go big or down size

[bobodechimp]

heres the skinny. I have a Backline 600, 150@8 ohms 300@4 ohms pushing a gk 15' 400watt 8 ohm cab. now i want more power/sound. I can ether go to a gk mb 500 head. 350@8 500@4, or I can drop a Eminence CA154 15' 300watt@4ohms. now the cheapest would be the speaker i know, but that would limmet expansion of the rig. But i really don't see me needing 500 watts in the future. Of course though the last time i thought i didn't need something and i down sized to a practice amp i needed a big boy amp. so what to do?

[Dethrats]

Go big or stay home!

[dmrogers]

How about this:

Keep the head for now.

Buy another cab just like the one you have.

That will give you a total of 4 ohms impedance. This will give you more volume. Even with the 300 watt head you should see a noticeable improvement.

I don't think getting a more powerful head will really help you that much. Not with the current cab you have.

Then, later all you have to do is pick up another head if you desire.

Of course this is assuming these suggestions will fit in your budget.

[dhomer]

That CA154 would be a bad choice. Unless your GK cab has about 7 cubic feet of internal space (and the ability to modify the port).. it'll sound like boomy poo.. Better choice would be to buy a second cab like the one you have... Parallel them you have the 4 ohm load, enjoy about a 6dB gain..

[knappymer]

500 vs. 300 watts won't give you much of a volume bump. Maybe some more clean head room but not more the 1-2db in volume.

What I would recommend is more speakers. Another 1x15" would do, or even a dual 2x10" set up. That way you can use one when just practicing and both for when you need something bigger. Golden rule is more speakers = more immediate volume.

[RickenBoogie]

+1 more wattage means nothing, while adding another duplicate 15 means adding tons more volume, low end, etc. That's the thing to do.

[bobodechimp]

big ups on adding another cab. now i just have to justify it to the wifey. i was wondering though, if i add another 15' 400 watter that would be a total of 800 watts being pushed by a 300 watt amp. Isnt this a bad thing? and i don't know if i can spend 400-500 bucks right now on an identical cab, what about a gk neo 1x12-II it's a 300 watt cab or a gk blx 15III at 200 watts. I know that i would be exceeding it's limits, but by only 100 watts? on a side note i really want to thank you guys for answering my questions it's been a real help.

[fdeck]

It's OK if the power ratings of your cabs are higher than the rating of your amp.

[aus_bass]

Originally Posted by bobodechimp

that would be a total of 800 watts being pushed by a 300 watt amp. Isnt this a bad thing? and i don't know if i can spend 400-500 bucks right now on an identical cab, what about a gk neo 1x12-II it's a 300 watt cab or a gk blx 15III at 200 watts. I know that i would be exceeding it's limits, but by only 100 watts? on a side note i really want to thank you guys for answering my questions it's been a real help.

It's the amp output that determines the power, not the cabs. 300w into cabs rated for 800w is still 300w.

But, with 1 x 8ohm cab, you're pushing around 180w. You need 2 x 8ohm cabs to get your full 300w. So, a 2nd cab is your best bet.

[knappymer]

And there is no such thing as under-powering a cab. The only factor that comes unto play then is the sensitivity of the enclosure.

Kinda like this, the Ampeg SVT 8x10 can handle 800+ watts of power, yet the SVT amps only push 300 watts of power to the cab. It's the fact that there are so many speakers also placed into an enclosure with a high sensitivity that results in such a huge sound.

Don't worry about the ratings being exact. You'll go crazy. Just play what's sounds good.

[bobodechimp]

i just heard that under powering a cab can be a bad thing. i also realized too that i suck at math; 300 divided by 2 is less than 200. this is why i am a cook and not an engineer.

[bobodechimp]

woo there knappymer sensitivity? you lost me

[knappymer]

haha no worries.

Basically what I'm saying is you can't under power a cab, so don't worry about the numbers not matching up. If you can get another 115 cab and it sounds good, then it's all gravy.

I wouldn't recommend getting another cab with different sized speakers as phasing issues can come into play (other crazy mad science stuff which, I'm still a novice at as well).

Try to check out some of the stickies at the top of the forum pages... they are there to answer a lot of the frequently asked questions.

[Downunderwonder]

Actually, those Ampeg 8x10 aren't all that efficient / sensitive.

But yeah, two cabs is "twice" as sensitive as one.

[bobodechimp]

what about these peavey headliner cabs would they play nice with my gk cab or should i match brand as well as speaker size. It's just i can get a 1x15 peavy at 500 watt for 250 bucks were as a gk 1X15 is only 200 watts at the same price this is ok with my current set up but if i would step up to a 700 watt head in the future i'll be pushing 350 is through that gk. and i really hate re buying gear. but of course. i know gk and i like gk, and all i know of peavey is the tnt i had when i first stared playing bass back in 98.

[Corey Y]

I'm on board with the previous suggestions to add another cab. Unless you're pushing the amp you have to the very brink of meltdown now you're not going to get a lot out of a slightly more powerful head, but you will get a lot out of more speakers. Add another 8 ohm cab and you can scale up or down as the gig calls for it. I'd go with a 2x10 if you're looking for some variety, but another 15" would do just as well if you're happy with your sound and you're just concerned about volume. You can scale up with multiple smaller cabs, you can't scale down an 8x10.

Also, +1 on underpowering a cab being hogwash. The technical details of that misconception are covered plenty elsewhere, the search function and stickies are your friends.

[bobodechimp]

i'm new to the form what are stickies

[knappymer]

They ate at the top of each forum. Kind of like a Frequently Asked Question answer section.

Downunder, I was simply just using the Ampeg setup as an example because of it's popularity.