Use a 16 ohm 4x12 like two 8 ohm 2x12 with the same head

[DS-1]

Hi guys,
I'd like to ask you something about to divide a 4x12 16 ohm cabinet (a Marshall in this case) into two 2x12 8 ohm. Everyone, Mesa engineers included, says that Mesa amps sound better with 8 ohm cabinets. Now do you think could possible to use the two 8 ohm inputs of a 4x12 (set in stereo), that will be like have two 2x12 8 ohm cabinets? Then should I use the two 4 ohm output on my Triple? Thanks in advance for the reply.

 

[Octavarius]

Yup, that'll work. The amp will be running at a total of 4 ohms, so yes, use the two parallell 4 ohm outputs on your amp.

 

[DS-1]

Yup, that'll work. The amp will be running at a total of 4 ohms, so yes, use the two parallell 4 ohm outputs on your amp.

Thanks for the reply. This will be like driving two 8 ohm cabinets, right?

 

[Octavarius]

Yup, that'll work. The amp will be running at a total of 4 ohms, so yes, use the two parallell 4 ohm outputs on your amp.

Thanks for the reply. This will be like driving two 8 ohm cabinets, right?

Yes, if the cab has two 8 ohm inputs when in stereo mode, it'll be like driving two 8 ohm 2x12" cabinets together in parallell at a total of 4 ohms.

 

[DS-1]

Perfect! Do you think this will let my Triple Rectifier sounds better? Do you think there's so much difference between using a 8 ohm or a 16 ohm cabinet on this head?

 

[Octavarius]

Perfect! Do you think this will let my Triple Rectifier sounds better? Do you think there's so much difference between using a 8 ohm or a 16 ohm cabinet on this head?

Well, running the amp at 4 ohms instead of 8 ohms does certainly make a difference. You'll be driving the amp harder. However, I have no idea if it'll sound better or worse or just different. Best thing is to try it out and hear for yourself. :wink:

 

[DS-1]

I'll try tomorrow! But do you know why on the Mesa head there are two 8 ohm cabinets outputs? I ask this because I can't see when these two will be used together!

 

[lailer75]

the 2 8ohm taps are for running 2 16ohm cabs

 

[Octavarius]

the 2 8ohm taps are for running 2 16ohm cabs

Yup, which means a total of 8 ohms.

 

[MrMarkIII]

From the manual:
"Two 4 Ohm, Two 8 Ohm and one 16 Ohm jack are provided for speaker interfacing. Both the Dual and Triple Rectifier Solo Heads are not very sensitive to speaker mismatches and will not be damaged by them, except that very low ohmage loads will cause the power tubes to wear faster. A single twelve-inch 8 Ohm speaker should generally be connected to the 8 Ohm output. When using two 8 Ohm speakers, connect them both to the 4 Ohm outputs provided (because the total load is 4 Ohms in that case.) Check out the information further back in this manual regarding speaker impedance and possible speaker hook-up schemes.
4x12 cabinets may be 4, 8 or 16 Ohms. If you are not sure of the impedance of your cabinet, you may need to remove the Rear Panel in order to verify the impedance rating of the individual speaker or speakers. MESA/Boogie 4x12 and 4x10 cabinets come standard wired to 8 Ohms, and are wired in series-parallel. Some Non-MESA 4x12 cabinets are wired 16 Ohms using four 16 Ohm speakers. By wiring all four speakers in parallel, you can reduce the cabinet to an impedance load of 4 Ohms (assuming the speakers are 16 Ohms each.) No matter how unusual your speaker setup, it is always possible to get good performance."