too much head for cab?

[streetknight]

I just got a 210 4 ohm cab, its rated 400 watts. My head is 480 watts at 4 ohms, should this be ok as long as I don't really crank it? Don't wanna play thru it till I verify lol.

[BurningSkies]

You'll be fine...use your volume knob and your ears. When you hear any form of distortion, back off the volume. Remember, most cabs are rated by thermal limit rather than displacement limits, so your cab probably likes no more than 200ish watts anyway.

[Dekker]

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

You'll be fine...use your volume knob and your ears. When you hear any form of distortion, back off the volume.

+1

[streetknight]

Thanks

[countrybassist]

Is there such a thing as "too much head"

[enricogaletta]

You can handle untile the 40% of the poweramp of your head than you enter in the red zone for your cab. You can play it also with more power but you need to be really carefull, think about the dynamics and the frequecies range of your playing if you want to use it anyway.
Cheers. Enrico
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[Alex1984]

Yes, but use your ears and you'll be fine. If you really need the volume add a 2nd cab, preferrably identical.

[groove pump]

I use a 1,400 watt power amp to drive a pair of 200 watt, 8 ohm 2x10 cabs - together they make a 4 ohm load on the amp. I've been using this layout for a number of years and get wonderful sound without needing to turn my preamp way up. Only once in all that time have I heard something that may have been an objection from my cabs.

We were playing outdoors where lots of our (we the bass players) sound can seemingly dissipate in a hurry, so I was probably digging in too hard to make "enough" volume (no PA support for my sound). The quick fix was just a hair less volume along with just a smidgen of eq cut on my lowest frequencies. The low-mids carried the day, no problemo.

I consider the volume control to be the main "safety valve", but remember that you also can't expect cabs to do more than they can physically... do. Huge low end and huge volume come from huge rigs with enough speakers to push all that air.

Not telling you to get rid of the 2x10 that you just got yourself, but if you eventually need more from your rig as far as volume, you may consider eventually swapping your single 4 ohm cab for a pair of 8 ohm 2x10's. Together they'll give your head the 4 ohm minimum load it needs, you'll have more speaker area to make more sound, or you can use just one of those cabs in situations that don't need a really big setup. Currently, I agree that you're good to go.

[groove pump]

Originally Posted by Alex1984

Yes, but use your ears and you'll be fine. If you really need the volume add a 2nd cab, preferrably identical.

Careful though.

A second cab that's the same as the one you've got now will make only a 2 ohm load on your head if they're running together.

If the head could run two channels in stereo and the minimum load on each side was 4 ohms, that would be okay, but in the case of speaker cabs paired up, 4+4=2 when you're talking about resistance ratings (ohms). Not good.

[Marko5657]

Just curious… why did you buy a 4-ohm 210 cab?

[streetknight]

Originally Posted by Marko5657

Just curious... why did you buy a 4-ohm 210 cab?

TBH, I didn't even look till I got it home. That's why I started this thread, cause I can return it if its going to be an issue

[scottfeldstein]

Return it. Get an 8 Ohm. The wattage your head delivers to it will be more than enough. And you'll be able to add a second 8 Ohm cab for even more power.

[ThumpsAlot]

Originally Posted by scottfeldstein

Return it. Get an 8 Ohm. The wattage your head delivers to it will be more than enough. And you'll be able to add a second 8 Ohm cab for even more power.

+1

[bassgod0dmw]

+2