BassmanPaul

I went the other way around. I bought 4Ω cabinets and then looked for suitable amps to drive them. I went with a stereo power amp and built a pre-amp to drive it. All the amps I own nowadays are happy with 2Ω loads per channel so I can use as many of my four Acme boxes as I wish. Using 'regular' bass amps I would stay with 8Ω speaker systems unless you switch to amps that are 2Ω capable.

It doesn't matter how many lamps you shine on the thing it's not gonna be any lighter!!!

Same applies, if the amp has them, for pre-amp out and power amp in jacks.

Just for the fun and reminiscing of it: I first played though an 18" Goodmans in a cabinet on loan from a friend who built it. Next came my first amplifier of my own a VOX AC50 with the Foundation 18" cabinet. I felt like a Rock Star! LOL I traded that in for an Epiphone constellation that had a Fane 15" installed. That went against a Black face Fender Bassman in blonde with it's 2x12 cabinet. It sounded horrible an I returned it after a weekend. They had sold the Epiphone but I left the Fender anyway. Needing an amp, I bought a slant front Marshall 100W 4x12. To drive it I had a Leak TL50+ and I built a single tube pre-amp for it that plugged into the pre-amp socket on the Leak. That had the best sound of ANY 50W amp I ever used. Taking a different job I left the band. The front man, Merseyside personality Earl Preston, asked me if I would exchange the Leak for a Bassman head. Figuring the Bassman would be worth more on selling I agreed. As I was no longer playing I sold all the stuff. Coming to Canada I picked up a used Traynor 2x12. I powered it from a Sansui receiver and plugged my bass into it's tape head socket. It worked well and gave us music while we set up. Then I bought an H&H twin 15 and put together a 150W tube amp for it Then came the Bi-amp years. Four TL style cabinet each with a JBL K120. Crossed over into a pair of cabinets I built to house a JBL K145 each. I designed and built a 200W @ 2Ω per channel stereo power amp and a SS pre-amp to drive it. Using this system as Stereo I found out that the whole was less than the parts. These were then sold. The power amp I still own. Currently I use two or sometimes four Acme B2 2x10 three way cabinets. Usually I stack two of them on their ends for a vertical 4x10. These can only be described as wonderful. I use a 2KW capable Class D stereo power amp to push them and I built a two channel tube pre-amp to drive that. I also built a cabinet for a JBL 2225 and a big Celestian tweeter. It sounded great. I gave it away to some children who were interested in learning the bass. I gave them a stereo power amp and a pre-amp to push it. I built them a Jazz bass clone as well. In my mind all the sizes have pros and cons. It just depends on what the player is looking for, his / her ability to pay for the system and their ability to transport the stuff. That's where I stand ATM.

BTW @DogBoy I'm sorry for your heart problems. I have a scar down the middle of my chest from Bypass surgery in 2016. I hope your situation improves.

I'm just glad you got it sorted!

Stand the cab on it's end for a vertical alignment. Gets out in the room better that way.

WHAT?? Talkbass still exists without me? I have to admit I miss my friends over there. That said there's a lot of them over here!

Is the noise present without an instrument plugged in? Are you standing/sitting too close to the amplifier?

True Dat!

I have a little used one I could pass on to someone.

I've had to have many drivers repaired during my playing career. A re-cone is not something I feel I could attempt. I have a good guy I have used for decades. His work is excellent and his charges are very reasonable.

The question should be how do they sound?

It's how I would have wired it but I would have performed a battery test to verify which terminal is the positive on the driver.

Turn it down??

I attended a jam at a Queen Street bar here in Toronto. The bass amp was a Fender Rumble 350 2x10 combo. I was very pleasantly surprised how well it handled my six string fretless bass. In fact it was the first Fender amp I liked!

It's the way I went. Two space 2KW capable Stereo Class D Power amp and I built a two channel tube pre-amp for it. In it's four space SKB road case I can lift it with just two fingers! The system sounds wonderful through a pair of Acme B2 2x10 three way cabinets.

Just to be clear: a volume control does NOT limit the power that an output section is able to deliver.

Err. The position of the master has no bearing on the maximum volume produced. That depends on the size of the input signal. A 400W @ 4Ω amplifier connected to a 300W @ 4Ω cabinet is still able to produce it's 400W into that cabinet.

My Acme B2 2x10, three way cabinets are glorious when hit with a low B.

If the "solid state rectifier" is a diode in series with each anode/plate of the tube rectifier it's to increase the PIV of the rectifier system. It helps to avoid flash over in the rectifier tube. My B15 has these, which I installed, to cure such a problem.

I started having heart palputations!

Wuss!

Y'know Bro. You ain't as dumb as I look!! LOL

On January 24 I'll be 76 so trust me I know that feeling!