Cab question

[Ytsejammer777]

So my other guitar player was comparing my 2x12 Recto cab to his 2x12 Vertical cab yesterday. When he reconnected it, he hooked it up to the "Parallel Out" jack rather than the standard 8 ohm jack on the back of the Recto 2x12. I played on it that way for at least 2 hours before I noticed it was in the wrong jack. I was struggling with my sound during practice (not sure if it is even related to that). Was curious if this could possibly do any damage....

 

[Ytsejammer777]

Talked to Mesa support. No big deal. Might not sound optimal though, which is probably what I was hearing.

 

[Doomcue]

Good to know. There are so many output jacks back there, it's easy to use the wrong one. I've gotten in the habit of double-checking, and double-checking again, before I fire it up.

 

[elvis]

The parallel out is exactly that. It is wired in parallel with the input, and they are identical and interchangeable. The labels are just to make it easier for people to figure out how to wire multiple cabs. They could have just as easily called them both "parallel in".

 

[Ytsejammer777]

Cool...thanks!

 

[bandit2013]

The parallel out should have sounded the same as the other jack on the 212 speaker cab. If you were having issues, was the speaker cable plugged into the proper output jack on your amp? Was it a speaker cable or instrument cable? I generally use a heavy speaker cable with the extra large plug housings so they do not get mixed up with any of the instrument cables. Never use an instrument cable to connect speakers to an amp. Instrument cable uses 50ohm coax where as a dedicated speaker cable is a pair of heavy gauge wire (18AWG - 12AWG depending on brand) with extremely low resistance.

When ever you remove speaker cable, always double check where it plugs into the amp so you do not end up with an open output transformer. It is too easy to accidently plug into the return jack by mistake as it is right next to the 8 ohm output jack.

412 users only:
I would only indicate one word of caution when it comes to the 412 cabinet. The parallel out may be open circuit if there is no cable plugged into the mono input as this one jack has a built in switch to connect the left and right side speakers in series. Also do not use the parallel out of a 412 cab when using the stereo inputs.

I still have the small caps in place on the unused jacks as it is harder to install the speaker cable in a plugged hole if it is too dark to see what you are doing when you set up.