Is it possible to use a stereo tube amp to power a CAB?

[markth30]

Noob question here:

I have a Yaqin MC-10L stereo tube amp. I'm wondering if it's possible to use it as a bass amp head. This would only be used in my apartment of course.

Here's some pics of the amp
BACK: http://hi-end.on9mart.com/products/a...v/photo_14.jpg
FRONT: http://hi-end.on9mart.com/products/a...v/photo_02.jpg

I'm thinking;
Use a 1/4" Stereo Female to 2 RCA Male to get the output from my bass.

Find some way of getting the left and right speaker channels from the amp into a single output cable and plug that into a CAB.

Will this work?
If so will it sound good?
Am I going to cause any of these things to explode and kill me?

Thanks

[Hellbastard]

If you only connect one cab, you would be leaving one channel of the amp without a load. AFAIK Tube amps need to have a load at all times when turned otherwise you risk damaging the output transformer.

[markth30]

I see.
Is it possible to pipe both channels into one CAB?

[Passinwind]

Originally Posted by markth30

I see.
Is it possible to pipe both channels into one CAB?

Using only one channel is fine as long as you don't send an input signal to the unused one. If your cab has more than one speaker you can wire it in dual mono, but I wouldn't bother for at-home use.

The bigger issue is driving the power amp. A passive bass won't do it in most cases. An active one may. In any case, a dedicated preamp of some sort is probably necessary. Does that amp have any tone controls BTW?

[MR PC]

Cool looking amp, it reminds me of the old Dyna Stereo 70. I've used that for bass, and it really kicks. That amp had a slider switch on the front for bridging both sides of the power amp into a monoblock.

You'll need a preamp, (unless all of those mini tubes are some kind of preamp) and I think the simplest thing would be to just use two small cabinets, or a cab with two drivers wired independently. I'd be nervous about running the amp on one side only.

[markth30]

Thanks I love this amp. When playing it side by side with my solid state stereo amp, even with compressed digital tracks from my ipod as the source, you can really hear more details and soundstage. I should probably invest in a good CD player, or vinyl.

Yes the 4 tubes in front are an integrated preamp.
No tone controls.

The bass input seems like the easy part.
I think then what I need is to bridge 4 channel stereo to one channel mono to get the output to the CAB?

The amp I have now is an Ampeg BA115, but I don't see any way to power the speaker from the tube amp. Would I need to buy a cab just for this experiment?

I know it's crazy, but the thought of getting fat tube sound from equipment I already own is making me all hot and fetid.

This page has some more specs on the Yaqin MC-10L
http://coolcatdaddy.blogspot.com/200...al-review.html
Output power is about 52 watts (at 8 ohms) per channel using four EL-34-B tubes for the power amplification stage and four 6N1's, a common Russian/Chinese tube, for the preamp section. (There are speaker connectors on the back to run it at 4 or 8 ohms.)

The amp has four line level inputs, a power switch and a volume control and that's about it.

[Bassmec]

Originally Posted by markth30

Thanks I love this amp. When playing it side by side with my solid state stereo amp, even with compressed digital tracks from my ipod as the source, you can really hear more details and soundstage. I should probably invest in a good CD player, or vinyl.

Yes the 4 tubes in front are an integrated preamp.
No tone controls.

The bass input seems like the easy part.
I think then what I need is to bridge 4 channel stereo to one channel mono to get the output to the CAB?

The amp I have now is an Ampeg BA115, but I don't see any way to power the speaker from the tube amp. Would I need to buy a cab just for this experiment?

I know it's crazy, but the thought of getting fat tube sound from equipment I already own is making me all hot and fetid.

This page has some more specs on the Yaqin MC-10L
http://coolcatdaddy.blogspot.com/200...al-review.html
Output power is about 52 watts (at 8 ohms) per channel using four EL-34-B tubes for the power amplification stage and four 6N1's, a common Russian/Chinese tube, for the preamp section. (There are speaker connectors on the back to run it at 4 or 8 ohms.)

The amp has four line level inputs, a power switch and a volume control and that's about it.

Just get a couple of 4 or 8 ohm efficient bass cabs that sound good running with an amp set flat, plug in both output channels use a y adaptor on the AUX input and enjoy, if you have an active bass offering good EQ and strong output you are in for a real treat.

[Calaverasgrande]

I used to do this all the time with funky old "portable" reel to reels. I found a few that had mic or turntable inputs that were sensitive enough to work with a bass. The real fun was cranking the gain all the way up and using the speaker output to a single 12" cab. Pure fuzzed out nirvana!