Crate T60TS2

[butterblum]

Anyone have any information about this cab? It's a 2x12 with Celestion Rola G12-80s.

2ohms, 150W max. I was given it by a friend and know nothing about it.

Thanks

[WRGKMC]

The speakers are good and so long as the cab is solid, it should sound good. What else would you need to know?

 

I will say, if that cab does have two G12-80's. I doubt that its a 2 ohm cab. Those speakers come in 8 & 16 ohms. If you wire the 8's in parallel you'd have 4 ohms. Wired in series 16 ohms.

 

If the cab has 16 ohm speakers wired in parallel you'd have an 8 ohm cab. Wiring them in series for 32 ohms is too high for most amp heads.

 

In order to get 2 ohms you'd need two 4 ohm speakers in that cab. The Celestion specs say the speakers are only made as 8 & 16. They may have made 4 ohms for Rola but I suggest you either read the speakers with a meter or open it up and look.

 

If you plug a cable in and use an ohm meter on the end of the cable, the meter should read within an ohm or two of its rating. For example, if its 8 ohms it may read 6~10 ohms. If it read 3~5 its more likely 4 ohms.

 

The other option is to simply open the cab and read the labels so you know what you're dealing with. I suspect it has two 8 ohm speakers and they are wired in parallel for 8 ohms or series for 16. Not many guitar heads run at 2 ohms. Some bass amps do but 2 ohms will blow most guitar heads so I suggest you confirm what you got.

 

If the cab has 2x4 ohm speakers I suggest you wire them in series to get 8 ohms then label the input so you'll always know.

To wire in series you connect the speakers - Jack tip> speaker in Plus> Minus out> Plus in> Minus out> Jack sleeve. This will ensure most heads will work with it.

[butterblum]

The speakers are good and so long as the cab is solid, it should sound good. What else would you need to know?

 

I will say, if that cab does have two G12-80's. I doubt that its a 2 ohm cab. Those speakers come in 8 & 16 ohms. If you wire the 8's in parallel you'd have 4 ohms. Wired in series 16 ohms.

 

If the cab has 16 ohm speakers wired in parallel you'd have an 8 ohm cab. Wiring them in series for 32 ohms is too high for most amp heads.

 

In order to get 2 ohms you'd need two 4 ohm speakers in that cab. The Celestion specs say the speakers are only made as 8 & 16. They may have made 4 ohms for Rola but I suggest you either read the speakers with a meter or open it up and look.

 

If you plug a cable in and use an ohm meter on the end of the cable, the meter should read within an ohm or two of its rating. For example, if its 8 ohms it may read 6~10 ohms. If it read 3~5 its more likely 4 ohms.

 

The other option is to simply open the cab and read the labels so you know what you're dealing with. I suspect it has two 8 ohm speakers and they are wired in parallel for 8 ohms or series for 16. Not many guitar heads run at 2 ohms. Some bass amps do but 2 ohms will blow most guitar heads so I suggest you confirm what you got.

 

If the cab has 2x4 ohm speakers I suggest you wire them in series to get 8 ohms then label the input so you'll always know.

To wire in series you connect the speakers - Jack tip> speaker in Plus> Minus out> Plus in> Minus out> Jack sleeve. This will ensure most heads will work with it.

 

 

The speakers are each labelled as 4 Ohms, thus the 2 Ohm cab.

[WRGKMC]

I'd wire them in series for 8 ohms unless you know for a fact your head will handle 2 ohms.

 

2 Ohms is usually found with solid state power amps and bass amps which get maximum wattage at 2 ohms. Its extremely rare for a guitar amps unless you'd using a rack setup with preamp and power head that will run at 2 ohms.

 

Tube amps are almost exclusively 4~16 ohms with some rare exceptions like Fenders run 32 ohm transformers and have 4 x 8 ohms speakers in series.

[butterblum]

2 Ohms is usually found with solid state power amps and bass amps which get maximum wattage at 2 ohms. Its extremely rare for a guitar amps unless you'd using a rack setup with preamp and power head that will run at 2 ohms.

Is there a chance they were designed for solid state use? Would that indicate a difference in speaker quality?

I will check the wiring and see how they are hooked up.

[WRGKMC]

Is there a chance they were designed for solid state use? Would that indicate a difference in speaker quality?

I will check the wiring and see how they are hooked up.

 

I looked for Crate 2 ohm heads and found the Crate CR-285B had a minimum 2 ohm load. it may have been paired with 2 ohm cabs.

 

Like I said, 2 ohm loads are usually limited to PA power heads and Bass amps. The power amps are designed to have maximum wattage with the lowest impedance. For example that bass head puts out 150 Watts at 4 ohms and 280Watts at 2 ohms.

 

I have several SS amps that do this. My Ampeg Portaflex head puts out 150W at 8 ohms and 300W at 4 ohms. I have Crown and Peavey power heads that put out different wattages for 8, 4 and 2 ohms.

 

This heads are all designed put produce clean tones and are not overdriven like guitar amps are.

 

Most guitar heads are 4, 8 or 16 ohms. Tube heads are the most critical when it comes to matching impedance. If it has a switch for changing impedance you better be dam sure the head is set for the right impedance or you risk damaging the tubes or blowing the head. A Few heads like my old Bassman can run safely at 4 or 8 ohms but tube life decreases at 8 and it blows the power tubes in a short time running at 16.

 

Many solid state heads have a minimum impedance which you should NEVER exceed. If its says its 4 ohms you should never plug in a 2 ohm cab because it will blow the head. Unlike tube heads, SS can usually run at higher impedances. My Marshall Valvestate can run anything above 4 ohms, and I can even run the head unplugged (infinity) from a cab with no problem.

 

ALWAYS, read your amp manual and know what your amps designed for. If you cant find the info ask and get many opinions for those who know gear. Even if an amp is solid state they have many new circuits that may be limited to specific impedances. Tube heads should never be turned on without the proper cab.

 

Again, Unless you have a 2 ohm head, I suggest you wire it for 8 ohms if it isn't already. The outside tag means nothing if the cab was pre owned. The hack on it may be a stereo jack and the cab may be wired for stereo too.

 

If the tags on the speakers (not the cab) say 4 ohms then wiring it like this in series gives you 8 ohms (2x8 Ohm = 16 ohm) Series speakers add up 4+4+4+4 = 16 etc

 

 

 

 

If the speakers are in parallel like this - and they are the same values ie. both are 4 ohms, the load is cut in half to 2 ohms because there are two electrical paths. If you have 2x8 ohms the total = 4 ohms, if the speakers are both 16 ohms the total = 8 ohms.

 

 

Based on the speaker type I don't think you have 4 ohm speakers in that cab. Cabs are often customized by the music store or modded by owners. The Celestion site says the speakers are either 8 or 16 ohms but since they are branded Rola speakers they may have made special 4 ohm versions. You simply have to see how they are tagged or get out an ohm meter and read the resistance.

 

And to answer your question, Speakers don't care what kind of head drive them so long as the wattage is below the combined maximum. I usually advise using an head that has a maximum RMS wattage that's 1/4 ~ 1/2 less then the speakers. In your case if thay are 75W speakers you have a maximum RMS wattage of 150. The cab should run fine with a head between 50~100 Watts. If could go up to 150W but I wouldn't run the head full up because you're pushing the voice coils and could over heart and either warp the cones or blow them out.