Will this work?

[jaek]

Say I have a Marshall DSL 50. Can I run it into a 4x12 in stereo @ 8 ohms? Of course the cab supports this and runs mono @ 16 ohms. And Ill only be using 2 of 4 speakers in the cab, right?

Sorry I'm a total noob when it comes this this stuff, any help is appreciated!

 

[Jonathan Wilder]

Say I have a Marshall DSL 50. Can I run it into a 4x12 in stereo @ 8 ohms? Of course the cab supports this and runs mono @ 16 ohms. And Ill only be using 2 of 4 speakers in the cab, right?

Sorry I'm a total noob when it comes this this stuff, any help is appreciated!

No apology needed...we were all new at some point.

Well the amp itself is mono...there's no "stereo" mode on the amp. Just thought I'd clear that up in case you didn't know.

All stereo mode on the cabinet does is split the 4 speakers up into independent pairs so that you can drive one pair with one amp and the other pair with a different amp. So if you just want to run that 1 amp on only 2 of the speakers at 8 ohms, yes it will as long as you set the impedance selector on the back of the amp to 8 ohms. Some guys use this as a volume reduction trick in smaller clubs, or to run two different heads that sound different, then A/B switch between the two heads.

With the G12T-75 cab, total power handling in "mono" mode is 300 watts (75 watts x 4 speakers), so in stereo mode your power handling will be half of this rating (75 watts x 2 speakers).

If you want true stereo, you'll need a second amp running on the other pair of speakers and a stereo effect in front of the amps to split the signal stereo into both of the heads.

 

[jaek]

Cool, thanks a lot man! That will work perfect cause right now I;m running way louder than the other guitarist in my band who's using a 2x12 so I'll just set the cab and my head to 8 ohms and run it like that and it should sound more even volume wise.

 

[Jonathan Wilder]

Cool, thanks a lot man! That will work perfect cause right now I;m running way louder than the other guitarist in my band who's using a 2x12 so I'll just set the cab and my head to 8 ohms and run it like that and it should sound more even volume wise.

This probably goes without saying but -

Now I'm not sure on those cabs if when you split the pairs if it seperates them TOP and BOTTOM or if it divides them up diagonally (i.e. TOP LEFT & BOTTOM RIGHT/TOP RIGHT & BOTTOM LEFT) so you'll have to figure that out for yourself. But if you're mic'ing your cab, make sure you know to place the mic in front of a speaker that's actually working.

 

[jaek]

This probably goes without saying but -

Now I'm not sure on those cabs if when you split the pairs if it seperates them TOP and BOTTOM or if it divides them up diagonally (i.e. TOP LEFT & BOTTOM RIGHT/TOP RIGHT & BOTTOM LEFT) so you'll have to figure that out for yourself. But if you're mic'ing your cab, make sure you know to place the mic in front of a speaker that's actually working.

Yeah, I'll be sure to do that. Thanks for the reminder!

 

[Jonathan Wilder]

You just sparked an idea...not sure how well it would work or if it would even sound good...

A speaker can also be used as a mic. With only running 2 speakers in the cab, the moving air in the cab would be able to move the speakers that aren't being used, causing the free moving speaker coils to generate a signal as they move across their magnets. I'm wondering if you could use the free moving speakers as a built in cabinet mic...again not sure how this would sound, but I'm sure a few here wouldn't mind trying that out.