Amphs in the wind..all we are is..

[tot_Ou_tard]

Number 2) - Avatar in 2x12.

I was thinking of just that.

This'll be played in my basement so I can't really crank it.

I don't know the basic differences between a 2x12 and a 4x10. OK, I know the former has two 12' speakers while the latter has four ten inch ones.

What I don't know is the how their sound characteristics differ & whether one needs to crank them up to the point of having the cones distort in order to hear the difference.

[Spudman***]

2x12. It will be the most tonally flexible and portable bang for the buck. Can be wired in stereo too for use with 2 amph heads.

[tot_Ou_tard]

2x12. It will be the most tonally flexible and portable bang for the buck. Can be wired in stereo too for use with 2 amph heads.

I never would have thought of that. Would I need a A/B/Y box to use two heads through the same cab?

[Plank_Spanker]

I never would have thought of that. Would I need a A/B/Y box to use two heads through the same cab?

Not if the cab is wired for stereo operation (two input jacks).

[tot_Ou_tard]

Not if the cab is wired for stereo operation (two input jacks).

But I would need a stereo guitar or a Y-cable or someway to get the signal from my guitar to the two heads first wouldn't I?

[Plank_Spanker]

But I would need a stereo guitar or a Y-cable or someway to get the signal from my guitar to the two heads first wouldn't I?

An A/B/Y box would do it. A "Y" cable from the guitar to two amps isn't a good idea. You can run into nasty ground loop issues with it and it saps signal strength. A good A/B/Y box will isolate the outputs from each other and the guitar to eliminate that. I use a Framptone amp switcher and it's very transparent.

There are also effects that split to stereo. My Boss chorus does.

[tot_Ou_tard]

Thanky Spanky!

Mind if I ask a few more questions?

Open back or closed? I'm think open, I don't need to project in my basement.

Watts? The wattage issue really confuses me. I'll be using my AD30VT (after I wire in a speaker out) and a Valve Jr. My guess is that the lower wattage the speakers are rated for the easier it will be for these amps to drive them. Is that correct?

I'm searching the net for a site that explains such arcana.

Post'em if you've got'em.

Vood, I'm looking at you!

Thanks!

I just found this:

AMP Wattage!

Please understand one thing. Most amps are rated for their advertised RMS wattage at clean signals. On most amps that's going to be at 2 on the volume knob. So your 100 watt Marshall puts out 100 watts at 2. You like to play it at 7, and if your amp is healthy, that's when it puts out 150-180 watts (or more). The guys at Marshall knew what they were doing when they put the "100" logo in the corner of the cabs, but that still meant that you needed two of them to handle a 100 watt amp that put out 180 watts at the levels you set the amp! Get your amp tested for it's real output wattage, no one likes the smell of a melted speaker, OK? Always figure you need twice your RMS wattage in speaker power handling to safely run your amp on 10.

If you get two 30 watt speakers to run with your 50 watt amp, and dime it, they'll be good to go for awhile. I don't know what timeframe "awhile" is. I've safely done it for 2 hours straight, without issues. I have not done that for extended periods, so you want to take that into consideration with all the OD pedals, clean boosts, and so forth that push speakers to raise your level for solos. Use your good old common sense here. Sure, your old small block sounded great and was running awesome at 8000 rpm for "awhile", then the crank, piston, or connecting rod broke, and you weren't mobile anymore. Use the same common sense judgment with choosing your speaker wattage.