Splitting a Trace Elliot 4x10

[BassoProf]

I've recently bought a Trace Elliot 1048 4x10 cabinet. I love the sound, but hate the 85lbs, and have decided that my back requires me to split the cabinet for transport.

It has a bass port that goes right across the middle of the cab, so the front's no problem (apart from the grill!). What is a challenge, is that it has a divider going right down the middle (vertically) - so it's effectively 2 2x10 cabinets in one box. Cutting the main cabinet in half would result in 2 pairs of half-boxes, which would be clamped together for playing through.

I'm fairly sure I can manage the woodwork, and the metalwork on the grill, but could use some advice on the wiring.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that there's a difference between running two series-wired cabs in parallel and running two parallel-wired cabs in series - something about the Q of each individual cabinet.

It would obviously be easiest to wire each half-cabinet in series, and then connect the two halves in parallel, but that would mean that the two speakers in each 'box' would be in parallel with each other and another speaker in the other 'box'.

Is this an issue? Anyone got any advice?

 

[wvbass]

You should sell the 410 and buy cabs you can transport. It may work for you, but I just can't see much good coming from this. Plus, I hate to see a wonderful piece of gear meet its end in the used gear market.

Having said that, if you must move forward with this, why change the wiring of the cab? You could make a connector to connect the two halves, so that it is effectively wired as the same single 410 when you plug into your amp.

 

[BassoProf]

wvbass - Too late, the deed is done! I only paid £142 for it on eBay, and I'd pay a lot more for 2 2x10 cabs (particularly if they're going to sound as good) so that was never an option. I doubt if this will go on the market till I'm too old to care, it really does have the sound I've been looking for for 40 years!

I want to be able to use the XLR output on the upper cab, and just have a cable from that to an XLR on the lower half, and use the jack input to power both.

Interestingly, when I opened the cab up, one of the speakers only had one wire going to it, so either it was badly soldered, and came off in the separation, or it hasn't worked for a while!

Perhaps I'll just have to experiment, and see what sounds best (if there is indeed any difference)