Query - Running two ampeg 8ohm cabs with different Wattages

[devil rides out]

Hello, 

Now I've tried to get my head around ohms etc and I thiiiiiiink i understand but I want to double check because I'm feeling pretty thick today and getting in a muddle.

I have a markbass TTE500. It's 500W at 4ohms/ 300W at 8ohms. I am borrowing an ampeg 4x10 SVT which is 500W at 8ohms for my upcoming tour. I would like to add an ampeg B-115E to this which is 200W at 8ohms. Will I be able to safely drive these cabs with my amp to their potential? I'm wondering if the 1x15 might be driven too hard. 

Any wisdom or suggestions appreciated!

 

Edited May 8, 2019 by devil rides out

[chris_b]

Both cabs will see 250 watts if you run everything flat out. I don't know anyone who does that, as most bass amps don't actually sound very good flat out.

So let's assume you're running your amp at half power. I usually run my 500 watt amps with the volumes at noon, and that's 250 watts which is 125 watts per cab. Unless you're doing something weird with boost pedals you shouldn't damage anything. That's also assuming your amp is actually only on half power when the controls are at noon. The good ones should be set up to do that. I would assume Markbass would be fine.

I had both of those cabs at one time and I always ran the 410 on its own. I thought the 115 just made the sound too woolly.  

[Lozz196]

I’d say as above, though maybe still take the 115 and stack it all so for one the 410 is higher up so you hear better, and secondly, well, stackmungus, it will look great 😁

[devil rides out]

Excellent responses hahaha!. I sort of had the seed planted by the band we're touring with said that was their ideal setup but I think you're right, it would be a woolly sort of sound. I'm gonna give it a pass and save up for the barefaced Six 10 I so crave 😭

 

Cheers guys!

[chris_b]

32 minutes ago, devil rides out said:

. . . . I'm gonna give it a pass and save up for the barefaced Six 10 I so crave 😭. . . .

Good move.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

On 08/05/2019 at 11:11, devil rides out said:

 I am borrowing an ampeg 4x10 SVT which is 500W at 8ohms for my upcoming tour. I would like to add an ampeg B-115E to this which is 200W at 8ohms. Will I be able to safely drive these cabs with my amp to their potential?

No, as the 115 will reach its limits long before the 4x10. The increased sensitivity realized from using the two cabs may give a better result than just the one, but it also may not. Without question the best cab to use with the 410SVT is another 410SVT, if you actually need more than the one.

[itu]

On 08/05/2019 at 19:43, chris_b said:

So let's assume you're running your amp at half power. I usually run my 500 watt amps with the volumes at noon, and that's 250 watts which is 125 watts per cab. ... That's also assuming your amp is actually only on half power when the controls are at noon.

Yes, very good point. It is not obvious at all, that the power is at half, when the vol pot is at noon. Gain and EQ are part of the chain that affect the output power, too. EQ may be everything but flat, when pots point to north. So beware that the output power can be whatever.

[chris_b]

1 hour ago, itu said:

Yes, very good point. It is not obvious at all, that the power is at half, when the vol pot is at noon. Gain and EQ are part of the chain that affect the output power, too. EQ may be everything but flat, when pots point to north. So beware that the output power can be whatever.

Depending on the taper of the volume pot the maximum volume could be anywhere, so the OP can try an experiment. Plug in the 410 and see how the volume changes when the volume control is turned all the way up. Does the amp get louder across the whole travel of the pot or does the volume only change across a limited section, ie the first 50% for example. Whichever one is true, the OP has identified the point of maximum volume of the amp and he can back off the volume to a point where his personal volume level sits.

Noon was just an example that works for me and most of the amps I've owned. If that works the same for the OP, and I'm assuming that Markbass will be the same, then the OP is running his amp in a way that is very unlikely to damage his cabs. The experiment will tell him how his amp operates.

My opinion is that with these particular cabs, mixing a 115 and 410 is not what I'd do, but the OP has to decide that for himself.

[mcnach]

On 08/05/2019 at 17:43, chris_b said:

Both cabs will see 250 watts if you run everything flat out. I don't know anyone who does that, as most bass amps don't actually sound very good flat out.

So let's assume you're running your amp at half power. I usually run my 500 watt amps with the volumes at noon, and that's 250 watts which is 125 watts per cab. Unless you're doing something weird with boost pedals you shouldn't damage anything. That's also assuming your amp is actually only on half power when the controls are at noon. The good ones should be set up to do that. I would assume Markbass would be fine.

I had both of those cabs at one time and I always ran the 410 on its own. I thought the 115 just made the sound too woolly.  

 

Good answer, but beware of the "volume at noon = half the power". That is an assumption we cannot make, and if that Markbass is designed with the same taper as other MarkBass amps I've owned, noon would be significantly higher than 50% power. But the main message of the post stands.

It sounds like a reasonably safe combination provided we don't go crazy boosting lows or turning everything too high. Be sensible, and listen for unwanted distortion, and you'll be ok.

[chris_b]

4 hours ago, mcnach said:

Good answer, but beware of the "volume at noon = half the power".

I agree, which is the reason for the post before yours. Hopefully some clarification for the OP.