Question about wattage amp/speaker cab.

[Dirtyclinic]

I just got a second hand Gallien Krueger 1001RB-II Bass Head. I got it for a really good deal in the local classifieds. I realized when I bought it that it was a very powerful amp and at my current skill level was a bit overkill. Me being a gear head though (I am mostly a guitar player that buys and sells gear quite often) saw a good deal and jumped on it. I don't have a speaker cab for it yet. I plugged it in to one of my PA speakers to see if the head worked and it did but I had it at very low volume. Now the amp is 700 watts, I assume I need a speaker cab rated at 700 watts right? Most 700 watt speaker cabs are quite large and expensive. I was hoping to pick up something like the lesser GK line of speakers in a 2X10 configuration or something. If I run a 400 watt rated speaker cab could I just not turn it up loud and it would be okay? A 4x10 cab wouldn't even fit in my little car. Please tell me what you think I should do.

 

[RickenBoogie]

You do NOT have to use a spkr cab rated higher than the amp, but you DO need to use common sense when operating an amp with so much power into ANY cab you use. Read the faq's and stickies for tons of good info. It's always a good idea to understand HOW this stuff works.

 

[will33]

You do NOT have to use a spkr cab rated higher than the amp, but you DO need to use common sense when operating an amp with so much power into ANY cab you use. Read the faq's and stickies for tons of good info. It's always a good idea to understand HOW this stuff works.

+1

You can use almost any speaker as long as the impedance is correct for the amp. Just use your ears and turn down if the speaker complains, and don't fall into the trap that is "knobs half way up means half power", it does not. Depending on how strong your input signal is, you could reach full power in the first half of the dial, so, you use your ears.

If your PA cab seemed quiet for such a large amp, see that the input pad on the amp wasn't engaged.

 

[B-string]

Also the "Volume" on the G-K head is the preamp in volume, the "Woofer" control is the master volume for the poweramp. Turn the Volume to 11:00-12:00 and the Woofer to 10:00 and play softly at first so you don't launch the PA cabs speakers.