Wylie Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 In the specs for the Markbass Richard Bona 2x10 "Ninja" combo on Musician's Friend, I read: "250 watts . . . impedance 8 ohms." I thought the wattage sounded about right, but the "8 ohms" surprised me. So I went to the Markbass site and read their very different specs for the combo: "250 w RMS @ 4 ohms / 150 w RMS @ 8 ohms." Were I a first-time combo buyer, I would have thought, reading the Musician's Friend specs, that I was getting 250 watts with the internal speakers alone; but in reality I'd have had to pair another 8-ohm cab with the combo in order to get the optimal delivery of 250 watts. I thought I had better alert Musician's Friend to their error, but they are a hard lot to get ahold one. I resorted to postal mail; we'll see what they say. I know enough about ohms and wattage ratings to look closely at the offerings--and I believe a good many if not most Basschatters do as well--but a few years ago I would have bought this 2x10 without suspecting a thing. This post will, I hope, have buyers double-checking before they hit that fatal button. W. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 Loads of companies do this - combos boasting such and such a rating, but that's only if you add another cabinet to them. It would be very simple for them to explain it clearly, as in fairness Markbass do on their own site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 Can't see it being much of a problem for us Europeans,. Both Guitar Center and Musician's Friend block IP addresses from the EU in case we sue them for selling our details to tele-marketers 😁 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinny Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 If you think that's dodgy, I suggest you have a look at TC Electronic! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wylie Posted October 15, 2018 Author Share Posted October 15, 2018 13 minutes ago, Vinny said: If you think that's dodgy, I suggest you have a look at TC Electronic! Curious, I took another look at Musician's Friend. Another Markbass cab, a 500-watt 2x10, was also vaguely enough described that you'd think you were getting more wattage than was actually available with the internal speakers. Again, the Markbass site gave full info on the cab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinny Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 I'm sure someone much more knowledgeable than me will be along to edjermacate me how the TC BG250 is a 250 watt amp (on their website) with a 75w power supply. At least when manufacturers give extension cab / alternative impedance ratings they are at least somewhat capable of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicko Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 I have a little sympathy with the amp manufacturer here. Clearly they have a 250W amp and decided to bundle it as a 2 x 10 combo. They then have a choice, make the 2 x 10 an 8 Ohm unit, allowing you to use an extension cabinet in parallel to get max wattage and move more air, or making it a 4 Ohm unit and denying the possibility of pushing more air at the rated wattage. Theres a whole other debate about whether a 250W 4 Ohm combo with a 4 Ohm extension wired in series pushing out 150W sounds louder. One things for sure - it wont sound as loud as the 250W with 4 speakers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 Im sure years ago i fell foul of this type of marketting. It isnt really fair. It should only spec what your buying. Ie what can you get out of the "combo" you have bought. ie 250w - not what its potential is. Then it should caviat you can add an extension cab for a 500w stack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikel Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 On another note. Back in the day of 100 watt valve amps and 4 x 12 cabs. Was the whole 100 watts only available with two 4 x 12s hooked up, or was it simply louder through moving more air using two cabs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertbass Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 In the olden days, valve amps had 4, 8 or 16 ohm output settings and all 4 x 12s were 16 ohm so full output to 1 or 2 or even 4 cabs. Just set the impedance selector to the right setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 1 hour ago, mikel said: On another note. Back in the day of 100 watt valve amps and 4 x 12 cabs. Was the whole 100 watts only available with two 4 x 12s hooked up, or was it simply louder through moving more air using two cabs? Back in the days of 100 watt valve amps, the power stage was always connected to the output transformer, so always 'saw' the same load, and delivered the same wattage. The other side of the transformer matched the cabs, and more speakers meant more air being moved, so louder. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wylie Posted October 16, 2018 Author Share Posted October 16, 2018 5 hours ago, Nicko said: I have a little sympathy with the amp manufacturer here. Clearly they have a 250W amp and decided to bundle it as a 2 x 10 combo. They then have a choice, make the 2 x 10 an 8 Ohm unit, allowing you to use an extension cabinet in parallel to get max wattage and move more air, or making it a 4 Ohm unit and denying the possibility of pushing more air at the rated wattage. Theres a whole other debate about whether a 250W 4 Ohm combo with a 4 Ohm extension wired in series pushing out 150W sounds louder. One things for sure - it wont sound as loud as the 250W with 4 speakers. You are correct, but my point in the post was that the seller needs to give this kind of information in full to the buyer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 If you want to buy gear you look on the manufacturers site and the retailers site. You can look on bass forums and ask questions. It's the buyers responsibility to find out what is being offered and what matches up with their requirements. In any field, it's the buyer who has to do their homework and if they buy a combo that can't use an extension cab, well that's either what they wanted or a good learning experience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wylie Posted October 16, 2018 Author Share Posted October 16, 2018 24 minutes ago, chris_b said: If you want to buy gear you look on the manufacturers site and the retailers site. You can look on bass forums and ask questions. It's the buyers responsibility to find out what is being offered and what matches up with their requirements. In any field, it's the buyer who has to do their homework and if they buy a combo that can't use an extension cab, well that's either what they wanted or a good learning experience. The expression 'truth in advertising' comes to mind. Before this gets any more baroque, thanks one and all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 Fender Rumble 500, er no, only with an extension cab, even the name is misleading, is the new 800 the same? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 27 minutes ago, PaulWarning said: Fender Rumble 500, er no, only with an extension cab, even the name is misleading, is the new 800 the same? Looks like they got rumbled... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikel Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 10 hours ago, bertbass said: In the olden days, valve amps had 4, 8 or 16 ohm output settings and all 4 x 12s were 16 ohm so full output to 1 or 2 or even 4 cabs. Just set the impedance selector to the right setting. Thanks for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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