Combo's: How Loud Can You Run Them?

[BrownieD2W]

Hey guys,

I have had a Mark V combo for a bit over a year now, and I use it almost daily. But I have been playing at higher volumes ever since I started playing with a drummer and sometimes I just get a little worried about blowing the speaker or damaging something in someway.

So I guess my question is how loud can I safely run the combo without blowing the speaker or anything like that, keeping in mind that I play with high gain settings mostly, and with a fairly heavy tone?

Any feedback on this would be appreciated, and hopefully helpful to others as well. Like I said I am just concerned and this is really my first big-boy amp lol.

 

[screamingdaisy]

If it's loaded with an MC-90 then you should be able to run it pretty much wide open.

 

[boogieman60]

Don't worry about the V blowing up.. a good way to tell if you are playing the amp to loud..your ears start to bleed... :lol: :lol:

 

[SteveO]

Don't worry about the V blowing up.. a good way to tell if you are playing the amp to loud..your ears start to bleed... :lol: :lol:

Yep, your head will implode before the speaker gives out.

 

[BrownieD2W]

Don't worry about the V blowing up.. a good way to tell if you are playing the amp to loud..your ears start to bleed... :lol: :lol:

Yep, your head will implode before the speaker gives out.

lol. Alright, thanks for the replies guys.

It is indeed loaded with the C-90, I think my serial number is 5xxx something.

Like i said I was just curious because it is my first Big-boy amp, don't want to take any chances.

 

[babow2]

As long as the speaker is rated to handle what the amp puts out (or higher), you'll be challenged to blow the speaker before you kill people in the next county.

 

[phyrexia]

old quote in my sig was "phyrexia, are you in the same room as the amp when you play?". :mrgreen: :lol:

At first, I had trouble finding preamp tubes that would last. but eventually found the right mix and have had no problems at all. I was running ch masters and output at 12:00 with a 12L thiele and the stock combo speaker.

 

[kdorsey]

Consider buying a Thiele cab to spread out the output, and save your ears (trust me on this one). Otherwise, the sound will get too flubby and inarticulate WAY before you burn up a coil or rupture a cone. Abuse-away, pal! 8)

 

[LEDREW]

to be honest, I have had 2 mesa boogie mark V combos in less than a year. I have blown a grand total of 3 C90s. I run the combo on channel 2, 90 watts, channel master at about 5.5-6, gain on 4 (edge), master output on about 4.5 and presence completely cranked. I guess there is a lot of high end happening in my sound, but i dunno...i just blew the first c90 in my second mark 5 combo after playing it on those settings for about 2 months (once or twice a week)...when im not using that setting, i have the amp in my apartment on variac power on channel 1, on 10 watts, and i would use that every day. not sure what to think.....anyone have any ideas? am i a dummy for dialing in such high end? if so, why the **** would they give me the option?? shouldnt i be able to have this thing biting like ol ****? anyhow...someone help? any suggestions for my ridiculous situation?

 

[elvis]

Speakers tend to get damaged in one of 2 ways: Either too much excursion, so the cylinder jumps out of the track, or too much power, so the coil burns up.

High frequency can be very, very loud with little actual power dissipation. Burning the coils usually takes lots of low-frequency power for fairly long periods of time.

A single very large transient (or a general tendency) can make the cone jump out of the track. If your amp is set like an old Hiwatt, so that when you hit the strings there is a big POP (i.e. extremely punchy), then you may be pushing the cone too far.

To add to the mess, DC is bad for speakers. Most stuff in audio amps is AC coupled, so DC usually doesn't get amplified. However, if you clip asymmetrically (something that pedals like the fuzz face do on purpose), then the AVERAGE signal into the speaker is effectively DC. This can happen with any distortion. It's typically not an issue for high gain folks because they are running into a 4x12 or more. Anyhoo, the DC causes additional heat, which can burn up the coil, and also causes the speaker to sit off-center, making over-excursion more likely on a transient.

Finally, amp power is usually rated at something like 1% THD. Solid-state amps hit the rail and hard-clip, so the power out at 1% distortion is about the same as at 100% distortion. Tube amps often do not hard clip in the same way, so they can produce much more than the 1% THD power if you push them. This is where the "tube power" myth came from. Power is power, but the rated condition is different from the actual condition.

For a guitar amp, it probably makes sense to be conservative with speaker power ratings, and go with an extension cab if the speaker is rated the same as the amp.

I'm running a 2:90 into a pair of 1x12 rectos with 60W speakers, so it's just a matter of time until I need new speakers.

 

[MrMarkIII]

A 90 watt speaker in a 90 watt amp seems inadequate, since the amp can easily output 180 watt peaks when cranked.

 

[boogieman60]

WOW you must play really loud...Usually if I have an indoor small gig I just use the combo...But if I have an outdoor gig or bigger venue I use my 1-12 extention cab..maybe thats why I havn't blown a speaker ....Its got to be your bass settings that are blowing those puppys...you prob should have a head/cab setup to get the sounds you want. also if you are hitting the pickups with the strings when you mute...that will def. blow a speaker at volume....