Got a TC-50. Where's the 16 ohm selector???

[icipher]

got the amp, love it through my mesa 2x12 at 8 ohms.

I am concerned that there is no 16 ohm selection switch. I have Marshall 4x12's which are 16 ohm cabs. I've read many times that going from 8 ohm amp to 16 ohm cab, while safe, will result in less volume and punch which is unacceptable to me especially being in a metal band.

Every amp i've owned, which has been over a dozen, has had an option for 4,8, or 16. Why did mesa cheap out on this?

 

[dlpasco]

Most of them don't support 16 Ohms. My Dual Rectifier and my JP-2C are the only ones I've got or seen that do.

Connecting a 16 Ohm cab to the 8 Ohm output is considered to be a safe mismatch, so they don't make a big deal out of it.

Our practice space has some Marshall cabs in it and I've plugged them into the 8 Ohm output when I'm there. Works fine, sounds great.

-Daniel

 

[elvis]

Some of the Marshall cabs will run either 4 or 16 Ohms. Set it up for 4 and then the Mesa will match that impedance.

Alternatively, plug in two 16 Ohm cabs in parallel to make 8 Ohms.

 

[domct203]

got the amp, love it through my mesa 2x12 at 8 ohms.

I am concerned that there is no 16 ohm selection switch. I have Marshall 4x12's which are 16 ohm cabs. I've read many times that going from 8 ohm amp to 16 ohm cab, while safe, will result in less volume and punch which is unacceptable to me especially being in a metal band.

Every amp i've owned, which has been over a dozen, has had an option for 4,8, or 16. Why did mesa cheap out on this?

Did you even give it a try? You seemed convinced that what you read must be true and not worth trying?

Dom

 

[OldTelecasterMan]

Quick fix on the 16 ohm cabinet issue. Buy another cabinet cause in the amp parallel universe 16+16=8 Two cabinets are better than one. Then you have one cabinet for the amp head and one cabinet for your beer.

It's just logical. Think about it, those speaker cabinets are in the store for a reason.They are there because they need a home. It's all about balance. One must put their speaker cabinets on both sides of the stage. If you only have a speaker cabinet on one side of the stage it will look off balance. The speed of sound is 767.269 mph you wouldn't want the people on the far side to hear that your timing was late on those 64th notes... That would be a travesty!!!

 

[Nitrobattery]

Quick fix on the 16 ohm cabinet issue. Buy another cabinet cause in the amp parallel universe 16+16=8 Two cabinets are better than one. Then you have one cabinet for the amp head and one cabinet for your beer.

It's just logical. Think about it, those speaker cabinets are in the store for a reason.They are there because they need a home. It's all about balance. One must put their speaker cabinets on both sides of the stage. If you only have a speaker cabinet on one side of the stage it will look off balance. The speed of sound is 767.269 mph you wouldn't want the people on the far side to hear that your timing was late on those 64th notes... That would be a travesty!!!

If you're not a guitar salesman, you missed your calling. :lol:

 

[Icarusuki]

I have Marshall 4x12's which are 16 ohm cabs.

Does this mean that you have at least two 16 ohm cabs? If so, run two cabs in parallel for an 8 ohm load and you're good to go.

Alternately, if you only have/run one cab, you can just re-wire a 16 ohm cab to be a 4 ohm cab (assuming it does not have a handy-dandy switch.)

I always re-wire my 16 ohm cabs to either 4 ohms (since I never use more than one at a time), or more often than not, I wire them to be stereo cabs, with two 8 ohm inputs.


~Icarusuki

 

[Deadpool_25]

Solution 1: use the 16 ohm cab as is; TC-50 set to 8 ohm. My bet is it'll be plenty loud. If not...
Solution 2: rewire the cab to 4 ohms (easy); set TC-50 to 8 or 4 ohms

 

[Kmcgrady]

Ok so since we're on topic...

I have a 1960a Marshall cab, with the switch in the 8 ohm stereo position.. If my TC is set to 8ohm, can I run both outputs to the cab, one in each input of the cab??


**side bar-- I am formerly a Mark v35 (head) owner, quickly returned it when I demo'd the TC.. I got the TC50 and didn't even look back for a second. This amp is beast! I could not be happier!**

 

[tbonesullivan]

There are two connectors for speakers on the back of the TC-50, wired in parallel. The Impedance switch should be put to match the impedance of the speaker system attached. Mesa in the manual also says that 16 ohm cabinets can be used on the 8 ohm setting, but there will be some reduction in power.

The two outputs are wired in parallel, so the selector should be set to match the total impedance of the speaker system. If you have two 8 ohm cabinets (or two halves of a 4x12 at 8 ohms) put together, the overall impedance is 4 ohms. 1/r = 1/8 + 1/8 = 1/4.

Other mesa amplifiers have different sockets for different impedance ratings, but they are marked with the impedance of the total circuit.

 

[IronSean]

I have a 1960a Marshall cab, with the switch in the 8 ohm stereo position.. If my TC is set to 8ohm, can I run both outputs to the cab, one in each input of the cab??

Set it to 8 Ohm if you're only plugging into one side (essentially an 8 Ohm 212).

If you're using both sides, that's 2 8 Ohm 212s, so use the 4 Ohm outputs.