Breaking In a Guitar Amp's New Speaker?

syscokid

syscokid

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Does anybody here have a prefered method?

In general, a new guitar speaker will change noticeably after the first 20 to 30 hours of moderate to heavy use. But "moderate to heavy" means LOUD. If you are just "tickling" the new speakers with low volume, then multiply that factor by a few times. However, some vendors of new speakers have a "break-in" service for a slight upcharge. For me, it's worth it.

But if that specialized service is not available, I have plugged in my stereo's speaker cables to the new speaker with the most guitar oriented CD I have in my collection. I'll let the CD loop for 10 to 12 hours for a couple days at medium volumes. I'll cover the cab and speaker with blankets to keep the natives and myself from going crazy.

I have not tried it yet, but I like this DIY method by Mr. Phillip McKnight:

Oh yeah... a looper pedal will help... :rolleyes2:
 
I posted in another thread about just plugging in a R&R radio station before ya go to work and let it rock for 8 hours each day for a week. Seems I wasn’t to far off.
 
Why does it have to be so difficult - I just want it to work and sound good when I buy it...
 
AGREED--- why doesnt Marshall-- or Fender or Clestion or whoever "PREbreak in" a speaker for us ?!?!?!

HEY ---

HUGE MARKETING GIMMICK FOR ANY AMP MAKER PAYING ATTENTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Mr Grumpy said:
Why does it have to be so difficult - I just want it to work and sound good when I buy it...
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Ha ha... don't sweat it! If you like your new amp now, you'll probably going to like it even more after you give it some time to fully gel.

We can take this "breaking in" theme further. The amp's new electrolytic caps, mainly the filter caps, will adjust from their initial performance after a few hours of operation, and on and off cycles. Brand new tubes... yup! Gotta give these some time, too! How am I doing Grumpy? ... :BH:

tenor.gif
 
I meant to break in the last few but just played them, I didnt really notice much difference.
I think maybe the most change is the first couple of hours.
 
syscokid said:
Ha ha... don't sweat it! If you like your new amp now, you'll probably going to like it even more after you give it some time to fully gel.

We can take this "breaking in" theme further. The amp's new electrolytic caps, mainly the filter caps, will adjust from their initial performance after a few hours of operation, and on and off cycles. Brand new tubes... yup! Gotta give these some time, too! How am I doing Grumpy? ... :BH:

View attachment 15360
Click to expand...

I was going to mention something similar to Sysco. What about your amp's tubes too?!

I have my Orange Dark Terror going into a PPC112 closed back with the V30 inside. I'm not sure if I've played it sufficiently @volume (enough) to have that Celestion completely broken in. It sounded good to me from day one, though.

One thing I've noticed is that after 30 to 40 minutes of playing, the tubes have fully warmed up and it starts sounding less harsh, more mellow, and that effect is impressive to me. At about that point, not only my Strat, but my 2 Les Pauls develop a “mature” and sort of burnished tone. [The Strat is stock and the Les Pauls are pretty much stock, save for my Classic; now with Seth Lovers pups.]

The really sharp tone edges seem to disappear suddenly about 20 to 30 minutes into playing and that's when I realize what playing a tube amp is all about.

I've read that these Celestions can take a long time to sound like a mature and broken in speaker, but I don't have the time or the inclination to wait it all out for that to take place. I think part of the formula is about how quickly the tubes get to their warmed up state and how quickly (or not) they achieve that.



Stratstrangler
 
Stratstrangler said:
One thing I've noticed is that after 30 to 40 minutes of playing, the tubes have fully warmed up and it starts sounding less harsh, more mellow, and that effect is impressive to me.
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Good observation about tubes. Even well seasoned tubes will behave differently after a few minutes of being fully on. In fact, whenever I get to participate in a local jamfest with one of my amps, the first thing I try to set up is the amp. Get the amps power on with the estimated volume set, and let it warm up real good.

When it's time to pack it up, the first thing I do is shut off the power. I try not to move the amp at all, and pack up everything else. Go have a beer... BS for awhile... by now the amp should be on the cool side. Now it's a good to time to move the amp. If you have to move a hot tube amp, then try to do it as gently as possible. Those tubes will thank you for it... :fingersx:
 
When I build a amp it sounds good or not if not I make adjustments I use the worst bench test speaker a Jensen C12N and if a amp sounds great my dog Ruby the German Short haired Pointer
Howl's to the note no need for a full spectrum analyzer. If I hit sonic bliss with my amp build I only use cast frame speakers on 50/100 watt amps I hope they don't break in I don't want any speaker
distortion. I play super clean most that have played my rig how can you play so clean and get that sound easy 90% of the sound is in your hands. A great guitar and great amp make it easy.
If I was to buy a new speaker the one that sound's good is the Celeston Gold
 
Stratstrangler said:
I was going to mention something similar to Sysco. What about your amp's tubes too?!

I have my Orange Dark Terror going into a PPC112 closed back with the V30 inside. I'm not sure if I've played it sufficiently @volume (enough) to have that Celestion completely broken in. It sounded good to me from day one, though.

One thing I've noticed is that after 30 to 40 minutes of playing, the tubes have fully warmed up and it starts sounding less harsh, more mellow, and that effect is impressive to me. At about that point, not only my Strat, but my 2 Les Pauls develop a “mature” and sort of burnished tone. [The Strat is stock and the Les Pauls are pretty much stock, save for my Classic; now with Seth Lovers pups.]

The really sharp tone edges seem to disappear suddenly about 20 to 30 minutes into playing and that's when I realize what playing a tube amp is all about.

I've read that these Celestions can take a long time to sound like a mature and broken in speaker, but I don't have the time or the inclination to wait it all out for that to take place. I think part of the formula is about how quickly the tubes get to their warmed up state and how quickly (or not) they achieve that.



Stratstrangler
Click to expand...

I use my Weber Tube Punisher to keep unruly tubes in line...

Weber Mass Lite 100 Watt.jpg
 
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