Please forgive a real newbie question. I've been playing for a few years, but always through combos, so this has never come up.

What are the basic rules for mixing heads and cabinets? I'm going to buy an Aguilar AG500 SC, and, most likely, a GS212 to go with it. Should I get the 4Ohm or 8Ohm cabinet? I will probably add a second cabinet at some point -- either another 2x12 or a 4x10. How does this impact the Ohm choice on my first cabinet? Can I mix 4 and 8 Ohm cabinets (I may be able to get an 8Ohm 4x10 Harte from a buddy cheap), or should I stick keep the resistance the same on each?

Finally, how does a 2x12 compare to a 4x10 volume wise? A little quieter? A lot?

Thanks!

Hi brachal,
I'd go with an 8 ohm cab if you intend to add extension cabs later on... Most amps can comfortably handle a 4 ohm load, few are capable of delivering clean tone with an impedance of less than 4 ohms.

That being said, there are some out there... The Glockenklang and Phil Jones heads handle low impedance ratings well, but some others don't despite manufacturer's claims.

The way it works is this... If you have a single 8 ohm cab, you are running an 8 ohm load. But when you add another 8 ohm cab, you have an effective ohm rating of 4 ohms.

At 4 ohms, you are basically doubling the amount of power that the amp is required to put out. Some amps have a hard time "keeping up" with this rapid exit of power in high volume extended gigs.

Again, some heads are capable of going lower than 4, but just because it can do it, doesn't mean you should! Because there is more power being put out by the amp, your amp will tend to run hotter. Over time, your amp will likely have a shorter life cycle due to the wear of the additional heat and will fail far sooner than if you ran it safely at a 4 or 8 ohm load.

There's also a misconception that running at 4 ohms is a great way to add headroom to your volume. While it's true that a single 4 ohm cab may be a little louder than a single 8 ohm cab, it's a marginal difference.

If you really need more volume and you're running a single 8 ohm cab...it's more efficient to add another 8 ohm speaker to accompish your volume goals.

Mixing 4 and 8 ohm cabs is not a partiucularly good idea. Our recommendation is to allways match up your cabs with the same ohm rating and be sure that your amp is rated for the combined ohm load of all your cabs.

If you have a stereo amp and you are running it in stereo mode rather than mono, you can safely run a 4 ohm cab on one side and up to 2 8 ohm cabs on the other. But the AG500SC is not stereo so again, I don't recommend mixing impedances on your cabs with this amp.

Bottom line on impedace...go with 8 ohm cabs if you plan on adding cabs in the future. If you will only play with a single cab and don't intend to add cabs later, you are safe and will get a little more volume out of a 4 ohm cab.

212 Vs 410
Most 212's that we carry are comparable to the 410's that we carry, but might offer just a tad less overall volume. The difference is mainly in the tone. 10's are a little punchier than 12's, but my personal preference is for 12's! Personally I think that 12's are the best compromise between a 10 inch driver's punch and the bottom end of a 15 inch driver.

In most cases, 2 x 212 cabs is an incredibly BIG sound! I love them! To me cabs with 12s are just more natural or something...they just sound "right" to my ear.

That being said, I played a 410 for years that I was completely happy with... I also am a big fan of Phil Jones Bass amps and cabs, which actually utilize 5 inch drivers! Amazing stuff...but very different than the Aguilar product you are interested in.

If you like the Aguilar tone, then that's what I would recommend and my personal preference is the 212... :)

I encourage you to give us a call anytime if you'd like to talk it over a bit! Our entire staff actually PLAYS Bass and/or guitar and is very knowledable on all of our gear! We can definitely help you with the decision making process from a player's perspective.

The person to call for is Brand Bourque. Brandt is our National Sales Manager and a gigging bass player. I believe he's running an AG500 in his current rig with an Epifani 212! So it's a very similar setup as what you are looking at!

You can reach us toll free at 866.751.3220 or email Brandt@ThePerfectBass.com.

Hope this helps!

Peace!

That's everything I needed to know, thanks! I called today and spoke with Lawrence; he was very helpful. There's an order on the way.

Awesome, thanks for getting in touch!

Peace!

Just remember...any impedances wired in parallel will give a total impedance less than the smallest impedance you are using....so an 8 ohm cabiet paralled to a 4 ohm cabinet will make your amp see less than 4 for ohms....not a good idea if you want you amp to survive, unless it is rated for 2 ohm impedance, which is rare. Best way for bigger volume is more speakers. So you could parallel two 8 ohm cabinets to get 4 ohms, and as long as your amp will deliver its rated power into 4 ohms, you're cool. If that's not enough, then go four cabinets and series-parallel those. (two 8 ohm cabinets wired in series, paralleled with another two 8 ohm cabinets wired in seriesfor a total impedance of 8 ohms into the amp) Or two 4 ohm cabinets in series paralled with two more series wired 4 ohm cabinets, for a total load to the amp of 4 ohms, which most will drive just fine. Now you have an 8 ohm load and your amp is happy, or a 4 ohm load and your amp is still happy....And you have BIG sound, and you are happy!! So, just look at the label or your amp's owners manual, and find out what impedance load it is designed to drive.

3dbdown,
You're assuming a mono amp right?

Just to update this one ...

After speaking with Lawrence, I decided to go with the GK 1001-RB2, a GK Neo 2x12, and a GK Neo 1x15. For me, the real selling point on the cabinets was their light weight. The 2x12 is only 64lbs, and the 1x15 is 54lbs -- IIRC. So much lighter than what I was used to.

The whole rig sounds great, and is louder than I'll ever need it to be. 750 watts into 4 Ohms with both cabinets connected. One update TPB could make to their website is the fact that the GK Neo's come with a 4 pole speakon cable. Other than that, it doesn't get any better!