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Would this setup be the same thing?

#21
Oh yeah, wattage isn't everything. Just because your pumping a ton of juice doesn't mean your sounding like you are. I had an Ampeg rig that should have killed anything you put next to it, at least on paper. However, my current setup has less power on paper but is much louder and I do mean much much louder. Loudness is a log function meaning that if you put in twice the juice, you won't get out twice the volume. Not only that, speaker sensitivity is a big issue. You also need to look at efficiency of the entire rig. Finally, where is the juice being spent? The Ampeg I had seemed to spend a ton of power putting out ultra low frequencies that sounded great as a solo instrument but didn't help me cut through the mix. Thus, the voicing of the rig is important as well.
However, you can skip all of this rhetoric and just go try some stuff out. If it sounds good, is more than loud enough, and is reliable, then you've found a winner.
 
#22
fishstix said:
If you want, here is the wattage thing from a physics standpoint.
Case 1: The Mag 300 head with a Mag 210T is going to give you 185 watt max due to the limitations of the cab and the 8 ohm resistance of the cab.
Case 2: The Mag 300 head with 2 Mad 210T's the speaker conf. will handle 400 watts and the head will be able to deliver the full 300 watts it is capable of due to the new resistance of 4 ohms if wired in parallel, (the normal way to hook up cabs).
Case 3: The Mag 300 combo, deceptive, the combo will still only produce 185 watts due to the resistance of the internal speakers and power handling.
Case 4: Just like case 2 but with the Mag 300 combo in place of 1 cab and the head.
Case 5: Here is the real tricky one. The Mag 300 head with the Mag410T. Still just 185 watts. What? Yup, the 8 ohm resistance will only allow the head to pump 200 watts into it.
Food for thought. Another reason why I think the multiple cabs would be better.
Regarding changing heads vs. speakers. One will lead to the other. A better head will benifit from better cabs which will benifit froma better head which will.... you get the point.
Click to expand...

In Case 2, for the head to deliver the full 300W would it have to be turned up all the way? I ask because there is a used 450? ashdown head in the TB classifieds and I might go with that. Thanks for the detailed response.
 
#23
Well, the thought is that 300 watts would be the max delivered power. Thus, full signal output would need to be delivered to the power amp section. So in short, yes it would need to be turned all the way up. The higher powered version would offer you more head room and as a result probably better tone. If the head is in good shape and at a good price I'd probably go with the used 450.
 
#25
You're starting to talk some serious money now. I would slow down a bit. However, if you're willing to look at other brands, I did a quick ebay search and found a SWR bass 350 head and a Goliath Jr. 210 for a buy it now price of 600. I've worked a ton of shows with these and they have been rock solid IMO. The 350 was my first "serious" head and I now use the 750, its big brother, as my main head. It seemed like a good deal to me but look around. This would be a rig you could easily build on.

Just to be clear, this is not my stuff on ebay nor do I know the person selling it. Its just a real appealing rig for someone looking to get into a serious setup.
 
#26
fishstix said:
You're starting to talk some serious money now. I would slow down a bit. However, if you're willing to look at other brands, I did a quick ebay search and found a SWR bass 350 head and a Goliath Jr. 210 for a buy it now price of 600. I've worked a ton of shows with these and they have been rock solid IMO. The 350 was my first "serious" head and I now use the 750, its big brother, as my main head. It seemed like a good deal to me but look around. This would be a rig you could easily build on.

Just to be clear, this is not my stuff on ebay nor do I know the person selling it. Its just a real appealing rig for someone looking to get into a serious setup.
Click to expand...

well the guy with the mag 600R wants $475 for it. Also I already bought the ashdown 210T which was $300 so similarly if I did only get the MAG 300 head that would be about the price of that SWR and 210 except new. Decisions, decisions. I really appreciate your patience and help by the way.
 

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