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Two heads, one cab.

I like my Traynor YBA-1.

So much in fact that I hate playing through my Eden WT-600 because I know what it's like to play through the Traynor. Nothing against Eden, the Traynor's just got the old school tone I love.

The problem is the YBA-1 is 50 watts, which just isn't enough.

I was thinking that I could get another YBA-1 (probably the YBA-1a which is a 90 watt amp) and I could rewire my Bag End 2x12" so that each 8 ohm driver is fed by its own jack. Then I could plug each of the heads into their own speaker, and in turn doubling my power and running the heads at their proper 8 ohm loads.

Stupid idea? If so, why?
 
I really would rather not carry around another cabinet - I don't have the room. And right now I'd rather not have to buy another cabinet.

Nick- no I haven't, next time I get to the city I am definitely taking my Bag End and putting one of those 200s through it. This is just assuming it won't touch my old one (which is certainly possible).
 
well you could rewire your cab like that, but you would probably want each driver to be in its own chamber if you did that since you could run the risk of sending different signals to each driver and cause problems...you know, like if one driver gets a signal at a certain strength and the other gets just a bit more or a bit less than that signal......does anyone see where im going with this, im sure theres a term for this but i dont know it
 
well you could rewire your cab like that, but you would probably want each driver to be in its own chamber if you did that since you could run the risk of sending different signals to each driver and cause problems...you know, like if one driver gets a signal at a certain strength and the other gets just a bit more or a bit less than that signal......does anyone see where im going with this, im sure theres a term for this but i dont know it
Actually this is the rare case where the drivers *are* in separate chambers - at least I think so. Someone told me that this is how the cabinet is designed.
 
Run the Traynor into a dummy load. Take the signal from across the dummy load and run it into a SS power amp. Out from the power amp into your cab. Simple and easy!

Why use the original head to just produce heat, but no noise? The OP's idea doesn't do that ; }

Also, even if the two speakers share a common chamber but are wired to separate heads which are getting essentially the same signal at levels not too far apart, there's nothing wrong or dangerous about that.

I'd look around for a tube slave or an all-tube power amp instead of using an SS amp for one or both loads since that sound or something very similar is what's desired. A tube output section doesn't sound that much like an SS one...
 
I'd say pick up a THD hotplate, run the Traynor into it, then run out into a power amp. Keep all your pre and power section tube mojo with the benefit of the solid state power of a power amp.

As I write this, I notice the comment about a dummy load which is what the THD hotplate does.

That's my $.02

Peace

-Benny
 
Yes 100 watts either direction is 100 watts. The only problem you might have run into with your dual amp setup would be a phase problem where the two signals cancel each other out and greatly reduce bass response.

There is no more chance of cancellations from phase shift than there is when people stack dis-similar cabs to build a bass rig, or run clean stack/dirty stacks side by side.
 
Yeah, phase cancellation is a pain. I accidentally wired one of my speakers in my 6x10 backwards (hint: never burn down in the middle of a project like this). No damage, just reduced volume and wierd phase issues that I can not adequately describe. There was a wierd pulsing in the low end caused by the one driver being 180* out of phase. Anyways, just take your cab and some cash to the store and try out a YBA-200. You will not be disappointed and you will leave with it. Very old school and loud for 200W.
 
But SS and tube output sections don't SOUND or feel the same. And the tube output section is a big part of why the Traynor sounds and responds the way it does.

I understand that, and I have no experience with dummy loads, I was planning on doing this though. I was wondering that using a tube head into the dummy load, do you are still getting the pre and power mojo?

I know that the SS output section has it's own color and tone. But what if you were to get a fairly uncolored hi-fi power amp. Would the tube amp show through with the dummy load?

Thanks in advance, Greenboy.

Peace

-Benny
 
I understand that, and I have no experience with dummy loads, I was planning on doing this though. I was wondering that using a tube head into the dummy load, do you are still getting the pre and power mojo?

If you are talking using a dummy load instead of a audio-producing load coming off the tube output stage, and Y'ing the tube head's preamp section into the SS power amp, you've got the equivalent of a "hybrid" rig, no sonic influence from the tube output section.

A little different than the scenario where a guitarist might use a Power Soak.