how to do this right: 500W head + 250W cab

[DB66]

I also have a Wizzy 110 and pair it with the 500w EA micro head. Main application is for lower level upright gigs.

 

[logdrum]

legendary lol. have u had any problems? do you play upright or electric?

I play both. BUT it is is my practice room and even when my drummer friend comes to play. we can only be so loud.

I keep the gain low nut the master is actually 1/3 because my amp will hiss if the master is too low. My amp is an Acoustic Image Focus R . Those are 1000 watts and I've played this with a 700 watt 212 Brigantine and it can keep up and there's room for more. Mine is one of the first revisions and it is actually rated at 300 supposedly but I always think it is 200 watt. I have gigged with it electric wise. When gigging I tape the master to be safe.

If you are clipping in the input that's when it is not safe. To be safe live I bypass the preamp and go through the effects loop and set the HPF to about 80 Hz and have a tube preamp which will soft clip. You want headroom on the input. so set it low just for it to be not sterile.

 

[agedhorse]

I also have a Whizzy 110 and I am pairing it with a 1000 watt amp

It’s all fun and games until you have an accident!

 

[bassfran]

Angling the cab slightly and/or raising it up on a chair, etc. will also help you to hear it better before you push it too hard. As others have suggested trust your ears.

 

[TN WOODMAN]

Trust your ears. The cab sounds like it’s in pain believe it. A lot of times folks run two unmatched cabs, one is fine, one is struggling-that’s the time stuff gets damaged.

 

[Pilgrim]

Simple. Turn it down or get a better matched cab.

 

[DWBass]

As mentioned, if you can, use a lower powered amp with these little cabs. I use a GK MB200 with mine. I would never use it on a gig unless it's a low volume dinner set or acoustic type of thing.

 

[SJan3]

If I have to compromise my EQ settings in order to not overstress the cabinet, then I've got the wrong cabinet. As has been suggested, look into a light weight 1x12 or 2x10 cabinet. The LittleMark lll, (one of my favorite amps), plays really well with an 8ohm cabinet, still delivering 300 watts @8 ohms. The 58R series 2x10 or 1x12 cabs are only appx 25 lbs!

 

[JimmyM]

Thanks! most of my gigs are small group free improv, or at venues where I’m also going through FOH and monitors so I dont plan to push this cab hard. If there’s no PA and I need to blast I’ll just bring my 122.

Interesting that those replacement speakers are 200W but all the cabs are listed at 250W

That’s part of the reason why you can’t trust numbers.

 

[EastCoastThump]

yes. in practice, choose your cabs to match your gigs, not to match the numbers on your amp. then gig the amp that sounds best at those gig levels with your bass and cabs.

amp and cab wattage ratings don't guarantee that you can always run your rig heedlessly without damaging it. and they don't guarantee that your amp and cabs will sound good together.

 

[DCErik]

I ran a Euphonic VL-110 (250W @ 8Ohm) on an Ampeg SVT 400T head (mono bridge 400w @ 8Ohm) for years while touring and gigging in Taiwan, and both pieces of gear are none the worse for wear. Even had the rig onstage at the Spring Scream festival for stage volume a couple of times. EA cabs seem to me to be very conservatively rated for power handling, but I did take care not to push mine too hard.

 

[Kumi]

I ran a Euphonic VL-110 (250W @ 8Ohm) on an Ampeg SVT 400T head (mono bridge 400w @ 8Ohm) for years while touring and gigging in Taiwan, and both pieces of gear are none the worse for wear. Even had the rig onstage at the Spring Scream festival for stage volume a couple of times. EA cabs seem to me to be very conservatively rated for power handling, but I did take care not to push mine too hard.

thanks for the reply! i rly appreciate the first hand experience. did you use it with upright or electric? and what sort of band?

 

[Kumi]

Just be mindful of your gain structure. Active preamp on bass? Input gain setting on amp. Any EQ boosting in the amp’s preamp. All these can increase the signal, and effectively make the volume knob more of a suggestion than a measure of output. I’m probably saying this really poorly.

If you’re boosting in the preamp, be aware of that when setting the volume. Your max safe volume might be “3”, depending on your pickups and settings, or it might be “5”. Or it might be “5” for most notes, but then hit one string too hard, and uh-oh. A compressor will help with regulating the signal strength you send to the preamp.

Really just play around with it. See what the cab likes, and what it doesn’t respond well to. Do that without the band, so you can really listen.

You can absolutely use this setup if you are careful - but it might take some trial and error to see what careful actually means. I’d start off by cutting the bass frequency down a couple notches.

forgot to reply to this when i first read it but thank you! this is very helpful insight. my bass is passive but i do have some gain staging with overdrive and boost. i compress at the beginning of my chain but im trying to get my hands on one of those fishman eq pedals with the compressor and hpf to help tame things at the end of the chain too.

 

[DCErik]

thanks for the reply! i rly appreciate the first hand experience. did you use it with upright or electric? and what sort of band?

Used the rig with my electric bass (active) in a Britpop band.