Anybody have experience reconing a speaker?

laterallateral · Post by **laterallateral** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 5:20 pm

So a little while back, one of the dudes in my old band put a hole in one of my speakers while moving a bass drum. One of the legs punched clear trough the cloth on my cab and made a penny sized hole in one of the drivers, about 2 inches away from the dust cap. We tested out the speaker immediately and found that it didn't have any real impact on the sound, so I just left it be knowing I'd eventually have to worry about it later down the road as the issue was bound to degrade over time and use.

Well last night I tried to record with that cab and well... The speaker has come down with a bad case of The Kinks which is cool, just not all the time.

Now, that cab is loaded with two late 70's Fender Twin Eminences which I like an awful alot and I would like to preserve the character of the original driver.
I'm considering trying to recone the speaker or having it done professionally. I know this is going to alter it's voice dramatically but I'm hoping that whatever little character is related to the magnet and voice coil would be retained.

Is this a completely pointless endeavor?
Has anybody ever had experience reconing a speaker and shoud this be attempted by a person who can't wrap a Christmas gift worth a shit?
Should I really be shopping for a replacement speaker on ebay, right now?

Any input you might have on this dear Shortcale, would be greatly apreciated.

filtercap · Post by **filtercap** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 10:57 pm

You mean =successful= experience, or just experience?

I reconed a pair of stereo speakers, and it isn't rocket science... much. Unfortunately, you have to get the tolerances around the magnet/voice coil right the first time (cone holds voice coil in place) or else there isn't a second time because the misaligned coil rubs against the magnet and burns out. That's what happened with one of the speakers after a few hours.

On the other hand, I =did= succeed in some bass speaker surgery a while ago that involved the voice coil and dust cap, but didn't involve reconing -- I wrote that up for Shortscale laffs and posted it here:

http://www.shortscale.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=217031

Depending on the extent of the damage, you may be able to patch the cone with some of that black speaker goop like I used on that bass speaker. Seems like that would change the mass & flexibility of the cone and maybe its tone, but even if it fails you'd be replacing the cone anyway.

I'd give DIY reconing a try if it seems interesting to you (keeping in mind that you have to take care when it comes to gluing in place so you don't end up with a burnt coil) or price out a pro job vs. the cost of a new Eminence. I like their speakers (I have a Twin Reverb myself), and a new one, tho maybe not identical in sound, would probably sound really good anyway.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 11:17 pm

A friend at work is an ex-PA engineer, and has done all sorts of clever electrical and audio stuff (she's assembled and fixed loads of my pedals, insanely neat work), and she's described watching their speaker fixer at work, saying that while he made it look ridiculously easy, she will never, ever attempt it.

laterallateral · Post by **laterallateral** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 11:26 pm

Thanks for chiming in, you guys.

Filtercap, It helps to know a that this is a tough task for you because it means it's probably out of my scope.
Same goes for your wizard friend, Benecol.

I just don't think I'm dexterous enough to pull this off.
I'll check pro jobs against the price of a new speak.

Maybe I'll try to repair the hole by cutting off the jagged shit. You know, maybe that would decrease the fuzz and maybe it might keep the problem from degrading any further, in the same way it does with cymbals.

filtercap · Post by **filtercap** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 11:33 pm

laterallateral wrote:Maybe I'll try to repair the hole by cutting off the jagged shit. You know, maybe that would decrease the fuzz and maybe it might keep the problem from degrading any further, in the same way it does with cymbals.

Getting the jagged edges as flush together as possible and then patching with that black glop is what I'd recommend over cutting stuff away. A speaker cone moves and flexes a lot more violently than a cymbal relative to its thickness/strength, so I'd expect even a cleanly-cut hole to start tearing again. Check speaker stores/sites for the black adhesive if curious; it should be cheap.

Sloan · Post by **Sloan** » Sun Oct 11, 2009 6:34 pm

yeah, if it's not too big, i would just patch it up.
there was a great speaker recone tutorial somewhere online. it wouldn't hurt to try it yourself and if unsuccessful, just send it to a speaker repair bro. i think it's usually expensive though.

Rayjaysonic · Post by **Rayjaysonic** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 9:21 pm

There is a decent article on reconing a speaker in the workshop section of this months 'Guitar and Bass Magazine' (December issue....what is it with the dates on Magazines???). Have not read it in full yet but looks like it will give a decent over view of what's involved.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:21 pm

Ironically this guy was telling me this weekend you can get a 'paper kit' for repairing speakers, he claimed to have successfully fixed a 60s Goodman speaker this way. Where you get them from i dont know, he's one of these crazy Craft dudes that builds stuff out of anything.

laterallateral · Post by **laterallateral** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 3:11 am

Thanks for the advice, guys. I'll be checking out that article.
I actually know of a local shop that sources speaker reconing supplies.
I'm still mostly unsure about my abilities in regards to this but as Sloan suggested, I'll try patching it, if that sucks, I'll try reconing it myself and if it still sucks, fuck it, I'll just buy a new driver.