Hot plate question

[Jodyzuza]

Hey guys, I'm a bit confused on the ohm settings on my amp/hotplate/cab...

I have an old metal face superlead that of course is switchable from 4-8-16 ohms...I also have an 8 ohm thd hotplate, and my 4x12 marshall vintage modern cab is switchable from 4 ohms to 16 ohms (mono)

So what settings do I need to set the amp and the cab at so not to damage the hotplate (or the amp for that matter)

If I understood correctly, the hotplate has to be equal or GREATER than the amp (so amp set at 4 or 8 ohms) but can the cab be set at 4 or 16? Would it hurt anything at either setting?

Thanks!!

 

[Jodyzuza]

One more question...so if I plugged my amp set at 4 ohms directly into a 16 ohm cab would that blow the transformer? Or how about the amp set at 16ohms plugged in to a 4 ohm cab?

Thanks for clarifying it for me!

 

[Trapland]

It is best to make ALL 3 the same impedence. I would either get a 4 or 16 ohm hot plate, or a different cab. Or add a cab and run a full stack for 8 ohms. Set the amp to whatever the hot plate is. Worry less about hurting the hot plate and more about your amp.

I really like most Marshalls set at 16 ohms. They sound better to me for several reasons. If it was my rig, I would do amp-8, hot plate-8, and cab-16. Actually, I would just sell the 8 ohm hotplatemand get the 16. That's just me though.

 

[Trapland]

Oh the equal to or greater thing isn't correct. It may be tolerated to a point, but its not "ok". I've seen some good arguments for the other way too. This gets into some pretty mathy stuff. Best to just do it right, or be prepared to pay for repairs.