Using an Orange AD30 guitar amp with an SVT810

[JohnRardin]

I know this is unusual but I really want to figure out a way to safely use my Orange AD30 guitar amp to power my SVT-810 Classic cab. The Orange has 2 8ohm outputs and a 16ohm out and the cab is 4ohms. I know a mismatched head and cab combination has a potential be dangerous so I really want to find out what my options are to match the impedance.

You'd think that 30watts wouldn't be enough, but when paired with a Sansamp, there's more than enough volume.

Would my best bet be to add another cabinet (like a sub with a crossover) or change the impedance of the cab I have? I really want to use this not only because it sounds amazing but also so I can have an amp that serves a my bass head and as guitar amp (different cab of coarse). What would you do?

[interstatejoe]

I don't know anything about that head so I'd wait for someone more knowledgable to chime in, but couldn't you rewire your 4ohm 810 cab so the top 410s and the bottom 410s are each 8ohms then use the 2 8ohm outputs?

[ItsMichaelYeah]

IDK what your guitarist use but my guitarist used one and my guitar player with his marshall jcm 900 100watt just buried him so I think you get killed in the mix.

idk which ampeg you have but I believe the newer one you can split the loads from the top and bottom have and they get dropped to 4 ohms. so you would need to cables from the 2 8 ohm outputs from the amp to the cabs top and bottom inputs.

[JohnRardin]

You're both right! Looks like the only way to do it is to wire it to be stereo and use 2 speaker cables like you said. I'd really love to be able to do this myself... How exactly would I wire this?

Believe it or not the Sansamp alone creates way more volume than I'll need and the Orange is more than loud enough. My other amp was actually blown and the sansamp boosted so much that I couldn't tell. Gotta love the Sansamp

[ItsMichaelYeah]

well if it works for you go and get another speaker cable and go at it.

[interstatejoe]

4 32ohm speakers wired parallel should give you 8ohms

[ItsMichaelYeah]

Originally Posted by JohnRardin

You're both right! Looks like the only way to do it is to wire it to be stereo and use 2 speaker cables like you said. I'd really love to be able to do this myself... How exactly would I wire this?

Believe it or not the Sansamp alone creates way more volume than I'll need and the Orange is more than loud enough. My other amp was actually blown and the sansamp boosted so much that I couldn't tell. Gotta love the Sansamp

But if you have a newer ampeg cab it already has the stereo jacks so no Re-wiring is necessarily

[Mark Olson]

How is the low end with the AD30? I'd really like to buy one myself if I knew it was ok with the lows. I gig with a Marshall 2061X and I have no problem being heard.

[RickenBoogie]

Just a guess here, but many amps, and maybe that Orange, label the speaker outs for the TOTAL load. So, the 16 ohm tap would be used for a 16 ohm cab, and the 2 8 ohm taps, for 2 16 ohm cabs. I'd be real careful here, and make sure you check this out before connecting a 4 ohm load to it.

[interstatejoe]

Originally Posted by RickenBoogie

Just a guess here, but many amps, and maybe that Orange, label the speaker outs for the TOTAL load. So, the 16 ohm tap would be used for a 16 ohm cab, and the 2 8 ohm taps, for 2 16 ohm cabs. I'd be real careful here, and make sure you check this out before connecting a 4 ohm load to it.

Me thinks RickenBoogie may be right.

[projectMalamute]

The Ampeg can be rewired for 16 ohms.

Or you could just use the 8 ohm tap. If the transformer is fussy enough to melt down at that mismatch it's a piece of crap and should be replaced anyway.

[JohnRardin]

I ran a full practice with this setup and it sounded great but obviously now with this knowledge I can't use it again until I can rewire it. Unfortunately my cab is older and doesn't have the 8ohm option. My other option may be to trade my Peavey Tour 450 head and the SVT810 for a better cab (or combination of cabs) to achieve the 8ohms.

I wonder if you're right about the two 8ohm outputs being intended to power 2 16ohm cabs from the Orange. I gotta look into that more. What sucks is we have 3 shows in the next week and I won't be able to use the Orange til then. I don't have a guitar cab yet either so I guess I can't even use it yet. I love the tone though. Its a single channel AD30 so its essentially the same as a bass amp...just weaker and with the wrong impedance.

Would it be to much trouble to ask for a walk through of exactly how to do the rewiring job? I dont wanna blow anything by being hasty.

Btw if you wanna check out some tunes, look us up @

myspace.com/AsideOceans

or search FB
Thanks!

[johnk_10]

usually an amp that has two 8 ohm outputs means that you can plug two 8 ohm cabs into it for a total load of 4 ohms, so i think you can plug the 4 ohm 810 into your head without any issues.
a schematic or at least an owner's manual would be really helpful .

[Nightlyraider]

Out of curiosity, what drives this idea?

[johnk_10]

i just looked at the manual for the amp, and the minimum load for it is 8 ohms.

it says:

"When using a single Orange 16 ohm speaker cabinet, (i.e. PPC412 or PPC212), attach it to the
16 ohm output socket on your amplifier.
When using two Orange 16 ohm speaker cabinets attach each one to a separate 8 ohm
output socket on your amplifier.
When using a single 8 ohm cabinet attach it to either one of the two 8 ohm output
sockets on your amplifier.
WARNING: Never use two 8 ohm cabinets at the same time.
When using an AD30TC combo or AD30R combo with a 16 ohm extension speaker, disconnect
the internal speaker from the 16 ohm socket and reconnect to one of the two 8 ohm sockets.
Connect the extension speaker to the other 8 ohm socket.
WARNING: Orange AD Series amplifiers should not be used with 4 ohm speakers."

http://omec.com/admin/downloads/AD30HTC-Manual.pdf

[coreyfyfe]

Originally Posted by johnk_10

usually an amp that has two 8 ohm outputs means that you can plug two 8 ohm cabs into it for a total load of 4 ohms, so i think you can plug the 4 ohm 810 into your head without any issues.
a schematic or at least an owner's manual would be really helpful .

Usually, but not Orange. Their stuff is labeled as Rickenboogie said above. It is kind of confusing, but I guess it's the way they've been doing things so they stick with it? I'd think clarity would be the best thing but that's just me.

This is also why I like amps with selectors instead of just plugs.

[BogeyBass]

They stick a rec tube in that thing? with 4 el84 but they can't supply a 4ohm output transformer?

wow

for sale orange AD30

for the most part if you want that brit sound i guess, cheaper than a vox, but its a guitar amp, with a wimp output tran

sell that thing and get some muscle, or use it for guitar

30watts into a 8x10 won't sound very good, don't you have another practice amp?

[projectMalamute]

Originally Posted by JohnRardin

I ran a full practice with this setup and it sounded great but obviously now with this knowledge I can't use it again until I can rewire it. Unfortunately my cab is older and doesn't have the 8ohm option. My other option may be to trade my Peavey Tour 450 head and the SVT810 for a better cab (or combination of cabs) to achieve the 8ohms.

I wonder if you're right about the two 8ohm outputs being intended to power 2 16ohm cabs from the Orange. I gotta look into that more. What sucks is we have 3 shows in the next week and I won't be able to use the Orange til then. I don't have a guitar cab yet either so I guess I can't even use it yet. I love the tone though. Its a single channel AD30 so its essentially the same as a bass amp...just weaker and with the wrong impedance.

Would it be to much trouble to ask for a walk through of exactly how to do the rewiring job? I dont wanna blow anything by being hasty.

Btw if you wanna check out some tunes, look us up @

myspace.com/AsideOceans

or search FB
Thanks!

Your SVT has 8 32 ohm drivers in it. This means it can be wired for 16 ohms. Your amp has a 16 ohm tap.

You don't need to buy anything.

4 pairs in series = 64 ohms each
all 4 sets of pairs wired up in parallel = 64 / 4 = 16 ohms total

[JohnRardin]

Originally Posted by BogeyBass

They stick a rec tube in that thing? with 4 el84 but they can't supply a 4ohm output transformer?

wow

for sale orange AD30

for the most part if you want that brit sound i guess, cheaper than a vox, but its a guitar amp, with a wimp output tran

sell that thing and get some muscle, or use it for guitar

30watts into a 8x10 won't sound very good, don't you have another practice amp?

Like I said, it sounds amazing so I don't have much interest in anything else. Also, like I said before the Sansamp creates more than enough volume without the amp, so the 30 tube watts is more than enough until we play stadiums... but then you'd run direct anyways so it wouldnt matter.

As I mentioned before there's a couple reasons why I'd wanna use this amp instead of buying another amp:

I prefer its sound to anything else I've heard.
If it works, I'll have an amp thats not only the ultimate guitar amp but also acts as my bass amp.
If I can use it I will be able to sell my Peavey Tour 450 head or trade it (plus my 810) towards a better cab.

With all these reasons to use it I think it's more than worth it to rewire my cab.

What were you referring to when you asked if I had another practice amp laying around? If you aren't familiar with the Orange AD30 its a 30watt TUBE head that starts around $1600. I'll get some recordings up once I get the tone dialed in so you guys can get an idea of how sick this thing sounds. I play a Warwick Streamer so its kinda mid and low mid heavy.

check out some of our music:
myspace.com/AsideOceans

We recorded our new EP, Minds Like Parachutes, at Warrior Sound in Chapel Hill, NC. Coincidentally all the guitars were recorded through an Orange AD30. They're the $#!+

[RickenBoogie]

Mesa Boogie does the same thing with their speaker outs/ and I think you have a good plan right now, dump the Peavey AND the 810, and get yourself a sweet 8 ohm 4x10, or even a 4x12. The tone will be sublime, even if the volume's a little on the low side.