Speaker Woes

[CapnCrunch]

So I've finished a Dumble inspired 2x12 cab that I made out of clear pine. Everything looks great even though this is the first cab I've actually tolexed and applied grill cloth on myself. I have a Weber alnico Blue Dog and alnico Silver Bell that have been sitting around for almost 3 or 4 years since I sold the 2x12 cab they were in. I installed them and soldered them up.....got out the Les Paul and plugged into my AC15 into the speaker cab and with great anticipation hit the first chord.

Total nasty distortion (and the amp was set clean), as in signature "the voice coil is shot distortion". I narrow things down to the Silver Bell and pull it. I have a second Blue Dog that also has been sitting around waiting for a cab. I throw it in, same damn thing. Just to make sure I'm not crazy, I try the one Blue that sounded good to me by itself, and it is fine.

So, I've got two alnico 12's that have been sitting for several years and they both are completely unusable because of voice coil rubs. What burns me is I sent the Silver Bell back to Weber once before for this exact thing. They fixed it (at no charge) and sent it back to me. I played it sparingly for about a year and then it sat.

Anybody else have problems with speakers developing rubs after sitting for a period of time? This just pisses me off, because I am in the process of finishing up a Rocket clone, and this cab was going to go with it. Now I have to punt and put a g12m in with the one good blue I have (it's the only other 8 ohm speaker I have at present). I wish I had a g12h30 laying around, but I don't. On top of everything, Weber is not taking speakers for recone until they clear their back log after Ted died, so I have no idea when I can get these fixed. I'm thinking of sending them to Austin Speaker Works to be reconed by them.

[David Root]

I have had three new Weber speakers sitting in vertical position in a 5E7 Bandmaster cabinet for two years or so. Maybe I better check them.

Did you store your speakers face up, face down or on edge? Maybe that makes a difference, although I can't think why, they're intended to be used in the vertical on edge position.

[Structo]

I was wondering if that was an urban myth about speakers sagging due to gravity.
So the weight of the cone causes the speaker coil to rub on the bottom?

Man I hope those EVM 12L's I bought don't do that, they were very expensive.

[greiswig]

I was wondering if that was an urban myth about speakers sagging due to gravity.
So the weight of the cone causes the speaker coil to rub on the bottom?

Man I hope those EVM 12L's I bought don't do that, they were very expensive.

Don't worry: EVM's magnet assemblies are so massive that they generate their own gravitational well which is conveniently centered, overcoming the earth's tendency to pull the coil down.

[greiswig]

Anybody else have problems with speakers developing rubs after sitting for a period of time? This just pisses me off, because I am in the process of finishing up a Rocket clone, and this cab was going to go with it.

FWIW, I have a couple of older Blue Dogs (18W) that I've had for years. One has been sitting in my Bad Cat combo for a 3-4 years, and has no coil rub. But...I do vaguely remember having a discussion with Ted Weber (RIP) in which I think he mentioned that the early speakers were "better but less efficient" because they had a wider magnet gap. I think he was saying this in the context of overpowering the speakers, which could cause the coil assembly to distort with heat even if it didn't burn out.

If that's true, then re-coning them might solve some of the problem, but if your speakers have a really tight gap the problem may resurface.

[CapnCrunch]

Hey how do guys quote text from a previous post? I haven't been able to figure that out

Greiswig..... I am afraid that you may be right. Like I said, I've already returned the Silver to Weber once for this problem. These speakers are older. They have the old style frame vs. the the Celestion style frame. I bought them in 96 or 97. They have been played very little however, and are 30 watters. I had both of them in a 2x12 cab (in series) that I played a THD Univalve into. The THD is a SE amp that delivers maybe 6 to 8 watts at the very most, so the speakers have been babied. I could understand this problem if I was running a 50 or 100 watt HIWATT into the cab, but...........

Anyway, I just got an email from Weber saying they'd take them for repair. I'd like to get rid of the Silver, but I don't think I can dump it on someone with a clear conscience......

[Structo]

See that "Quote" button on the upper right corner of the post?
Click that and it will put everything that the person said and will also include pictures.

You can shorten the quote by highlighting the text you don't want to include then press delete or backspace.

[Bob-I]

I have never EVER had a speaker go bad just sitting around, and I've had tons of speakers sitting around for 20+ years.

That said, I've heard reports of voice coils coming unglued when the glue dries out, leaving a dropped voice coil, or loose windings. The dropped voice coils I've heard don't sound like a rub, they're just weak.

I have 3 EVM15B's here at home sitting in unused cabinets for maybe 30 years. I recently pulled one out for a bass cabinet, sounds perfect. I tested the other 2, also sound perfect. I wouldn't worry about EVM's going bad just sitting.