low-watt amp, monster cab

tilde · #1 10-08-2010, 12:38 PM

I recently acquired a 45 watt tube amp from 1972 (a Traynor YBA-1), but I don't currently own a cabinet I can play it through. I was thinking about rewiring my 4-ohm Aguilar DB410 into an 8-ohm cabinet, but before I start looking at the project (or start talking to Aguilar--I already need to ask them about a tweeter issue) I want to make sure that the head won't be underpowered for the cabinet, which has a 700 watt RMS power handling.

I don't ever expect to keep up with my guitarist's Sovtek Mig-100, but will the 45 watts be enough to get serious volume out of the cabinet, or should I stick with a smaller cabinet, or just a less-beefy 4x10?

bongomania · #2 10-08-2010, 12:43 PM

There's no such thing as "underpowering", that's an old myth. Your DB410 can be run just fine with a ONE watt amp.

Loudness is a whole other question. To get the most loudness, you need a super-efficient cab. The easiest way to get more volume per watt is to add more speaker surface area. So, all else being equal, an 8x10 would be much louder with that amp than a 4x10 would be. The next consideration is the sensitivity of the speakers themselves, and the efficiency of the cab design. Look up threads with the words "bfm", "fitzmaurice", "fearful", "barefaced", and "efficient" for more info.

tilde · #3 10-08-2010, 01:00 PM

Heh, it's obvious now. Somehow I was thinking that more speakers would create more resistance for the amp, but obviously the overall impedance is already 8 ohms, which means it'll draw a fixed amount of current, which means that a louder amp is more efficient... duh.

Thanks for the quick reply.

BassmanPaul · #4 10-08-2010, 02:18 PM

Read the FAQ. You cannot rewire a 4Ω cabinet and get 8Ω. How many more times do we have to say this before it sinks in????

billfitzmaurice · #5 10-08-2010, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassmanPaul

Read the FAQ...How many more times do we have to say this before it sinks in????

Until blue in the face. Nothing guarantees that a section will be ignored better than labeling it FAQ.

**xed** · #6 10-08-2010, 04:46 PM

A "faq" to some may sound like a rare and odd question to others. btw... what bass is best for metal?

Mr. Foxen · #7 10-08-2010, 04:48 PM

If the tweeter isn't working, might be better with the amp, distorting things into tweeters can be horrible.