Using Mark V combo with 2 1x12 cabs and the internal speaker

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RG955TT

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I have 2 mesa 1x12 cabs and I want to sit my Mark V combo on top of and use all 3 speakers, the combo's 12 and both the 1x12 cabs. Internal speaker is 8 ohms as are both of the 1x12's. Can I do this from an impedance standpoint and what is best way? I think the mesa has 2-8 ohm taps and 2-4 ohm taps. Can I leave the internal speaker hooked up at 8 ohms and add the 2 1x12's plugged into the 2 4 ohm taps? Or? Thanks
 
Hmm.. I've used internal + 1 external, but never 2 external. I don't know for sure. My guess is YES, but you can call Mesa... they are awesome and will get you the absolute correct answer.

From the manual: "Two 8 and two 4 Ohm SPEAKER OUTPUTS are provided and with these jacks almost any speaker cabinet configuration can be accommodated. The MARK V is not overly sensitive to impedance mismatches, so feel free to experiment with different cabinet schemes without fear of damage to your amplifier. Different loads will change the response, possibly to your liking. An 8 Ohm load will produce the punchiest, tightest sound and the maximum headroom. Keep in mind that the (power) tube life will be increased by running either an 8 or 4 Ohm overall load."
 
The 2 1x12 cabs also have a jacks for thru so I suppose that would put them in series?
 
RG955TT":3jb8m1pe said:
The 2 1x12 cabs also have a jacks for thru so I suppose that would put them in series?
Click to expand...

Pretty sure it puts them in parallel.
 
yes, parallel which would take the 2 8 ohm speakers down to 4 ohms as seen at the amp correct? Still not sure how or if I can do this. Any additional help would be appreciated. Thanks guys
 
Thanks, found it on page 57 of the manual where they use 3 8 ohm cabs/spkrs together. I just need a 16 ohm series box. Then run both cabs into that and plug into 8 ohm tap on amp and run single 8 ohm combo speaker into the 4 ohm jack. Anyone know where I can get this 16 ohm series box? Thanks
 
This might be an idea as well(if you cant find the load box).
Pro cables N sound make splitter cables for multi speaker application.
If you contact them,say you saw there ad on the Z amp forum and they knock 10%
off pricing.

http://procablesnsound.com/
 
Below is from the Mark V owner's manual

Two 4 Ohm and two 8 Ohm jacks are provided for speaker interfacing. The MARK V is 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 an 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 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

Wiring up speakers to provide the most effective load and making sure that all of them are in phase will help in creating the best sound possible. This is not too difficult, as long as you understand a few things about loading and how to connect your speakers to provide an optimal resistive load.
MESA/Boogie amplifiers can handle 4 and 8 ohms effectively. Never run below 4 ohms in a tube amplifier unless you are absolutely certain that the system can handle it properly; this can cause damage to the Output transformer. A few amplifiers can handle 2 ohms effectively without damaging them ( for example the MESA’S Bass 400+ ). You can always have a higher resistance ( 16 ohms, for example ) without damaging results, but too low of a resistance will likely cause problems.
MIS-MATCHING: When running a higher resistance ( for example: 8 ohm output into 16 ohm cabinet ), a slightly different feel and response will be eminent. A slight mismatch can provide a darker smoother tone with a little less output and attack. This response is a result of the amplifier running a bit cooler. Sometimes when using more than one cabinet a mismatch will be the only option.
 
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