What Cab To Buy???

[trash maker]

I'm currently learning to play Bass, and wanna start my own Garage Rock band. Anyway, I recently brought an Acoustic 270 head (dirt cheap) - a guitar head, I know, but has a cool Fuzz sound (I like it, I know others don't).

 

Now I'm looking for a cab (halfstack - 4x10). The head has a 2.4 Ohm output, and I read somewhere not to exceed this with cabs, otherwise they're blow the head! So does anyone have any suggestions what Bass cab to buy that has a 2.4 Ohm output?

 

[megadan]

damn, that's a puzzler. I know nothing about this amp, but... would it be safe to use it will a 4 ohm cab?

 

Actually, it's coming to me... three 8 ohm cabs == 2.6 ohms, IIRC

[bnyswonger]

I doubt a 4 ohm cab will give you any trouble.

[Rippin' Robin]

Sure you can use it with a 4 ohm cab. Just don't use any cab combination that'll get you lower than 2.4 ohms.

 

So, 1x8 ohm + 1x4 ohms is good, 2x8 ohms is good, 2x4 ohms is a no-no.

[trash maker]

Most modern cabs are 8 Ohm right? So should I buy a 70's or 80's cab that's 4 Ohm?

 

So, any suggestions on what cabs to buy? Marshall? Avatar? Harke? Traynor? Whatever?

 

[megadan]

most modern cabs come in 4 or 8 ohm configs.

[LanEvo]

 

Originally posted by trash maker Most modern cabs are 8 Ohm right? So should I buy a 70's or 80's cab that's 4 Ohm?

Why are you so hung up on how many ohms the cab is rated at? Using higher ohm cabs is fine...you'll just lose a bit of volume. The problem is when you run too many cabs in parallel and give the head to little resistance. That's when you fry the power stage.

 

Just pick a cab whose sound you like and that you can afford. If it's rated at 8 ohms that's fine. You can always add another one later.

 

Emre

[trash maker]

To be honest I don't know what Ohm's are?!?!?! I thought that the higher the Ohm output from the head, the higher Ohm's I needed in a cab!?!?!?!

 

Going on what you guys say, I can buy a 4x10 cab at 8Ohm's and thats fine, right?

[lug]

Originally posted by trash maker To be honest I don't know what Ohm's are?!?!?! I thought that the higher the Ohm output from the head, the higher Ohm's I needed in a cab!?!?!?! Going on what you guys say, I can buy a 4x10 cab at 8Ohm's and thats fine, right?

 

An Ohm is the amount of resistance to current flow. The higher the ohmage rating, the less electicity will flow through a circuit. If the ohms rating on the cab is too low, too much current will flow, damaging the output section of the amp. 2 wires shorted together is considered 0 ohms. An air gap of several inches is like a bazillion ohms.

[trash maker]

Originally posted by lug An Ohm is the amount of resistance to current flow. The higher the ohmage rating, the less electicity will flow through a circuit. If the ohms rating on the cab is too low, too much current will flow, damaging the output section of the amp. 2 wires shorted together is considered 0 ohms. An air gap of several inches is like a bazillion ohms.

 

 

Thanks for that. I've just seen a cab on ebay, it's 16 Ohm/300W, so would that be ok for my head, which is 2.4Ohm/275W?

[Emprov]

 

Originally posted by trash maker Thanks for that. I've just seen a cab on ebay, it's 16 Ohm/300W, so would that be ok for my head, which is 2.4Ohm/275W?

 

 

 

Do yourself a favor and do some searches on cabs here, there's a ton of info that's been posted. Before you jump on something, do your best to educate yourself. You'll be much happier with your purchace if you do. And BTW, most players go with either a 4 or an 8ohm cab, I'd stay pretty far away from a 16.

[BoundandBlocked]

 

Originally posted by Emprov Do yourself a favor and do some searches on cabs here, there's a ton of info that's been posted. Before you jump on something, do your best to educate yourself. You'll be much happier with your purchace if you do. And BTW, most players go with either a 4 or an 8ohm cab, I'd stay pretty far away from a 16.

 

 

 

It sounds like you might be looking at a 16 ? guitar cabinet. You should probably steer clear of it for that reason. You don't want to play bass through a cab made for guitars.

[Zeromus-X]

A head puts out less power with more resistance. Consider it like this -- a pipe. If the pipe is really big (i.e. a low resistance = lower ohm rating), the water will have no problem getting out. However, if the pipe is really small (i.e. a high resistance = higher ohm rating), it's going to put a stress on the faucet, and possibly shoot water everywhere if it's strong enough!

 

So, with a high resistance, the amp "throttles down", basically, and puts out less power. That's why you'll see power amps rated like this:

 

2 Ohm: 1000 Watts

4 Ohm: 650 Watts

8 Ohm: 450 Watts

 

As the resistance goes up, the amp puts out less power (or the speaker draws less power, depending on how you want to look at it). It's similar to the pipe analogy in that if the diameter of the pipe gets really small, instead of blowing up, the faucet is "smart" and starts putting less water through it.

 

Your amp is rated at 2.4 ohms minimum. Therefore, that's the lowest it will "throttle itself down". Beyond that, it doesn't know how to handle the resistance, and the faucet explodes due to the pressure. More likely, you'll just release the magic smoke from the amp if you push it too hard.

 

When adding cabinets:

 

8 ohm + 8 ohm = 4 ohm

4 ohm + 4 ohm = 2 ohm (below your limit)

8 ohm + 4 ohm = 2.4 ohm, if I recall

 

Therefore, you want to get as small a pipe as possible (so as to get more pressure), without going too small (blowing up the faucet). An 8 ohm with a 4 ohm cab will get you the most power and the most volume from your head.

 

All of this assumes this is a solid-state head, not a tube head. If it's a tube head, they do not "throttle" at all -- you're going to want to try and match the impedance ("ohmage"... that's not a word though) exactly, which means for you, buying two cabs.

 

Hope this helps.

[trash maker]

Thanks Zeromus-X, that makes more sense!

 

The head is a SS and goes down to 1.2 Ohm.

 

Though I'm a little confused about 8+8, 4+4 thing and all that! I will check out other posts about this stuff, but does this mean I need to get two 2x10 cabs at 8 Ohm's, or one 4x10 cab at 8 Ohm's?

 

And, I'd like to thank everyone for their advice. Ta

[Zeromus-X]

 

Originally posted by trash maker Thanks Zeromus-X, that makes more sense! The head is a SS and goes down to 1.2 Ohm. Though I'm a little confused about 8+8, 4+4 thing and all that! I will check out other posts about this stuff, but does this mean I need to get two 2x10 cabs at 8 Ohm's, or one 4x10 cab at 8 Ohm's? And, I'd like to thank everyone for their advice. Ta

 

 

When calculating impedance, add the two resistance values and divide by 4 to get an approximate value. It's not perfect, but it works.

 

16 ohm + 16 ohm = 32 / 4 = 8

8 ohm + 8 ohm = 16 / 4 = 4

4 ohm + 4 ohm = 8 / 4 = 2

8 ohm + 4 ohm = 12 / 4 = 3

 

...etc.

 

Two 2x10 cabs @ 8 ohms per cab = (8 + 8) / 4 = 4 ohms

One 4x10 cab @ 8 ohms = 8 ohms

[trash maker]

Ideally I suppose I'm looking for a cab with the harshest, grittiest and dirtiest sound (starting a Garage band and all), so have people any recommendations. The cheaper the better????

 

 

 

[Zeromus-X]

Ampeg or Avatar... Ampeg for the gritty sound, Avatar for the price. You won't go wrong with the Avatars though. I sold my Ampeg and went with a pair of Avatar 2x10 cabs and was quite pleased.

[trash maker]

 

Originally posted by Zeromus-X Ampeg or Avatar... Ampeg for the gritty sound, Avatar for the price. You won't go wrong with the Avatars though. I sold my Ampeg and went with a pair of Avatar 2x10 cabs and was quite pleased.

 

 

Thanks again Zeromus-X, I've been told Avatar's by friends, but thought I'd check it out here, so Avatar 2x10 cabs seems the way to go. Ta

[BoundandBlocked]

Originally posted by Zeromus-X 8 ohm + 4 ohm = 12 / 3 = 3

 

 

Hmmm..."fuzzy math"?

 

[Zeromus-X]

Originally posted by trash maker Thanks again Zeromus-X, I've been told Avatar's by friends, but thought I'd check it out here, so Avatar 2x10 cabs seems the way to go. Ta

 

Be aware the 2x10 alone isn't going to move much air. You'll want two, which is more expensive than a single 4x10. There are two ways to look at the choice -- the two 2x10 cabs are usually easier to pick up and move into a car, but they'll require two trips into the club (you can take one in each hand, of course, but it gets tough to fit through doors and walk up stairs like that... and they're not remarkably light). A 4x10 cab is easier to just push/roll right in the door of the place, but getting it in the trunk or in the door of the car might be impossible. A lot of people recommend the Avatar 2x12, but remember that it's basically the size of a 4x10 cabinet too.

 

When I had my Mazda MX-6, I went with the two 2x10s because the 4x10 wouldn't fit in the door. Now that I have a wagon to haul my gear in, I'd go with a 4x10 or 6x10 because it's one less trip to make. My entire rig is modular:

 

 

Ignoring the scoops, it's four small pieces instead of two big ones (big cab and big rack). It meant a lot of trips, but it would fit into any vehicle.

[Zeromus-X]

Originally posted by BoundandBlocked Hmmm..."fuzzy math"?

 

Supid keys and their stupid close proximity.

[mlwarriner]

Originally posted by Zeromus-X 16 ohm + 16 ohm = 32 / 4 = 16

 

i'm not arguing your system, or disputing anything you've said, but...

 

 

16+16 = 32

32/4 = 8

 

 

just being a typo nazi :D

[Zeromus-X]

 

Originally posted by Zeromus-X When calculating impedance, add the two resistance values and divide by 4 to get an approximate value. It's not perfect, but it works. 16 ohm + 16 ohm = 32 / 4 = 8 8 ohm + 8 ohm = 16 / 4 = 4 4 ohm + 4 ohm = 8 / 4 = 2 8 ohm + 4 ohm = 12 / 4 = 3 ...etc. Two 2x10 cabs @ 8 ohms per cab = (8 + 8) / 4 = 4 ohms One 4x10 cab @ 8 ohms = 8 ohms

 

 

Ugh, I suck.

[lug]

cabinet A Ohms X cabinet B ohms

 

divided by

 

cabinet A Ohms + cabinet B ohms

 

 

example If A is 8 Ohms and B is 4 ohms

 

8 X 4

 

divided by

 

8 + 4

 

or

 

32 divided by 12

 

So an 8 ohm and a 4 ohm box in parallel gives a 2.667 ohm total load.

[trash maker]

Yeah, I did say 2x10 cabs (plural). But your advice is great, so thanks a lot.

 

I may go for one 4x10 Avatar cab, as I live in London (UK), so can get to gigs via underground or taxi's!