Appreciable differences doing a safe mismatch?

[canyongargon]

Hey guys.

I joined because I'm going to be picking myself up a lovely Single Rectifier head in a month or two and I'm trying to learn everything about this wonderful amp that I can. My dilemma right now is as follows:

My cabinet is 16 ohms, and I understand that it is a safe mismatch to plug the 16 ohm cabinet into the 8 ohm out on the Single Recto. However, I'm wondering if there are any appreciable differences doing a safe mismatch than matching properly, eg. extra wear on the transformers/power tubes, sound differences, ect... Can anyone give me any information?

Thanks!

 

[mikey383]

The only appreciable difference is a slightly darker tone. The amp will run cooler using a 16 ohm cab into the 8 ohm out also.

 

[canyongargon]

The only appreciable difference is a slightly darker tone. The amp will run cooler using a 16 ohm cab into the 8 ohm out also.

When you say "darker tone" is it a dramatic change in the amp's sound or a situation where I'd just simply have to EQ in a bit more treble than I normally would?

 

[mikey383]

IME, you can dial the loss back in with the treble knob, although it seems like it shifts a different frequency than the treble knob controls. I feel it takes away some of the harshness of the amp when you have a lot of treble dialed in.

 

[canyongargon]

Ah, I see. What about other effects on the amp? You said it runs cooler with a 16 ohm cab in the 8 ohm jack, so it's not causing any unnecessary wear on the components?

Also, I've read that there's a slight volume loss, is it anything really dramatic or is it very slight? Either way, I doubt I'll have much to worry about in the volume department; it IS an all-tube 50 watt head, and a Boogie to boot, haha. I just want to know what to expect.

 

[mikey383]

The tonal aspect is the only thing I've noticed.

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

There's a slight volume drop, but it's mostly just tonal differences which you may or may not prefer...

 

[canyongargon]

There's a slight volume drop, but it's mostly just tonal differences which you may or may not prefer...

How "slight" do you mean? I have a feeling I'll be in a situation where I'll never have to have this thing above 3 or 4 when I'm gigging anyway, mismatch or not, but how pronounced is it?

Also, how would you describe the tonal differences? Similar to what mikey383, a slight loss of treble?

 

[MusicManJP6]

There's a slight volume drop, but it's mostly just tonal differences which you may or may not prefer...

How "slight" do you mean? I have a feeling I'll be in a situation where I'll never have to have this thing above 3 or 4 when I'm gigging anyway, mismatch or not, but how pronounced is it?

Also, how would you describe the tonal differences? Similar to what mikey383, a slight loss of treble?

It's just gonna be a very slight difference in volume, and the tone will be smoother overall - slightly less bite/less aggressive.

 

[canyongargon]

There's a slight volume drop, but it's mostly just tonal differences which you may or may not prefer...

How "slight" do you mean? I have a feeling I'll be in a situation where I'll never have to have this thing above 3 or 4 when I'm gigging anyway, mismatch or not, but how pronounced is it?

Also, how would you describe the tonal differences? Similar to what mikey383, a slight loss of treble?

It's just gonna be a very slight difference in volume, and the tone will be smoother overall - slightly less bite/less aggressive.

That's a good description of what's going on, thank you. As far as the "less bite/less aggressive" goes, it's a Recto so I'm assuming it'll still have plenty of balls to spare, right? I play pop-punk, so I don't exactly need hardcore metal insanity going on, but I still like a punchy tone, especially on palm mutes and such.

 

[mikey383]

That's a good description of what's going on, thank you. As far as the "less bite/less aggressive" goes, it's a Recto so I'm assuming it'll still have plenty of balls to spare, right? I play pop-punk, so I don't exactly need hardcore metal insanity going on, but I still like a punchy tone, especially on palm mutes and such.

It's not like it makes it a different amp.

 

[canyongargon]

That's a good description of what's going on, thank you. As far as the "less bite/less aggressive" goes, it's a Recto so I'm assuming it'll still have plenty of balls to spare, right? I play pop-punk, so I don't exactly need hardcore metal insanity going on, but I still like a punchy tone, especially on palm mutes and such.

It's not like it makes it a different amp.

True, haha, I think I've got a handle on the tonal aspects of this now. Anyone have anything else to chime in about that?

My last question is the effect on the amp itself; like you guys have said, it runs cooler with a 16 ohm cab, so I'm assuming this actually means it's putting pretty much the same amount of wear on the transformers and tubes and such (if not slightly less) as if it were matched?

 

[mikey383]

Transformer wear would be the last of my worries. The only things that really wears a transformer are time and misuse. The enamel on the wire starts breaking down over time, and if you forget to plug your cab in, you can cause flyback voltages in the output tranny which will cause it to short internally. Mesa OTs are built like brick houses, so that's not really something you would have to worry about (unless you try recording with the slave out and no cab or something like that).

Your tubes may wear out a little faster due to the mismatch, but a good set of tubes will still last you a couple years with moderate use, as long as you don't abuse them (like not letting them warm up first).

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

Well, my personal preference is still to run the amp and cab with the proper resistance matching if possible. Have always preferred the tone and response of that over a mismatch, but hey, sometimes you have to do a mismatch regardless...

 

[halfnote]

The Mesa manuals say that the mismtch you are refering to allows the amp to run coler and increases tube life. I just switched from an 8 ohm cab to a 16, my Mark IV has no 16 out, so I am running 8 into 16 and I have noticed almost no difference. A very slight loss in volume and high end, but nothing that will be missed by me. I hardly turn my amp pass halfway anyway.

 

[canyongargon]

Thanks guys, so basically what I should be expecting is all the Recto balls and punch we know and love, just with a little bit less treble (that I should be able to dial back in with the treble knob), a very minuscule volume change, and the amp itself running a little bit cooler than usual?