Torn speaker cone just before gig

[taunton-hobbit 678]

Copydex liberally applied to a patch layer of old net curtain - probably last forever - I did this on both sides of the cone on a 15" Tannoy & overdrove it for another five years...........

😎

Edited October 3 by taunton-hobbit

[Alec 11]

Yes, you can do a temporary repair, but the right thing to do is replace the driver.

It's such a simple job.  But made harder for anyone to help the OP as his cab is anonymous.

Given that the cab is a secret, you take the front grille off, undo the screws/allen bolts holding the driver to the front of the cab, gently pull out the driver and disconnect the two cables running to it (making a note of which one went to which terminal on the driver, albeit that they'd hopefully be coloured red & black).  Look at the brand and model of the driver, which should be printed on the back, then Google is your friend to find a replacement.  Installing is simply the reverse of the operation.

[Chienmortbb 238]

On 03/10/2019 at 09:09, Phil Starr said:

Copydex for me. You want something flexible and Copydex is latex based, effectively you are putting a rubber patch on. I layer up in stages with tissue over the tear. You need to have some sort of fibre to bridge the tear itself and it needs to be compatible with the paper in the cone as well as absorbing the glue well so paper fibre it is. I suppose you could use something like blotting paper but most of us have toilet paper to hand and you need to keep the repair as light as possible.

I've done this a lot and no failures yet, some of the patches are over 10 years old.

I'm not particularly clumsy, I repair other people's stuff.

Probably best to use a tissue rather than toilet paper Phil. Tissues are designed to resist big blows ( of the nose) while toilet tissue is designed to disintegrate when moist. 

[Stub Mandrel 2,314]

What about using a baby wipe or similar, after washing the detergent out and drying it? very strong unwoven material, and light.

[Chienmortbb 238]

31 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

What about using a baby wipe or similar, after washing the detergent out and drying it? very strong unwoven material, and light.

Very good shout. 

[Phil Starr 408]

3 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

Probably best to use a tissue rather than toilet paper Phil. Tissues are designed to resist big blows ( of the nose) while toilet tissue is designed to disintegrate when moist. 

I don't think there is a lot of difference John, I suspect they are made from the same pulp. Obviously brands vary with softness being traded for strength. Also I think we could be over thinking this. If the tissue is thin I just use more layers, the composite is going to be stronger than the latex or the paper on it's own and if you build it in layers it's eventually going to be stronger than the cone itself. Anyone doing this is just going to have to estimate the balance of strength and adding weight and stiffness. I try to offer conservative advice so using baby wipes which contain plastic fibres is introducing an extra material. It might be worth a try but I haven't tried it so won't recommend it. Silk is light and strong and might be good if you had it but again I don't know because I haven't tried it.

All I can say is I've done the tissue/Copydex thing a lot and so far with no failures and no noticeable change in sound.

[Bill Fitzmaurice 391]

Business card stock is perfect for a cone tear, it's very similar to the material the cone is made from. It's only when the damage is in the surround that a more exotic material is required, so that the surround remains flexible. That material is silk screen, which is similar to the material that the surround is made of.

[Maude 1,809]

I temporarily gaffer taped a T shaped tear in a cone (about two inches long and an inch to the side) and then used the cab every week for about ten years with no ill effect, it then went into storage for five or six years and then used weekly for another couple of years. Now in storage again. 

I might replace it one day. 😂

[MonkeyTrick 8]

On 02/10/2019 at 20:35, Pea Turgh said:

Did you get it sorted @MonkeyTrick ?

Thanks for all the help and insight guys. I also moved house the same week so everything has been a bit chaotic, hence the late update.

Panic over. The lovely people at Lean  (https://www.lean-business.co.uk/) sorted me out just in time as at that point the thread seemed to be pretty much in favour of replace>repair. Cannot recommend them enough, a really lovely couple.

Gig went really well and the cab sounded monstrous all night pushed to extremes by the weird and noisy bands on the bill. As an aside, the mad squat party was far better organised than the two mainstream clubs we played last week.

I'm going to attempt a fix on the damaged speaker, so will give it a go and update a little later down the line along with photos. I'm reasonably handy but not so with intricate/technical stuff, luckily it doesn't really matter if my patient doesn't pull through!

 

[MonkeyTrick 8]

On 04/10/2019 at 18:35, Alec said:

Yes, you can do a temporary repair, but the right thing to do is replace the driver.

It's such a simple job.  But made harder for anyone to help the OP as his cab is anonymous.

Given that the cab is a secret, you take the front grille off, undo the screws/allen bolts holding the driver to the front of the cab, gently pull out the driver and disconnect the two cables running to it (making a note of which one went to which terminal on the driver, albeit that they'd hopefully be coloured red & black).  Look at the brand and model of the driver, which should be printed on the back, then Google is your friend to find a replacement.  Installing is simply the reverse of the operation.

Just to add, I took the drivers out and although they were Eminence, someone had used a knife to cut away the model no's on every one and the area that usually bears the model name on the magnet sticker was blank. They are a type of 16 ohm driver that look a bit like the beta (250w) and delta (350w) but with a mix of traits from both. The magnet was delta sized but the shape and design of the cone beta sized. Maybe some weird OEM custom job? The actual cab itself was manufactured by Carvin but I know for a fact that the speakers are aftermarket.

Edited October 7 by MonkeyTrick