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Pairing a cabinet with a head

B

Brob21

Jul 18, 2020
11
8
#1
Good Evening Low End Lovers,

I am in the market for a new amp. This will be my first non combo amp and I had a couple questions about it. I’m getting a 300 watt 1x15 cabinet at 8ohms but I am confused on how to buy a head for it. Do you have to get a head rated for 300 watts exactly or can I get one rated at different wattages? Also, I was curious if you guys had any suggestions for amp heads. I’d like to keep it around $300 for the head. Thanks for the help!
 
#3
Just about anything will be Ok. If you have liked what your combos have have given you, then whichever brands those were (are) will be a good choice.

Shopping used will get you more amp (e.g. higher power / more features / better quality) for your kinda small budget.

One detail to keep in mind as well is to consider that with your 8 ohm cab, very few (almost none) amps will put out their full power. With this being the case, dont be afraid to pick up a 4, 5, even 600 watt amp if the features, tone and price are right.

Happy hunting
 
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#7
Yeah, you can wreck a speaker with an amp rated lower than the speaker. If it sounds like it's gonna blow it probably is. But you can also get great output with a higher powered amp. I like a little headroom, not a ton but some. Just play and turn up the volume, turn up the lower end, when the speaker sounds a little rough that is as far as you need to go, back off a little and that's your limit. Pretty safe if you use common sense.
 
#8
not all the data printed in the tech sheets is accurate. You get those that use their numbers very defensively vs those that do the opposite.

'This cab can easily take 500 Watts, even peaks of 600 are fine, so let us rate it at 300, so we're safe'
vs.
'This cab can easily take 500 Watts, even peaks of 600 are fine, so let us rate it at 600, bigger numbers sell more cabs'

The same goes for amps.

As long as you use your ears, you can run a 5W head on a 1200W cab or a 1200W amp on a cab that's rated for 120W. When you go past the limit of your weakest link in the signal chain, things might blow. Make sure the weakest link is up for the job you intend and you're fine.


The practice of using grossly mismatched gear bears one risk: When a simple flick of the dial will make your speaker spill its guts out on the stage, you should make sure this does not happen by accident. When your amp settings get messed during transportation and you set it up on a gig, plug in and try it out with the master dimed, when you leave such a setup in a room where other musicians might use it etc.
 
#10
In theory a 300 watt amp will be capable of putting 150 watts into an 8 ohm cab. That cab will be getting a maximum of 250 watts from a 500 watt amp. Does anyone run their gear at the maximum? Most gear sounds pretty bad when pushed to the limit, so a 500 watt amp running at half volume will get a nice clean tone (and just sound better) and be putting about 120 watts into this 300 watt 8 ohm cab.

You have plenty of scope to turn the volume up if you need to, while still sounding good, or just add a second cab to sound even better.
 
#11
It is never a good Idea to Dime The Master on any amp without knowing If it has a Gain control not all heads do and making sure it is turned all the way down before powering up and if it dies not have a gain knob then anything past 1 oclock position is usually Just creating distortion and that can kill a speaker .
 
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#14
Let's use a Markbass Little Mark II in the local Craigslist as an example ($350).
Markbass states Output Power: 300W RMS at 8 ohm, 600W RMS at 4 ohm

Note that both Markbass and Sinobas are using RMS values when quoting watts. This is good that they are referencing the same units of measure.

Since you are only connecting a single 8 ohms cabinet, the amp will deliver 300 watts to it.
Let's say you add another 8 ohms cabinet. The two cabinets are in parallel and present to the amp a total load of 4 ohms. The amp will deliver 600 watts to the two cabinets, or about 300 watts per each each cabinet.

You can use an amp rated for fewer watts with no problem. You can use an amp rated for more amps with caution that you don't exceed the cabinet's capability. As always use your ears to determine if you're overdoing it.
 
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#16
OP, welcome to Talkbass! I'd also recommend placing the cabinet on some kind of stand to get the cab closer to your ears, especially if you are playing with other musicians. You may be tempted to increase the volume so you can hear yourself better if the amp and cab are on the floor. Also, know that amps don't necessarily push volume linearly. If you have your amp at 3/10, does not mean you are necessarily only using 30% of the amps volume/power which is why most posters here are saying 'use your ears'.
 
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#17
And if you get a low wattage head, you are more likely to try and "Turn It Up". Running a low watt head maxed out, produces distortion and clipping of the signal. Another words puts a lot of garbage into your signal, and is the easiest way to ruin a speaker.

I'd be looking for at least a quality 500 watt class D amp, if not a 700 to 900 watt class "D" amp. Genzler Magellan 800, or a Bergantino Forte, or a Bergantino B|Amp, three of the best out there.

And use is with some regard to good volume control and tone quality. And a HPF (high pass filter) is a valuable addition to any bass rig, if not already incorporated into the amp like a B|Amp.
 
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