Mark V with 16 ohm cab -> Less gain?

[RDW1988]

Hi guys,

Got a Mark V last week and I'm absolutely in love with it.
At home I've got a 2x12 cabinet with V30's in it, it's a 16 ohm cab.

Today I played over a 4x12 (don't know what speakers it had, cheap cab) and it felt like
I had a lot more gain through this cab.

I know the Mark V is capable of handling a 16 ohm cab at the 8 ohm connection, but are there any negative
side-effects soundwise like less gain?

Thanks for your input!

 

[purpledc]

No the amount gain (which is a bad term. We should say distortion) is pre determined for the most part by your preamp. The type or ohm speakers should have little to no effect on the actual amount of it available. But the "perceived" amount of distortion can be more pronounced or less pronounced depending on the cab. For instance when I switched from a marshall cab with G12T75 speakers to my mesa with V30's my Mesa cab seemed to have a lot more distortion. What I was hearing was not actually distortion from my amp but rather the way the speaker "interprets" the distortion coming into the speaker. Some speakers just have a more "dirty" sound and will sound more distorted than they actually are. Another thing that I notice is projection of a speaker effecting the amount of gain. If I have a cab fire directly into my face it appears to have not only more highs but also more distortion. Turn this same cab to the side and the edge is gone and some of the dirt. But the short answer, no your amp doesnt know the difference between speaker types. It only see a load and a load alone. But depending on the speaker it will sound more or less distorted. This is why I feel speaker choice is critical to achieve certain tones. I almost think speaker choice is more important than pickup choice and I most certainly feel its way more important than what wood your guitar is made from.

 

[RDW1988]

Thank you for clearing that up, didn't know about that!

 

[Neptical]

No the amount gain (which is a bad term. We should say distortion) is pre determined for the most part by your preamp. The type or ohm speakers should have little to no effect on the actual amount of it available. But the "perceived" amount of distortion can be more pronounced or less pronounced depending on the cab. For instance when I switched from a marshall cab with G12T75 speakers to my mesa with V30's my Mesa cab seemed to have a lot more distortion. What I was hearing was not actually distortion from my amp but rather the way the speaker "interprets" the distortion coming into the speaker. Some speakers just have a more "dirty" sound and will sound more distorted than they actually are. Another thing that I notice is projection of a speaker effecting the amount of gain. If I have a cab fire directly into my face it appears to have not only more highs but also more distortion. Turn this same cab to the side and the edge is gone and some of the dirt. But the short answer, no your amp doesnt know the difference between speaker types. It only see a load and a load alone. But depending on the speaker it will sound more or less distorted. This is why I feel speaker choice is critical to achieve certain tones. I almost think speaker choice is more important than pickup choice and I most certainly feel its way more important than what wood your guitar is made from.

Purpledc- right on....except for the last few lines:

"This is why I feel speaker choice is critical to achieve certain tones. I almost think speaker choice is more important than pickup choice and I most certainly feel its way more important than what wood your guitar is made from."

I think it's better to say that we need to look at the guitar,pickups,amp,speakers,cables as one WHOLE instrument--not just exclusivley one or the other. It's better to teach this early on rather then have some folks frustrated for years as some of us have been.

 

[purpledc]

No the amount gain (which is a bad term. We should say distortion) is pre determined for the most part by your preamp. The type or ohm speakers should have little to no effect on the actual amount of it available. But the "perceived" amount of distortion can be more pronounced or less pronounced depending on the cab. For instance when I switched from a marshall cab with G12T75 speakers to my mesa with V30's my Mesa cab seemed to have a lot more distortion. What I was hearing was not actually distortion from my amp but rather the way the speaker "interprets" the distortion coming into the speaker. Some speakers just have a more "dirty" sound and will sound more distorted than they actually are. Another thing that I notice is projection of a speaker effecting the amount of gain. If I have a cab fire directly into my face it appears to have not only more highs but also more distortion. Turn this same cab to the side and the edge is gone and some of the dirt. But the short answer, no your amp doesnt know the difference between speaker types. It only see a load and a load alone. But depending on the speaker it will sound more or less distorted. This is why I feel speaker choice is critical to achieve certain tones. I almost think speaker choice is more important than pickup choice and I most certainly feel its way more important than what wood your guitar is made from.

Purpledc- right on....except for the last few lines:

"This is why I feel speaker choice is critical to achieve certain tones. I almost think speaker choice is more important than pickup choice and I most certainly feel its way more important than what wood your guitar is made from."

I think it's better to say that we need to look at the guitar,pickups,amp,speakers,cables as one WHOLE instrument--not just exclusivley one or the other. It's better to teach this early on rather then have some folks frustrated for years as some of us have been.

Yeah I wasnt writing that as fact though. Just my own opinion.

 

[Chester]

No the amount gain (which is a bad term. We should say distortion) is pre determined for the most part by your preamp. The type or ohm speakers should have little to no effect on the actual amount of it available. But the "perceived" amount of distortion can be more pronounced or less pronounced depending on the cab. For instance when I switched from a marshall cab with G12T75 speakers to my mesa with V30's my Mesa cab seemed to have a lot more distortion. What I was hearing was not actually distortion from my amp but rather the way the speaker "interprets" the distortion coming into the speaker. Some speakers just have a more "dirty" sound and will sound more distorted than they actually are. Another thing that I notice is projection of a speaker effecting the amount of gain. If I have a cab fire directly into my face it appears to have not only more highs but also more distortion. Turn this same cab to the side and the edge is gone and some of the dirt. But the short answer, no your amp doesnt know the difference between speaker types. It only see a load and a load alone. But depending on the speaker it will sound more or less distorted. This is why I feel speaker choice is critical to achieve certain tones. I almost think speaker choice is more important than pickup choice and I most certainly feel its way more important than what wood your guitar is made from.

Purpledc- right on....except for the last few lines:

"This is why I feel speaker choice is critical to achieve certain tones. I almost think speaker choice is more important than pickup choice and I most certainly feel its way more important than what wood your guitar is made from."

I think it's better to say that we need to look at the guitar,pickups,amp,speakers,cables as one WHOLE instrument--not just exclusivley one or the other. It's better to teach this early on rather then have some folks frustrated for years as some of us have been.

How true that is, as is the KISS principle

Until recently, I had not been totally happy with some settings on the Mk V, particularly in Ch3 - too trebbly / raspy / thin etc. A highly sensitive and responsive instrument, the V accentuates whatever flaws / weak links lie in the signal chain, more than any other amp I have owned. I finally got the tones I wanted by changing input leads, and dropping my front loaded OD pedal which was colouring the V's natural tone. Simple but highly effective on the V, which for me, is best left to shine without any additional baggage