I have the Behringer Bx4500h ultrabass head. Its a 450 watt head. I currently run it through a Fender Rumble 410 cab, it's rated for 500 watts. Just picked up an old Yorkville 115 cab that's rated at 200 watts. Please spare me your opinions on matching speaker sizes. I just wanna know if this is gonna be too much for the Yorkville? I've never had to turn my volume up past '3' to be heard over a loud drummer and 2 guitarists
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450w head into 500w and 200w cabs?
- Thread starter Marty Schriver
- Start date
The only thing I would suggest is put the 115 on top so you can hear if you are stressing it as it will be seeing 225 Watts if you push the amp hard. Also depending on how you have the EQ set you can get that 450 watts and not have the Gain or Vol Anywhere near max. So caution is the key word here listen to the 115 as it will be getting 4 times the power of each 10.
… no one can answer if it will be 'too much', because no one can know how you will be setting your EQ, or the condition of the 'old' Yorkville cab … as Mr Nighttrain so wisely suggests, stacking the 115 on top and using your ears is the only way to know …
FWIW, not an 'opinion on matching speaker sizes', but since you have both, I would stack the Yorkville on top, and then try just that hooked up … then put the Rumble on top of the Yorkville, and try just that hooked up … then try them both together as you intend to (Yorkie back on top) … then be honest with yourself which you liked best … may very well be both together, may not be … wouldn't hurt to have someone walk the room while you are doing the test also (or if you have a wireless), just to see what is going on out front ...
You have not mentioned impedance of either cab … just make sure you aren't going below the 4 ohm minimum with that head ...
DJust to check, are both cabinets 8 ohm impedance?
The other issue is what sort of watts each device is being rated in. AIUI Behringer have a habit of rating their kit using music power watts, which are about double the more conventional RMS.
Fender 410 cabs seem mostly to be rated 500W RMS. The Yorkville document I found says 200W program power, which AIUI is, like music power, about double RMS Watts. That means its rated at 1 fifth of the power of the Fender and is not a great partner for it, since assuming both are 8ohm, as in the specs I found, they'll get half the power each. However if the Behringer is music power related it will only be putting out 225W.
The question is do you turn things up at all. I happily run speakers rated less than the amp because I never turn it up, but I reckon this setup could cook the 115 happily if you do turn it up.
IIWY and wanted a 15 I'd be looking for something rated for a lot more watts. A cab rated in excess of 200WRMS (400W program/music power) would be the bare minimum, and 300W (600W) much better.
TL : DR - That Yorkville is way way underspecced to match the Fender. This could end in tears.
The other issue is what sort of watts each device is being rated in. AIUI Behringer have a habit of rating their kit using music power watts, which are about double the more conventional RMS.
Fender 410 cabs seem mostly to be rated 500W RMS. The Yorkville document I found says 200W program power, which AIUI is, like music power, about double RMS Watts. That means its rated at 1 fifth of the power of the Fender and is not a great partner for it, since assuming both are 8ohm, as in the specs I found, they'll get half the power each. However if the Behringer is music power related it will only be putting out 225W.
The question is do you turn things up at all. I happily run speakers rated less than the amp because I never turn it up, but I reckon this setup could cook the 115 happily if you do turn it up.
IIWY and wanted a 15 I'd be looking for something rated for a lot more watts. A cab rated in excess of 200WRMS (400W program/music power) would be the bare minimum, and 300W (600W) much better.
TL : DR - That Yorkville is way way underspecced to match the Fender. This could end in tears.
I have never had to turn my volume up past '3', or the 9 o'clock position, don't think I'll have to with this setup either. I just find that the 410 is fuller, more bass-y; and the 115 is more treble-y. I like the blend, gives me my own unique tone. And the 115 only cost me $60 used, so if it craps out 6 months down the road, I've got my money's worth
If you already have more than enough volume, why are you adding another cab (and risking the not-to-be-mentioned potential ill effects of cabinet mismatch)?
Yeah, what he said. You get questionable "improvements" in sound quality, and actually a 100w reduction in power handling, because assuming both cabs are 8 ohms, you can only put out twice what the 15 can handle (ie 400w). So the 500w Fender is getting 200w, and the 15 is hanging on for dear life.
If you're not happy with your tone, honestly I would trade the behringer for something a lot better. That will get you a lot further than adding the 15, which is really just one thing to carry. The 4x10 should be plenty bright, have you checked to make sure the tweeter is working? If you're adding an "old 15" to a modern 4x10 to add highs, something is either broken or there is significant user error happening. Run that down and try to make the most of the just the head and 4x10 and think about upgrading the head and then maybe the 4x10. There are a lot of great inexpensive bass heads and cabs out there right now.
If you're not happy with your tone, honestly I would trade the behringer for something a lot better. That will get you a lot further than adding the 15, which is really just one thing to carry. The 4x10 should be plenty bright, have you checked to make sure the tweeter is working? If you're adding an "old 15" to a modern 4x10 to add highs, something is either broken or there is significant user error happening. Run that down and try to make the most of the just the head and 4x10 and think about upgrading the head and then maybe the 4x10. There are a lot of great inexpensive bass heads and cabs out there right now.
