Beedster Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 (edited) OK, my Mesa Venture 600 combo is proving too loud, and as a consequence I've listed it for sale or trade for something less powerful on here. However, two things are bugging me, firstly I really like the thing, secondly, I'll probably make a loss on the whole deal one way or another. So, a couple of questions: 1. Can I remove the head, rack it and use it seperately? I imagine that if so, I'll need a dedicated rack or case as the vents on the combo are on the upper suface of the head. 2. If I can do this, if I run the head (currently running into 4ohms) into an 8ohm cab, can I assume it's going to put out around half the wattage, i.e., around 300w? 3. Are there any potential problems/pifalls with doing the above? If I could do this it would solve two problems in one go, firstly it would provide a slightly more portable option, secondly I assume it would allow me to get the mesa tone but at significantly lower volume than I'm currently pumping out. Thanks in advance Chris Edited January 12, 2010 by Beedster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Hi Chris IIRC You can pull the head, but it's not in a sleeve, so you'll have to make something up to keep it in. Rather than hack about with a lovely saleable item (I'd love a Venture combo)... in all honesty, if you like the tone, try and get a Walkabout head (or a Scout). It's got the same wonderful, wonderful tone as the Venture head, only more of it, with less output. And it's smaller and lighter. Win, win, win! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Answering #2 - if 4 ohms gets you 600w, it's likely to put out closer to 400-450w @ 8 ohms. There is a 50w discrepancy as on the face of it, you'd think it would be a simple mathematical calculation but I've yet to see a standard equation for working it out; as a rule it's normally about 2/3... sometimes + a bit! Still a healthy output. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted January 12, 2010 Author Share Posted January 12, 2010 [quote name='wateroftyne' post='710719' date='Jan 12 2010, 10:43 PM']Hi Chris IIRC You can pull the head, but it's not in a sleeve, so you'll have to make something up to keep it in. Rather than hack about with a lovely saleable item (I'd love a Venture combo)... in all honesty, if you like the tone, try and get a Walkabout head (or a Scout). It's got the same wonderful, wonderful tone as the Venture head, only more of it, with less output. And it's smaller and lighter. Win, win, win![/quote] Agreed, just playing with options really Michael. I was assuming if I found a sleeve that worked I could either keep it in that and sell the combo without head or simply re-install for larger gigs. If I sold this I'd likely still have to pay extra to buy a Walkabout unless one came up SH (whcih doesn't seem to happen all that often), hence my point re potentially losing out on a trade or sale. Also, I need to have a large gig amp alongside my incoming PJB, and I'm not sure a Walkabout would fit the bill entirely. I was really looking at giving myself more options, hence my idea of running this into 8ohms for smaller gigs and 4 for the bigger ones. Thanks C [quote name='warwickhunt' post='710723' date='Jan 12 2010, 10:49 PM']Answering #2 - if 4 ohms gets you 600w, it's likely to put out closer to 400-450w @ 8 ohms. There is a 50w discrepancy as on the face of it, you'd think it would be a simple mathematical calculation but I've yet to see a standard equation for working it out; as a rule it's normally about 2/3... sometimes + a bit! Still a healthy output. [/quote] Thought that might be the case John. Does the ratio of output watts to impedance vary with manufacturer? Seems some suggest a 100% increase in O/P for a 50% cut in impedance (e.g., a 300w amp into 4 shoves out 150 into 8), whilst with others it seems more complex? Is there any sure way of knowing apart from the manufacturers specs? Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velvetkevorkian Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 It seems to vary with manufacturer- there was an amp (either Euphonic Audio or Acoustic Image I think) which had the same output at 4 and 8 ohms, so its certainly not as simple as it sometimes seems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 [quote name='Beedster' post='710779' date='Jan 12 2010, 11:42 PM']Thought that might be the case John. Does the ratio of output watts to impedance vary with manufacturer? Seems some suggest a 100% increase in O/P for a 50% cut in impedance (e.g., a 300w amp into 4 shoves out 150 into 8), whilst with others it seems more complex? Is there any sure way of knowing apart from the manufacturers specs?[/quote] From first hand observations it seems to vary between every manufacturer but as a rule of thumb I've tended to knock a 1/3 OP off when going to 8 ohms; though saying that if your cab is sensitive it can appear to make little difference and it is debatable as to whether you'd hear the difference between 300 & 400 watts any way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohn Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 (edited) Just a thought... Something like this might help? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ATTENUATOR-FOR-AMPEG-SOLDANO-TRAYNOR-VOX-GUITAR-AMP_W0QQitemZ160391472982QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item255813a756"]"volume box"[/url] At least until you see a scout come up 2nd hand. Edited January 13, 2010 by bigjohn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted January 13, 2010 Author Share Posted January 13, 2010 [quote name='bigjohn' post='711540' date='Jan 13 2010, 04:40 PM']Just a thought... Something like this might help? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ATTENUATOR-FOR-AMPEG-SOLDANO-TRAYNOR-VOX-GUITAR-AMP_W0QQitemZ160391472982QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item255813a756"]"volume box"[/url][/quote] Interesting, thanks John. Have you ever used one (or has anyone else)? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted January 13, 2010 Author Share Posted January 13, 2010 [quote name='wateroftyne' post='710719' date='Jan 12 2010, 10:43 PM']... get a Walkabout head (or a Scout). It's got the same wonderful, wonderful tone as the Venture head, only more of it, with less output.[/quote] Hi Michael, meant to ask last night, when you say 'same wonderful tone only more of it', what do you mean exactly? Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohn Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 [quote name='Beedster' post='711570' date='Jan 13 2010, 04:54 PM']Interesting, thanks John. Have you ever used one (or has anyone else)? Chris[/quote] I've not. But the principle sounds good to me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
absentmindeduk Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 The head thats in the venture is basically the M-Pulse 600 without the rackmount holes. It'll give you 360 Watts @ 8 Ohms. See here: [url="http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Bass_Amps/M-Pulse-600/M-Pulse-600.html"]http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Bas...-Pulse-600.html[/url] I don't see any reason there would be an issue removing it - it's just the logistics of finding a box to put it in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 Well bugger me.. it is in a sleeve.: I thought I'd read somewhere that it wasn't... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted January 15, 2010 Author Share Posted January 15, 2010 [quote name='wateroftyne' post='713646' date='Jan 15 2010, 12:38 PM']Well bugger me.. it is in a sleeve.: I thought I'd read somewhere that it wasn't...[/quote] Wanna buy a Mesa Venture combo cab without the head Michael? I'm seriously thinking od running this head into 2x15 for big gigs, 1x15 for moderate gigs, and sticking with the Phil Jones for the small ones. Thanks for the help guys Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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