Using 2 cabs

viz

I have a 100w head and a 4x12 cab (16 ohm). The head has two outputs, and the cab has an input and an output socket. 

I need to have my sound coming through a passive 1x12 16 ohm wedge as well.

Can I do it, even though one cab has four speakers and the other only has one? 

Do I power them both from the outputs on the amp, or come out of the 4x12 into the 1x12, or doesn’t it matter? 

Do I set the amp to the 16 ohm setting or do I have to switch it to the 8 ohm setting?

Would I be able to do it if it were a 2x12 (8 ohm) and a 1x12 (16 ohm) and if so what setting would I use on the amp?

Cheers!!!!

(It’s a Carvin Legacy 1 amp and a Carvin Legacy cab)

John_P

When you plug both cabs in they will be in parallel so two 16ohm cabs will give 8ohms in total.   The socket in the cab should be the same size use whichever way is more convenient.  

viz

Perfect, that’s what I thought and it sounds awesome. So I’m turning my cab round to face the back of the stage and micing it up through the PA, plus having my own personal wedge out in front facing me so I can properly hear myself. Perfect. 

John_P

It’s a cool idea if you can get the balance of volumes right.   In your case it should be fine as you can set it to give the monitor level you want and the sound guy and adjust the level out front. 

Just a thought but couldn’t you just put a mic on the monitor style cab instead of using the 4x12 as well if that only going to be in the PA?

viz

Exactly.

Re. Just using the monitor, I was worried about knocking the mic with my foot which will be on the wedge, rock style. And also it doesn’t sound as good as the proper cab - it’s a small Carvin wedge, whose speaker I’ve replaced with a V30 - it’s good and crisp but hasn’t got the oomph. 

ICBM

It won't have, you can't argue with four speakers and a lot more air for oomph .

You can also do it if you're using an 8-ohm 2x12", but you should probably set the amp to 4 ohms instead of 8 - although you could try 8 as well and see which sounds better, the mismatch (5.33 ohms) is actually safe at either 4 or 8 ohms. In this case the wedge will only be getting 1/3 of the power rather than half, but that's also unlikely to matter.

viz

Ok cool thanks!