Head and Cabinet question

[ianhiding]

Thanks for taking the time to look at my question. I recently bought a Ampeg SVT-3 pro which outputs 450W @4 ohms, 275 at 8 ohms. I also have a 2x10, 8 ohms, 200W handling cab. And last, I have a 15" combo amp. I'm pretty sure the speaker is an 8 ohm, probably 200W (will need to verify this).

I want to use the combo amp as just a cabinet by disconnecting the amp head. So if both cabinets are 8 ohms, that puts my total load at 4 ohms. Will this work for me or do you think the cabinets themselves are underpowered for this particular head?

In the future, I'd like to sell the cabinet and combo amp and just get a good cabinet. But for right now, do you think the solution above would work? Thanks.

 

[Rick Auricchio]

If you can get access to the combo's cabinet separate from its amp, you can use it. Under no circumstances should you connect it to another amp if its built-in amp is still in the circuit.

That said, the two 8-ohm cabs will work together. There are a few caveats:

1. The loudness of the two cabs may not be well balanced, and there will be no way to adjust that.

2. The tone produced by the combination of 10- and 15-inch drivers may be good, or may not. The two sizes of driver can interact in unusual ways, causing funny tone. No damage, just that you may not like it.

3. The combo will be much heavier to lug than a straight 15" cab.

4. Your SVT-3 will put out 450w at 4 ohms. The increase in power (450 vs 275) will barely be audible. The second cab will help quite a bit, but wattage alone is a minor player when it comes to loudness.

 

[B-string]

Just add to what Rick A said, if the combo's 15" plugs into the head you will need to build your own extention cable, male to female to connect the 15". I don't think you will be able to find a good heavy speaker extention cable.
Other than that YOU control the volume (therefor the amps output) and should be fine.