Question about connecting two cabinets

[coreyflecha]

Hi, I have a Markbass LM58. I've always used it with a single cabinet, but now I'm going to use two cabinets, and I'm not quite sure how to connect them. Should I connect both cabinets directly to the amplifier, or should I connect one cabinet to the amplifier and the second cabinet to the first one? Thanks, and sorry if it's a silly question.

 

[gtirard]

Hi, I have a Markbass LM58. I've always used it with a single cabinet, but now I'm going to use two cabinets, and I'm not quite sure how to connect them. Should I connect both cabinets directly to the amplifier, or should I connect one cabinet to the amplifier and the second cabinet to the first one?

Both options are equal, same result, do what's more convenient for you.

Thanks, and sorry if it's a silly question.

It's not silly, it has been asked and answered several times, but the search engine on Talkbass isn't very efficient.
When you start a new thread, Talkbass looks at your title and searches if there's already an existing thread, but the feature doesn't work perfectly yet, sometimes the list of suggested thread isn't the most relevant. It may progress in the future though.

 

[Tommy Sparks]

Not silly at all, silly is not asking.
Not familiar with your amp at all.
If you have two speaker output on the back of your amp they’re parallel. as well as your speaker cabs. Just be aware of the ohms that your amp can handle and ohms of your speakers.
2 8 ohm cabs together will give you 4 ohms. Should say somewhere on your amp what your minimum ohms can be.
Lots and lots on TB about matching cabinets and ohms.
If you run your amp below the minimum ohm rating you’ll let the magic smoke out and that’s not friendly.

 

[Tommy Sparks]

Ha ha, forgot to mention, it doesn’t matter if it’s in on your amp or on the back of your speakers either way will work fine.

 

[ardgedee]

2 8 ohm cabs together will give you 4 ohms. Should say somewhere on your amp what your minimum ohms can be.

According to the manufacturer, all MarkBass amps have a minimum rating of 4 Ohm. If OP has two 4 Ohm cabs (or a combination of 8 and 4), they should not connect both at the same time.

 

[S-Bigbottom]

What are the cabs Impedance ratting?

8 Oms and 8 Oms Good. Have fun!

4 Oms and 8 Ohms BAD

4 Ohms and 4 Ohms BAD

 

[LiptonJigglers]

You can connect 2 × 8ohm cabs in either fashion it'll be fine.

On a side note;
My amp has two cab outputs and I always use both of them, avoiding daisy chaining (as per my amp user manual). Why it would be adamant about not daisy chaining, I don't know but I have carried this practice on to every amp I've encountered, simply out of habit.

 

[bigtone23]

You can connect 2 × 8ohm cabs in either fashion it'll be fine.

On a side note;
My amp has two cab outputs and I always use both of them, avoiding daisy chaining (as per my amp user manual). Why it would be adamant about not daisy chaining, I don't know but I have carried this practice on to every amp I've encountered, simply out of habit.

I prefer to connect the cabs directly to the amp. Daisy chaining works great, it just seems like direct connections is just a touch more solid.

 

[agedhorse]

You can connect 2 × 8ohm cabs in either fashion it'll be fine.

On a side note;
My amp has two cab outputs and I always use both of them, avoiding daisy chaining (as per my amp user manual). Why it would be adamant about not daisy chaining, I don't know but I have carried this practice on to every amp I've encountered, simply out of habit.

It makes no difference unless the amp has a built in weakness.

 

[waveman]

Generally:
1. Both cabs need to be 8ohm
2. I always try to use both outputs on the amps in case of cable failure or jack failure for any cab. But it's generally safe and common to daisy chain cabs. Just depends on what set of cables I have with with me.

 

[coreyflecha]

Hello, indeed both speakers are 8 ohms. I connected both to the amplifier, and everything worked perfectly without any issues. Thank you very much for the information.