Combining a combo and cab

[royronnoco]

Hi all,
its my first thread, would appreciate some feedback if possible?
I use a marshall MB4410 combo, - I am thinking of adding a Marshall MBC115 cab to give me some extra thump.
All info welcome.
Cheers,
Roy.

[tdub0199]

You could do it but some will say not to mismatch speaker cabs 410/115.... as your 115 cab will be your weak link..... Maybe look at the MB410.....

[christw]

Add an MBC410. The 115 will run into it's mechanical limits long before your 410 combo's speakers do. There are a whole lot of other reasons not to mix cabs that I'm sure others will get into but an additional 410 would be my choice to match what you have, only louder. (A 15" won't necessarily provide any more "thump")

[pocketgroove]

You're going to hear a whole lot of people telling you about a whole lot of abstract concepts that may or may not apply to your situation. The best thing to do is listen to the combo with the 115 hooked up if you get the chance, and decide for yourself.

Personally, I'm going to pick up a 410 for my 115 combo today, against better council, so...

[christw]

Originally Posted by pocketgroove

You're going to hear a whole lot of people telling you about a whole lot of abstract concepts that may or may not apply to your situation. The best thing to do is listen to the combo with the 115 hooked up if you get the chance, and decide for yourself.

Personally, I'm going to pick up a 410 for my 115 combo today, against better council, so...

I run a 210 + 115 Mesa rig because they're pretty matched in performance. Would I run a 410 + 115? No. Instead I use a matched 410/210 set wired so that the whole 610 stack gets equal power per driver. It's about the same amount of performance as a 410 + 115 and a bit more predictable.

[jeff7bass]

My last gigging combo was a GK 700RB/115 combo which was basically the 700RB head built directly into the RBH 115 cab. It was enough for most gigs but when I needed extra sound I dropped it on a RBS210 cab, which had no tweeter and was a deep cabinet. Did I hear the 210 cab as much as the 115? NO. Did it add to my sound? Yes and quite a bit. It helped that the combo was up off the ground but there’s no denying I had a bigger/fuller sound with the addition of the 210. I also was pumping out the full 380w into the woofers instead of 275w. It worked but I imagine an additional RBH115 would have worked better.

[RickenBoogie]

A 210 with a 15 is not nearly as mis-matched as a 410 and 15. Avoid the trap.

[Bass_Pounder]

Originally Posted by pocketgroove

You're going to hear a whole lot of people telling you about a whole lot of abstract concepts that may or may not apply to your situation. The best thing to do is listen to the combo with the 115 hooked up if you get the chance, and decide for yourself.

Personally, I'm going to pick up a 410 for my 115 combo today, against better council, so...

What is so abstract about the fact that a single 15 only has about the same displacement (ability to move air) as a 2X10, and when combined with a cab that has twice it's displacement (a 4X10) it becomes the weakest link in the rig ?

That alone is enough to show why a 4X10/1X15 rig is a poor match (without going into phasing problems caused by running different sized speakers).

Additionally, telling him to listen to the combo of the two cabs together is good advice, but only half way there.........

Just about any two cabs together will sound better then just one. The key is test the mismatched combination of cabs side by side with matched cabs to see which sounds better.

[JeepSahara]

I know I will get flamed for this but I did this exact thing. I was looking at a new combo and bought a Carvin BR515N this has the BX500 head and a 15 at 300 watts. It sound amazing but once I started to play in a very loud band (long story) it was easy to push the 115 to its limit in no time. So after everyone telling me I should match cabs I bought a Carvin 410 cab, I guess I like to be different. Anyway in adding this cab my BX500 head goes to 500 watts and it really seems (at least to me) that it is a perfect match and brings out the best in both cabs and the head. I play in a number of different band from Irish pub music, to church, to bluegrass, to cover band stuff. The one advantage I think I have is options. Since the BX500 head is easily removed from the combo I can use it with the 410 cab as a stand alone rig, or just the 115, or both. And depending on which band I am playing with I do use my options. Now I am not saying that everyone preaching phasing and matching cabs is wrong but in my experience this has worked fantastically and would do it again. I am sure if most of those people heard my two cabs they would agree. If you can try it out the you should do that to make sure. I was leary since I bought Carvin and couldn't try either out till I got them but it was well worth in. So much so I attached a pic. Hope this helps.

[RickenBoogie]

Yeah, like Bass Pounder just said, ANY 2 cabs will sound better, (read- louder) than either 1 cab alone. BUT, that doesn't mean they're an ideal pair. In fact, quite far from it.