4x12 vs 2x12

[Knockout]

Quick question dudes.
I always thought 4x12 was pretty much the same as 2x12 when it comes to volume, difference the depth and fullness of the sound, I guess. Now I got the Mark 25, and that thing is blowing my windows out at 9 o'clock. I started thinking that 4x12 may be too much for my basement. Will 2x12 or even 1x12 kill the volume or it is about the same thing?

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

4x12 is louder....to my ears...

 

[journeyman73]

i find 4x12 has the potential to be louder but doesnt have to be. but i do find it to have a lot more depth and more enjoyable to play.

i think speakers have a lot more impact on volume, for me.

 

[cardinal]

I havent really noticed a 4x12 being inherently louder than a 2x12. I actually tend to play quieter with a 4x12 because I can get tones I'm happy with a lower volumes than I can with a 2x12.

 

[Knockout]

Anotother question worthy of a 3 year old.
Does the valume effected by how you hook the 4X12 up to the amp? I mean, 4 om to 4 om, or 8 om to 8 om, or 16 to 16?

 

[journeyman73]

thats an advanced 3 year old

i cant speak to the safety of the practice - but i know when folks want to knock some db's off, they mismatch (i.e. 16 into 8, etc)

 

[anomaly]

Not really louder, but definitely fuller sounding.

After going to 4x12 cabs I don't think I can go back to a 2x12, and definitely not a 1x12. But that is just as far as metal is concerned as I need a certain tone that only a 4x12 can deliver. If I was in a rock cover band, a 2x12 would probably be fine.

 

[anomaly]

Anotother question worthy of a 3 year old.
Does the valume effected by how you hook the 4X12 up to the amp? I mean, 4 om to 4 om, or 8 om to 8 om, or 16 to 16?

Usaually, the lower Ohms your cab is, the more power your amp will push through it. But you gotta be careful about an impedance mismatch. You gotta make sure you use the right speaker jack on your amp, most are 8 ohms.

 

[Shawn Lutz]

I'm a 4x12 half stack guy regardless of volume levels.

Impedance mismatch don't seen to affect volume but they affect how hard your transformer is working. I never tried it and cranked the amp to ear bleeding volumes to see. No problems if you double it up or down..so 4 to 8 or 8 to 16.

 

[Knockout]

Mark 25 has two 4 ohm outs and one 8 ohm. My Marshall 1960 4X12 has 4 and 16 ohm outs and the mono/stereo switch, witch I assume splits the 16 into 8th..or some shit.
What should I plug into what to get the best performance and to kill the power a bit? Wierd question I know, but I suck at adjusting to the new baby valumes.

 

[paulyc]

Buy an attenuator. The impedence thing will not work with a tube amp...a solid state amp will always be louder if you drop the speaker's ohm load (as long as the amp is stable down to whatever that ohm load is). A tube amp has an output transformer to match the amp to the cab's ohmage, so it doesn't work the same as SS.

 

[cardinal]

Does the MKV Mini use Mesa's DynaWatt tech? I laugh every time I see that on their small amps. I think people buy those amps hoping that they will be quiet but Mesa continues to make their low watt amps as loud as they possibly can. Ships passing in the night.

 

[tech21man]

Dyna watt are indeed super loud and the weirdest part is they use super small transformers, go figure.


But a mistake posted about tube amps vs ss amps, tube amps will give you the same amount of power out of each tap: no doubling wattage with lower impedance on the output. That is true for solid state.


But impedance WILL make a difference, the bigger the looser the amp in a sense, deeper looser bass and more highs.

Also boogies are "optimized" around 8 ohms. You can always mismatch like 16 ohm cab to 8 ohm output and see the difference in sound though it will lose volume if that is what you are after but the sound will be different.


An attenuator could work.

Doesn't the little amp have smaller wattage selections?

 

[JerEvil]

Mark 25 has two 4 ohm outs and one 8 ohm. My Marshall 1960 4X12 has 4 and 16 ohm outs and the mono/stereo switch, witch I assume splits the 16 into 8th..or some shit.
What should I plug into what to get the best performance and to kill the power a bit? Wierd question I know, but I suck at adjusting to the new baby valumes.

So why wouldn't you just go 4ohm out of the amp to 4ohm in on the cab?

I guess I am not sure what the question is ...

 

[dfrattaroli]

So why wouldn't you just go 4ohm out of the amp to 4ohm in on the cab?

Correct. On the Mark V:25 (and I assume any other Mesa with two 4 ohm jacks), you can connect two 8 ohm cabs to the 4 ohm jacks, or a single 4 ohm cab to one of the 4 ohm jacks (with nothing plugged into the other 4 ohm jack).

 

[dfrattaroli]

My Marshall 1960 4X12 has 4 and 16 ohm outs and the mono/stereo switch, witch I assume splits the 16 into 8th..or some shit.

That cab can switch between the 4 speakers being wire in series or parallel. You have four 16 ohm speakers in that cab. The jack allows you to choose between 2 different wirings.

 

[paulyc]

Dyna watt are indeed super loud and the weirdest part is they use super small transformers, go figure.


But a mistake posted about tube amps vs ss amps, tube amps will give you the same amount of power out of each tap: no doubling wattage with lower impedance on the output. That is true for solid state.


But impedance WILL make a difference, the bigger the looser the amp in a sense, deeper looser bass and more highs.

Also boogies are "optimized" around 8 ohms. You can always mismatch like 16 ohm cab to 8 ohm output and see the difference in sound though it will lose volume if that is what you are after but the sound will be different.


An attenuator could work.

Doesn't the little amp have smaller wattage selections?

Why would higher impedance effect bass as being looser or deeper ? You're using more of the transformer on the 16 ohm setting than 8 or 4 ohm, I would think it would be the opposite ? Just asking, I'd like to know the answer...

 

[Mesa\Kramer]

Adding or subtracting speakers does not raise or lower an amps volume
(Only if Ohms change)

I 4x12 is not louder than a 2x12 or 1x12 for example, just the 4x12 will sound fuller.

Dont sweat it and rock the 4x12

 

[tschrama]

4X12 is louder (more efficient) than 2x12, than 1x12. It's the proximity effect of the other speakers (3 others versus just one or none) that make them work more efficient. At least for lower frequenties.

 

[Knockout]

Mark 25 has two 4 ohm outs and one 8 ohm. My Marshall 1960 4X12 has 4 and 16 ohm outs and the mono/stereo switch, witch I assume splits the 16 into 8th..or some shit.
What should I plug into what to get the best performance and to kill the power a bit? Wierd question I know, but I suck at adjusting to the new baby valumes.

So why wouldn't you just go 4ohm out of the amp to 4ohm in on the cab?

I guess I am not sure what the question is ...

Oh, I did that and it almost cracked my window and send my wife into a frenzy. I was asking if it can stick my amp into 4 ohm hole on one end, and into 16ohm on the cab, how much difference would that make vs 4 into 4.