speaker cab question

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spy said one

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i feel like i should know this, but here goes...

i recently pulled my old 68 fender bassman out of the closet, and was looking to use it for bass. i have a newer fender bassman 2x15 cab rated at 8ohms (one of these) that i was going to use with it, but i understand that my amp is set for a 4ohm impedance.

would an 8 ohm 2x10 cab (maybe something like this) be worth stacking on there? the 2x15 barely fits in my little car, so if i were to augment it with another cab, i'd need something relatively small.
 
spy said one said:
i feel like i should know this, but here goes...

i recently pulled my old 68 fender bassman out of the closet, and was looking to use it for bass. i have a newer fender bassman 2x15 cab rated at 8ohms (one of these) that i was going to use with it, but i understand that my amp is set for a 4ohm impedance.

would an 8 ohm 2x10 cab (maybe something like this) be worth stacking on there? the 2x15 barely fits in my little car, so if i were to augment it with another cab, i'd need something relatively small.
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There are some folks over on TalkBass who would strafe me for saying so, but you'll probably be fine using that amp with that cab. The only thing is that that amp is very underpowered by today's standards - only 45 Watts or so.
 
yeah you can add that 2x10 to the rig and that would give you a total load of 4 ohms.

Also, you can run just that 2x15 ..... running an amp set for 4 ohms into an 8 ohm load won't harm it. It might be a little lower output but probably not much.
But as ggunn said, that thing doesn't have much power by todays' standards. Actually it didn't have much power by yesterdays' standards either which is why bassmans usually produce a sorta distorted sound for bass.
 
Lt. Bob said:
yeah you can add that 2x10 to the rig and that would give you a total load of 4 ohms.

Also, you can run just that 2x15 ..... running an amp set for 4 ohms into an 8 ohm load won't harm it. It might be a little lower output but probably not much.
But as ggunn said, that thing doesn't have much power by todays' standards. Actually it didn't have much power by yesterdays' standards either which is why bassmans usually produce a sorta distorted sound for bass.
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Which is an amazing sound. Though most of you wont agree with me, overdriven fuzzy and warm bass tones are the best. And aside from a lot of old 70's solid states like Peavey and Sunn, Fender Bassmans from the 60's are amazing for that sound. I used to use a Bassman Ten before I got my Peavey Mark III and SVT 8x10, I miss the Bassman Ten, and it could definitely keep up when jamming. But it doesn't really have the power of my Mark III (Mark III is more versatile as well, but I'm only looking for a fuzzy warm tone, so versitility doesn't matter to me). My point is, if you like the tone, you've got a good (and safe rig) rig, though a bit short on power. I'll trade you my Mark III for your Bassman head (Though it is also 4 ohm...)
 
Walt-Dogg said:
Which is an amazing sound. Though most of you wont agree with me, overdriven fuzzy and warm bass tones are the best. And aside from a lot of old 70's solid states like Peavey and Sunn, Fender Bassmans from the 60's are amazing for that sound. I used to use a Bassman Ten before I got my Peavey Mark III and SVT 8x10, I miss the Bassman Ten, and it could definitely keep up when jamming. But it doesn't really have the power of my Mark III (Mark III is more versatile as well, but I'm only looking for a fuzzy warm tone, so versitility doesn't matter to me). My point is, if you like the tone, you've got a good (and safe rig) rig, though a bit short on power. I'll trade you my Mark III for your Bassman head (Though it is also 4 ohm...)
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Nope, I definitely don't agree with you but you're not the first guy I've known that likes a distorted bass sound.

I don't personally like much distortion on a bass ..... maybe push the preamp tube a little to get some tube compression on there but that's about it.

But different strokes ....... I'm a big fan of doing whatever sounds good to you.
 
So, along the same lines:
Will a Traynor floor monitor (16 Ohms, 50 Watts) harm an amp that is designed for 4 & 8 Ohms?
 
Jim Lad said:
So, along the same lines:
Will a Traynor floor monitor (16 Ohms, 50 Watts) harm an amp that is designed for 4 & 8 Ohms?
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No.

It will put out less power than it would at 4 or 8 ohms but it will not harm the amp.
 
distortion from a bass sounds like clipping especially if you are recording.
Clean and crisp and as hot as you can get the signal without actually clipping/distorting the signal through the speaker is the only way to go IMO.
 
Lt. Bob said:
Nope, I definitely don't agree with you but you're not the first guy I've known that likes a distorted bass sound.

I don't personally like much distortion on a bass ..... maybe push the preamp tube a little to get some tube compression on there but that's about it.

But different strokes ....... I'm a big fan of doing whatever sounds good to you.
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Yes just a push from it being turned up, no actual distortion, distortion on bass is ew.
 
Just a small clarification on the impedance thingy....A tube amp wants to see a certain impedance while a solid-state amp is less concerned about it. The tube amp will deliver less wattage at a higher impedance than required and it will need to convert its energy it is unable to put out, at the settings its being asked to operate at, by creating heat. Yes, it will eventually eat up caps and mostly tubes. The Fenders wont be harmed as easily as ,say, a Marshall, but then it doesnt have a load selector like the Marshall has. If I remember correctly, the Bassman has a MINIMUM of 4ohm load. It was designed to be used with two cabinets @8ohms each. So there shouldnt be much problems there. A 16ohm load on one can become a problem and realize that the output will be in the neighborhood of 22 watts give or take......Aint a lot for reproducing bass frequencies....

As a bass player, I only like the warmth of the tubes not actual distortion.
 
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