Anyone rocking low watt heads through a 4x12?

[Diego]

Hey guys,

I'm definitely considering the idea of a 4x12, or a really big sounding 2x12 cab. My current open back 1x12 is by far the weak link of my rig.
(well, that and the lack of a pedalboard)
and much like displacement in cars/motorcycles, there's no replacement for more speakers and larger cabs.
And all I'm missing is a bit more volume and firmer bass so a better cab should do the trick.

Anyone rocking a low watt head like my Tweaker through a big ass cab?
Share your stories in detail if possible, like speakers and whatnot.

[Johtosotku]

Re: Anyone rocking low watt heads through a 4x12?

I have a THD Univalve through a 4*12 with V30s. It sounds good, but I could use a bit more volume every now and then.

[alteredbeast]

Re: Anyone rocking low watt heads through a 4x12?

idk how many watts tweaker is, but i use a randall rd20h 20 watt through my friends non x-pattern v30/g12t75 cab for shows, in addition to Mesa Mark IV through my recto 2x12. i def enjoy using either a 2x12 or 4x12 with the randall opposed to my home set up of randall/Mesa Thiele, but the Thiele gets the job done for sure. I'd imagine a huge difference between 1x12 open cab and a Ballsy 2x12 in your case. Any ideas of what brand/model you're thinkin about?

[Myaccount876]

Re: Anyone rocking low watt heads through a 4x12?

A Vox Night Train 15 into a 4x12.

All I have to say is DO IT! It works great. Now I need a low-watt 2x12 for scenarios where I'd like something smaller, and where the amp really pushes the speakers.

[Diego]

Re: Anyone rocking low watt heads through a 4x12?

The Tweaker is 15 watts. 6V6 power tubes which can be changed to 6L6, EL34, etc with no biasing. Cool stuff.
It's all a matter of budget rather than brands by now. I don't wanna spend that big to be honest so this is what I've got:

As a reference, a Bogner 2x12 oversized cab is around $1200 here. Not gonna happen.

Laney's got a nice 4x12 loaded with V30s (big plus) for about $800 which is the highest I'll go.
There's the Egnater Vengeance 4x12 for $800 too, with Elite-75 Celestions. No clue about these speakers but being for the Vengeance I should like them.
And I would get sort of matching cab and head and that's good.
And finally in this price bracket there's a 2x12 Hughes and Kettner 2x12. V30s too. Looks nice.

For $600, Egnater's got their Tourmaster 2x12 cab with Celestion Seventy 80s. Convertible too (open/closed)
There's a Blackstar 4x12 for the same price, same Celestions too. A friend's got one.

The cheapest choice is a Laney 4x12 with "HH Custom Designed" speakers and a Blackstar 4x12 with god-knows-what inside. Around $400. Don't want them to be honest.

Peavey hasn't got anything worth it, Mesa Boogies are non existant around here and I don't want a Marshall cab.
So that's it.

[MetalManiac]

Re: Anyone rocking low watt heads through a 4x12?

Tons of folks doing a 18 watt Marshall through a 4x12 Marshall cabinet. This seems to be the golden set up. Personally, I'm leery of anything under 30 watts , but I've heard that 18 watt Marshall/ 4x12 , and its loud for sure..i guess cause of the bright mid-heavy nature of a Marshall... and sounds damn good.
I'd figure , Diego, that there would be a cottage industry of Clone builders springing up there , where no originals exist?
The 18 watt marshall is a pretty straightforawrd build , no?

[Securb]

Re: Anyone rocking low watt heads through a 4x12?

I run my 13 watt Excelsior into 4x12 all the time it sounds amazing.

[Diego]

Re: Anyone rocking low watt heads through a 4x12?

Yup Jerry. Plenty of custom/clone builders around these bits. I've seen 18W Marshalls, SLO100 and JCM800 clones, stuff like that.
The downside is depreciation. Big brand gear holds their value very well around here,
but a "custom" (read: DIY by somebody else) 4x12 cab for example would be worthless for selling later on.

So I'd rather hold to something with stable value.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Anyone rocking low watt heads through a 4x12?

I run a 2W amp through a 4x12. It is just this much too low in SPLs for my taste -->| |<--, so I augment it with a 5W amp. Combined, it's plenty loud for what I do.
Sometimes I play through separate 4x12 cabinets, and sometimes I play my one 4x12 as dual 2x12s, with one pair being Emi Wizards and the other being Emi Swamp Thangs.

If you are going to rock out with a low wattage amp and are playing in a band, you will need VERY efficient speakers to squeeze every last dB out of your rig.

[Agileguy_101]

Re: Anyone rocking low watt heads through a 4x12?

For $600, Egnater's got their Tourmaster 2x12 cab with Celestion Seventy 80s. Convertible too (open/closed)
There's a Blackstar 4x12 for the same price, same Celestions too. A friend's got one.

For the love of god, don't get either of these without budgeting money for a speaker swap. Seventy/80's are trash.

[ehdwuld]

Re: Anyone rocking low watt heads through a 4x12?

I have the Laney HH speaker in my GC80A
nice thick British tone

well it is a Laney amp

I would not hesistate to endorse the Laney 4x12
with the HH speakers

is the Tweaker a combo?
or can you just set that little head up on the bigger cab?

[Diego]

Re: Anyone rocking low watt heads through a 4x12?

To answer a few questions:

1) My Tweaker's the head version.
2) There's a Blackstar 2x12 with Vintage 30s for the same price as the Egnater 2x12 with 70/80s. So the Egnater is out.
3) I asked my friend with the Blackstar 4x12 about it. His answer? "Don't". Too much of a pain in the ass to live with. And I'll be on a 6th floor next year (bought an apartment) so I guess a good 2x12 is it.

[ehdwuld]

Re: Anyone rocking low watt heads through a 4x12?

I'll bet you could A/B the tweaker and the Roland Cube
run a "two amp" set up that would be killer

[CTN]

Re: Anyone rocking low watt heads through a 4x12?

I've run my Tubemeister at 18W through a 4x12 for a few metal gigs.

Sounded huge and had no problem in terms of volume, even keeping up with a loud drummer.

Would I rock it in an apartment? Probably - because 4x12s just sound badass. But I can also turn my amp down to 1W if I want to. Even with my 2x12 cab, putting the tubemeister on 18W mode and turning it all the way up is a recipe for bleedin' ears. I get a good usable sweep of volume between the 1W/5W/18W operation modes on my amp, and the 2x12 plays nicely at all volumes, even the paint-peeling, face-melting, horse-gutting, atmosphere-burning, earth-ripping highest volumes.

[Jeff5]

Re: Anyone rocking low watt heads through a 4x12?

My answer is yes, I have, and yes you should! I ran my Dark Terror through my Mesa 4X12 and it sounded unbelievable. It sounds good through my 1X12. (Also Mesa) But through my 4X12 it was utterly huge sounding. I was only running it at 7 watts too.