Greg.Bassman Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Forgive my ignorance, this probably such a boring question for many of you music's out there- however, I'm stilling learning, so please bare with me here. What's the difference between 4 and 8 Ohm cabs? I'm currently looking into the Markbass Standard 104HR Bass Cab. However, they offer it in both 4Ohms and 8Ohms. What does this means? How does it effect the sound... does it means its louder or something? All feedback appreciated. Cheers. Greg. P.S - Not too much technical jargon please lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 A 4 ohm cab means you can use just 1 cab with an amp with a min load of 4 ohms, an 8 ohm means you can add a 2nd at a later date. As for sound/volume, there's next to nothing in it. If your amp's a 2 ohm min load, then it may make sense to go for the 4 ohm cab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzodog Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Most amps will say on the back. Minimum load 4ohms. Therefore if you use a 4ohm cab thats all you can use but you will get the full power of the amp. However this is where it gets confusing for a newbie. 2 x 8ohms cabs togther equals 4 ohms. So you can put 2 of these cabs together from the amp to get the full power. It will only be as 'loud' as using 1 x 4ohm cab but because you are moving more air using 2 cabs it will sound 'louder' plus if one is on top of the other one it will be closer to your ears when playing which is good. You can just use 1 x 8ohm cab with the same amp but you will only get abour 2/3 of the output. Some amps go down to 2ohms meaning you can use 2 x 4ohms cabs but these are rarer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Both the above posts have summed it up perfectly. The volume difference between a 4 ohm and 8 ohm cab will be like 3dB so not massive. If you are certain you'll never get a second cab go for 4 ohms, but I'd always recommend 8 ohms in case GAS sets in...and the volume difference is so negligible you may as well keep your options open I'm lucky, my amp has a 4/8 ohm switch so I get full power out of mine no matter what I do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Yep, the difference in volume between getting the full watts of say a 500 watt amp at 4ohms, and "only" the 350 or so watts at 8ohms hardly makes a difference on the ears. So in that case I`d go for the 8ohm, just in case you ever really want to make a huge set-up for big stages with adding in another cab (at which point I`d recommend getting the same cab again). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg.Bassman Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 I understand, cheers lads! Just curious, what would happen if I DID link 2x 4Ohm cabs together? Are the results disastrous? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obbm Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 [quote name='Greg.Bassman' timestamp='1436651659' post='2819829'] I understand, cheers lads! Just curious, what would happen if I DID link 2x 4Ohm cabs together? Are the results disastrous? [/quote] Loud bang, magic blue smoke and expensive repair bill or new amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg.Bassman Posted July 12, 2015 Author Share Posted July 12, 2015 Lol. I'll be sure NOT to do that then Cheers 'obbm'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I use 2 markbass 210s at 8ohms each , much more versatile than a 4ohm 410, for me at least I can take just 1 x 210 to rehearsals etc and it's easier to carry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 [quote name='lojo' timestamp='1436681774' post='2819882'] I use 2 markbass 210s at 8ohms each , much more versatile than a 4ohm 410, for me at least I can take just 1 x 210 to rehearsals etc and it's easier to carry [/quote] Exactly the same for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg.Bassman Posted July 12, 2015 Author Share Posted July 12, 2015 (edited) Awesome. Cheers guys, will keep that in mind Edited July 12, 2015 by Greg.Bassman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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