Ohm load question - Two cabs, one head

[acidsymphony]

Okay, I've been racking my brain and can't seem to wrap my head around this issue, and have gotten some mixed answers from friends, so I figured I'd ask here.

I'm running a 300 watt Verellen Meatsmoke (similar to a Sunn 300T), into an Ampeg 8x10 (Nominal Impedance: 2 x 8-Ohms (Stereo) 4-Ohms (Mono)), and a Sunn 2x15 (stock is 160watts at 4ohms, but I put some brand new Black Widows in it after accidentally frying the voicecoils on the stocks.

The Meatsmoke has two 8ohm outputs, a 4, and a 4/2.

I'm trying to get the loudest, cleanest tone I can. Should I do dual 4 ohm outputs from the head into each cab, or should I run 8 ohms into the Ampeg, and run the second cable out from the Ampeg into the Sunn?

 

[Downunderwonder]

You should use the 4/2 tap and hook up both cabs, via the first cab so the whole lot is in parallel @ 2ohm on the 2 ohm capable tap. That is the foolproof way.

I don't know why it would have dual 8 ohm outs. Possibly so you can use 16 ohm cabs? RTFM.

Your 15's will be getting a hard time if you EQ it heavy on lows. It will be muddying up your tone and not contributing a whole lot of extra volume!

 

[acidsymphony]

So the 4/2 into the Ampeg, then out from the Ampeg into the Sunn?

I was originally running my lows too high and figured that out right away. It's kind of a bummer because the 8x10 tends to be a bit higher toned than I usually like, but I've messed around with it a bit, and thankfully Meatsmoke's have a massive headroom for tone tinkering, so I've got it down pretty nicely now.

I'm just trying to develop a live sound that will work equally well with both of the different bands I play in, so I added the 2x15. I'm just paranoid about burning it up if I run them incorrectly.

 

[Downunderwonder]

If it says it eats 2 ohms you will be fine.

You should be paranoid about your tone disappearing into mud for the larger part of your audience though!

 

[RickenBoogie]

+1 always match the total impedance of the 2 cabs to the correct output on the amp. That's why they're there. And +1 again, you won't get "more lows" from 15's. It doesn't work like that, no matter how popular the myth is, still.

 

[acidsymphony]

It's not so much trying to gain more low-end in the tone, it's trying to be able to cut through the wall of noise the guitarists in my bands make.

One band the single guitarist plays a Verellen Skyhammer through a Verellen 4x12 and Kustom 2x15. He tunes to B standard so he's got plenty of low-end for the both of us, I'm just trying to match his tone while still being able to cut through, and the doomier parts sound incredible through our two 2x15 cabs.

the other band has 3 guitarists - 3 4x12 cabs and a Fender Twin Reverb, tons of high-end and reverb to cut through, so I just scoop the mids so there's a good presence there.

I've definitely noticed the difference in tone since adding the Sunn with both bands. My only concern is not overloading them.

 

[BassmanPaul]

I agree fully with the last part of post #2. Running an 8x10 in parallel with a 2x15 at the same impedance is not a good idea. It's essentially the same as running a 4x10 and a 1x15. The 15s have no hope os keeping up with the 10s and will end up damaged. Adding to this you have installed drivers that may well be completely inappropriate for the cabinet.

Edit: Scooping the mids means that you are gutting the intelligibility of your bass and your chances of cutting through what is a complex mix of three guitars.

 

[acidsymphony]

Hmm. I tended to get lost in the 3-guitar mix until I scooped the mids. They're pretty much all high-end heavy, so the addition of the 2x15 and a slightly different EQ setting made a huge difference, at least to my ears.

If you guys want to hear what I have to deal with, you can hear recordings here:
http://agodoranother.bandcamp.com - Towers of Silence was recorded with both cabs used. We mic'd each cab separately, and then had a condenser across the room. This was through an Ampeg SVT-4, which is WAY more wattage than the Meatsmoke, and it turned out sounding incredible. I'm trying to get as close to this same tone with the Meatsmoke, only louder, without losing any clarity.

The other bands recording is here:
http://breagnaofa.bandcamp.com
This is the 3 guitar band. The bass on the recording was through a Meatsmoke and an 8x10, and you'll notice it doesn't quite have the girth that 2 15's can give. It's punchie enough, but the Sunn speakers resonate much better, which I like live.

 

[acidsymphony]

Ben Verellen got back to me about and recommended just going out from each 4 Ohm port into each cab, and that that should be ideal. This is sort of what I was thinking, I was wanted some opinions from people more experienced with dual cabs.

 

[BassmanPaul]

i stand by my post and i use dual cabinets every time I play. There's a lot of information in the mixing driver sizes thread.

 

[Downunderwonder]

My 2x10 is roughly well matched with my 1x15. I stack them up in a vertical column.

Aside from likely mismatching effects you are creating a "wall of bass" rig which lacks upper mids and highs due to the beaming effect of a wide source. Thunderous but lacking in tone for much of the audience.