Amp "thicko" seeks cab for possible RAWK

[Fran]

I know mike and some of youse will know instantly so i'm asking...

1/ what cab do i need to extend my Marshall DSL 401 valve combo?
2/ is it worth it, will i get more volume/projection?
3/ am i restricted to a 1 x 12 or can i take things out of proportion?
4/ what kind of monies should i expect to pay?

Thanks.

[Sloan]

DEW IT.

[theshadowofseattle]

DEW IT.

4 TREW IT.

[filtercap]

You can connect pretty much any kind of cab you want (2x10, 2x12, 4x10, 4x12, etc.), as long as the cab is rated at either 8 or 16 ohms.

[Bacchus]

I know mike and some of youse will know instantly so i'm asking...

1/ what cab do i need to extend my Marshall DSL 401 valve combo?
2/ is it worth it, will i get more volume/projection?
3/ am i restricted to a 1 x 12 or can i take things out of proportion?
4/ what kind of monies should i expect to pay?

Thanks.

Not really an amp guru, but here goes:

1/ Most cabs'll do, regardless of brand/number of speakers/anything else, as long as it is ther right ohmage. If you're looking for "more Marshall," I think it makes sense that you get a Marshall cab. I understand the 1960 cab is probably the quintessential Marshall cab. Also, you should probably get an angled cab (so the 1960A, as opposed to the 1960B), as they tend to have better projection, and don't need to be on a riser as much as a straight cab.

2/ Yes. You probably won't get a sound that's noticably louder, but it will seem to have more volume, if that makes sense. It will sound bigger and better defined.

3/ By all means, get a big cab. There wouldn't be much advantage (that I can see) in getting a 1x12, as I'm assuming that's what's in your amp anyway. A 4x12 will give a much better bass response, and sound bigger, and generally better. It's rather awkward though. A 2 x 12 may be a comprimise worth considering.

4/ Here's one on ebay, and here's one at gak.co.uk

A few other things to think about:

Massive cabs are a bit of a nuisance to transport about the place for gigs.

Massive cabs aren't really necessary in terms of volume, I'm sure your amps is loud enough as it is, but the sound will probably be much better with a big cab in my opinion.

If I were you, I would go the whole hog and get a 4x12.

You will look like a wanker showing up at gigs with a 4x12.

The cab wil be useful for other amps that you acquire.

The cab should keep value for selling second hand.

Again, I'm not really an amp guru, and there are probably people here who can answer your questions a little more authoritively, but I say do it. Worst comes to worst, you will end up with a useful piece of gear, that will last you a lifetime if you want it to, or will pay back some of the way if you decide to get rid of it.

[Bacchus]

Oh, and speaker cabinets tend to be a bit more directionaly on stage, so it might become necessary to use monitors, lest you deafen the crowd turining things up till you can hear yourself.

[theshadowofseattle]

4x10

[Bacchus]

4x10

That would amost be as good as a 412.

Out of curiousity, what do you percieve as the advantage of a 410? I'd have thought that using 10" speakers would undermine the big advantage to using a cabinet, i.e., bass response.

[theshadowofseattle]

4x10

That would amost be as good as a 412.

Out of curiousity, what do you percieve as the advantage of a 410? I'd have thought that using 10" speakers would undermine the big advantage to using a cabinet, i.e., bass response.

I prefer the tight punchiness of 10's to 12's. My Bassman is a 4x10 combo has plenty of bass (it's also closedback) without sounding flabby or farty.

[Bacchus]

4x10

That would amost be as good as a 412.

Out of curiousity, what do you percieve as the advantage of a 410? I'd have thought that using 10" speakers would undermine the big advantage to using a cabinet, i.e., bass response.

I prefer the tight punchiness of 10's to 12's. My Bassman is a 4x10 combo has plenty of bass (it's also closedback) without sounding flabby or farty.

I suppose with a closed back cab you're going to have loads of bass regardless of the speakers. I've never actually played thorugh a 410, but I always though it somewhat negated the advantage of using a cab.

I remember I used to do gigs in a club in derry that had a massive bass 412 bass cab lying in the fire exit. I used to put my 412 on top of it, and it sounded amazing. I was actually going to buy it off the manager, but then the pub changed hands and I never got to know the new owneres.

Ever since then, I've wanted another cab, with a Peavey Black Widow and two 10" speakrs to sit beneath my 412.

[filtercap]

My Sunn bass cab (closed back) is a 4x10 -- okay, right now it's a 3x10 plus a hole, but that's another story. The ability to hit the low frequencies is more a matter of speaker and cab design than speaker size. Like Shadow was saying, 10's have a quicker feel to them, while 12's feel spongier in the bass by comparison.

12's tend to be more directional than 10's, and this directional "beam" is at the top end of the midrange. So if your ears are directly in front of a 12, you'll hear a much spikier mid/top sound than you'll hear when you're maybe 30 or 45 degrees off-axis. That happens with 10's too, but it's less pronounced.

http://www.electrosound.com/Speaker_Facts/v6no8.htm

[Sloan]

Ever since then, I've wanted another cab, with a Peavey Black Widow and two 10" speakrs to sit beneath my 412.

shit damn, i have one of those.

[Bacchus]

shit damn, i have one of those.

Fuckin' hell. I ddin't know anyone made them. It was always like a dream cab sort of thing. What is it?

[Sloan]

It's a Peavey cab with a 18" Black Widow and two 10" speakers.

[Mike]

OK you're all idiots.

Fran

1) If you want to use the internal speaker too then the cab must be 16 ohms, and then yuo set the impedance to 8 ohms. 16 // 16 = 8 ohms. You cannot mix the 16 ohm speaker with an 8 ohm cab. You are limited to a series wired 2x12" cab with 2 8 ohm speakers, a 4x12" with a 16 ohm mono option or a 16 ohm 1x12" cab.

2) If you don't care about using the internal speaker you can use any 8 ohm or 16 ohm cab and just set the impedance correctly.

[Fran]

Thanks for the input everyone.
Bacchus.. The reason i purchased my combo was because i got sick of hoofing my 4 x 12 around (with small car) but there comes a time and gig where a dude needs a bit more rawkousness (as shad n sloan know). The reason i considered a smaller cab was because i think my combo feeding a 4 x 12 will make me look like a half-hearted tosser, it may look better with just a similar size cab, not sure.

Mike, nice one. I understand the ohms situation now.

I'm gonna have a look around locally when i have some cash and clear up my ebay shenanigans, to see if i can pick something decent up for the right money.

[Mike]

I would recommend a 1936 as I love it, but it's 8 ohms in mono which is annoying as you'd have to mute your internal speaker to use it. the DSL401 sounds great through a cab though, btw. I loved it.

[filtercap]

OK you're all idiots.

What took you so long?

[Bacchus]

OK you're all idiots.

My answer had two disclaimers, and I feel it fairly answered the quetsions asked.

[Mike]

It was only a joke people