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Gallien Krueger rig expansion and wattage question

#21
JimmyM said:
engineering and sales have completely different goals. if they make you want to buy a 115 along with your 410 when your 410 is probably fine, they really don't care if they work as well as they could together. they just care that you buy.
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Not to bash other brands, but it's GK and Hartke, not Ampeg. There's a bit more integrity associated with these brands, especially when the founder/owner/engineer run each company and not a board of shareholders.

I'm not calling you out specifically Jimmy, you seem to be one of the go-to guys as far as amp knowledge on this site and I really do value your opinion. I just think its a case of caring a bit too much on behalf of the guys scaring people away from this combination. Is a 410 x 115 combo the most optimal combination? Probably not. But as long as it won't set my practice space on fire or fry my amp, I'm willing to play what sounds good to my ears over what is "the best" combination. I've tried using two 410s and I've tried 410s with 210s and I've tried 810s, and there's just something about a 15 inch speaker that I prefer over all of these combinations, but there's something magical about a 410 and a 115 combo with my fingers. The only combo of 10s that sound right to me (in my limited playing experience) are the Ampeg "fridge" 810s coupled with an all-tube SVT. Everything else is lacking something, IMO.
 
#25
powellmacaque said:
Why promote products together that won't work together? That'd be like having Ford promoting the Focus towing three or four tons.
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No, it's not like that at all. The 4x10 and 1x15 will, in fact, work, just not as well as some would like you to believe. Why make 1x15's at all? Because people want them. Possibly for all the wrong reasons, but it doesn't matter- people want them.
 
#26
It's a subject long debated here, but in fact, as far as matching cabs up properly goes, a 1x15 and a 2x10 are about equal. A 4x10 and a 2x15 are about equal. So the 410/115 is an obvious mismatch, yet many players use it, and they like how it sounds. So, go with what works for you. Just also know, at volume, the 410 will be cruising, while the 15 is sweating.
 
#27
I like how the same guys who post immediately on "opinion" threads and scream "play what sounds good to you!" are also the same ones who immediately tell someone else they are wrong in wanting to try something that sounds "good" to their own ears. I agree with sage wisdom handed down. Can't beat it. Also can't beat going against the norm/grain and trying something different. Hendrix did it, and it appears Wooten and Flea do too. I always go back to running my GK400RB through 3 15" speakers for nearly two decades at the wrong impedance and sounding like a complete monster. For years players asked about my tone. I had no idea why it sounded so alive and punchy, but years later when I fried my head, I realized about "correct impedance". As long as you don't fry your cabs/head and waste a ton of loot, then DO IT. I am now playing 10"s and love them, but I agree there was something sweet about a 15"s tone.
I think I wore all of mine out through the years. I miss them.
 
#28
listen, i use an 810 and 215 which don't have very good upper mid/high dispersion, so i'm no stranger to violating the rules. but i see nothing wrong with educating yourself as to what the rules of audio are just so you can make informed choices rather than buying what flea uses. just because you like something doesn't mean it somehow escapes the laws of audio physics.
 
#30
i use a 210,115 with my 700rbii, thought i needed a 410 with 115. tried it and lost all i loved from the 115 cuz the 410 drowned it out. if i was trying to add to a 410 i'd add another 410. if i was adding to a 115 i,d add a 210. just my opinion from trail and error.i,ll also add i played 2 410s and the 210,115 sounds much better.IMO
 
#31
rptrsn2 said:
i use a 210,115 with my 700rbii, thought i needed a 410 with 115. tried it and lost all i loved from the 115 cuz the 410 drowned it out. if i was trying to add to a 410 i'd add another 410. if i was adding to a 115 i,d add a 210. just my opinion from trail and error.i,ll also add i played 2 410s and the 210,115 sounds much better.IMO
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I sort of have to agree with a lot of the above post because my experience is the same. I have used a 210 RBH cab with a 115 RBH cab (with a 700) and that is a great rig.

The 410 drowns out the 115. I prefer a 2 x 15, 2 x 410 or the above mentioned 210/115 rig to the 410/115. Although I have still not completely decided if the 115 is only drowned out on stage but is audible farther back in the room - 50 feet away or so. Never gone and checked that. And don't get me wrong the 410/115 setup is still a kickin' rig but up close or on stage you will not hear much of the 115.

I sort of fell for the 410/115 sales set up; and I am not saying GK is scamming or anything like that - all my gear is GK. Just a lot of their typical ads showed the 410/115 rig and that's how I went. Price wise the 115 is a lot cheaper of a cabinet compared to the 410 pretty much no matter which series of GK cabs you are buying.
 
#33
Mola Ram said:
Maybe I am totally dumb, which is quite possible, but isn't this pretty much the exact set up I'm looking at just doubled?
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hahaha! yeah, i guess i did work it awkwardly. i should have said i use an 810 OR a 215. sorry about that. i never use both together...just separately. and if you want to get technical, the 215 rig is two 115's.

my fault for the confusion entirely.
 
#34
Mola Ram said:
I was wondering if I could get an answer to a question I had about my rig.

I have been using a GK 700RB-II head through a 410RBX-II cab and I want to extend my rig to include a 15. I found a good deal on a GK 115RBX and I was looking at the specs and I was getting completely confused.

Both cabs have an impedance of 8 ohms and have a power handling of 400 watts.

Now the specs for the 700RB are 480W @ 4 ohm and 320W @ 8 ohm

This is the part that’s messing me up. If I hook up two 8 ohm cabs to the head it changes the impedance to 4 ohms…so then my head is pumping out 480 watts. Isn’t this too much for the cabinets since both of them have power handlings of only 400 watts?

This is what I’ve come up with from reading the FAQ from this site and other sites. It just makes no sense in my head that these three GK products, that all appear to be designed to work together, would not be compatible when making a full stack. Am I completely off bass? (HA, pun)

Thanks in advance to any help!
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Riddle me this my brother. What kind of band and venues are you playing? The answer to this question is the most important one.

Small bars and clubs, 210 & 115. Big places with lousy PA's, 810 & 215. Giant places with great PA 1610 & 415.

I got the same thing about get more 10's. I like my 115 paired with my 210. I am looking for tone, not volume.

I am a bass player, I am not an audio engineer, but I am a doctor, just not that kind of doctor.
 

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