Wylie Posted November 30, 2021 Share Posted November 30, 2021 Bass players with lots more brain than me (probably most of you): I currently run one 4-ohm cab out of my small but mighty Carvin microbass amp. I would like to run a second 4-ohm cab out of it as well, but my understanding is that if the cabs are linked, the ohm rating will drop to 2, which is too low. However, the amp has two speaker lines out. Can I run a line out of each to its own cab and still maintain the 4-ohm rating? Thanks! Wylie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted November 30, 2021 Share Posted November 30, 2021 Simple answer, no my friend! The sockets are wired together in parallel, so it won't make a difference if you daisy chain from one cabinet to another, or come out of separate sockets on the amplifier, you'd still have your 2 Ohm total impedance load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted November 30, 2021 Share Posted November 30, 2021 7 minutes ago, Wylie said: Bass players with lots more brain than me (probably most of you): I currently run one 4-ohm cab out of my small but mighty Carvin microbass amp. I would like to run a second 4-ohm cab out of it as well, but my understanding is that if the cabs are linked, the ohm rating will drop to 2, which is too low. However, the amp has two speaker lines out. Can I run a line out of each to its own cab and still maintain the 4-ohm rating? Thanks! Wylie Also: The only time this *could work is if a head had two separate power amplifiers inside, like the Hartke LH1000 - in which case you'd be able to hang a 4 ohm cabinet of each separate amplifier output. Your other option is to source an amplifier that is able to handle 2 ohm loads. There's quite a few out there, but that will of course incur a financial hit.. but.. new toys is always fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted November 30, 2021 Share Posted November 30, 2021 P.S. I wrote about impedance in a Bass Player Magazine article a little while back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wylie Posted November 30, 2021 Author Share Posted November 30, 2021 1 hour ago, Dood said: P.S. I wrote about impedance in a Bass Player Magazine article a little while back Thanks, Dood. Damn! I was hoping for a miracle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted November 30, 2021 Share Posted November 30, 2021 You can get a special box that allows this, our very own @obbm used to make them but is now retired I believe, hopefully he may be able to offer some advice on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassmanPaul Posted November 30, 2021 Share Posted November 30, 2021 Get yourself a BX1500. That will handle 2Ω. on each of it's two power amps. If your cabinets are both of the same model you could run them in series for an 8Ω load. Different speaker systems in series could well interact poorly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted November 30, 2021 Share Posted November 30, 2021 What are the cabs and drivers in them? If you're lucky you might have an option of rewiring the cabs to 16ohm each. Needs a strong amp for when you use the one cab but that's not uncommon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarson Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 1 hour ago, BassmanPaul said: Get yourself a BX1500. That will handle 2Ω. on each of it's two power amps. If your cabinets are both of the same model you could run them in series for an 8Ω load. Different speaker systems in series could well interact poorly. Aw, Paul. Aren't those made of Unobtainium now that Carvin is no more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obbm Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 14 hours ago, Lozz196 said: You can get a special box that allows this, our very own @obbm used to make them but is now retired I believe, hopefully he may be able to offer some advice on this. There is a simple/cheap way to put two 4-ohm cabs in series to give an 8-ohm load. You need 3x Speakon plugs and a suitable length of single core stranded 2.5-sq.mm. or 4-sq.mm. wire I.e one wire from 3-core mains cable. You wire it like this: Speakon 1, terminal 1+ to Speakon 2, terminal 1- Speakon 2, terminal 1+ to Speakon 3, terminal 1- Speakon 3, terminal 1+ to Speakon 1, terminal 1-. It doesn't matter which plug goes where. Speakons have screw terminals so no soldering involved. Simple. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassmanPaul Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 14 hours ago, abarson said: Aw, Paul. Aren't those made of Unobtainium now that Carvin is no more? So they are now defunct? They made good equipment for a reasonable price. I play their basses. Their power amps are in everything I own. <Sigh> Family squabbles IIRC. I trust you and yours are safe and healthy and that you have a merry Christmas. Paul 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 (edited) On 30/11/2021 at 19:14, Lozz196 said: You can get a special box that allows this, our very own @obbm used to make them but is now retired I believe, hopefully he may be able to offer some advice on this. The box would consist of three speakons, one from the amp and the other two to the speakers. However the cabs would be wired in series, presenting 8 ohms to the cab. That would reduce the power output but adding the second cab might mitigate that. Edited December 3, 2021 by Chienmortbb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassmanPaul Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 On 30/11/2021 at 19:20, abarson said: Aw, Paul. Aren't those made of Unobtainium now that Carvin is no more? I have a little used one I could pass on to someone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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