Ok so I'm pretty new at the whole world of heads and cabs. I have been playing combo's for about a year now. (Thats how long I have been playing). Ok so I am looking at a head and cab but what is the deffence between 4 ohms and 8 ohms. and can I hook a 4ohms head to a 8 ohms cab? will I be lossing watts? thanks -AwR
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Noob question to buying a head and cab
- Thread starter A_Winters_Rose
- Start date
it depends on what type of head it is
most solid state amps will work 4 ohm and 8 ohm fine, if you find an amp you like, look it up on their site
for instance, the peavey firebass (now max 700)
700 watts (rms) at 2 ohms
475 watts (rms) at 4 ohms
275 watts (rms) at 8 ohms
so, if you used a 4 ohm cab it would be louder than its equivilant 8 ohm, etc, hope this helps in some sort of way
most solid state amps will work 4 ohm and 8 ohm fine, if you find an amp you like, look it up on their site
for instance, the peavey firebass (now max 700)
700 watts (rms) at 2 ohms
475 watts (rms) at 4 ohms
275 watts (rms) at 8 ohms
so, if you used a 4 ohm cab it would be louder than its equivilant 8 ohm, etc, hope this helps in some sort of way
Welcome to TalkBass. Take a minute to fill out your profile if you would please.
There is an excellent source of information in a sticky at the top of this forum. It will answer all kinds of questions, and contains lots of suggestions and opinions from people who are using the gear. Here is a direct link to it: Amp/Cab Info.
As far as your questions. Amps produce more watts the lower the ohm's, or resistance. A cab driving a 4ohm load will generally be louder than the exact same cab driving an 8ohm load. Yes, you can hook an 8ohm cab to a 4ohm amp. The amp will not be as loud as advertised since it is not running a 4ohm load. So, yes you will be losing watts. A good example of this is the Ashdown MAG300H which is rated at 307 watts. To get the 307 watts, you need a 4ohm load. An 8ohm load will only pull 185 watts from the amp.
Hang around for a bit this evening, and you will get many more answers to your questions. Perhaps you can let us know what amp and cab you are going to buy, or want to buy. It would also be nice to know what gear you are using now so that we have a point of reference to refer you to when comparing. Comparing your potential rig to mine won't do you any good.
-Mike
There is an excellent source of information in a sticky at the top of this forum. It will answer all kinds of questions, and contains lots of suggestions and opinions from people who are using the gear. Here is a direct link to it: Amp/Cab Info.
As far as your questions. Amps produce more watts the lower the ohm's, or resistance. A cab driving a 4ohm load will generally be louder than the exact same cab driving an 8ohm load. Yes, you can hook an 8ohm cab to a 4ohm amp. The amp will not be as loud as advertised since it is not running a 4ohm load. So, yes you will be losing watts. A good example of this is the Ashdown MAG300H which is rated at 307 watts. To get the 307 watts, you need a 4ohm load. An 8ohm load will only pull 185 watts from the amp.
Hang around for a bit this evening, and you will get many more answers to your questions. Perhaps you can let us know what amp and cab you are going to buy, or want to buy. It would also be nice to know what gear you are using now so that we have a point of reference to refer you to when comparing. Comparing your potential rig to mine won't do you any good.
-Mike
there's a difference as to how all tube heads and solid state heads will handle x-ohm loads with your speaker cabinets. There is a HUGE wealth of information in this forum, but you'll need to do some searching.
"If" you decide to stick with solid state heads, I recommend getting one that can drive a 2-ohm load. This will give you the most flexibility in what cabinet combinations you will be able to use. The amount of watts becomes less important than the square inches of speaker area you can move (more speaker area=more air moved=more volume much more quickly than more watts=more volume). Thus the ability to drive two 4-ohm cabinets for a 2-ohm load gives you much more flexibility in the long run as well as more volume possibilities.
Enjoy the learning process here!
Take care,
Jay
"If" you decide to stick with solid state heads, I recommend getting one that can drive a 2-ohm load. This will give you the most flexibility in what cabinet combinations you will be able to use. The amount of watts becomes less important than the square inches of speaker area you can move (more speaker area=more air moved=more volume much more quickly than more watts=more volume). Thus the ability to drive two 4-ohm cabinets for a 2-ohm load gives you much more flexibility in the long run as well as more volume possibilities.
Enjoy the learning process here!
Take care,
Jay
