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Fender Ext. Speaker jacks & vague directions...

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  • #1

    Fender Ext. Speaker jacks & vague directions...

    Hi again everyone,

    I tried this before I asked... I disconnected the OT on my Bassman and plugged in two 4ohm cabinets, then measured the impedance across the speaker terminals, where the OT wires were connected. It read 1.9 ohms, close enough to 2. So on VINTAGE Fenders, if the jacks are wired the same as my Bassman (parallel) I'm safe using two cabs as long as they are double the impedance of what a single cab would be. Bassman want4ohms, use 2x8ohms = 4ohms, right? I just need to make sure the jacks are wired right. Tubes are happy, trannies are happy, next owner is happy...

    The reason I ask is that I read in print and on the interweb (it MUST be true!) that I should not use an extension cab with a Fender amp that has a 2ohm load (brown Concert, Super Reverb, Tweed Bassman?) because it would make 1ohm, fire, apocalypse, etc. That may be true if I use two 2ohm loads, but if I do my homework first, what's the problem? 2x4ohm loads in parallel on my Concert should be okay, right? I wanna check cuz I really don't want to fry trannies in my Fenders. I don't have the money!

    And scaring people on the web doesn't bother me so much. When it's in print, people may not have easy access to differing opinions. Just put the qualifiers and extra info in!

    Thanks,
    Justin
    "Wow it's red! That doesn't look like the standard Marshall red. It's more like hooker lipstick/clown nose/poodle pecker red." - Chuck H. -
    "Of course that means playing **LOUD** , best but useless solution to modern sissy snowflake players." - J.M. Fahey -
    "All I ever managed to do with that amp was... kill small rodents within a 50 yard radius of my practice building." - Tone Meister -
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  • #2
    You cannot measure speaker impedance with a DMM. You can usually IDENTIFY the speaker impedance with it though. A 4 ohm speaker usually has a DC resistance of about 3 ohms, an 8 ohm speaker usually has a DC resistance of about 6-7 ohms, and a 16 ohm speaker usually measures in the 12-14 ohm range. I rarely see 2 ohm cabs, but I would expect them to read about 1 and a half ohms or so. 1.9? Sure, why not.

    You do not want the OT connected to the speakers if you are trying to measure their resistance anyway. It places the resistance of the transformer wire in parallel with the speaker voice coil wire.

    If you have a Fender amp whose output is a 2 ohm tap on the output transformer, and the combo already has a 2 ohm load, they they are correct, don;t use an external load. They say nothing about disconnecting the internal speakers and connecting some other 2 ohm load. The amp has no idea what it is connected to, all it sees is the impedance. YOu have a pair of 4 ohm cabs? FIne, that makes 2 ohms. COnnect that to the amp instead of the 2 ohm combo cab, and you are fine, the amp will not know the difference.
    Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

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    • #3
      Thanks Enzo, that's what I was wondering about. I know about the impedance/resistance thing and how speakers will read low by a bit; guess I used the wrong word there. I learned the fun way about disconnecting the OT when checking speakers at the jacks. I just wanted to make sure the amp isn't seeing something I'm missing. We have three 4ohm cabs in the house, so I'm thinking Concert with 2x15 & 2x12. I'm a big Dave Gilmour fan, and the multi-amp/speaker combo makes for a really bold, rich, round, beautiful, clean sound.

      Justin
      "Wow it's red! That doesn't look like the standard Marshall red. It's more like hooker lipstick/clown nose/poodle pecker red." - Chuck H. -
      "Of course that means playing **LOUD** , best but useless solution to modern sissy snowflake players." - J.M. Fahey -
      "All I ever managed to do with that amp was... kill small rodents within a 50 yard radius of my practice building." - Tone Meister -

      Comment

      • #4
        Speaking of Gilmore. I heard, yah heard, don't know if it's true, that he has tube buffers between all his pedals. Anyone know if this is true? Sounds utterly and completely ridiculous. And I say this cause why use tubes as buffers unless you have an extra triode that you don't know what to use it for and already have a power supply etc... Use mosfets or other semi that does that job perfect and for less work and $.

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        • #5
          Hey Lowell,

          So are you a fan?

          I've heard other crazy stuff... like using a Metal Zone as a clean boost. I doubt expense is an issue, and I guess you just stick 15 tubes in a rack box with lots of jacks - nice & easy when you can pay someone to do it for you! And if it breaks it's not your fault. And in all honesty, I think he's earned the money...

          Justin
          "Wow it's red! That doesn't look like the standard Marshall red. It's more like hooker lipstick/clown nose/poodle pecker red." - Chuck H. -
          "Of course that means playing **LOUD** , best but useless solution to modern sissy snowflake players." - J.M. Fahey -
          "All I ever managed to do with that amp was... kill small rodents within a 50 yard radius of my practice building." - Tone Meister -

          Comment

          • #6
            That's a great point. I always imagined an enclosure/tube between every pedal on his board.. Haha... But yeah I'm sure that's probably not right. I'm definitely a huge fan. He's great... And need I mention his killer tone? Or sweet bends and phrasing? It's rare I hear great "strat" tone... Ala SRV, Hendrix, Gilmore. I'd say 90% or more shows I see where there's a strat played there's mucho tone to be desired. It's a great thing when done right. I myself switched to an LP years ago as I played it and fell in love with this particular one.

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