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Mixing speakers...


RustInPeace90
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Hey guys and girls.

I've got an Ampeg SVT410HE cab which I love but I also love the old Hartke 410XL cabs with the aluminium speakers so I was thinking of trading out 2 of the speakers in my Ampeg for a couple of the Hartke aluminium speakers. Essentially, I'd have it so I had the 2 Ampeg ones at the bottom with the 2 aluminium ones above that.

My main question is whether or not this would be dangerous for the cab at all?
I would go for 2 cabs but I don't want to lug 2 cabs about and I don't want to move down to using 2 2x12 cabs or changing my cab. I considered getting one of the new Hartke HyDrive cabs as they sound phenomenal but they're a bit expensive.

The speakers (new) are £50 and there rated 8ohm @ 100w each where as my cab is an 8ohm cab rated at 500w.

Has anyone mixed speakers before? Did it work?

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I have mixed 12" speakers in a guitar cab with no problems at all. The sound may be a little unpredictable for bass cabs, as (if properly designed) the cab should be tuned for the original speakers.

BTW, where did you find a price for the Hartke speakers? I have a friend who is looking for one.

Greg

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Hi Greg,

Thanks for your reply. I understand that the cabs are tuned to the speakers spec and this is one thing i would kind of been worried about. I used to use a 4x12 that had a mix of celestions and eminence speakers in it. I didn't notice any discernable difference but then again, I didn't know the speakers where different until id owned it for a few years so I didn't really know much difference with it.

As for where I found it, it was on thomann, I'll post the link below. Available immediately too.
http://www.thomann.de/gb/hartke_10_ersatzlautsprecher.htm

Hope that helps your friend :)

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Well the science probably says it`s not such a good idea, but as long as the ears like, that`s the main point - as well as it being safe for your amp to operate as well of course.

Essentially, going by the above, you`ll have 4 speakers all receiving the same amount of power, where two of them can handle 125 watts each, and two of them able to handle 100 watts each. Unless you max your amp on either volume or lows I can`t think there`d be a problem, but as with anything, rely on your ears to tell you.

I swapped out some speakers in a cab once, and whilst the sound greatly improved (to my ears) the volume dropped dramatically, so this is a consideration to look at as well.

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Thanks for replying Lozz.

With my amp (it's an Ampeg B2R) which only puts out 350w (which I believe is at 4ohm though so only 250w at 8ohm), I run the para EQ on flat with the graphic switched in when needed only slightly boosting mids/highs. I've never actually run the amp above 5 either so it's not been maxed out.

With that in mind, would that cause a problem?

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I wouldn't touch this myself as cabs are 'engineered' to the spec of the Chassis
and putting any unit in a box is more than just that it will fit.
You could try it and see what it sounds like but I'd just pick a cab I like the best
and sell the other one..or rotate either on a whim, for the gig

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All matching drivers would be ok but a risk of it sounding bad, mixing the drivers in the same box could result in a crap sound and/or two of the four drivers being blown.

I'm not sure a pair of modern 2x12s would be a "move down" from a Hartke 410/ampeg410 rig either?

Edited by stingrayPete1977
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What problem are you trying to resolve here? As long as the replacement speakers are the same ohms as the ones you are removing, and you wire it up correctly, you shouldn't hurt the amp, but I don't understand why you want to run the risk of messing up the sound of a cab you "love".

The idea that you can replace half of a 410 which you "love" with 2 speakers from another 410 that you also "love" and you'll get anything close to the sound of either of the boxes is not very logical.

I'm on the side of the fence that says, if you're not unhappy with the sound of your Ampeg, why spend money to mess it up.

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