Kingofpain678
Returned from the dead
Is it a bad idea to put four entirely different speakers in a 4x12 cab assuming they are wired in for the proper ohms?
gecko zzed
Grumpy Mod
It's probably not the best idea in the world, but if you get the impedences right and their power handling capacities are roughly similar, it should work ok.
Kingofpain678
Returned from the dead
Would you mind going into a little more detail?
Why or why wouldn't it be a good idea? Why would they HAVE to be in the same power handling capacities?
M
mcmetal
New member
Different speakers have different specs.Some have larger voice coils,cones,etc.Different speakers may have completely different tonal characteristics.It's one thing to have two types that compliment each other and balance each other out but 4 different tones?How would you figure that all out and how would you even go about dialing in your tone and eqing your amp?
You need all your speakers to be the same ohms so you know where to set the total load for your amp.Some amps will have an ohm switch that you can select between 4,8,16 ohms.Most speakers will be 16 or 8 ohms and it all depends on how they are wired together.It can be done but why would you want to do this anyway?
It's just overkill in my opinion and doesn't make that much sense.If it's tone your after,start with your strings,then move on to your pickups or amp.
You need all your speakers to be the same ohms so you know where to set the total load for your amp.Some amps will have an ohm switch that you can select between 4,8,16 ohms.Most speakers will be 16 or 8 ohms and it all depends on how they are wired together.It can be done but why would you want to do this anyway?
It's just overkill in my opinion and doesn't make that much sense.If it's tone your after,start with your strings,then move on to your pickups or amp.
gecko zzed
Grumpy Mod
Impedances: if the combined impedance of the speakers is too low, you'll draw more power from the amp than it is rated for. This could result in popped output fuses on the amp, or a fried amp. If the impedance is too high, you get a reduction in volume.
Wattage: think of an extreme, e.g. couple a little PC speaker with a 500w speaker, then pump a 400w signal into it. The big speaker will be fine, but the little speaker is likely to burn out its voice coil.
Wattage: think of an extreme, e.g. couple a little PC speaker with a 500w speaker, then pump a 400w signal into it. The big speaker will be fine, but the little speaker is likely to burn out its voice coil.
Kingofpain678
Returned from the dead
OK, that makes sense gecko 
and MCMetal, The purpose isn't for the overall tone of all the speakers combined. This would be for single speaker close micing purposes. Each speaker would have it's own tonal characteristic.
and MCMetal, The purpose isn't for the overall tone of all the speakers combined. This would be for single speaker close micing purposes. Each speaker would have it's own tonal characteristic.
gecko zzed
Grumpy Mod
That's a cool idea . . . you just stick your mike in front of the speaker that delivers the tone you want. Full marks for originality.
But maybe the tone controls on the amp could do that?
But maybe the tone controls on the amp could do that?
B
buzzard bass
Terminated
Each speaker in a single cab is going to interact with the other speakers so you'll lose a lot of what you're looking for unless you divide the inside of the cab into separate areas for each driver. You'll hafta match the speakers too, resistance is the main thing, then efficiency, otherwise even matched speakers will have horribly different volumes.
M
mcmetal
New member
OK, that makes sense gecko
and MCMetal, The purpose isn't for the overall tone of all the speakers combined. This would be for single speaker close micing purposes. Each speaker would have it's own tonal characteristic.
I understand what your saying but the same thing can be acomplished by using the tone knobs on a guitar.A different guitar,same guitar but different pickups,or a different amp altogether.Just utilizing mic placement can vary the tone a lot from the same speaker.A few inches either direction will yeild different tones.I think your just over complicating things and if your not careful you could fry your amp in the process.
B
bdenton
New member
Begs the question...
Since there are not enough differences among all of the speakers out there that can't be compensated for with tone controls, why don't we just decide on only one that all of us will recommend?
Should cut down on some of the contentiousness here...
Since there are not enough differences among all of the speakers out there that can't be compensated for with tone controls, why don't we just decide on only one that all of us will recommend?
Should cut down on some of the contentiousness here...
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
Doing a 2 + 2 combination is common. You can either do them 2 up 2 down or in a diagonal crisscross...thjough I guess 2 left 2 right is also possible, I just don't think I've ever seen one that way.
You want speakers that complement each other and that also work well together...since they ARE all wired together in the same cab space.
You want speakers that complement each other and that also work well together...since they ARE all wired together in the same cab space.
ocnor
Lord Of The Thighs
The person that told you this is an idiot. I'll bet it was one of those know it all losers from HC. Frequency response among speakers can vary drastically and unless your amp has fully parametric tone controls or a built in 1/3 octave eq then it ain't happening. Choosing the correct speaker to compliment the amp is imperative. There are hundreds of speaker types on the market for a reason.
Sonixx
New member
I often run four different speakers in a 4x12 or two different speakers in a 2x12 for this very purpose.
Here's some speaker combos I have run:
V30 - M75 - V12 - Wizard
V12 - Texas Heat - V30 - Governor
V30 - M75
M75 - H75
V30 - Greenback
I'm totally bewildered by some of the responses. An amp's tone controls, gtr tone control or mic placement will not achieve the same as a different speaker. Not even close.
Here's some speaker combos I have run:
V30 - M75 - V12 - Wizard
V12 - Texas Heat - V30 - Governor
V30 - M75
M75 - H75
V30 - Greenback
I'm totally bewildered by some of the responses. An amp's tone controls, gtr tone control or mic placement will not achieve the same as a different speaker. Not even close.
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
Not every/any speaker actually sounds good with every/any amp.
It's not going to hurt to experiment with 4 different speakers in a cab, but a lot of the tone comes from the amp settings, the guitar and how you play.
You can also get a good deal of speaker flavor variety by close miking off of just one speaker simply by the *spot* you pick, but I prefer the hear more of the air and the overall speaker tone, rather than a single *spot* on the speaker. Not to mention...when you are hearing the tone...you're usually hearing ALL the speakers and not just the single *spot*.
I like to use 112 cabs, and do most of my tone shaping before the speaker...though I do try to find a speaker that works best for a given amp...which is why a have a bunch of speakers in my closet from failed experiments.
It's not going to hurt to experiment with 4 different speakers in a cab, but a lot of the tone comes from the amp settings, the guitar and how you play.
You can also get a good deal of speaker flavor variety by close miking off of just one speaker simply by the *spot* you pick, but I prefer the hear more of the air and the overall speaker tone, rather than a single *spot* on the speaker. Not to mention...when you are hearing the tone...you're usually hearing ALL the speakers and not just the single *spot*.
I like to use 112 cabs, and do most of my tone shaping before the speaker...though I do try to find a speaker that works best for a given amp...which is why a have a bunch of speakers in my closet from failed experiments.
Bubba po
Tiny Stonehenge Moment
The Marshall TSL 100 combo amp uses a combination of a vintage-voiced and a modern-voiced speaker as standard, so it's not unheard of. What you need to do is ensure that the configuration in which you wire up your four speakers, and their impedances, doesn't bring the Ohm load down too low. It needs to be kept above four Ohms, if I remember correctly. You will probably need to wire them up in a combination of series and parallel, depending, as I mentioned, upon their individual impedances.
Great discoveries come from people twatting about, but often they result in disaster and blackened or missing eyebrows.
Great discoveries come from people twatting about, but often they result in disaster and blackened or missing eyebrows.
Zaphod B
Raccoons-Be-Gone, Inc.
I run two different speakers in my 2 X 12 cab.
One is an AlNiCo Weber Blue Dog (a clone of a Celestion Blue), and the other is an AlNiCo Weber Silver Bell (a clone of a late '60s Celestion Silver Bell). The Blue Dog has that nice upper-mid and high-end chime, while the Silver Bell is gutsier sounding. Together they give a nice, full sound in a room. For recording, I mic whichever speaker seems to fit the purpose better.
One is an AlNiCo Weber Blue Dog (a clone of a Celestion Blue), and the other is an AlNiCo Weber Silver Bell (a clone of a late '60s Celestion Silver Bell). The Blue Dog has that nice upper-mid and high-end chime, while the Silver Bell is gutsier sounding. Together they give a nice, full sound in a room. For recording, I mic whichever speaker seems to fit the purpose better.