MonkeyTrick Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 I'm in the middle of a string of gigs and part of a hi-hat stand managed to get through the grille and puncture (a rough 2 x 2 inch ish) hole in the bottom right cone of my 8x10 while it sat in the back of the van. Bit of a pickle with a big gig on Wednesday, never had this happen before. What should I do? It looks a bit too severe to patch up. Cheers all in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Try to find a replacement cone now. If you play with the cab, there are too many reasons you get bigger issues with the cab and certainly the farting of that broken one does not help. Beware to put big amount of power to the cab as long as the cone has that hole. Just try to find a replacement unit quickly. Tell your area and I'm sure someone knows repairperson or parts nearby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonkeyTrick Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 1 hour ago, itu said: Try to find a replacement cone now. If you play with the cab, there are too many reasons you get bigger issues with the cab and certainly the farting of that broken one does not help. Beware to put big amount of power to the cab as long as the cone has that hole. Just try to find a replacement unit quickly. Tell your area and I'm sure someone knows repairperson or parts nearby. Thanks man. I'm based in London but don't know how I'm going to get it repaired in time, let alone do it myself! I'll try and find somewhere in the morning, hopefully someone here has a contact. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 First off, your problem isn't the damaged speaker. It's that you haven't got a cab for your gig tomorrow (Wed) and getting it repaired will take time. So take the pressure off yourself. First: if you're gigging with another band, contact them and ask if you can share their bass rig. Secondly, call a hire company and see if they can rent you a cab for a couple of days e.g. https://www.johnhenrys.com/ or http://www.mattsnowball.com/backline-equipment-hire-london-uk-europe/ Once you definitely know you've got a rig / cab to play through on Wednesday call a repairer at your leisure and explain the problem. Probably the quickest and easiest solution will be for the amp tech to load a new speaker unit. There's a list of BassChat member recommended amp techs here. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Some slightly good news is that most speaker connectors are the spade ones, so don’t need any soldering; provided you (or your chosen tech) can find a replacement driver it’s less than an hour’s work and can be done with a simple screwdriver. In the meantime Skank’s advice is spot on. Hope you get sorted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonkeyTrick Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 Thanks guys. There's one major issue though, we have an agreement to provide the cab for the show. I'm going to go and try to get the speaker out and see if I can find a replacement driver but I'm not the most technical (clearly). Again, I'm in London if anyone reads this and knows a decent tech. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonkeyTrick Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 4 hours ago, skankdelvar said: First off, your problem isn't the damaged speaker. It's that you haven't got a cab for your gig tomorrow (Wed) and getting it repaired will take time. So take the pressure off yourself. First: if you're gigging with another band, contact them and ask if you can share their bass rig. Secondly, call a hire company and see if they can rent you a cab for a couple of days e.g. https://www.johnhenrys.com/ or http://www.mattsnowball.com/backline-equipment-hire-london-uk-europe/ Once you definitely know you've got a rig / cab to play through on Wednesday call a repairer at your leisure and explain the problem. Probably the quickest and easiest solution will be for the amp tech to load a new speaker unit. There's a list of BassChat member recommended amp techs here. Thanks so much. I'm in North London but the chap on that thread has had his info removed, I think there was an issue with the image he uploaded. Currently in the back of the van getting the grille off ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 http://www.wembleyloudspeaker.com/ These guys will sort out your damaged cone, and maybe not too far for you as well. Hope you get sorted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Personally, I'd glue it with some Copydex and treat myself to a few beers with the money I'd saved. Seriously, unless there's a piece of cone missing, just glue it back together. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtcat Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 50 minutes ago, stevie said: Personally, I'd glue it with some Copydex and treat myself to a few beers with the money I'd saved. Seriously, unless there's a piece of cone missing, just glue it back together. This. I've done it before as a temporary patch up and then forgotten about it for years. If you name the cab then someone should be able to point you in the direction of a replacement driver but as Stevie says it's not a difficult job to patch up a torn cone. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertbass Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Copydex is the way to go. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fitzmaurice Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Glue alone might not hold well. Copydex looks to be a good adhesive, use it to glue a piece of business card over the hole and you should be good for a while, if not permanently. Do remove the driver to do the job, so you can push the bits of cone back into place from the back. From a cosmetic standpoint you could glue the patch to the rear of the cone, so it won't be a visible repair. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Im probably talking rubbish here but cant the offending driver just be disconnected until a replacement driver can be found? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Just now, dave_bass5 said: Im probably talking rubbish here but cant the offending driver just be disconnected until a replacement driver can be found? The risk there is that you're not spreading the power across the speakers in the way nature intended, which could blow other components...also the impedance will no longer be as spec. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 7 minutes ago, ahpook said: The risk there is that you're not spreading the power across the speakers in the way nature intended, which could blow other components...also the impedance will no longer be as spec. Well my second load of rubish was going to be what about ripping the cone material off the driver, so it doesnt make a rasping noise etc. Does that keep the impedance correct? I know the cab will be one speaker down but will it make a real world difference unless the head is pushed really hard? Again, i have no idea what im talking about but in the OP's situation i would give something a go. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 22 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said: .....what about ripping the cone material off the driver, so it doesnt make a rasping noise etc. No idea about that, sorry 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 30 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said: ...cant the offending driver just be disconnected until a replacement driver can be found? This was already discusses in that 15" + 2 x 10" thread, but once more: If there is a non-designed hole (like that broken cone or a burnt, freely moving element) in the case, the freq response will be destroyed. Functionally the cab may be suitable for that funny six-string toy, but not for bass. The low-end no more exists. This is plain acoustics. Very easy to check by playing something to a single speaker. When the cone is by its own, the sound is thin. When any kind of case (like a simple cardboard tube or box) is involved, the low-end becomes audible. If you have a cab with two or more elements, unscrew the other (keep it connected) and try to use that cab (at low volumes only!). It will take far less than a scale to understand the issue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 17 minutes ago, itu said: This was already discusses in that 15" + 2 x 10" thread, but once more: Ok. i dont go reading all the threads on here, especially ones that dont interest me so i guess i missed it, silly me lol. What i can tell you is i ran a 2x12 with just one speaker in it for 3 gigs, and had no issues other than i was (and had to be) a bit quieter. It was that or be totally silent with no cab lol. I know its not how it should be done, but sometimes in an emergency you have to adapt and overcome. It was just an idea. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 I've patched up guitar speakers with a flexible glue and pieces torn from coffee filter paper. If you colour the papers with a black Sharpie first, and tear the patch so the edges are feathered the repair can be fairly discrete looking. And if it does change the sound a little, you have a good chance of not noticing given that it's the bottom driver of an 8x10“. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The fasting showman Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 6 hours ago, stevie said: Personally, I'd glue it with some Copydex and treat myself to a few beers with the money I'd saved. Seriously, unless there's a piece of cone missing, just glue it back together. Well said, the copydex will sort it as good as new. As Bill has said, reinforce the repair from behind the cone to bridge the join and it's a cheap fix without resorting to sourcing a new speaker. It's a common repair job anybody can do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fitzmaurice Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 3 hours ago, dave_bass5 said: i ran a 2x12 with just one speaker in it for 3 gigs, and had no issues other than i was (and had to be) a bit quieter. It was that or be totally silent with no cab lol. You're lucky it didn't end up permanently silent. That would have been no laughing matter. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 which 8x10 cab is this? it won't help you for your gig but drivers pop up in the classifieds on here all the time, in fact there is a 10" ashdown driver in the recycling section right now. Or a wanted ad might find you a replacement that the shops cannot provide (especially with older or more obscure cabs) i helped a fellow out a while ago that had damaged one of the 10's in his trace Elliot 4x10, i just happened to have the exact one sitting on a shelf that had been swapped for a Neo alternative in it's original combo. Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pea Turgh Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 Did you get it sorted @MonkeyTrick ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 I've fixed lower power speakers with the sort of tissue used for model aircraft before, light but strong and conforms well to a curved or textured surface. You could use multiple layers. Several layers fo thin paper will be better than one of thick card as you want some flexibility. Not a fan of copydex, I'd use PVA diluted 50% with water, as little as you can get away with. If you can seal the hole, you're good to go for a temporary solution and no bodge on the cone will prevent you from having it properly reconed or replaced in the future. If it happened when setting up, I would use gaffa tape, one piece on either side of the cone 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 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. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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