• Guys, we've spent considerable money converting the Les Paul Forum to this new XenForo platform, and we have ongoing monthly operating expenses. THE "DONATIONS" TAB IS NOW WORKING, AND WE WOULD APPRECIATE ANY DONATIONS YOU CAN MAKE TO KEEP THE LES PAUL FORUM GOING! Thank you!

Be patient with reconed speakers

MapleFlame

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 3, 2005
Messages
14,044
If you remember a few months back I restored a 54 wide panel Twin amp that had 2 refined original Jensen P12Q speakers. I will not lie, they sounded like Shit. I have several 2x amps 10's and 12's as well as single speakers in amps and lose. I tried everything through that chassis. Each speaker had some good and bad things I liked. So, with the reconed speakers I have been playing the crap out of them, even using a bass guitar to give them more flex. Finally after hours of playing time they sound what I've been looking for. My 63 Strat couldn't sound any better. So if buying new speakers or getting recones, be patient and eventially they will sound better. Obviously some speakers no matter what, aren't the right fit/sound.
 

slater529

Active member
Joined
Jul 18, 2011
Messages
195
YES! I bought a couple reconed '67 C10Qs for my Silver Face Vibrolux Reverb. Hooked up my iPod, shut the door to my music room and let it run on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Greatest Hits for 2 solid hours... LOUD.

Those speaker sound fantastic now! Best $110 I ever spent! :dude:
 
Last edited:

mdubya

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 31, 2010
Messages
1,020
Good advice.

I have had luck with a dime'd fuzz and using the neck pickup for several evenings in a row to open up a stiff new speaker. It turned my stock Champion 600 from a boxy, low volume toy into a legitimate contender with my silver face Champ for a broken in, sweet toned, low volume platform. The kind that could almost be an "only" amp for home use.
 

sonar

New member
Joined
Jan 10, 2003
Messages
3,589
Slightly off topic, but my bass player did a DIY recone on an EVM-B. Speaker sounded great right away.
 

Wilko

All Access/Backstage Pass
Joined
Mar 11, 2002
Messages
20,854
For a bass, the softer dynamic is far less noticeable or important. Not being disrespectful about bass as an instrument. It has everything to do with the frequencies being used and the power it takes to move that paper.

Soft parts of the attack/decay envelope at higher frequencies require far less power and if the paper is too stiff, it just doesn't move as readily. Once it has been broken in, that same paper is ready to move at slightest nudge giving the expected frequency response and dynamic range.
 

sonar

New member
Joined
Jan 10, 2003
Messages
3,589
For a bass, the softer dynamic is far less noticeable or important. Not being disrespectful about bass as an instrument. It has everything to do with the frequencies being used and the power it takes to move that paper.

Soft parts of the attack/decay envelope at higher frequencies require far less power and if the paper is too stiff, it just doesn't move as readily. Once it has been broken in, that same paper is ready to move at slightest nudge giving the expected frequency response and dynamic range.

It can also go the other way. When I built my Vibro Champ clone I went with a smooth cone Weber alnico Sig 10. Out of the box it sounded great clean (not so great with OD, but I digress) but after several months the definition dropped, it became loose to the point of barely holding low notes, and with a noticeable decrease in perceived volume. After about a year the speaker sounded like crap at any setting. It tested fine, but failed the ear test. In a very non-technical observation, the speaker just "wore out."
 
Top