June 1, 2011

Breaking in the Speaker

I’ve often heard people talk about how their headphones or guitar speakers really “opened up” or became more “dynamic and alive” after breaking them in.

I recently had the opportunity to borrow a virgin, unplayed Celestion G12M Greenback speaker, which is the same speaker as in my Vox AC15HW1 hand-wired.

So, I thought it would be interesting to do a swap-in comparison with my current G12M, which has probably about 100 hours of playtime on it, at both bedroom and gigging levels.

Honestly, I was not blown away. I thought the differences would be really obvious, but they’re pretty subtle.

Have a listen:
And here’s a little pictorial of swapping the speaker. After removing its screws, the speaker is still stuck in there. There’s a thin layer of cork between the speaker and the cabinet, which either has adhesive applied to it, or has just kinda bonded with the cabinet interior. It needs a little coaxing to get out of there. I’m using a 15″ utility bar to gently pry free the speaker.

Since this is a big cabinet, there’s plenty of room to remove the speaker without removing the tubes and amp section, but on a smaller amp like the AC15C1 Custom, it’s necessary to remove the tubes or the entire amp/control unit (just 8 more screws), to create a big enough opening to remove the speaker.

38 Comments

orpheus06
June 1, 2011 @ 9:32 am

Thank you for taking your time to do this videos and helping us.

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SirZozzo
June 1, 2011 @ 9:32 am

Thank you. Very nice clip 🙂

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SaNTaSiMoS
June 1, 2011 @ 10:00 am

its worth it?

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groundswitch
June 1, 2011 @ 10:01 am

Seems like the Broken in speaker is a bit more responsive, but also seems a bit more ragged. Not that that’s a bad thing just is what I heard. The new speaker seems more focused with less harmonic content, also it seemed to be a bit quieter. Well that’s what I noticed. Thanks for taking the time to do these videos and doing them well.

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Sufferd666
June 1, 2011 @ 12:17 pm

Nice demo for home use. Dont think anyone will notice in a live on stage situation 🙂

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DrTahanBlues
June 1, 2011 @ 9:38 pm

excelente !…gracias

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afedorov78
June 2, 2011 @ 3:30 am

Hi John, your GL guitar sounds MUCH MUCH better than Epiphone Riviera. Broken in speaker sounds better too 🙂

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ARNOLD1982DEAL
June 2, 2011 @ 4:31 pm

I couldn’t tell a lot of differences but they were there. I think it really showed after the bypass when the mic clipped and it was pushing that speaker for real. Great video!

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afedorov78
June 4, 2011 @ 2:39 am

If you could make different tube’s comparison that would be awesome

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ROCKROLLnPIES
July 7, 2011 @ 1:59 pm

there are so much more life in the new one :O

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mdehner2
July 28, 2011 @ 10:20 pm

I actually liked the new speakers on the clear settings, but the broken in speakers, on the distortion settings! Thanks for doing this!

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MrDeamon1
October 8, 2011 @ 7:14 am

Agreed

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hgyture2347
October 24, 2011 @ 7:59 pm

Yeah I just installed two Celestion alnico gold speakers into my cab. Are there any do’s and dont’s for the first while of using them?

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TimpBizkit
November 5, 2011 @ 4:14 pm

Well broken in speakers will have more mid range and bass response, although won’t sound as clean on the recording as the improved bass and midrange may clip the mic more

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wseeback
November 23, 2011 @ 4:49 am

The broken in speaker has more detail. Wow. I always thought this theory was bull, or probably not noticeable by ear. Thanks for the vid John! You make excellent vids, and explain things very well.

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wseeback
November 23, 2011 @ 4:53 am

TimpBizkit- it’s obvious the broken in speaker is CLEANER than the new one. The new one seems a bit “stiff”.

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wseeback
November 23, 2011 @ 4:56 am

I think everybody’s crazy. The broken in speaker sounds cleaner, and more detailed on ALL settings.

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- fiend13eight
  January 3, 2012 @ 2:56 am
  
  @wseeback yeah, i was gonna say it sounded cleaner but you beat me to it
  
  Reply
directorgtr
December 9, 2011 @ 1:01 pm

Here’s the bottom line- if you record, yes, broken in will sound better but in a mix of a full band, NO ONE will be able to tell the difference INCLUDING yourself. Thx for the demo!

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SAHANKON
January 7, 2012 @ 11:34 am

the sound is more crisp on the used one (y)

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heinzdziurowitz
March 25, 2012 @ 8:31 am

There’s a lot more going on with the broken in speaker. Dynamics are much better, softer notes are softer, louder notes are louder with smoother break up when the speaker starts to overdrive, much better response to to the right hand technique. The new speaker is more compressed and boring. Your demo was very informative and is proof a speaker does need a break in period. Thanks!!!

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arthur2818
April 22, 2012 @ 12:32 am

can i remove 15 watts speaker and replace it with a higher watts speaker??

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- John
  April 25, 2012 @ 2:50 pm
  
  Yes you can. The G12M greenback is a 25W speaker. Make sure the new speaker has the same impedance (8 ohm in this amp). Note, changing to a speaker with a higher max power rating will not necessarily make it louder.
  
  Reply
MrRoskoPeko
July 29, 2012 @ 6:08 am

Barely noticeable.. Hardly worth thinking about.

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1stghostshadow
August 14, 2012 @ 9:26 am

The broken in speaker sounds a lot warmer to me. The new one is pretty bright sounding. I like the broken in one more.

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YaDaDeeDaDum
August 30, 2012 @ 8:48 pm

Anyone who doesn’t hear a world of difference between the new and broken in speaker needs to check their ‘puter speakers or their hearing. The broken in speaker has tons more tone and character. Great video!

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nikike91
September 10, 2012 @ 2:52 pm

I think this myth is pretty busted…

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Wi66pro
September 30, 2012 @ 2:13 am

Great video, I liked the silly grin on your face when you turned it up loud :-).

One question, would there be any difference between two speakers of the same make and type, both being either broken in or new. Just wondering if there could be any element of the differences heard here being down to quirks of how they are made.

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- John Cooper
  October 2, 2012 @ 4:13 pm
  
  It’s a good question. I’m sure there are some differences speaker to speaker, but I think one can assume a reasonable degree of consistency from a manufacturer like Celestion.
  
  Reply
  - TheAxe4Ever
    April 19, 2013 @ 9:32 pm
    
    That is a good question. And your answer is mostly correct except for one thing, a reasonable degree of consistency from a manufacturer like Celestion only applies to the speakers that they still make in England. Those are great. But VERY expensive.But most of the ones sold now like the Vintage 30, The Greenback, the 70/80 etc. are Chinese made junk IMO. BIG consistency issues between the same model speakers. Eminence is the way to go. Awesome QC and incredible sound. U.S.A. Made too. Affordable
    
    Reply
    - John
      April 23, 2013 @ 11:27 am
      
      I’ve heard good things about Eminence.
      
      Reply
      - TheAxe4Ever
        April 23, 2013 @ 3:29 pm
        
        I have 2 Eminence Wizards and 2 Eminence Governors in an X pattern in my 4X12 cab and they sound incredible. They are getting popular now so the price is going up. About $90 apiece. Still less expensive than the Chinese Celestion. Another awesome choice is the Veteran 30 by Warehouse Speakers. Thanks for all your posts John. The most informative out there.
        
        Reply
Alejandro Sanchez
October 24, 2012 @ 3:41 am

I bet you put these recordings in a real world mix, and you put in blindly in a new video.
Many people now hearing those magic tones, will hear no differences later.

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wbongcales25
January 24, 2013 @ 1:59 am

can i replace the speaker of GM108 15watts..to a 30watts? can i make it louder but too?

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- John
  January 24, 2013 @ 9:41 am
  
  You can replace the speaker with a higher-wattage speaker of the same impedance. It won’t make it louder, but it will give it more headroom before breaking up. Typically the speaker is rated higher wattage than the amp- like in this video- 15w amp, 25w speaker.
  
  Reply
SindreThePunk
February 4, 2013 @ 1:05 pm

Hey man, great vid! i got a vox ac4cbl, and the speaker is very rough and brittle(vox 10″ celestion). im thinking about changing it out, for a better speaker but i dont know what to get or anything, is there any speakers that would give it some more gain or is that to the tubes?

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- John
  February 5, 2013 @ 12:31 pm
  
  You don’t get more gain by changing speakers. That would be tubes, boost/drive pedals, hotter pickups, etc. Rough/brittle might be speaker breakup (often a good thing, but maybe you’re not liking the sound), which could be avoided by changing to a speaker with higher power rating, different magnet/characteristics, etc. It could also be the sound character of the amp and tubes (breakup in the preamp/power tubes) – and you could experiment with different tubes . Good luck!
  
  Reply
  - SindreThePunk
    February 6, 2013 @ 11:59 am
    
    the thing is too, im not able to get as much gain out of it as they do in the vox videos of it. its strange
    
    Reply
ctkjess
August 7, 2013 @ 10:48 pm

Hey man one question i have a vox cambridge reverb v1031 45 watts and there original speaker are a heavy duty load speaker and i want to change it to a celestion vintage 30 speaker can i replace it and be with a better sound and if so waht ohm do i need please help u.u

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- John
  August 8, 2013 @ 12:55 pm
  
  I would guess it’s 8ohm, but you should read the label or measure it with a multimeter to confirm. As for whether it will sound better, I haven’t tried it, so can’t help you there!
  
  Reply
cubixthe
May 10, 2014 @ 11:22 am

Barely a difference, maybe a tiny bit in brightness. I bet 95% of people
would not know which is which if he played it randomly…

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mrkite89
May 25, 2014 @ 6:49 am

Good video, but the mic seems closer to the center with the brand new
speaker: 1 inch is enough to justify this little difference…

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MemorymanDL
June 10, 2014 @ 9:45 pm

The broken in speaker sounds looser and more open. A bit more clarity there
too.

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proxy69
July 30, 2014 @ 8:35 am

Thank you very much for taking time to do all of this.
Also for all of your videos ….

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kutnersuicide
August 14, 2014 @ 9:36 am

Take two G12m of the same age and both will sound different. I own 8
different cabinets and it’s always the case, sometimes the difference is
huge, so this test is flawed afaic.

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Ed Berger
March 16, 2015 @ 12:02 am

Fuck nose !

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gary gordon
April 24, 2015 @ 2:28 am

hi, great videos! i’ve a fender champion 40 but their speakers turn
distorted at vol 5 and in low tones just break up… im thinking to change
speaker, do you think i can get Good Clean sounds with Deep Lows if i
replace it? or i just have to change my amp?… thanks your videos are very
helpful

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Breaking in the Speaker

38 Comments

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