HELP - Little Mark Tube 500 with Traveler 2x10 cab (4ohm)

[DAZBASS86]

Hey people

I recently treated myself to the two goodies in the title of this post as I wanted some good gear that would last me for a while so have been saving up for ages.

However, I feel I have been misinformed by the shop keeper. Can SOMEONE/ANYONE please tell me if the Little Mark Tube 500 is compatible for the Traveller 210 4ohm cab. It sounded fine in the shop at lower volume, but when I hit my first practice with it, I had the volume and gain at around 10/11 (playing moderately loud rock) and when I turned down for a bit to put my bass down and went to turn it back up the sound had gone completely.

I tried the cab with the standard amp at the rehearsal studio and the cab worked, but then tried MY LITTLE MARK TUBE with the studios cab and nothing, then after a couple more mins, I put the Little Mark Tube back with the Traveller 210 and it was fine again for the rest of the session.

Not sure why this happened. Is this amp too powerful for this cab? Did it set off some kind of speaker or amp protection system momentarily? The guy in the store said it was fine to go with this cab, as he suggested me plugging it in, but checking the cab it says it handles it only 400watts when the Amp is 500! I know I sound like a fool. Just not much of a tech head and wasn't helped very much by the shopkeeper obviously.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Am thinking of either getting an 8ohm traveller instead or just going for a straight up 410 cab to handle all this amp has to offer.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Cheers

Daz

[algmusic]

Yep the guy in the shop is an idiot..

That's 500w amp at 4ohms and you've been putting in 500w into 400w handling cab.. not great and at full power

I would have personally got the 8ohm cab, then you would get 300w at 8ohms, then you can add another 8ohm cab then use the full 500w between two cabs. Or get a 500W+ handling 4ohm cab (4x10 or 2x12)

Technically you can use it, but I'd be careful driving your cab

Also did you have the volume and gain at full?? It could have overheated.. If you're riding the gain, the volume, may need to go down..

I'm sure the true tech guys here can give more advice

But first of all TURN IT DOWN :-)

and maybe return it..

[DAZBASS86]

[quote name='algmusic' post='1136972' date='Feb 22 2011, 12:31 PM']Yep the guy in the shop is an idiot..

That's 500w amp at 4ohms and you've been putting in 500w into 400w handling cab.. not great and at full power

I would have personally got the 8ohm cab, then you would get 300w at 8ohms, then you can add another 8ohm cab then use the full 500w between two cabs. Or get a 500W+ handling 4ohm cab (4x10 or 2x12)

Technically you can use it, but I'd be careful driving your cab

Also did you have the volume and gain at full?? It could have overheated.. If you're riding the gain, the volume, may need to go down..

I'm sure the true tech guys here can give more advice

But first of all TURN IT DOWN :-)

and maybe return it..[/quote]


Thanks for the advice. The Gain and Volume were at the same setting.

I'm going to change it and pay the little extra for a 410.

Thanks again.

Daz

[Mr. Foxen]

Nothing about the amp or cab watts will have caused a shutdown. There probably is some sort of thermal protection. What is more likely is you are asking too much volume/bottom from a dinky cab. It is far more about the amount of air the cab can shift that the power levels, and very few 2x10s can shift enough air to be keeping up with a drummer with a chunky bassy sound.

[xgsjx]

I'd still get the 8 ohm, even if it's the 4x10 (tho my choce would be 2x10s vertically).
This way you can always add more cabs if you need more volume & 2 identical 8 ohm cabs is gonna be a lot louder than 1 of the same in 4 ohm. The difference in volume between an 8 & 4 ohm cab that are identical is not much at all.

[chris_b]

You've been sold the wrong cab.

A traveller cab is too small on it's own for real bass played at band volume levels and you can't add another cab because it is 4 ohm.

Any 210 cab isn't enough for loud rock. There's not enough speaker area.

If you are playing your 500watt amp flat out, which I doubt, you'll be sounding crap because you've got no headroom.

At most I use 150-200 watts of a 500 watt amp and double that up for the speaker watts. This is unscientific but I've never broken anything so I'm happy to over spec my gear. I mostly use 2 smaller cabs because I can't lift big cabs anymore!

[LawrenceH]

[quote name='algmusic' post='1136972' date='Feb 22 2011, 12:31 PM']Yep the guy in the shop is an idiot..[/quote]

Hardly...the mismatch isn't very significant from the point of view of thermal handling until you really start running hard, probably with a compressor, and you should hear it coming unless you're using distortion anyway. The continuous power handling of those B&C drivers is specced at double the rms rating because music signal is typically less demanding. Whether the cab is loud enough depends what you're asking it to do, sounds like it isn't in this case.

To echo what Mr Foxen has said, any thermal cut-off is going to be in the amp, not the cab (with the possible exception of a lightbulb on the tweeter). If you're running the amp hard enough to run it into thermal shutdown then you might endanger your speakers and would probably be best getting a pair of 8ohm 2x10s or a single 4x10.

[DAZBASS86]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I think it's a 4x10 for me.

Daz

[algmusic]

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='1137142' date='Feb 22 2011, 02:39 PM']Hardly...the mismatch isn't very significant from the point of view of thermal handling until you really start running hard, probably with a compressor, and you should hear it coming unless you're using distortion anyway. The continuous power handling of those B&C drivers is specced at double the rms rating because music signal is typically less demanding. Whether the cab is loud enough depends what you're asking it to do, sounds like it isn't in this case.

To echo what Mr Foxen has said, any thermal cut-off is going to be in the amp, not the cab (with the possible exception of a lightbulb on the tweeter). If you're running the amp hard enough to run it into thermal shutdown then you might endanger your speakers and would probably be best getting a pair of 8ohm 2x10s or a single 4x10.[/quote]

I agree on the getting two 2x10's but I'd have to disagree on the mismatch as he said he had everything on full... in a rock setting that's I've done the same thing, the the LM2 and the same 2x10, at moderate levels, it's fine at higher levels, it sounds wierd. The 2x10's won't handle that. My PO is the get two 2x10's, but If you're never gonna get the 4x10 I'd go for the 4ohm if you don;t think you'll ever use another cab with it. The 4x10 at 4ohm does have more umph than the 8ohm 4x10, I think there's a difference

good luck

[LawrenceH]

[quote name='algmusic' post='1137936' date='Feb 22 2011, 11:35 PM']I agree on the getting two 2x10's but I'd have to disagree on the mismatch as he said he had everything on full... in a rock setting that's I've done the same thing, the the LM2 and the same 2x10, at moderate levels, it's fine at higher levels, it sounds wierd.[/quote]

For sure, but I doubt it would make a noticeable difference if the speakers were rated at 250 watts each rather than 200. Comes back to the same old point that watts ratings aren't all that useful for assessing a bass cab. Cut the bass and you'll be able to bump up the volume - that's why I said it depends what you are asking it to do, and why Mr Foxen talks about shifting air for a chunky sound. Doesn't matter really, the OP's getting a 4x10 and that should do the trick!