Speaker Reconing Kit

[Gibsonman63]

Does anyone know where I can get a speaker reconing kit for a 1972 10" CTS AlNiCo speaker? This speaker is in my Super Reverb.

[Enzo]

Make a sandwich, pour a glass of milk, type "speaker reconing" into Google, hit ENTER. Now enjoy your sandwich as you read all the information.

[Enzo]

That looks a lot more smart-ass in print than I intended.

[olddawg]

If you are not a professional re-coner, although most of us have done it, I think what Enzo might be telling you is that you would probably be better served by finding a good re-coning service. It is something best left to someone who does it a lot, has been doing it a long time, and knows what will work with what. You will also most likely want the magnet to be re-magnetized and the speaker broken in. Weber was really good at this but I have no idea what his business is like after the sad news. Do your homework. There are a few good re-coners around. They're like painters but rarer and the shops seem to ebb and flow over the years. The solvents and glues have a tendancy to eat brain cells and cause organ damage.

[Enzo]

Well you make good points, but I wasn;t saying that. All i was saying is if you want to know where to get recone kits and parts (as well as information on how to learn), use google.

I certainly agree it is not a job one can just up and do. I myself would never attempt that.

[Gibsonman63]

Another angle

Is there a way to fix a speaker rub without reconing?

[Sweetfinger]

I've had good luck with Neal's in Sacramento.

[trem]

I've had good luck with Neal's in Sacramento.

We have also used Neal many times. He has been doing it for a long time. But a speaker would have to be pretty important to pay shipping both ways, plus the repair cost.
I have fixed tares and holes in speaker cones. But if the coil is rubbing the gap, your done.
Just remember that all of those Beatles, Hendrix, Stones, Cream, Who, Creedence, etc. etc. recordings were made with "new" speakers. The point I am trying to make is, there is no reason to stress over a bad speaker. Recone it or buy a new one. Our ears adjust, it is our minds that cause all the worry. I've strayed.... Email some reconers and get their opinions. Neal's link is below, along with some others.
Good Luck.

Neal's Speaker Service

Great Plains Audio: Services We Provide

A Brown Soun Services - Speaker Repair, Recone

[pdf64]

On the weber site there's some advice on a DIY fix for this, about the 5th Question
Let's Talk Speakers
But it will require a new coil dust cover.

[Gtr_tech]

That looks a lot more smart-ass in print than I intended.

Good one Snarky Anderson Naw...I didn't think it looked that way. But, I'd have told him to search for "speaker reconing kit" so it would weed out all the reconing services.

I don't tend to trust the reconers in my area. Dave at Michigan Sound is a great guy, but I've not had good luck with drivers that have been reconed by them. We had 2 JBL 18s come loose at the spider and subsequently fry. I had a Celestion G12m70 reconed and it looked like they forgot to reset the level on the test/break in amp and the cone is all wrinkled around the dust cap and the coil former is warped. I didn't notice it when I picked it up 'cause I was in a hurry, but saw it when I got it home. Hooked it up just to see what noise it made if any. It makes noise....thats about it. I wrote it off....it sits in the attic now keeping the rest of the junk company.

I'd love to recone my own speakers, but I've priced the recone kits and they're close to or the same $$$ as it costs to have a shop do it. Or just replace the driver for that matter....same amt.

Its not hard to recone a speaker, you just have to know all you can about it and hopefully get it right the first time.

[Gtr_tech]

[QUOTE=olddawg;117088] You will also most likely want the magnet to be re-magnetized and the speaker broken in. Weber was really good at this but I have no idea what his business is like after the sad news.QUOTE]

I really doubt most reconers have the machine to charge/recharge magnets. Its a rare occurance that its needed unless you actually *making* speakers. Or, if they goof at the factory and send one out uncharged (listening PV?).
Alnico magnets may need recharging since the coil is basically degaussing the magnet slowly over time. An expert should chime in on that subject tho....I've never encountered an alnico speaker that the magnet seemed even remotely weak....even 50 yr old speakers.

[Gibsonman63]

Weber sells speaker parts very inexpensively, cheap enough to have a little trial and error and some experimentation and still come out way ahead. According to the Weber web-site, it would be extremely difficult to demagnatize an AlNiCo mangnet unless you dropped it on a corner.

That being said, I ended up just taking it in (Allen Speakers in Houston) because I blew out one of my main PA speakers over the weekend so I had to go in anyway. I have plenty of guitar amps I could gig with, but only one set of main PA speakers.

[gbono]

My $.02 on speaker recones.

Demagnetizing a magnet is a must if you suspect debris in the gap - you can try two sided tape but demag is much better. Weber has the equipment to do this.

Keep your work space clean and work carefully - good prep of the frame and gap is also important.

Make sure you have the correct adhesives for your project - PVA seems to be the most commonly used product but there are other solutions.

If you don't get the correct VC shims you will have poor success.

Correct tinsel lead dressing is critical for good reliability and quiet operation.

I don't believe you can ever have too much venting when it comes to the motor structure of a driver (especially bass units).

Is this a MI amplifier repair forum??

[jrfrond]

As a certified reconer, I can tell you that, if you have one speaker that you'd love to keep, and no practice with no source for parts, just send it out. Aftermarket recone kits are supplied as a voice coil, spider, cone, dust cap and gaskets. You must assemble them onto the frame, AFTER the basket is cleaned and prepped (a job in itself; the hardest part, really). You need to know how to center the VC winding in the motor plate, how to properly shim the coil in the magnet, clean the gap, what adhesives to use, glue it all together, etc. I can recone speakers in my sleep, but there is a fairly steep learning curve to getting it right and knowing how to "massage" parts together... even getting the glue to look right around the dust cap.

Save yourself the hassle and send it out. Or better yet, just get a Weber replacement. That CTS is really just middle-of-the-road.

[Gibsonman63]

Thanks, John. I ended up taking it in because I had to go anyway with a speaker from my main PA cabinet with a ripped cone, a 10" JBL that weighs 12 lbs on the bathroom scale. I have time to play around with guitar amp speakers, but I have to have my PA up and running every weekend.

I will probably end up upgrading the speakers in my Super Reverb, but I need to be frugal for the time being, which is why I was interested in doing the reconing in the first place.

BTW, how do you become a certified speaker reconer? It seems that there are a lot of closely guarded secrets when it comes to reconing speakers.