Tried to research this but - no 16 ohm jack Mesa MkV

[WizardSouth-JP]

So an Ohm mismatch is ok as long as your speaker out on the amp is lower than the cabinet Ohm rating, but what are the tonal differences. I have a Friedman 2x12 cab rated at 16 Ohm...may trade a piece of gear for a Mk V as long as it will mate well with my cab. What would the difference be running a matched 8 Ohm cab/speaker out vs running 16 Ohm cab from 8 Ohm speaker out (or 4 ohm for that matter)

 

[BackCrack]

That's the way I was taught: lower amp Ω than the speaker Ω is ok, but not the other way around.

99.99% sure that your 2x12 has a pair of 8Ω speakers wired in series to get the 16Ω total load. You could just re-wire the speakers in parallel to get a 4Ω total load to match the 4Ω jack on the MkV. 10 minute job, max.

 

[Buckeyedog]

Yep, as said above.......re-wire your cab in parallel for a 4 ohm load. Easy fix.

 

[killertone]

No need to rewire anything. Your Mark V will be fine running out of the 8 ohm jack into the 16 ohm cab.

 

[WizardSouth-JP]

Will it "sound" any different than running a match 8 Ohm out into an 8 Ohm cab? If not noticeable then I very well may.

 

[glassjaw7]

Not sure about the science behind this, but when I run my Mark IV's 4ohm tap into my 4ohm input on my Marshall 412, it sounds and feels better to play than when I run the 8 ohm out into the 16 ohm jack on the Marshall. I've searched the web a lot and there seems to be something to this because a lot of people say the same thing.

 

[D-Rock]

16ohm cab into a Mesa 8ohm jack is perfectly fine. Sound may be darker and smoother. Nothing dramatic though.

 

[midnightlaundry]

Rewire for 4 ohms. I run my 4x12 at 4 and it sounds fine. A mismatch makes the highs dull. It will work, but it's not the same as a properly matched load.

 

[WizardSouth-JP]

could just buy a matching mesa 2x12...

 

[Charvel_King]

Will it "sound" any different than running a match 8 Ohm out into an 8 Ohm cab? If not noticeable then I very well may.

Read over on the Boogie Board after someone asked the same question.

It is fine to run 8ohm out to a 16 omh cab, and that is better than rewiring a 16ohm 2x12 to 4 ohm.

Mesa Boogie said if you us just one of the 4 ohm output on the amp you loose the bass repsonse, punch and overall definition of the amp, as its designed to use either the 8 ohm OR both 4 ohms together.

So your tone and feel of the amp will suffer using just one of the 4 ohm outs.

BTW i use a 16 ohm 2x12 (Lynchbacks ) with my Mark III. Had no problems, sounds great.

You'll be fine to use that 16 ohm cab with the 8 ohm out of the Mark V

 

[WizardSouth-JP]

Will it "sound" any different than running a match 8 Ohm out into an 8 Ohm cab? If not noticeable then I very well may.

Read over on the Boogie Board after someone asked the same question.

It is fine to run 8ohm out to a 16 omh cab, and that is better than rewiring a 16ohm 2x12 to 4 ohm.

Mesa Boogie said if you us just one of the 4 ohm output on the amp you loose the bass repsonse, punch and overall definition of the amp, as its designed to use either the 8 ohm OR both 4 ohms together.

So your tone and feel of the amp will suffer using just one of the 4 ohm outs.

BTW i use a 16 ohm 2x12 (Lynchbacks ) with my Mark III. Had no problems, sounds great.

You'll be fine to use that 16 ohm cab with the 8 ohm out of the Mark V

this is why this Rig-Talk site is fantastic - my Friedman cab has 2 Lynchbacks as well.

 

[Charvel_King]

Will it "sound" any different than running a match 8 Ohm out into an 8 Ohm cab? If not noticeable then I very well may.

Read over on the Boogie Board after someone asked the same question.

It is fine to run 8ohm out to a 16 omh cab, and that is better than rewiring a 16ohm 2x12 to 4 ohm.

Mesa Boogie said if you us just one of the 4 ohm output on the amp you loose the bass repsonse, punch and overall definition of the amp, as its designed to use either the 8 ohm OR both 4 ohms together.

So your tone and feel of the amp will suffer using just one of the 4 ohm outs.

BTW i use a 16 ohm 2x12 (Lynchbacks ) with my Mark III. Had no problems, sounds great.

You'll be fine to use that 16 ohm cab with the 8 ohm out of the Mark V

this is why this Rig-Talk site is fantastic - my Friedman cab has 2 Lynchbacks as well.

Awesome. Really like the Mark amps, have the own sound for sure. Love to try a Mark V

They are great speakers. Sound great with my Marshall and Boogie, form Clean to high gain!

 

[blackba]

Will it "sound" any different than running a match 8 Ohm out into an 8 Ohm cab? If not noticeable then I very well may.

Read over on the Boogie Board after someone asked the same question.

It is fine to run 8ohm out to a 16 omh cab, and that is better than rewiring a 16ohm 2x12 to 4 ohm.

Mesa Boogie said if you us just one of the 4 ohm output on the amp you loose the bass repsonse, punch and overall definition of the amp, as its designed to use either the 8 ohm OR both 4 ohms together.

So your tone and feel of the amp will suffer using just one of the 4 ohm outs.

BTW i use a 16 ohm 2x12 (Lynchbacks ) with my Mark III. Had no problems, sounds great.

You'll be fine to use that 16 ohm cab with the 8 ohm out of the Mark V

I am not sure what Mesa is getting at with it being designed to run with one 8ohm cab or 2 4ohm cabs, so what. I can run a cable from each 8ohm speaker into the 2 4ohm outs on the mark v. I think we are missing info here. Not trying to shoot the messenger, but something doesn't add up.

My recommendation to the OP is to get a jack plate for your 212 that will do 4ohms parallel in one jack and 16ohms series in another and then deside what sounds best and works best for you.

 

[steve_k]

Mesa put 2 x 4 ohm jacks for you to mismatch an 8 and a 16 ohm cab. Resultant impedance is 5.3 ohm.