• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Question: Something simple...

So I will find a tech to make the 800RB alive and my 4x10 cab is 8 ohms, so I have to find a 1x15 with 8 ohms to get really happy while playing again?

My location is the Netherlands

You'll want an identical 410 to go with what you have. The 115 won't take as much power and will likely fart out before the 410 does. Two 8 ohm 410 cabs will give you a 4 ohm 810, just like the classic Ampeg cabs.
 
My guitarists always plug into borrowed cabs without checking the ohmage on their amps and I'm always worried about something like this happening. I'd always double check what the stickers on the back of the cabs you're using for the ohm ratings, and ask the owner of them if it's not displayed. Not worth ruining your amp for.
Assuming the guitar players use tube amps: Most tube amps can take a mismatch, though the tubes will wear out faster.
With solid state amps the amp will try to put out more power than it's designed for when you connect a lower load ( 2ohm into a 4 ohm minimum amp) When you get too loud, things start to fry... :bawl:
 
WHy do you even need another cabinet??

Maybe you just need a better head.
A decent 410 will put out more than enough volume for most medium clubs.(unless you just have a weak 410)
I've played clubs with a good 210 and 112 before as well, and also at times with just a 210 or just a 115.
 
WHy do you even need another cabinet??

Maybe you just need a better head.
A decent 410 will put out more than enough volume for most medium clubs. I've played them with a good 210 and 112 before as well.

Well, I miss the growly punchy low end on my 410 alone, the rambling in your guts I like to call it, I play metal, I want to create some thunder xD When I play on 610/810 I love it, also on the tower that broke my amp, the 210+215 combi it was great. But on my 410 I just can't find "that" without sucking/pushing the guitarsound away and having an angry drummer...
 
I thought that mid-cut knob was to cut the mids so you leave the mids for the guitarplayers to fill? So you don't have in the typical metal riffing no "whooph"-ing?

No, the mids are where most of your sound is. If you are stepping on the guitar when you have the mids at least at normal levels, the guitarist is EQ'd too low and needs to adjust his EQ.

If you cut the mids, you won't be nearly as audible in the mix - and if you over-emphasize the bass, you draw more power through the amp and are more likely to damage your speakers. Many speakers have trouble reproducing extremely bass-frequency-heavy sound at high levels.

Balance is good. Playing music has its technical aspects - the more you learn about them the better you can play and be heard.
 
For future reference, the 800 in biamp mode with the 2x15 and 2x10 will sound glorious and run all day and all night. Stack the 2x10 vertically, looks strange, sounds fantastic.

Step 1, fix the 800
Step 2, get 2 15's you can shift, sell the 4x10
Step 3, make a 1x10 to biamp with the 15's.
 
With a solid state amp, the amp will develop more power the lower the impedance. The minimum ratings are where the amp will develop the most power the components will safely handle. When you go below the minimum the amp will try to develop more power than what the components are rated for, and failure will eventually result, usually because of heat.

With a tube amp, the power from the power tubes are "matched" to the impedance of the load, so the load should match the impedance tap on the output of the transformer. Some amps will safely handle up to a 100% mismatch (like Fender and Mesa) which means if the amp is designed to handle an 8 ohm load, anything from 4 to 16 ohms will work. A mismatch to the lower side will actually be easier on the amp than going higher.

Some tube amps are sensitive to impedance mismatches, usually because the transformer is too small to handle the mismatch. Marshall seems to be. I'd say from working on them (I'm a retired tech), Ashdown would be as well.

With that 800, a 2.66 ohm load is definitely asking for trouble. If it is the model that can biamp, running it that way, with the 4 ohm in the 300 watt amp, and the 8 ohm in the 8 ohm amp would be fine, even if running it all full range.
 
What is a simple, cheap amp that is indestructeble and has more "balls, growl and punch" than GK, because now I'm back on my Peavey TKO 115s combo, totally not useable for gigs, way too heavy for my back and it's in a terrible state, have to be way too "carefull" to carry it around, but the sound, just the sound, I missed it... Sorry GK fans, I have visually the same EQ on both amps, but the Peavey kicks way more balls..

Sounds like you need to find an old Peavey head, maybe a Mark series or similar.

Most old Peavey heads are more than happy to run 2 ohms all day long, and you can run whatever cabs you want.
 
Get your 800RB fixed. But not by someone cheap. Find someone good.

You're going to need to look at the stickies to learn about impedance (ohms) and how the math works when using 2 cabs together. Tip: the calculation for 2 came of the same impedance is different from the calculation for 2 cabs with difference impedance. Learn both calcs, or put your new amp tech on speed dial.

My history with this amp: I gigged with my classic 800RB for many years, plugged into a 4 ohm 215 Kustom cab on the 300 watt side. It was heavenly thunder. I never ran out of volume, even when playing with some stupid loud guitards and drummers.

You mentioned you have an 8 ohm 410. What happens when you plug an 8 ohm cab into an amp rated for 300 watts at 4 ohms is you're getting only some of the possible power out of the amp - about 220 watts, ish. Fortunately, you've got a lot of speaker area with the 410 so with wise EQ use, it should still be plenty. But if you are feeling like you are running out of volume, the first thing I would look at is trading your only cab for a 4 ohm 410 or 215 (or getting another cab, this one rated at 4 ohms). That will immediately give you more power out of the amp.

Some options for you to consider for this amp.

4 ohm channel ------ 8 ohm channel
your 8 ohm 410 ----- nuthin --------- what you've got now, only getting 220 watts
a 4 ohm 410 -------- nuthin --------- 300 watts = incrementally louder
a 4 ohm 410 -------- a 8 ohm 210 --- fully using both amp sections, more speaker area
a 4 ohm 215 -------- a 8 ohm 115 --- fully using both amp sections, more speaker area

Or if you want to get REALLY silly, you could run a 4 ohm 810 (or two 8 ohm 410s) on the 300 watt side and a 8 ohm 410 on the 100 watt side for a staggering amount of speaker area and volume.
 
Well, I have bought an second hand EBS 350 HD instead... It's easy, everyting between 2 and 8 ohms will do, perfect for me :P

And I've got the "bottom end" I searched for and couldn't find in the RB800....

Only when I played on a 2x10 MarkBass cab in a backline, it was awfull, dunno what's that great about that brand, the speakers had a really hard time with my sound and it was in thin air somewhere...

But I'm really happy now, found what I searched for! This amp can go to 11!!!!
 

Latest posts