Breaking in old speakers can old ones be done?

[Slobrain]

Heh,
I know this subject has been beaten to death...LOL.. but I have to ask...

I just bought an old pair of G12M-70 celestions from Ebay and the guy said he pulled them from an old mid 80's Marshall 4X12 enclosed cab.

Well I installed them into that PV renown 2x12 open back amp trying to capture a more Marshall like tone but these G12M-70's seem tight and lack bass a bit.

So my question is since these were in an old 4x12 enclosed cab and now in a 2x12 open back should I try to break them in to get more bass out of them?

I have broken in new speakers before but never old ones assuming they would have been broken in already but to an enclosed cab.

Also these have felt on the back edge of the speaker and I wonder if I should remove the felt and bolt the speaker frame directly against the wood baffle?

Thanks
SLO

[bob p]

I would think that once your speakers are broken-in, they're broken-in. I would think that additional break-in wouldn't be helpful, regardless of the open/closed back cab situation.

There are some differences in the resonant frequencies for different Marshall/Celestion cones, which will cause differences in bass response. I'm assuming that you're already familiar with that. If you're not, I'm not the vintage celestion expert, so maybe someone else can chime in to help. Of course, with any open backed cab you should expect more air and less bass. If you want to tighten up the bass a little, maybe going to a semi-open back would help.

Regarding the felt -- if its on the back rim of the speaker, that would suggest that they were front mounted in the other cab. If you're front mounting them again, I'd leave them in. They're a gasket that was used to help seal the closed back cab. If you're in an open backed cab now, you can leave them in place if you're front loading. If you're rear loading, you might want to put a gasket on the front of the speakers.

[Slobrain]

Hey Bob,
Thanks for that info. Looking at these G12M-70 speakers and seeing the felt gasket makes me wonder if these really did come out of a Marshall 4x12 or really a off brand cab like a crate Ebay....hmmmmmm

Anyway, I've tried different celestions in that renown amp and the GT12-75 seems to have the most low end but the mids are different, more scooped I would say.

I like the G12M-70 tone in some cabs like a Marshall 1x12 amp I own. The PV renown is an ok amp but I guess trying to make its tone more Marshall in its existing state (2x12 open back) is probably a waste of time, Now in saying that running the PV head into a Randall 4x12 with Celestion vintage 30's sounds pretty darn good.

I guess what I'm trying to get in the open back amp is that crunchy mid with a good low end but so far haven't found a set of celestions that fit that bill just yet for that amp. The old PV amps are kind of hard to get a good sound using celestions because PV's seem to have alot of odd midrange built into them and dialing out isn't so easy. I call that tone the PV midrange! different form other amps. Maybe I'll slap in the vintage 30's and see how those sound next. Also I have considered cutting a new back panel for that PV that will enclose the back more than it is now, leaving just enough opening for heat dissipation. Heh, maybe I'm trying to do something fruitless here? I guess a PV is a PV, nothing more...LOL...

SLO

[bob p]

as far as celestions go, if you want a little more bottom end, maybe a 30W G12H30 Anniversary might help.

i'm not familiar with the amp that you're working with, but in some respects its hard to make speakers dramatically change the tone of the circuit. if the basic tone of the circuit isn't what you're after, maybe speaker swaps aren't the answer.

[Slobrain]

Hey Bob,
Well the PV circuit isn't too bad in sound, Think good clean country type EQ. I'm using the clean channel which has a parametric EQ on it so I can shape it to a good clean, then run an old Ibanez distortion pedal thru the clean for the dirt.

I did some experimenting a little while ago and tried the Renown amp with the G12M-70's in it and stacked this on a 2x12 closed back 2x12 cab loaded with the GT12-75s in it and got a much better sound closer to what I was going for.
I think I'm gonna put the 75's back in the Renown and put the 70's in the close back cab and see if that sounds better getting the more midrange lower on this rig and cutting the upper hi's thats hitting my ears.

Normally I play thru my Marshall or Fender bassman but lately I've been going back to the SS amp to see if I can get this rig sounding good as the tube amps. The SS amp is a bit a different animal as its tighter sounding but a bit more sterile in feel but still sounds good.

Apples to Oranges I guess...LOL.

SLO