Members ItchyFingers Posted May 21, 2012 Members Share Posted May 21, 2012 I picked up a 5e3 clone off of ebay a couple weeks back. The thing is wired for an 8 ohm load, but the cabinet I have is a 2x12 with 8 ohm speakers, so I would have been running a 4 ohm load, which I knew had the potential to damage the amp. I tinkered around and removed the connection to one of the speakers, thus matching amp and cab at 8 ohms. It sounds great, but hot damn this thing is louder than I was expecting! So not quite a bedroom amp, but I think it will be my new gigging/stage amp. Upon further analysis, I'm wondering if I could get a clean/dirty 2 amp setup going... I was thinking it would be cool to completely separate the inputs on the cabinet so that one input went to one speaker, and the other input to the other, so I could essentially have two amps feeding into one cabinet. Like a 5 or 18 watt Marshall for dirt and the 5e3 for Fender cleans. Any of you guys ever do something along these lines? Anything I should beware of or look out for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 A few companies have sold "split" stereo / dual input cabinets over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LSDis4me Posted May 22, 2012 Members Share Posted May 22, 2012 Of course you have a Carvin cab, you San Diegan. I do too. But it's looks like I'm going to buy a Traynor cab from a forumite tomorrow (to go with my Traynor head). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ArrMatey Posted May 22, 2012 Members Share Posted May 22, 2012 It shouldn't be a problem to split the signal as long as:a) power rating is matched. Any speakers with power rating less than the amp will blow the speakers.b) have them wired each to a separate output. you could always think about this idea: Wire it with 3 holes and a switch. The switch goes from mono to stereo, the 2 holes on the stereo side is for each speaker while the hole on the mono side is for both so you can get the best of it all.Kinda like a big 4x12 marshall cab! Does it Make sense, Greg? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terminus Posted May 22, 2012 Members Share Posted May 22, 2012 There's also specialized switcher just for that:http://www.tonebone.com/tb-headbone-vt.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zozobra Posted May 22, 2012 Members Share Posted May 22, 2012 If you are wiring the cab to take two inputs then make sure the jack mounting plate is plastic or that isolated jacks are used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ItchyFingers Posted May 22, 2012 Author Members Share Posted May 22, 2012 All good points, thanks guys. Emre, I thought the mismatched power rating would damage the amp, didn't realize it could also mess with the speakers. Thanks for the heads up, my friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hotmess Posted May 22, 2012 Members Share Posted May 22, 2012 I strongly recommend checking out Celestian's website. They give all kinds of good article with everything you could possibly need to know. Personally, I prefer using two separate 112 cabinets, but that's because I'm a small dude and hate moving large thing onto the stage and back home up the stairs. I like making separate, lighter trips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ItchyFingers Posted May 22, 2012 Author Members Share Posted May 22, 2012 Of course you have a Carvin cab, you San Diegan. I do too. But it's looks like I'm going to buy a Traynor cab from a forumite tomorrow (to go with my Traynor head). If only I could bring myself to like Carvin guitars... Are you going to get rid of the Carvin cab when you get the Traynor? I could probably take it off your hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lz4005 Posted May 22, 2012 Members Share Posted May 22, 2012 A few companies have sold "split" stereo / dual input cabinets over the years. Didn't most of those have internally isolated speakers? I think you could run into phase cancellation problems if you only powered one of two speakers in a closed back cabinet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ArrMatey Posted May 22, 2012 Members Share Posted May 22, 2012 Didn't most of those have internally isolated speakers? I think you could run into phase cancellation problems if you only powered one of two speakers in a closed back cabinet. You will get phase cancellations only through the combination of certain speakers. It is famous to have certain speaker combo but the whole idea of splitting your cab to have a 2x12 / 2 1x12 is totally possible if you wire it well. Greg, if you just run the 5e3, then most of the speakers should be able to handle your 5e3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Didn't most of those have internally isolated speakers? I think you could run into phase cancellation problems if you only powered one of two speakers in a closed back cabinet. Yes, ideally you'd want two separate "compartments" - one for each speaker. Otherwise, just as you said, there will likely be additional phase issues within the enclosure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dkerwood Posted May 23, 2012 Members Share Posted May 23, 2012 It shouldn't be a problem to split the signal as long as:a) power rating is matched. Any speakers with power rating less than the amp will blow the speakers. Not necessarily true. Mechanical failure will only occur when enough wattage is applied to push the speaker farther than it was designed to go. Distorted waveforms are especially nasty because they clip across wide spectrums, pushing the speaker more violently. For cleans, as long as the speaker sounds clean, you're fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ArrMatey Posted May 23, 2012 Members Share Posted May 23, 2012 Not necessarily true. Mechanical failure will only occur when enough wattage is applied to push the speaker farther than it was designed to go. Distorted waveforms are especially nasty because they clip across wide spectrums, pushing the speaker more violently.For cleans, as long as the speaker sounds clean, you're fine. You are correct, dkerwood. I should have been more clear in my explanation but yes, you are totally right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lefort_1 Posted May 23, 2012 Members Share Posted May 23, 2012 Maybe I read the OP wrongly, but: I was thinking it would be cool to completely separate the inputs on the cabinet so that one input went to one speaker, and the other input to the other, so I could essentially have two amps feeding into one cabinet. When I read this, I think of literally taking the two preamp stages, the running them into two separate PI stages and finally two separate power stages (each with an individual speaker). If you did this, you would have the ultimate freedom in channel-switching amps, as you could chose the EQ/PI/output sections per your desires...not too bad since you've got one EQ/PI/PowerAmp already in the 5E3 chassis. An very well-thoughtout power-distribution/grounding scheme would be important, to keep high-gain or saggy noise off the clean side. You'd have to up the rectifier/filtercaps (maybe even solit them....yes, split them) Of course, you'd need a second pair of PI tube(s), plus the second output powertubes and OT. JanusAmps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Max Factor Posted May 23, 2012 Members Share Posted May 23, 2012 no matter what happens, you'll be needing the soundguy to run two mics to two speakers to get the whole thing properly. I'm doubting the practicality of this setup, though it is big fun to tinker/experiment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members V Posted May 23, 2012 Members Share Posted May 23, 2012 I've played an Ampeg cab like this. Worked just fine. It'd be interesting to run both at once. One amp a little bit cleaner and the other a bit dirtier with the cleaner one slightly lower in the mix. Also, stereo effects would be very neat through that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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