16 or 8 ohm 4x12 cabs? is there a difference in tone?!

[kt2345]

Im running a 4x12 @ 16ohms..i remember an old eric johnson interview where he said he prefered 8 ohm 4x12 cabs?

is there a tonal difference between 8 and 16 ohm cabs with a valve/tube marshall head? some say at 16 ohms your using all the windings of the OT

Any comments on this?

Thanks!

[jbzoso2002]

i have read that 16 ohms theoreticly sounds better.
but i dont think its something to worry about.
eric johnson can also tell what battery is in an
effect pedal by just hearing it.
i would worry more about what amps and speaker
combinations your useing. a 4x12 wired to 16 ohms
is the classic marshall set up. allways match your amp
to speaker load.

jimmy

[fillmore nyc]

eric johnson can also tell what battery is in an effect pedal by just hearing it.

Yeah, and I can tell the color of a Strat by its tone...

[lcampz]

Im running a 4x12 @ 16ohms..i remember an old eric johnson interview where he said he prefered 8 ohm 4x12 cabs?

is there a tonal difference between 8 and 16 ohm cabs with a valve/tube marshall head? some say at 16 ohms your using all the windings of the OT

Any comments on this?

Thanks!

I seem to remember that EJ runs 8 ohms because things seem a little more open that way. Perhaps, it's the same reason he uses "vintage" output pickups? He seems to like his essential sound very articulate and clear. That kind of makes sense considering how much delay and echo he uses which really kind of "rounds" things off quite a bit.

It may seem strange, but, there are long posts here on why one would prefer 100pF over 250pF over 500pF, 560pF (or nothing)... ...you get my drift. Then there's the whole "impedance mismatching" thing, too and argued over. So, who's to say... [though most recommendations I've heard are to not mismatch]

I don't go that far; but, call me crazy. I can hear a difference. Subsequently, I run everything at 8 ohms (correctly... four 8 ohm speakers wired series-parallel, etc.), except, of course, the Twin Rev.

Bottom line, as long as you don't blow up your amp (or fry a voice coil), and you like what you hear... ...you're golden.

Like Nigel Tufnel says, "What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?" Well, Nigel goes to 11. Eric uses an 8 ohm cab.

[kt2345]

Well i do have alot of experiance with this,i have a 4x12 with g12H100 drivers @ 8 ohms and another 4x12 with g12t75s @16ohms plus an original basketweave with 25 watt pre rola greenbacks @16 ohms and over the years i have had everything..

one things for sure..IMO you really need 8 ohms with a solid state power amp..if your re amping or what ever..as 16 ohms with a solidstate amp lacks dynamics and sounds underpowered and "soggy"

And....well there is a tonal difference! and personally i dont think its just a slight differnce,its very noticable and i just wanted some input from other guys who have tried this..but i guess the fact that the speakers are different models in each of my cabs makes for a big difference in tone too!

i just wanted some opinions...i really would like to here an 8ohm cab with 8 ohm greenbacks..seems the 8 ohm cab has more midrange and a"honk" to the sound..and more over all volume,im in the middle of purchashing a quad of greenback re issues at 8 ohms so ill compare that to my original basketweave @16ohms

I guess in order to really test this out properly i need two cabs with the THE SAME SPEAKERS one at 16ohm, one at 8 ohms

Onto to EJ..well i heard that the 8 ohm cab is now a "mute point" and hes back to using 16ohm 4x12s! some one on the gear page told me this who knows him well

[lcampz]

...that's it...

The difference is very noticeable with a solid state/hybrid amp... it's a lot louder.

My favorite cab for my Marshalls/Metros is a 4x12" loaded with 8 ohm Greens. I wouldn't say it's spikey or piercing; however, when I hit an open (or closed) chord, there is no getting lost in the mix. The bass player has his space and I have mine. I also have a 4x12" loaded with 8 ohm G12-65s which are, of course, a mellower speaker. I still don't get lost in the mix.

I guess where this wouldn't work is the type of hardcore where it's all about the low growl.

EJ seems to be going through another transition. They say he's using stock 1959HW's now with "a few cap changes", though I would bet he hasn't sold off his vintage gear. Whatever he's using, it's all good with me. Sounded pretty good on his Anaheim DVD.

[JB007]

I,ve ran 4X12 cabs with EVM12L and Greenback speakers at 16 and 4ohm loads correctly. I can tell you from my experience that it makes a big difference. The lower you go in resistance the more quick punch i hear and less reaction time. So when i run my cabs at 4ohm's , you strike the strings of a non-master volume amp and it punches you right now with attack. At 16ohm's it sounds squisheir and slower in reaction time to me. more like a master-volume marshall. I think it's because you have more resistance at 16ohm loads. I can hear the difference and i will now run 8 or 4 ohm loads.

[kt2345]

I,ve ran 4X12 cabs with EVM12L and Greenback speakers at 16 and 4ohm loads correctly. I can tell you from my experience that it makes a big difference. The lower you go in resistance the more quick punch i hear and less reaction time. So when i run my cabs at 4ohm's , you strike the strings of a non-master volume amp and it punches you right now with attack. At 16ohm's it sounds squisheir and slower in reaction time to me. more like a master-volume marshall. I think it's because you have more resistance at 16ohm loads. I can hear the difference and i will now run 8 or 4 ohm loads.

I would agree with this,this is my experciance

EDIT: yes ive tried 4 ohms but i think it lacks bottom and 16 is too soggy,so i think 8 ohms is best IMO but of course you need a quad of 8 ohms speakers to wire for 8 ohms total load.

[kt2345]

...that's it...

The difference is very noticeable with a solid state/hybrid amp... it's a lot louder.

My favorite cab for my Marshalls/Metros is a 4x12" loaded with 8 ohm Greens. I wouldn't say it's spikey or piercing; however, when I hit an open (or closed) chord, there is no getting lost in the mix. The bass player has his space and I have mine. I also have a 4x12" loaded with 8 ohm G12-65s which are, of course, a mellower speaker. I still don't get lost in the mix.

I guess where this wouldn't work is the type of hardcore where it's all about the low growl.

EJ seems to be going through another transition. They say he's using stock 1959HW's now with "a few cap changes", though I would bet he hasn't sold off his vintage gear. Whatever he's using, it's all good with me. Sounded pretty good on his Anaheim DVD.

Indeed he is still using his vintage plexis as earlier on this year he bought my plexi 100 watt super trem

[lcampz]

Indeed he is still using his vintage plexis as earlier on this year he bought my plexi 100 watt super trem

Sweet! ...you should have said, "Local pickup for you EJ. Private concert required upon receipt."

[kt2345]

Indeed he is still using his vintage plexis as earlier on this year he bought my plexi 100 watt super trem

Sweet! ...you should have said, "Local pickup for you EJ. Private concert required upon receipt."

Good idea! but he lives 5000 miles away from me

[thegame]

I,ve ran 4X12 cabs with EVM12L and Greenback speakers at 16 and 4ohm loads correctly. I can tell you from my experience that it makes a big difference. The lower you go in resistance the more quick punch i hear and less reaction time. So when i run my cabs at 4ohm's , you strike the strings of a non-master volume amp and it punches you right now with attack. At 16ohm's it sounds squisheir and slower in reaction time to me. more like a master-volume marshall. I think it's because you have more resistance at 16ohm loads. I can hear the difference and i will now run 8 or 4 ohm loads.

I've rewired many cabs, going back and forth between 4 & 16 ohms and this is what I've found as well.
I've also noticed there's a little less sub bass and high end harmonics at 4 ohms resulting in more midrange focus/articulation.

[blaren]

The guy who designed 'em for Celestion (hangs at PP...cant remember his nik but easy to find) says they sound different. The 8ohm celestion 12s sound "fuller, more open, in your face?...than 16ohm. The difference is the wire gauge (the windings, not the speaker cable gauge)...bigger wire on 8ohm coils and a better "fit"...ahhhh...I cant remember but stuff like that.
I found his threads while reading up about G12-65s today.

[Talpa]

I guess I'm assuming he is using 16ohm speakers, how does he do it ?

Or does he have rare 8ohm pre-Rolas (in parallel-series) to start with ?...that would be cool.


edit:..Does he wire each side to 8ohms and use both speaker outs into separately wired inputs ? one would set your amp at 8ohm using two 8ohm "cabs" (in this case they are in the same box), right ?..i so confused

[Scumback Speakers]

I though EJ used stacks, so two 16 ohm cabs wired in parallel to the amp head would be 8 ohms total load.