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Topic: Fender Bassman 500 speaker question?? |
Paul O'Bryan
From:
Adelaide. Australia
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Posted 26 Feb 2021 10:32 am |
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I'm looking at a Fender Bassman 500 head.Obviously a reissue of
an old Bassman with 2 tubes and modern technology for the rest. My question is,
on the 2 speaker output panel it says , parallel speaker outputs 4 ohm minimum total.
Does this mean that I can run 2 x 4 ohm speaker cabs from this head ??
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Emmons SD 10 PP 4x5
Steel king amps
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Fred
From:
Amesbury, MA
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Posted 26 Feb 2021 11:56 am
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| Two 4 ohm cabinets in parallel will be a 2 ohm load. So, no, not a good a idea. |
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Paul O'Bryan
From:
Adelaide. Australia
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Posted 26 Feb 2021 12:25 pm
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That's what I thought Fred, but apparently you can run 2 x 4 ohm cabs
from the all tube vintage Bassman heads so I just thought they may have made these
reissues the same
_________________
Emmons SD 10 PP 4x5
Steel king amps
74 Peavey session amp
Sarno black box
Strymon reverb
Strymon delay |
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J Fletcher
From:
London,Ont,Canada
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Posted 26 Feb 2021 1:25 pm
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From the owner's manual .
"The power rating of the external cabinets should meet or exceed the rating listed on the amplifier.
The MINIMUM impedance of all
connected speaker cabinets is 4Ω ." |
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Paul O'Bryan
From:
Adelaide. Australia
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Posted 26 Feb 2021 1:29 pm
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So that means It can be done does it J ?
_________________
Emmons SD 10 PP 4x5
Steel king amps
74 Peavey session amp
Sarno black box
Strymon reverb
Strymon delay |
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J Fletcher
From:
London,Ont,Canada
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Posted 26 Feb 2021 2:22 pm
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| You can only use one 4 ohm cabinet at a time . Total speaker impedance should not be less than 4 ohms . Two 4 ohm speakers connected would be 2 ohms . You could connect them in series though , for an 8 ohm load , which would be safe , though you wouldn't get the full power output this way . Probably wouldn't notice the missing power . |
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Paul O'Bryan
From:
Adelaide. Australia
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Posted 26 Feb 2021 2:58 pm
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Yeah okay just use one of the speaker outputs and run two speakers.
Thanks J
_________________
Emmons SD 10 PP 4x5
Steel king amps
74 Peavey session amp
Sarno black box
Strymon reverb
Strymon delay |
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Fred
From:
Amesbury, MA
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Posted 26 Feb 2021 3:12 pm
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| Paul O'Bryan wrote: |
Yeah okay just use one of the speaker outputs and run two speakers.
Thanks J |
Just make sure the speakers are connected in series for 8 ohms. If you run them in parallel into a single output jack it’s the same as using both jacks. In other words the two output jacks are already wired in parallel. Electrically they are the same output. |
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Godfrey Arthur
From:
3rd Rock
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Posted 26 Feb 2021 3:59 pm
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Unless you're planning on putting a cabinet on two ends of a stage, you would be better off just using one cabinet @ 4 ohms.
Are the two cabinets set up to run "SERIES" into each other? If not you'll be getting the same connection as connecting two 4 ohm speakers to the back of your 500 head.
Here's a simple diagram.
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ShoBud The Pro 1
YES it's my REAL NAME!
Ezekiel 33:7 |
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Paul O'Bryan
From:
Adelaide. Australia
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Posted 26 Feb 2021 4:18 pm
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I have two separate speaker cabs with a 4 ohm 15"
speaker in each. So I was hoping to plug one into the right and one into the left
output on the 500
_________________
Emmons SD 10 PP 4x5
Steel king amps
74 Peavey session amp
Sarno black box
Strymon reverb
Strymon delay |
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Fred
From:
Amesbury, MA
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Posted 26 Feb 2021 4:29 pm
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| There's only one output with two jacks connected to it. |
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Godfrey Arthur
From:
3rd Rock
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Posted 26 Feb 2021 4:40 pm
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| Paul O'Bryan wrote: |
I have two separate speaker cabs with a 4 ohm 15"
speaker in each. So I was hoping to plug one into the right and one into the left
output on the 500 |
Not going to happen as per the minimum requirements of the amp. Running 2x4 ohm speakers in parallel will create a TWO OHM LOAD. Amp will be on speed at that impedance.
Also with more than one speaker you'll get "bouncing" reflections, and unless the two cabs are equidistant from your ears (like headphones) you won't hear the two cabs as one pulsing unit. If the two 15's" are not matched you're looking at different sonics from each jumping all over the place. It will be a see-saw effect, certain frequencies coming out of one on a single note of your guitar and not in the other, to be critical.
That's why I asked if you really need two cabs or are you thinking that two cabs means twice the volume?
It doesn't work that way.
You will notice more volume out of single 15 at 4 ohms assuming that the single 15 can handle that much wattage which is 500 watts into 4 ohms or 350 watts into 8 ohms.
Photo below is from the Fender 500 factory manual.
The only way to properly use two cabs is that your 15's are 8 ohms each then you'll get FOUR out of two EIGHTS in parallel as the amp speaker outs are wired.
IMO you'll get better power/sonics out of a single 4 ohm 15. Choose which cab sounds best to you out of the pair. This way the amp provides the power and response.
Also do take note of the IMPORTANT NOTE speaker specs as the 500 has a bridged mode and can use Speakon type speaker connectors in addition to the usual 1/4" phone plug.
Speakon speaker connectors
_________________
ShoBud The Pro 1
YES it's my REAL NAME!
Ezekiel 33:7
Last edited by Godfrey Arthur on 26 Feb 2021 4:58 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Paul O'Bryan
From:
Adelaide. Australia
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Posted 26 Feb 2021 4:56 pm
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I have learnt a lot from every reply.
That's what I love about this forum is that there is so much knowledge out there
and that you only have to ask!
Appreciate it guys,
Thank you
_________________
Emmons SD 10 PP 4x5
Steel king amps
74 Peavey session amp
Sarno black box
Strymon reverb
Strymon delay |
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