I am running a Gallien Krueger 1001RB through a GK 4x10 cabinet. It is capable of pushing two of these cabs, but I always stuck with one for the sake of mobility. I've dialed in a nice punchy sound, it fills up a bar or small venue quite nicely, matches well with the guitarists' Marshall stack. But I've wondered what I would get if I were to hook up another 4x10 or even a 2x10 cab. Would it be much louder, or just a little? Would I lose my tone, or would it stay close to what it is now? I'd like to hear your ideas on what I would stand to gain or lose with this move. Thank you.
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What happens if I add a 2nd cab?
- Thread starter Ellery
- Start date
Presumably you have an 8 ohm 4x10. They are very hard to hear on small stages. You could add another on top. That would make it much easier to hear on small stages. Turn it up until it's loud enough and there will be a lot more headroom left. Horizontally arranged tens lasers your mids which is bad for your audience if you are wanting them to hear tone as much as whoomp whoomp with the bassdrum.
If you are already loud enough you should get a couple of 2x10 that stack vertically. This spreads tone wider and puts speakers nearer to you ftw.
If you are already loud enough you should get a couple of 2x10 that stack vertically. This spreads tone wider and puts speakers nearer to you ftw.
Some might say magic 
. Adding an identical 8-ohm 410 to your existing one (provided your existing 410 is 8-ohms) will give you the option of getting much louder if you want/need to. You'll lose none of your tone. Adding the additional box will just give you more of what you already like so much. And you'll be able to hear your tone even better because the top box will be closer to your ears. If you don't need it though, & you're saying you don't, then it's just about wants. There's 100% nothing wrong with just plain old wanting another 410, though, as long as you've got the wherewithal. But if you do it, make it an identical 410, not a 210 or some other 410.
What do you stand to lose? Some cargo space in your car. Maybe some MPG from the cab's added weight. Some time from fooling around with the 2nd cab. Maybe your healthy back from the additional lifting. The money that otherwise would be in your pocket.
. Adding an identical 8-ohm 410 to your existing one (provided your existing 410 is 8-ohms) will give you the option of getting much louder if you want/need to. You'll lose none of your tone. Adding the additional box will just give you more of what you already like so much. And you'll be able to hear your tone even better because the top box will be closer to your ears. If you don't need it though, & you're saying you don't, then it's just about wants. There's 100% nothing wrong with just plain old wanting another 410, though, as long as you've got the wherewithal. But if you do it, make it an identical 410, not a 210 or some other 410.What do you stand to lose? Some cargo space in your car. Maybe some MPG from the cab's added weight. Some time from fooling around with the 2nd cab. Maybe your healthy back from the additional lifting. The money that otherwise would be in your pocket.
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If you run the same amount of power into two identical cabs, you'lol be 6dB louder, which is, technically, twice as loud.
With your GK, I would not expect any change in tone. If you were running a small tube head and driving it hard on purpose to get that power stage saturation distortion that guitarists love so well, it might be an issue, as you'd be running the amp less hard to get the same volume.
same power split to two cabs is 3dB louder. +6dB is quite a bit of a bump but not twice as loud, by its very definition +10dB is ''twice as loud''.
Headroom is where the +6dB shows up. If you are on the bleeding edge with one cab and go to two cabs it's Christmas.
Pardon my ignorance,can you explain what is Vd (I'm assuming you're not referring to a social disease) and how does it relate to speaker performance?Of course, you're also doubling up on Vd (ouch) & there just ain't no re-placement for dis-placement
I've actually been strongly considering adding a 2x10, because I simply couldn't fit two 410's in my car. But I have room for a 210. What would be the downside to running different cabs?Some might say magic
What do you stand to lose? Some cargo space in your car. Maybe some MPG from the cab's added weight. Some time from fooling around with the 2nd cab. Maybe your healthy back from the additional lifting. The money that otherwise would be in your pocket.
Not unless it's a 16ohm 210. Otherwise you take half the power off the 410 and run risk of blowing up the 210 if you exceed that.
Not loud enough out front?
[QUOTE=''Ellery, post: 17424484, member: 276733"]Pardon my ignorance,can you explain what is Vd (I'm assuming you're not referring to a social disease) and how does it relate to speaker performance?[/QUOTE]
Volume Displacement. This basically determines how much bass you can produce.
Volume Displacement. This basically determines how much bass you can produce.
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You would gain 3dB from doubling you speaker area.
You would gain another 3dB from halving your impedence.
You would have some better sound dispersion from having
a more vertical stack.
It would look cool.
On the other hand you would have to buy, store and move a second cab.
If you don't have a way to move it, it's a moot point.
You would gain another 3dB from halving your impedence.
You would have some better sound dispersion from having
a more vertical stack.
It would look cool.
On the other hand you would have to buy, store and move a second cab.
If you don't have a way to move it, it's a moot point.
<quibble>
More like 2dB with almost all real world amps. Very, very few give double available clean output power with a halving of impedance.
</quibble>
A good rule of thumb on bass cabs is that if you mix different brand's of cabs such as Ampeg & Peavey, even if they have the same number & size of speakers, or if you mix the same brand of cabs such as a Ampeg 4x10 with a Ampeg 2x10 its a crap shoot. It may be the best sounding system in the world or it could "suck mud".
Well, there are many ways of being "bad".
It might look cool. That's not bad.
It might give good ergonomics and put the amp controls in easier reach, while putting some speaker up closer to ear level so you hear yourself better. That's not bad.
It might give a really nice tone, if the cabs are complimentary (or a weird and inconsistent tone of they're not).
Where it's bad is that, with a rig like that, it would be very very easy to fry the 210 without really trying. Your "safe" amp volume would be limited to just about what you can do with the single 410.
