Adding extra cabs.... being a Div and need help!!!

[the hand of john curley]

Ay up!

Right - I'm holding my hands up here as being a complete div and need help and advice!
I have an Ashdown EB180 Combo with a 15" speaker. I love the sound but want to give it a bit more clarity and mid/ top end. Sooooo, rather than sell it (not worth a great deal second hand) and have the expense/ball ache of trying to get something that gives me what I want....could I just buy another ashdown cab and run that with the combo?

All opinions and views welcomed!
I thank you.

Matt

[Lozz196]

I`ve just had a look at Ashdowns website, and for the current EB-180, the amp doesn`t have an extension speaker socket, so if this is the same as your amp, the answer would be no, I`m afraid.

[gjones]

My Ashdown EB 150 sounds great played through my 2x12 cab (and significantly louder too). I hope your's is one with an extension socket (mine is an early one made in the UK).

Edited January 8, 2012 by gjones

[the hand of john curley]

Righto, just checked the back of the amp and there are two speaker sockets, one of which has the existing speaker connected. Can I assume them that I could reasonable add a 2x10 if it's also 4ohms? Thanks for your help guys .

[markstuk]

Why do you think the internal speaker is 4 ohms? Have you put a meter across it? If you've not checked it's almost certainly 8 ohm and you'd want an 8 Ohm extension speaker to provide a total load of 4 ohms... What does the manual say? (check Ashdown web site)

[the hand of john curley]

erm....it says on the back, min 4ohm?

[JTUK]

[quote name='the hand of john curley' timestamp='1326040926' post='1491429']
Righto, just checked the back of the amp and there are two speaker sockets, one of which has the existing speaker connected. Can I assume them that I could reasonable add a 2x10 if it's also 4ohms? Thanks for your help guys .
[/quote]

Nearly right..add a 8 ohm 2x10... as any reference on the amp is MOST likely to mean 4 ohm minimum load...so that means both cabs at 8ohm equals 4 ohms total minimum load.

[markstuk]

I suspect that's "total load" not what you can plug in to the extension, unless it bypasses the internal speaker... But feel free to experiment I'd personally drop an email to ashdown tech support...

[gjones]

The speaker in your combo will be 8 ohms. If you plug in another 8 ohm cab the total speaker resistance will be reduced to 4 ohms (two 8 ohm speakers wired in parallel will result in the total resistance changing to 4 ohm). In other words make sure the resistance of the other speaker you plug in the back is 8 ohm and you can then play through both speakers.
You'll notice that your volume goes up by quite a bit because there's more speakers (of course) and because the total speaker resistance has gone down and the amp doesn't have to work as hard.
These Ashdowns have a great sound and with a decent 2nd cab yours will sound even better.

[Prime_BASS]

[quote name='the hand of john curley' timestamp='1326041712' post='1491446']
erm....it says on the back, min 4ohm?
[/quote]

the ineternal speaker is therefore 8ohms.

Adding a second 8 ohm cab gives you a total load of 4 ohms.

you will need a second 8 ohm cab. this will also draw the full rated power output of the amp.

if you want more mids-top end, have you tried boosting these already?

[the hand of john curley]

cheers guys, like the title says, i'm a complete muppet when it comes to this. I've never quite got my head around the Ohms thing and its implications.
really appreciate the advice.
Matt

[Blademan_98]

I looked on the Ashdown site for a manual on my MAG 300 head. The manual tells you that you can have a min 4Ohm load and there are 2 jacks.

To the uninitiated, that is not very helpful.

I had already guessed that it meant 2 x 8 Ohm cabs but if you didn't know about series / parallel wiring you would be lost.

So not such a daft question after all

[the hand of john curley]

Cheer @blademan! I don't feel like such a pr*t now!!!
Let the 2x10 hunt begin !

[m3nutter]

and make sure they are in phase mate to - i check mine with a small voltage accross the speaker lead to make sure they both go the same way

[dmccombe7]

Check out Soundslive website for a 2x10 deep Ashdown circa £160 new.

I added one to my MAG300 15" combo and it was quite an impressive sound.
I had to downsize (physically) to get gear into new car otherwise i would still be using that rig.
Nice sturdy warm sounding rig with more than enough ooomph to keep up with 2 noisy gtrs and drums.

You should pick up an extension cab on BC for good price.

Cheers
Dave


Good luck

[the hand of john curley]

[sub]Tell you what guys, this is EXACTLY the reason I use BC. Top opinions/advice and genuinely friendly replies. [/sub]
[sub]I stuck a set of no name Jazz pups on the recycle page, FOC, a week ago and they were snapped up straight away. Got THE nicest PM back from teh BC'r that they went to.[/sub]

[sub]Sorry for all the gushing, just restores ones faith in human nature.[/sub]

[sub]Thanks all.[/sub]
[sub]Matt[/sub]

[dmccombe7]

[quote name='the hand of john curley' timestamp='1326057534' post='1491792']
[sub]Tell you what guys, this is EXACTLY the reason I use BC. Top opinions/advice and genuinely friendly replies. [/sub]
[sub]I stuck a set of no name Jazz pups on the recycle page, FOC, a week ago and they were snapped up straight away. Got THE nicest PM back from teh BC'r that they went to.[/sub]

[sub]Sorry for all the gushing, just restores ones faith in human nature.[/sub]

[sub]Thanks all.[/sub]
[sub]Matt[/sub]
[/quote]

My feelings too. You are not alone.

Best thing i ever did (bass related that is) was join BC. An absolute eye opener and full of helpful hints, info and generally friendly advice. There's nothing bass related that can't be sorted on this forum IMHO.
What more can you ask for.

Dave

Edited January 9, 2012 by dmccombe7