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two cabs ohm questions

Hwegs7

Guest
Mar 31, 2015
37
3
hello everyone I have a 4 ohm bass head with one output that runs into a homemade 4 ohm cabinet. I need to know my options for a second cab (ohms, series/parallel, etc.) I would like to try and do two or four 12" or 10" speakers in this second cab. thanks for any help!
 
You are at the maximum (min #) load. If you add a second cab it would have to hooked up with a special made speaker cable and you will have a power reduction from the amp head (assuming SS head).

what if I had another four ohm cab wired in series? that would be an 8 ohm cabinet load altogether therefore would be possible, correct? or am I misunderstanding this?

Two 8 ohm cabs in series (note special built cable needed) will be an 8 ohm load.
 
You have no options for expansion - Sorry.

You are at the maximum (min #) load. If you add a second cab it would have to hooked up with a special made speaker cable and you will have a power reduction from the amp head (assuming SS head).

These two guys are right 99.9% of the time, so listen to what they are telling you...

In your present situation, you have ZERO expansion options, my man. Sorry.

These are, most likely, your only options; Like sprag said, get rid of the 4 ohm cab and replace it with two 8 ohm cabs. Or, if you insist on keeping the cab you have, ditch the head and get a 2 ohm capable one. Even if you go with B-strings super, high-tech, digital, custom-wound, now-with-bold-pinstripes cable idea, you STILL need two 8 ohm cabs...

Good luck, friend! :thumbsup:
 
If your amp has plenty of power spare, then the series cable will work fine. The biggest snag is that the actual result is unpredictable, however, if you already have the other cab, it's a cheap experiment. If you are thinking of buying a new cab, then it could be an expensive mistake. Electrically, it's not an issue to run in series. The problem is that it always seems to make one cab louder than the other. One will sound out, and overshadow the other. When I tried it for an experiment, with a big 18" in one and my 4x10" in the other, all I could here was the 4x10 cab. The 18" driver may as well have not been there. On it's own it takes a lot of power to get it going, and the other cab is much more able to convert power into volume.