which cab is better?

[hoffman24]

im getting a gallien krueger 1001rb II soon and i want to get a 410 cab for it. the problem is i dont know anything about ohms. i was looking at the GK MBE and there is one with 800 watts at 8 ohms and there is also one with 800 watts at 4 ohms, which one should i get? also any suggestions about a different 410 cab i should get would be great!!

[SactoBass]

Originally Posted by hoffman24

im getting a gallien krueger 1001rb II soon and i want to get a 410 cab for it. the problem is i dont know anything about ohms. i was looking at the GK MBE and there is one with 800 watts at 8 ohms and there is also one with 800 watts at 4 ohms, which one should i get? also any suggestions about a different 410 cab i should get would be great!!

You will draw more power out of your amp if you go with the 4-ohm cab.

The only reason to go with the 8-ohm cab is if you plan to get another 8-ohm cab (so that you have TWO 8-ohm cabs) which would be a total 4-ohm load.

But if you only plan to stick with one cab, I would go with the 4-ohm cab. If you go with just one 8-ohm cab, everything will be fine, it's just that you won't be drawing as much power from the amp, and power is your friend when it comes to bass frequencies.

As for brand, if I were using a GK amp, I would go with a GK cab. They are made for each other.

[hoffman24]

thank you that helps alot! also if the GK 1001rb only delivers 700 watts to woofer and 50 watts to horn and i get 2 410 8ohm cabs, does that mean il get a total of 1500 watts? that might be a dumb question..

[SactoBass]

Originally Posted by hoffman24

thank you that helps alot! also if the GK 1001rb only delivers 700 watts to woofer and 50 watts to horn and i get 2 410 8ohm cabs, does that mean il get a total of 1500 watts? that might be a dumb question..

There's no such thing as a dumb question!

The answer to your question is no. You will just be delivering the 700/50 wattages to two cabs (twice as many speakers as one cab) and that will move more air and therefore give you more volume than a single 4-ohm cab would.

So, in deciding whether to go with one cab (at 4-ohms) versus two cabs (at 8-ohms each, equaling a total 4-ohm load), it just depends on how loud you want to be and how much gear you want to schlepp.

[cchorney]

Regarding that specific amp, you need to do some research as in get the manual and read it. that horn rating might only be for special cabs (like the ones GK makes) that are built for bi-amped amps.

Regarding getting an 8ohm cab or a 4ohm cab for a 4 ohm amp, it depends on if you want to give all your power to one cab or if you think you mak need 2 cabs to provide enough air movement.

In terms of power, if you have a 700watt 4ohm amp and you connect it to a 4 ohm cab it will get 700watts from the amp. If you take the same amp and connect it to a 8ohm amp instead it will produce maybe 400watts (not sure the exact formula but my 500 watts at 4 ohms amp delivers 300 watts at 8 ohms). And while I would bet that a single 4ohm 4x10 getting fed 700 watts is louder that a single 8ohm 4x10 getting fed 400 watts, I would bet that TWO 8ohm 4x10s getting fed a total of 700 watts would sound louder and produce a lot more sonic pressure.

[SactoBass]

I think cc makes a good point about studying the owner's manual.

Here it is:

http://www.gallien.com/manuals/1001R...r_s_Manual.pdf

[WJGreer]

Here is a sticky thread that has all the basic information on impedance. It may be a helpful read for you.

[DJ Bebop]

Originally Posted by SactoBass

I think cc makes a good point about studying the owner's manual.

Here it is:

http://www.gallien.com/manuals/1001R...r_s_Manual.pdf

...and you have to look, at the last page in the block diagram, is the only place you will see that, at 8ohm the amp runs at 360 or 340 watts (I can't really tell), and 540 watts at 4ohm as it states all along. I think?

It is, 380 Watts it is at 8ohm!

[TC.65]

Keep in mind that even though that cab is rated at 800 watts in reality it won't handle that much power. If you push that head very hard you will easily blow the speakers in that cab.

[hoffman24]

ok i see that there bi-amp system only work with the RBX, RBH, and NEO cabs, thanks for pointing that out. by the way that manual is for the 1001rb and im geting the 1001rb II, but i think the only difference is the wattage so thanks for the help. what if i got a 4 ohm cab now and i decide to get another cab later to add to it how would that work or would i be better off getting an 8 ohm now and buy another 8 ohm later?

[makohund]

If it were me, with those cabs and amp, I'd get the 8 ohm.

1. The 800W rating is likely thermal. Mechanically they might be half that. So while 540W would be great, 380W is pretty good.

2. The 160W difference could mostly "go to waste" if they start farting at 400W anyway. Even if they don't the volume difference isn't going to be huge. There is the matter of headroom, sure... but if choosing between that and the ability to add a cab, I want the option of adding a cab. Plus a 380W GK is gonna be a very loud, solid 380+W from what I hear.

2. Maybe you don't need another cab now, and think you won't need one later. Well, things change. You never know what the future holds. I'd want to be able to double the cabs if I ever need to.

"says the guy dumping 1500W into a single 4ohm cab".
So... YMMV, grain of salt, etc.

[SactoBass]

Originally Posted by TC.65

Keep in mind that even though that cab is rated at 800 watts in reality it won't handle that much power. If you push that head very hard you will easily blow the speakers in that cab.

TC makes a good point here.

Cab manufacturers publish the wattage ratings for their cabs that are the thermal rating (related to the melting of the voice coil), not the mechanical rating (related to the physical ability of the cone to handle the excursion). The reason they do that is to make their cabs sound like they have more capability than they really do. If they published the mechanical ratings, it would probably be somewhere in the neighborhood of half of the thermal rating, and the plaid-jacket-wearing marketing people would grind their teeth because they don't want the public knowing that their product can't really handle the wattage that they like to publish. (If any of them are reading this, they are wishing that I would shut the hell up!)

[SactoBass]

LOL! I was typing my previous post before I read mako's post.

+1 to everything he said!

[walterw]

yeah, 8Ω is "normal" for 4x10 cabs.

the 4Ω box can end up taking too much power without getting really all that louder, and is harder to integrate with another cab.

(that's why bigger boxes like 8x10s, 2x15s, etc. are usually 4Ω; they'll take more power, and you usually don't need 2 of them to kick butt in bars and clubs.)

like posted earlier, 2 8Ω cabs will crush one 4Ω of the same type, as more speakers makes a way bigger difference than a little more wattage.

[WJGreer]

Originally Posted by walterw

yeah, 8? is "normal" for 4x10 cabs.

I disagree. A single 4x10 cabinet provides plenty of push for a typical gigging situation, so most of them are sold in the 4 ohm configuration to make the best use of the amp wattage in the typical 4 ohm minimum bass head.

Possibly, limiting the analysis to touring/backline gear for outdoor events and very large venues, we'd find more 8 than 4 ohm 410s.

[RickenBoogie]

The difference in volume using a 4 ohm 410 vs. an 8 ohm 410 is almost zero. The added wattage produced at lower impedance adds up to just about nothing, therefore, it makes NO sense to use a 4 ohm 4x10. Of course, both options exist, but the majority of them ARE 8 ohms, for this very reason. Adding the 2nd cab makes a much bigger volume increase than the added wattage could hope for.

[countrybass007]

I use the GK212 Neo with my Gk1001RBII, and use the bi-amp option, the cord came with my amp.