8/4 ohm head, 8ohm cab and 4 ohm cab, help!

[Adam Hall]

Hello! I have an Orange Terror Bass head that can operate at 8 or 4 ohms, I have an Orange OBC115 cab that is 400 watts at 8 ohms, and an Ampeg SVT 410 HLF that is 500 watts at 4 ohms, can I wire these in series or can I use them in parallel? Help!

 

[lug]

To meet specs, you cannot hook them up in parallel. Series involves some funky wiring that if done wrong can screw things up. Proceed with caution. I'd recommend selling the 4 ohm cab and getting another 8 ohm cab if you want to use 2 cabinets.

 

[Downunderwonder]

You could wire them series but experts recommend you don't because it can give the amp conniptions even if you wire it properly.

Parallel is not allowed.

 

[agedhorse]

Not a good choice of cabinets for that particular amp.

Wiring in series is not a great option when the electro-acoustic parameters are so different either. Each set of parameters will interact with the other which can result in unexpected results.

 

[daveman50]

Nope. It's a bad marriage. You'd be better off pairing that 115 with an 8 ohm 210 or another 8 ohm 115.

 

[basscooker]

Okay, 2 things first. The HLF is a 4 ohm? Really didnt know that....

Also, jeez that isn't enough volume? Man I hope you guys wear earplugs.

But yeah, what everyone else said. Just don't. Are you scooping out your midrange and farting out the Ampeg or something? Running that amp at 4 ohm into that cab should give most building foundations a good shake. What does this rig fail to give you?

Are you looking for more volume or is it just not your flavor?

 

[S-Bigbottom]

Use the 1x15 as a stand to get the 4x10 closer to your ears and not at your knees but do not plug the 1x15 in.
That will help you be louder to you.

 

[gumtown]

Use the 1x15 as a stand to get the 4x10 closer to your ears and not at your knees but do not plug the 1x15 in.
That will help you be louder to you.

this is the best advice for your current situation.
next best is to use a separate power amp to drive one of the cabinets, slaved from the Orange (post pre-amp if possible).

 

[Matty Koff]

Definitely don't pair the two cabs but I can't say I'd sell the 4 ohm 4x10.. gives you options, lets you leave cabs at different jam spots if you play with more than one band.. and the 410 by itself is going to be a pretty nice experience imo. Find a matching 115 for your 8 ohm cab imo.

 

[trevcda]

Use the 1x15 as a stand to get the 4x10 closer to your ears and not at your knees but do not plug the 1x15 in.
That will help you be louder to you.

Plus it looks cool! And most people hear with their eyes anyway. Just carrying those cabinets into some venues will illicit a "Hey! turn that down!", long before you've even reached the stage and plugged anything in.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

Nope. It's a bad marriage. You'd be better off pairing that 115 with an 8 ohm 210 or another 8 ohm 115.

Yup! Preferably of the same brand so you know that they will sound good together. Mixing cabs with different speakers and different brands can lead to some interesting sonic challenges...OK, not so interesting. Really it can cause problems.

I'd also suggest selling the Ampeg 410. Best bet is to buy another Orange 115, but as long as you stay with Orange a 210 should give you a good and slightly different sound too. You can mix cabs and brands but it's really easy to end up with a combination that doesn't sound good because the different cab designers usually design them to sound good with their own cab designs, not designs from other companies. Phase cancellation and dispersal pattern problems abound, with frequencies from one cancelling out some frequencies from the other.

That's not to say it can't be done and come out OK. I had a 410+115 setup from different companies and as long as I EQ'd them correctly they did sound good together. I'd recommend always trying them out if you're tempted to try mixing different speaker cab configurations from different brands.