

I found this tip, from the Celestion website, very helpful in breaking in my Celestion Blue Alnico:

BREAKING IN YOUR SPEAKER

Brand new speakers usually require a “breaking in period”. Start with a few minutes with low-level playing or background hum. Then, turn up the power amp volume to full, and control the level with the preamp gain and play with a fat, clean tone.

Have the bass and mid up full, and the treble at least half. On your guitar, use the middle pickup position (if your guitar has more than one pickup) 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.

[mAx___]

Thanks Jay, great tips there!

[meterman]

so Celestion says 10-15 minutes and I've read posts saying up to 40 hours at gig volume! Obviously some misinformation out there Or maybe Celestion is downplaying the need for more break in....