DS40 impedance mismatch

jhullin

New member
Was swapping cabs with my Dirty Shirley and accidentally left the amp at 16 ohms when plugging into a 2x12 @ 8 ohms. It sounded really great but after realizing my error switched it to 8 to match. I've read in the past that old bluesbreaker combos came wired with a similar mismatch. Does anyone know if this is safe to do. Some googleing says the OT has 3k6 primaries. So the mismatch halves that right? Bad idea? Thanks.....................Jesse
 
I did the exact same thing once with my DS and emailed Dave. IIRC he basically said if the amp still works and sounds ok there was nothing to worry about.

I switch between a few cabs and a load box with my amps a lot and I admit I've done this more than once. I've even flipped an amp off standby and hit a chord before realizing the amp wasn't plugged into anything :doh: I haven't blown anything up yet luckily. I have a de Lisle amp/speaker selector on the way so hopefully that will help cut down on the mistakes.

I do wish there were some black and white rules out there other than don't make a habit of it. Some people say a 2:1 or 1:2 mismatch is ok with some amps, some people say it's never ok. I don't intend on doing it long term, but I do have some speakers I'd like to try with one of my amps that doesn't have switchable impedance.
 
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