OK to use one 8 ohm cab on Trace?

[Pbass1]

Hi, Ive just bought a Trace SMX gp12 head rated at 280w rms 560 peak as a back up to my markbass head

it has 2 8 ohm speaker outs

does it deliver 280w into one speaker @ 8ohms or do I need to use 2 8 ohm speakers one in each input, as it doesnt mention anything like 280w @ 4 ohms

speakers are markbass traveller 8 ohm rated 400w

and ashdown klystron 8 ohm rated 575w

am i safe using one speaker and if so am i getting the full power??

ps I did read the impedance thread but still confused

cheers Paul

[yorick]

From what I remember, most Trace heads run down to a minimum 4ohm load, so you'll need two 8ohm cabs to get the full power from your head. As it stands, you probably get about 150-175 watts from your head with a single 8ohm cab.
Hope this helps clear things

[Paul S]

Not all watts are created equal, as I understand it, with Trace Elliot watts being louder than most I used to use my old Trace Elliot rig with just one cab most of the time. For rehearsing and playing small pubs - heavy rock covers with a loud drummer and even louder guitarist - it was plenty loud enough with the master volume below half. Add a second cab and you need to turn it down a touch from there - the only time I needed it up to half with both cabs was on a largeish stage outdoors for onstage monitoring.

[Pbass1]

Thanks for the advice, feel happier now that i know Im not frying the amp, or damaging the speakers,

I think the sound is fantastic, probably gonna be my first choice for loud stuff as it just sounds so tight and heavy

and easy to get a sound i like with the EQ balance

cheers Paul

[icastle]

You can use one or two 8Ω cabs on the GP12 cab as it's quite happy running a 4Ω load.
It's not a current production model, so information is scant, but the concensus seems to be that it'll provide 300W into 4Ω.

Both of your speakers are perfectly safe on the GP12 regardless of whether you are running them singly or as a pair.

HTH

[Pbass1]

[quote name='icastle' post='1359813' date='Sep 2 2011, 01:17 PM']You can use one or two 8Ω cabs on the GP12 cab as it's quite happy running a 4Ω load.
It's not a current production model, so information is scant, but the concensus seems to be that it'll provide 300W into 4Ω.

Both of your speakers are perfectly safe on the GP12 regardless of whether you are running them singly or as a pair.

HTH[/quote]

Im guessing that its also ok to Daisy chain the 2 speakers to produce the same 4 ohm load ? rather than using both outputs from the amp

cheers Paul

[icastle]

[quote name='Pbass1' post='1359823' date='Sep 2 2011, 01:26 PM']Im guessing that its also ok to Daisy chain the 2 speakers to produce the same 4 ohm load ? rather than using both outputs from the amp[/quote]

Yep.

If you have two speaker sockets on the back of a mono amp then they are always wired in parallel.
This means that daisy chaining two cabs gives exactly the same load as running them directly from the two sockets.

[xgsjx]

Yup, daisychain or one from each output = the same. Some prefer not to daisychain incase the 1st speaker cable fails, though I've never had a speaker cable fail mid gig (it's usually when you first plug it in, if at all).

[icastle]

[quote name='xgsjx' post='1359841' date='Sep 2 2011, 01:33 PM']Some prefer not to daisychain incase the 1st speaker cable fails, though I've never had a speaker cable fail mid gig (it's usually when you first plug it in, if at all).[/quote]

I haven't either but I tend to look on it as more of a way of avoiding that 'one in a million chance'.

As my amp is flightcased, having two seperate cables permanantly plugged into the back of the amp (made to two different lengths to fit my multicab setup nicely) makes my setups quicker and removes the 'b*gger - forgot one of my speaker cables' opportunity that I managed to fall for when I was daisy chaining.

[KevB]

Yep, safer to run separate cables out to each speaker if by some freak fail a speaker blows then you will have some output which might not be the case with a daisy chain (depending which speaker in the chain went). My Trace is a combo unit anyway so the added extension speaker is always on a separate out socket.

[xgsjx]

Now that's a very good & valid reason to not daisychain
Funny enough, the only daisychaining I do is on the PA.

[icastle]

[quote name='xgsjx' post='1359868' date='Sep 2 2011, 01:49 PM']Now that's a very good & valid reason to not daisychain
Funny enough, the only daisychaining I do is on the PA.[/quote]

Ah, but on most PAs the 'daisy chain' is usually used because the first cab in the chain has a crossover in it which then feeds to the second cab.
To do it without daisy chaining would potentially mean running external crossovers and doubling up on the number of amps you have to lug around to achieve the same volume.

[Pbass1]

thanks everyone just daisy chained and turned up to 2 while someone was mowing the lawn next door, the conservatory shook for a (few seconds anyway) daren't play too hard especially when playing my low B

[geoffbyrne]

I'm pretty sure if you daisychain & the 1st speaker fails, the 2nd speaker will get 100% of the signal, as the input/output is wired in parallel & the signal does *not* have to pass through the speaker before leaving the cab via the output.

G.

[icastle]

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='1361278' date='Sep 3 2011, 08:29 PM']I'm pretty sure if you daisychain & the 1st speaker fails, the 2nd speaker will get 100% of the signal, as the input/output is wired in parallel & the signal does *not* have to pass through the speaker before leaving the cab via the output.[/quote]

Yep that's absolutely true.

But (and it's a big but because it rarely happens) if the cable between the amp and the first speaker fails then you get nothing.