Speaker break-in period

[thinskin57]

is there a "general" agreed upon amount of time as to when a speaker is actually broken in? i would imagine hours would be the most accurate measurement given that not everyone plays the same amount of hours per week, month, and so-on.

 

[b0nkersx]

From the Celestion website..

Important Note! Before breaking it in it's advisable to "warm up" the speaker gently for a few minutes with low-level playing or background hum.
Break in a speaker with a fat, clean tone: turn up the power amp volume to full, and control the level with the preamp gain. Use a level that will be quite loud, but not painful in a normal size room.
Have the bass and mid up full, and the treble at least half. On your guitar, use the middle pick up position (if your guitar has more than one pick up) 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. The speaker will continue to mature over the years, but this will get it 95% of the way to tonal perfection in the shortest time.

 

[Authorized Boogie]

This gets into a subjective area that may be best left alone, BUT... :wink:

One of the best lines on this subject that I've always appreciated is:

Some people think that a speaker never sounds as good as the first notes that get played through it.

A brand new speaker is crisp, detailed, tight, clear and every note that gets played through it reflects that. As more and more notes get played, those details get 'broken-in'.

Mesa doesn't make any suggestion for speakers needing to be broken in and given that some of our sonic signature is known for crisp detail and clarity, I think a lot of us here lean toward speakers being beautiful on the fresh and new side and not really needing break-in.

Just one opinion though and break-in done right should be just fine. Break in done 'wrong' may be another story so it's important for people to do some research on the break in process to not mistakenly do damage. Done wrong a break in may wedge the speakers in a not so good way for their lifespan.

To each his own...

 

[94Tremoverb]

Some people think that a speaker never sounds as good as the first notes that get played through it.

A brand new speaker is crisp, detailed, tight, clear and every note that gets played through it reflects that. As more and more notes get played, those details get 'broken-in'.

I would say the exact opposite... I think it takes years for a speaker to be really properly broken in, and they probably never stop improving unless they actually get blown - although the rate of improvement obviously slows down, eventually to nearly nothing. But *really* old, well-used speakers sound beautiful - rich, warm and complex, and genuinely clear and detailed. Brand new ones sound tight, bright, stiff, sterile and flat... not clear and detailed at all.

Currently I'm breaking in a pair of new Celestions (G12M-25/G12H-30) in a cab, and comparing against the old V30s in my Tremoverb which were really hammered by its former owner... at the moment the V30s sound far warmer than the supposedly 'vintage' types which are brash and edgy so far, much brighter but not in a good way. You can kind of hear what they're trying to do but they really need to loosen up and breathe more.

 

[fluff191]

Some people think that a speaker never sounds as good as the first notes that get played through it.

A brand new speaker is crisp, detailed, tight, clear and every note that gets played through it reflects that. As more and more notes get played, those details get 'broken-in'.

I would say the exact opposite... I think it takes years for a speaker to be really properly broken in, and they probably never stop improving unless they actually get blown - although the rate of improvement obviously slows down, eventually to nearly nothing. But *really* old, well-used speakers sound beautiful - rich, warm and complex, and genuinely clear and detailed. Brand new ones sound tight, bright, stiff, sterile and flat... not clear and detailed at all.

Currently I'm breaking in a pair of new Celestions (G12M-25/G12H-30) in a cab, and comparing against the old V30s in my Tremoverb which were really hammered by its former owner... at the moment the V30s sound far warmer than the supposedly 'vintage' types which are brash and edgy so far, much brighter but not in a good way. You can kind of hear what they're trying to do but they really need to loosen up and breathe more.

+1

Keep me posted on the outcome of the G12's will ya? I know they arent G12's, but I have recently stopped using my Vintage 30 cab in favor of a 5150 cab (which are supposed to try to replicate a G12) and REALLY like the break up and crunchiness of the non-Vintage 30 speakers.

Sorry didnt mean to thread-jack.

 

[fishyfishfish]

According to Scumback speakers, 60 to 100 hours of playing.

 

[YellowJacket]

UGG, I hate new speakers. Brash, brittle, scratchy, sterile, and constipated. When I first got my rectocab, the speakers were so stiff that I took the thing from show to show and had every band and their dog play it. It got better with time . . .

So Tremoverb94 decided to get the g12m / g12H cab, hmm? When I built my G12m / v30 cab I was never able to really crank it to it took the better part of a year to get it broken in. This summer was productive though, since I had a garage at my disposal. I played guitar amped for the first time in 2 months, but only clean. This basement big city dwelling thing is DEPRESSING. The lady living upstairs loves the cello so I spend most of my time on that . . .

 

[94Tremoverb]

Put a pickup on your cello, buy a couple of Apocalyptica albums, turn them up loud and play along through your cab, that will break it in alright. You may get on better with the lady upstairs too...

 

[droptrd]

weber says 12-24 hours

 

[c.t.d-nicke]

This seems like a good method. Have any of you tried this?

I think I'm going to try this when my recto cab arrives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIRffx48KVc

nicke

 

[screamingdaisy]

In my experience it typically takes 5-7 hours for the speakers to start breaking in... ie, before they start sounding like they're supposed to. Some speakers sound really, really different brand new than they do after they have a few hours on them.

Then it takes another 40, 60, or even upwards of 100 hours to 'finish' breaking in, depending on the speaker type.

I agree that speakers never really finish breaking in.... or wearing out (depending on how you look at it), but it's in that first 40/60/100 hours that you can frequently notice a shift in tone from session to session or over a period of sessions.

Further, there's other things that can be done to hasten the break in. Mesa V30s and MC-90s for instance have always sounded good to me brand new and don't require the first 5-7 hours just to get them to sound right... although like all speakers I feel they continue to improve over time.

 

[Ozwepaie]

I recorded a progression of chords. high gain & clean. Looped it using Amplitube on my iPod.
Ran that to the input of my amp. And let it play all day while I'm @ work. Each day I would
turn it up a bit louder. After 2 weeks of that, you're good !

note: use a solid state amp, so you don't waist your tubes.

 

[edmiller9999]

IMHO, guitar speakers go through a short break-in period. The Celestion comment above seems about right. On the other hand, I spent about twenty hours (or a little more) breaking in my Paradigm stereo speakers. They have kevlar drivers that need more time to smooth out.