Going neo but screwing up.

[Dazlexic101]

I've been trying to go all neo cab but keeping a fair amount of power at the same time along with my Ampeg PF800 head which I love!

I wanted cabs that were light but still projected well and sounded good. I managed to pick up an EBS Neo110 and wanted to get a 2nd cab to compliment it with a bit more ooompf so I saw the 115 version and went with that.

Here was the error.
I didn't do my research until the cab came through the door today.
The 110 is 250 at 8 ohms.
The 115 is 300 at 4 ohms.
My head is 800 at 4 ohms minimum load.
Meaning I can't use the cabinets together.
Doh! Anyway, after a ton of research and probably some serious mocking on various FB bass pages it's obvious that this combination of cabinets will never work.
Now I am in a rut. I need a small setup for larger gigs where we use the full PA and need only a small bit of volume for monitoring and then an extra cabinet that can be used with the 110 for that extra well for when we don't use the big rig and don't have the PA capacity to run it all through but still using the Ampeg PF800 head. I've yet to find a nek cabinet or combination of neo cabs that meets the power requirements needed to keep up with the PF800. To top it off, my budget is spent on 2 cabinets that can't be used either together or separate from the head

Any advice would be outstanding. I'm ready to give up amd go back to breaking my back and wrecking my car with my old SVT810E cabinet but I reallt don't want to do that.

[Dan Dare]

Tricky, As you say, the combined impedance will be around 2.7 ohms, which is a bit low. A single 15 won't be powerful enough on its own if you're used to and need the impact of an Ampeg fridge and it's pointless getting another 110, because combining it with the other 110 won't be enough either. If your cabs had multiple drivers, you could alter the wiring to put them in series and increase the impedance, but they don't. I can't see an alternative to selling both and looking for something more suitable. Did you buy them used? If so, you may be able to move them on without losing much.

[Thunderpaws]

See if someone will swap your 15 for an 8 ohm cab?

[Phil Starr]

I'm sorry but you probably have to start again. Obviously a 4ohm speaker is not what you need unless it is meant to be a single speaker solution. I'm worried about that 10 too. A single 10 unless it is something very special will struggle to handle enough bass to match a drummer. you've kind of gone from one extreme in the Ampeg cab to the other. You've gone for a 'matching' cab in the 15 but all that will really match is the appearance. That's probably important if you are playing functions fair enough but there are no guarantees that two speakers from the same manufacturer will match any better than those from two different manufacturers. For me the trick would be to find a nice light speaker that gives the sound you want and will be enough to use on it's own then add a second identical speaker for the times you need to do it all from the back line. That will give you the same sound but louder, anything else and you will get a different sound when you add the second cab.

At the moment you might be able to get what you want from a couple of 12's or 15's. I'm not convinced a couple of 10's will be enough if you are used to the Ampeg and I've reservations about the 10 you have, unless it really is just a monitor and you are prepared to roll off the bass when using it on it's own. I quite like a single 10 with the bass rolled off when going through the PA but the rest of the band miss the deep bass on stage.

I realise this doesn't sound helpful. I'm hoping you bought used and can sell the cabs for what you paid. Sell them and get two matching cabs. Two EBS 15's, if you love their sound, are going to be a lot less to carry than the Ampeg but there are plenty of others to choose from.

Edited September 7, 2017 by Phil Starr

[Lozz196]

PM`d

[pete.young]

[quote name='Thunderpaws' timestamp='1504762700' post='3367068']
See if someone will swap your 15 for an 8 ohm cab?
[/quote]
He needs to keep the 15 and swap the 10 for an 8 ohm cab, to give a combined load of 4 ohms.

[chris_b]

IMO that 110 (even 2 110's) is too small and is not going to work on your gigs. For loud gig, even the 110 paired with an 8 ohm 115 is as much use as a chocolate tea pot. The 115 is 4 ohm so you can't add another cab. All this you know.

When do you need to have this sorted? When is the next gig?

IMO you've got to chalk this up to experience and start again. For a light 1 cab solution you've got to start by checking out Barefaced. There are other good cabs out there but BF is where I'd start, because 1 cab would do the job for you and that cab will easily handle the power of your amp. Whatever you do, you might need a bank loan to tide you over this unfortunate buying and selling phase.

[Ghost_Bass]

Sell both cabs and look for a Barefaced 2x15", they pop up on the sales section from time to time. It'll match your 8x10 in volume and won't be much more heavy than your current EBS cabs together.

[Sparky Mark]

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1504771275' post='3367127']

He needs to keep the 15 and swap the 10 for an 8 ohm cab, to give a combined load of 4 ohms.
[/quote]

His 15 is 4 ohms already, so adding an 8 ohm cab won't work for the above mentioned reason.

[pete.young]

[quote name='Sparky Mark' timestamp='1504806508' post='3367497']
His 15 is 4 ohms already, so adding an 8 ohm cab won't work for the above mentioned reason.
[/quote]
Ah yes, missed that. Sorry n' all. Thanks for pointing it out.

[mybass]

Check out MarkBass Ninja 2x12 cabinet, for 800 watt at 8 ohms a great cabinet handling tons of bass.

[lowregisterhead]

I've had a similar problem, in as much as I have two EBS 210's (Proline, not Neo) that I really like, and are fairly portable, but are 4 ohms each, and my GK MB800 Fusion amp only goes down to 4 ohms minimum load, preventing me from using both cabs with a standard parallel connection.

So I rigged up a series cable that made the load of the two cabs 8 ohms, which the amp copes with quite well. You could do the same with your two cabs, but the resulting load would be 12 ohms, and I'm not sure how that would work with your Ampeg. The minimum load is 4 ohms, but is there a maximum load? 16 ohms perhaps? If that was the case (check it out on Ampeg's site first please!) you may not get so much power, but as it's an 800 watt head, it may well still produce ample volume to do the job. Worth thinking about!

If it helps, I just up graded my GK head to an Eich T1000 which goes down to 2 ohms, so I have a serial cable going spare if you want it...