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looking for advice on cabs, i'm looking to buy one soon, what are the advantages + disadvantages to having sizes that aren't 4x12? i'm seriously considering buying a 2x12 for logistical reasons, ie: they seem to be consistently cheaper and it's smaller when travelling. are there any reasons aside from a sort of stylistic preference when using a 4x12? if someone is playing consistently smaller venues like the zoo zhop, houses, or even the victoria event center it seems like a 2x12 would be loud enough, i could be wrong though. thoughts?

i'd be running a 100 watt head through it. is that realistic for a 2x12?

Where are the gear heads?

Tyler?
Bong?
Kevin?
Zach?
Andrew?

stumped. wrote:i'd be running a 100 watt head through it. is that realistic for a 2x12?

if the ohms are the same and the watts are the same. it all depends on the cab. really you should ask who ever works were youd be getting this cab, or if your doing this through listings then, research research research. there are so many variables its impossible to say with out knowing the specifics

Generally speaking the advantage of a 4x12 vs a 2x12 is perceived power and more volume. Of course it's relative to the efficiency of the cab too (ie. there are Mesa 2x12 cabs that are louder than some Marshall 4x12 cabs).

With the right cab you could certainly play places like the Zoo Shop, house shows, etc. with a 2x12 (in fact in some cases it may sound better because you're creating a volume that doesn't overwhelm the space it's in).

The trick is finding the right cab, with the right speakers.

In my opinion unless your focus is portability you'll have an easier time finding a used 4x12 for cheap. Just because 2x12's are smaller doesn't mean they're automatically cheaper, because they're harder to come by too.

Is the head you mention your Peavey?

I recommend you do a bit of research on speaker cabs too; learn the advantages of sealed vs. ported cabs, what efficiency means and how it's rated, ohmage, etc. It's good to know and can save you money by choosing the right cab for the job.

If you have any other questions let me know.

Human-Demise wrote:

stumped. wrote:i'd be running a 100 watt head through it. is that realistic for a 2x12?

if the ohms are the same and the watts are the same. it all depends on the cab. really you should ask who ever works were youd be getting this cab, or if your doing this through listings then, research research research. there are so many variables its impossible to say with out knowing the specifics

Watts don't need to match, there's a relative safe range you can run together. I agree about there being so many variables it's hard to answer accurately.

I'll say too I've never heard a 3/4 sized 4x12 or 4x10 Marshall guitar cab that I didn't think sounded crappy. So I don't advise you trying to beat the system by getting a reduced sized 4 speaker cab either.

Andrew wrote: Is the head you mention your Peavey?

nope, the peavey is still out of commission haha. i have a fender fm 100.

what are sealed or ported cabs?

isn't this why they invented google? #sorrynotsorry

stumped. wrote:

Andrew wrote: Is the head you mention your Peavey?

nope, the peavey is still out of commission haha. i have a fender fm 100.

what are sealed or ported cabs?

There are two Fender 4x12 cabs on CL right now for $250 each. Assuming they have the typical Fender Jensens they'd sound fine with your head.

Sealed cabs are ones with no holes in them that let sound out. Popular examples would be the Marshall 4x12 and the Ampeg 8x10. My Bergantino 6x10 is sealed.
Ported are cabs with some kind of hole in them, typically a round hole in the back or a slot in the front. You don't see this as much on guitar cabs but they do exist. Ported is different than open back cabs, like many old Fender combos and such. Ported cabs tend to be a bit louder and have more apparent low end. Hiwatt 4x12's are ported and Hieg's Z 2x12 cabs are ported.

under the vancouver listings? i haven't seen those yet, thanks for the tip

I prefer a 4x12 over a 2x12 because of the perceived loudness and projection. And yes, they tend to be more available and there are more on the used market. I don't necessarily love my specific 4x12. It's got pros and cons, my favourite that I've tried is the Mesa Oversized 4x12.

I have a combo 4x10 that has an open back and the sound is less directional and more washy.

You should aim to have a cab and head be rated for roughly the same wattage. I have heard stories that "underpowering" a cab (ie 100W head, 600W cab) is bad for the speakers since they don't have the power to do the work they're trying to do. I have also heard that this is ridiculous and doesn't happen in practice. I have heard stories that "overpowering" a cab (ie 600W head, 200W cab) can blow speakers. I have also heard that this is difficult to do. I think the goal everyone strives for is to have them in the same ballpark for a functional setup. I have a relatively low wattage bass cab (200W, lots of bass heads are much much more) so I am careful about lending it out. But I use it with a 350 watt head that isn't cranked and it seems fine.

You should also aim to have the ideal impedance for your head. It sounds like you're planning on just using one cab most of the time, so this is something to keep in mind. Usually it's good to match the lowest impedance that your head can run at if you're trying to get the optimal output.

I'm sure a good 2x12 would be plenty loud for small community centers, houses, record stores, etc. I don't know if it would be enough for a medium-to-large hall if the PA is dedicated to vocals and you care about sounding really loud. I think it's unlikely that you'll run into situations where you're not loud enough, especially with a good 2x12, and it would be awesome to have something so portable. I think you should probably play through one and listen to it before you make your decision.

A 4x10 that's intended for guitar (not bass) might be another interesting option for you. I am pretty supportive of the 2x12 idea though.

Also it is worth noting that there are lots of crappy cabs out there. And speakers. I really like Vintage 30s (which I admit is an overwhelmingly cliche opinion) and will probably end up getting a cab with them when I have fewer financial priorities.

tylerp wrote:I prefer a 4x12 over a 2x12 because of the perceived loudness and projection. And yes, they tend to be more available and there are more on the used market. I don't necessarily love my specific 4x12. It's got pros and cons, my favourite that I've tried is the Mesa Oversized 4x12.

My faves are the oversized Marshalls with greenbacks and the Hiwatts with Fanes.

tylerp wrote:You should aim to have a cab and head be rated for roughly the same wattage. I have heard stories that "underpowering" a cab (ie 100W head, 600W cab) is bad for the speakers since they don't have the power to do the work they're trying to do. I have also heard that this is ridiculous and doesn't happen in practice. I have heard stories that "overpowering" a cab (ie 600W head, 200W cab) can blow speakers. I have also heard that this is difficult to do. I think the goal everyone strives for is to have them in the same ballpark for a functional setup. I have a relatively low wattage bass cab (200W, lots of bass heads are much much more) so I am careful about lending it out. But I use it with a 350 watt head that isn't cranked and it seems fine.

The rated wattage on a cab is 50% it's failure rate. So a cab rated for 200 watts should theoretically be able to reproduce 400 watts of clean power without failure.
Since your amp is 350 watts and likely never run close to max power, you'll be fine. Underpowering is something I believed in for a long time but I've been schooled that it's incorrect. As I understand it, the only issue is if you have such a low wattage solid state powered amp that you're overdriving the power section. It's the overdrive that makes the cab unhappy, not the lack of wattage. A good modern example of this is the Ampeg SVT-CL tube head which is 300 watts and run into the current 8x10 cab which is rated for 1600 watts. The cab does not get unhappy even though it's rarely run with an amp close to it's power rating (think of all the G-K 800RB's you see on fridge cabs too).

tylerp wrote:You should also aim to have the ideal impedance for your head. It sounds like you're planning on just using one cab most of the time, so this is something to keep in mind. Usually it's good to match the lowest impedance that your head can run at if you're trying to get the optimal output.

And to be clear, the lowest impedience is the smallest number you amp is rated for, not the largest. 4 ohms is a "lower" impedence than 8 ohms, and therefore more efficient, at least with solid state power.

Jakob, as someone who has done quite abit of research on the pros and cons of 4x12 vs 2x12 or in the case of my bass 2x10 or 4x10 and how to make gear as portable as possible. I can say that the right 2x10 can serve your purposes for most spaces that you and I would regularly play. I'd say if your gonna be play places the size of Seylynn you might want something bigger but for places like Zoo Zhop, Chateau, Moon Tower, Iron Road, Alf House sized spaces it will be fine.

The key is lots of research and trying out lots of cabinets till you find that perfect match. With the head I use I notice very little difference between my 2x10 cabinet and the 4x10 my friend let us use in our old jamspace. Again this comes to research, preference and trying out a ton of cabs. I'm super picky when I go gear shopping so I made a list of things I want and don't want when I went shopping for my cab. The other thing to consider how big is Kevins amp gonna be.

For me portability is a huge thing especially when you haul it around on a skateboard on transit alot. My cabinet weighs 56 lbs. I can pick up by myself if I have to, it fits more easily in a vehicle.

Those are just my personal oppinions though.

i would suggest a cab with lower Ohms. i always find that 8 ohm cabs are louder than 16 ohm cabs which makes a big difference. but it also depends on if you like the sound of your head at high volumes vs. low volumes. Running a tube head at high volumes gives you alot of Power Tube compression which you may or may not like so you might want a quieter cab maybe? or an attenuator... but the opposite, i like running my amp into 2-4x12 at 8 ohms so i can run my head at 4 ohms and keep the volume low. but i dont own 2- 8 ohm cabs.....

if you get a 2x12 prepare to move around a couple of milk crates to get it off the ground. the oversized marshalls sound good but having the speakers near peoples ears will be something you're going to want to do. i always use 4x12's, usually two. but i always plan on being heard