Do ohms affect tone?

[fragglerick]

I wanna put 4 greenbacks in my mesa cab. What's the difference between the 8 and 16 ohm speakers?

[Sqish]

I wanna put 4 greenbacks in my mesa cab. What's the difference between the 8 and 16 ohm speakers?

 

8 Ohms

[Trixter]

LOL

[fragglerick]

8 Ohms

 

Giggidy!!!

[Paul J. Edwards]

I don't think there is a difference in tone between a speaker with an 8 ohm impedance vs one with 16 ohms as long as your amp sees the resistance it wants to.

[Jopop]

Yep, it does!

 

At least if your amp has negative feedback built into it that's always taken from the same tap on the OT (most common). The 16 ohm tap would have more negative feedback and the 4 ohm tap would have less, the 8 ohm tap would be the "correct". 16 ohm = tighter, cleaner, 4 ohm = less tight, less clean.

 

Also Depth / Presence controls will appear more effective on the 16 ohm tap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, the speaker and cab will sound the same, just the amp's sound might change.

[Paul J. Edwards]

 

Yep, it does! At least if your amp has negative feedback built into it that's always taken from the same tap on the OT (most common). The 16 ohm tap would have more negative feedback and the 4 ohm tap would have less, the 8 ohm tap would be the "correct". 16 ohm = tighter, cleaner, 4 ohm = less tight, less clean. Also Depth / Presence controls will appear more effective on the 16 ohm tap. Anyway, the speaker and cab will sound the same, just the amp's sound might change.

 

 

Hmmm. Negative feedback is controlled by the presence control...no?

 

I am no amp expert by any means but I gotta think the difference in tone is about the same as using different brands of batteries in your stomp boxes.

 

There are loads of variables from the construction of the cabinet to the type of speaker wire you use. Still all things being equal I have to think the tone difference between an 8 ohm and 16 ohm speaker in the same cab is negligable.

 

 

I could be wrong.

[wah wah]

 

I wanna put 4 greenbacks in my mesa cab. What's the difference between the 8 and 16 ohm speakers?

 

Speakers have different ohms so that they can match your amp's impedance. Always make sure the impedances match for best tone and amp/tube/transformer life.

[fragglerick]

 

Speakers have different ohms so that they can match your amp's impedance. Always make sure the impedances match for best tone and amp/tube/transformer life.

 

 

I have a Quickrod which is switchable between 4, 8 & 16 ohms. So it doesn't matter if my cab has 8 or 16 ohm speakers, it will sound the same as long as the ohm switch on the amp is set correctly.

 

Is this right?

[GregLast]

Correct. Make sure you do your math right.

[Popoon]

Taker a look at any response curves offered.

 

I notice that An Eminence speaker in 8 ohms has a very different plot and resonance than the 16 ohm equivalent.

[Jopop]

Hmmm. Negative feedback is controlled by the presence control...no? I am no amp expert by any means but I gotta think the difference in tone is about the same as using different brands of batteries in your stomp boxes. There are loads of variables from the construction of the cabinet to the type of speaker wire you use. Still all things being equal I have to think the tone difference between an 8 ohm and 16 ohm speaker in the same cab is negligable. I could be wrong.

The presence control cuts the high frequencies out from the negative feedback loop so that there's less feedback in the higher frequencies when you turn the presence up, giving a boost in treble. It doesn't control how much negative feedback you got overall.. But, as an example, the Tight/Loose switch on say the Peavey XXX does.Anyway i find that it does make a difference. Not a huge one, but bigger than say changing between different brands of 12ax7 tubes. I tend to prefer 16 ohms.

[Aidiptg2112]

I still dont get it:mad: . What hole do I stick my speaker cable in?

[Popoon]

Here for example,some differences could be due to variation but that resonance spike is another story.

 

 

[Dark Angel]

It all sounds different. On most of my amps, I like the way the 4 ohm taps sound. It's more "roar". Less tight, but more rawk.