Matching Heads with Cabs

[kintrap]

Nice info in there, thanks

 

[Robroy]

Nice info in there, thanks

One aspect I found fascinating was how the amp blows speakers thermally via "average power" being too high. The one time I basically melted voice coils was by playing stranglehold with heavy effects. It is CONSTANT bass with very few (if any) volume changes or transients. Just a wall of bass. And the speakers melt.

 

[kintrap]

Yeah, I had never considered that. I would've guessed just peak power.

And I was just playing stranglehold last night, coincidentally. One of my favorite bass parts ever. Really simple but so groovy.

 

[Robroy]

Yeah, I had never considered that. I would've guessed just peak power.

And I was just playing stranglehold last night, coincidentally. One of my favorite bass parts ever. Really simple but so groovy.

I was using the Boss GT6B with full Chorus and, IIRC, some flanger.

 

[friendlybass]

They sound good below their peak too.

They sound good all the time, that's why we still use em!

 

[Joce]

Umm....



This.

Clipping doesnt hurt cabs. Over powering does.

As you didn't provide any explanation why clipping doesn't hurt cabs (and downunderwonder didn't either) I did a little digging and used the info posted in this thread:
Clipping and overpowering are linked. If the amp clips, it puts out more than it's rated (RMS) power. And this increased power can damage the speaker. It is true, however, that clipping by itself does not damage a speaker. So, you are correct, I just had to figure out myself why.
Is the only difference between a tube amp and a solid state amp when clipping, that the waveforms are different (tube amp still sine-like, solid state more square)? Or does a tube amp also produce less peak power generally or is peak power different for every amp irrelevant of design?