Looking for advice on 8 ohm vs 4 ohm cabinet

[thatbassguy06]

Moving to college soon and looking to downsize from my Aguilar SL410 to a light cab that I can easily transport by hand for long periods if needed (moving to Boston). The main cab I'm considering is the GRBass AT110 weighing around 10 lbs. I'm mainly planning on running it through my tonehammer 500 but I have also considered getting the active version of the cabinet to be able to run my EBS Microbass3 preamp through the cabinet. Was wondering if I should go for the 4 ohm option or the 8 ohm -- was most likely going to get the 8 as my main bass has a pretty hot 18v 2/3 band preamp so want to avoid any chance of distortion or overheating. Any thoughts help. Thanks!

 

[thatbassguy06]

Ohm load has nothing to do with distortion or the output of your bass.

I'd recommend doing some homework on exactly how ohm loads work so you don't wind up buying something incompatible with whatever you are using to power it.

Thread 'Ohms FAQ'

Sep 19, 2004

The purpose of this post is to hopefully answer the FAQ about Ohms (as they regard to speakers and the power ratings of amplifiers) , hooking up cabinets, how many cabinets can a given head power, etc. - Hopefully even become a sticky - I spend a lot of time answering posts about the info contained here

As always - your comments, and corrections are welcome. Be brutal, I'd rather have this as a good post than for you to be nice.

At some point in your bass career you have found yourself confused by the term Ohms, and by this term when it applies to speaker cabinets, (what the heck is the...

• IvanMike
• Replies: 996
• Forum: Amps and Cabs [BG]

• 

thanks for the link - reading up has helped a ton

 

[thatbassguy06]

The V2 Tonehammers can handle 2.67 ohm load. The V1 Tonehammer 350 and 500 only handle 4 ohms. I do think the V1 700 can go 2.67 ohms.
Hopefully the OP knows his amp.

I have V1 and will almost definitely be going with the 8 ohm

 

[jthisdell]

8 ohm 112 if you're going to be playing electric bass w/ drummers at volume. If you're only playing upright or lower volume jazz the 110 can work. I would not get a GR cab if this is something you're going to be schlepping to gigs and rehearsals constantly, there have been numerous issues reported w/ their robustness which is just the consequence of being so extremely lightweight.

If you need a lightweight cab I'd suggest Barefaced.

The Barefaced One10 will hold up well and get pretty dang loud.

 

[thatbassguy06]

8 ohm 112 if you're going to be playing electric bass w/ drummers at volume. If you're only playing upright or lower volume jazz the 110 can work. I would not get a GR cab if this is something you're going to be schlepping to gigs and rehearsals constantly, there have been numerous issues reported w/ their robustness which is just the consequence of being so extremely lightweight.

If you need a lightweight cab I'd suggest Barefaced

8 ohm 112 if you're going to be playing electric bass w/ drummers at volume. If you're only playing upright or lower volume jazz the 110 can work. I would not get a GR cab if this is something you're going to be schlepping to gigs and rehearsals constantly, there have been numerous issues reported w/ their robustness which is just the consequence of being so extremely lightweight.

If you need a lightweight cab I'd suggest Barefaced.

I will be using it hopefully for both upright and electric so I will definitely check out Barefaced -- thanks for the advice

 

[shoot-r]

Moving to college soon and looking to downsize from my Aguilar SL410 to a light cab that I can easily transport by hand for long periods if needed (moving to Boston). The main cab I'm considering is the GRBass AT110 weighing around 10 lbs. I'm mainly planning on running it through my tonehammer 500 but I have also considered getting the active version of the cabinet to be able to run my EBS Microbass3 preamp through the cabinet. Was wondering if I should go for the 4 ohm option or the 8 ohm -- was most likely going to get the 8 as my main bass has a pretty hot 18v 2/3 band preamp so want to avoid any chance of distortion or overheating. Any thoughts help. Thanks!

You didn't mention if you'll be leaving this "HIGH dollar", easy to move and easy to conceal, 1x10 bass cabinet in a campus dorm room were most college dorms are not known for security.

I'd suggest your finding a small, light-ish weight, possibly used and inexpensive, 8 ohm cabinet till your out of school.

A cab that, if it should walk-off, it won't be a huge financial loss.

 

[thatbassguy06]

From my experience, I'd steer you away from the GR powered cab. I had one - the 110 - and had issues with it. Great company, but if there's a problem you're dealing with guys in Italy. Tell us more about how you intend to use it - gigs, type of band, etc. Can then give you my suggestions, other than what to avoid.

Looking to use it for upright and electric on smaller gigs as well as rehearsals. I mainly play, straightahead jazz, fusion, rnb, and gospel

 

[thatbassguy06]

Is your college a music school? or might you be playing with a drummer at some point?
If it's yes to either of those, I would second the thought of moving up to a 1-12. and yes, 8ohms

yes I'm attending Berklee (thankfully on a full-ride) so will definitely consider a 112

 

[thatbassguy06]

For the dorm room you might want to get an audio interface with a physical mute button and a set of headphones. Add Ipad, tablet, and apps. Get an acoustic / electric bass for a quiet option. Students in the house type of thing.

Connect stereo nearfield monitors.

All still expensive for dorm room or student housing. Risky to have in that kind of environment.

And a gig worthy rig might best be held on stand by until needed.

Just some ideas on campus property management and campus life. Usually stripped down.

Then, when you find a place to rock go get your rig.

That is my thinking on this.

Myself, I took an Aria M style mandolin into college with me, in a case. It was different then.

But today I might get a small but guitar focused audio interface and headphones to go along with the instrument. In this way I could try to work on my musical ideas without worrying about disturbing people. The mandolin was quiet and worked good for that acoustically.

In conclusion, I recommend taking the most stripped down rig possible.

I have a multiple interfaces that I will be bringing and additionally will have practice rooms since I will be attending a music school, and the rig itself is because I already have shows lined up for when I get there. But nonetheless, thanks for the advice

 

[ole Jason]

The Barefaced One10 will hold up well and get pretty dang loud.

I have a Barefaced One10T I gig with a few times a week. It's an aweosme cab and will indeed get way louder than you'd expect by looking at it but there's still a physical limit to what it can do. It has no problem keeping up with drummers in jazz situations but I wouldn't use it on a loud-ish rock gig.

All that said I'd definitely recommend it for OP's intended uses, I think you're right about it being great for that.

 

[versalog]

yes I'm attending Berklee (thankfully on a full-ride)...

Strong work, OP.

 

[mikeynets]

The Barefaced One10 will hold up well and get pretty dang loud.

I have one of these and it indeed is impressive. It's almost comically small, but importantly, sounds great at low volumes — home, dorm, office practicing. And also sounds great when it gets loud.

Don't expect it to keep up with big guitar stacks and/or ham fisted drummers, but short of that, it absolutely can handle and sound fantastic at its rated 250W @ 8 ohms.

It's expensive, but IMO worth it. But I got mine before the tariffs, might be cost prohibitive now.

 

[Core Creek]

I have little to add to this, although I have a GR 2x10 at 4ohms that handles 600 watts and is pretty nice sounding and only 19 pounds.

If you’re dead set on one 10” speaker (which isn’t going to project much bottom end) find a used Carvin MB10 for $200-$250. It’s light, small, and sounds halfway decent - and you won’t have to worry about damaging an expensive carbon fiber cab. Beat it to hell and not worry about it….

 

[TheDuff]

You didn't mention if you'll be leaving this "HIGH dollar", easy to move and easy to conceal, 1x10 bass cabinet in a campus dorm room were most college dorms are not known for security.

I'd suggest your finding a small, light-ish weight, possibly used and inexpensive, 8 ohm cabinet till your out of school.

A cab that, if it should walk-off, it won't be a huge financial loss.

Totally. Agree.

 

[TheDuff]

I have a multiple interfaces that I will be bringing and additionally will have practice rooms since I will be attending a music school, and the rig itself is because I already have shows lined up for when I get there. But nonetheless, thanks for the advice

Remember that college is about learning.

I recommend starting with a point of view of not knowing everything. Not having everything. Focusing on getting new things and knowledge.