1x12 Guitar Cabinet ?

N

nlukes

Member
I have been searching for a new amp and have looked high and low but now have come across the Axe FX. Am very impressed !

I am confused about power amps and speakers. Since the ART SLA-1 or 2 is recommended, I am wondering if that much power can be driven into a 80 or 90 watt speaker / 1x12 guitar cab? Would I need to get the 200 watt EV speaker etc?

I am looking to have a rig that is very small. I do own a Mesa 2x12 with V30s, however the thing is heavier than sin.

Input appreciated.

thanks
 
You need the SLA-2's extra power just for headroom. Solid State power amps need lots of extra headroom to not distort. I use mine with 2 Bogner 1x12's and it's the perfect compact gigging rig. My speakers can handle 80 watts. I never crank the thing.
 
I just got 2 night train 1 x 12 cabs, look great, light as a feather and sound fantastic, and they are cheap!
 
Thanks alot for the replys. That is what I wanted to hear; I would be able to use lightweight 1x12 cabinets. Yes, it is looking like a good idea all around to go with the Axe-FX instead of some 1 trick pony guitar head.
 
IMO you need at least 200 W solid state power to get a decent sound from a guitar cabinet with 1 or 2x12 speakers. But watch out, most of the guitar speakers have 8 or 16 Ohms. The power rating of solid state power amps often refers to 4 Ohm speakers. A solid power amp rated 200W/4 Ohm on a 8 Ohm speakers is about as loud as a 120 W/4 Ohm power amp on 4 Ohm speakers. You could drive two 1x12 8 Ohm cabs parallel which results in 4 Ohm though.

Sorry for the English ;)
 
Tricki said:
IMO you need at least 200 W solid state power to get a decent sound from a guitar cabinet with 1 or 2x12 speakers. But watch out, most of the guitar speakers have 8 or 16 Ohms. The power rating of solid state power amps often refers to 4 Ohm speakers. A solid power amp rated 200W/4 Ohm on a 8 Ohm speakers is about as loud as a 120 W/4 Ohm power amp on 4 Ohm speakers. You could drive two 1x12 8 Ohm cabs parallel which results in 4 Ohm though.

Sorry for the English ;)
Click to expand...

The speaker cab that I am considering is 16 ohms. Is it better to get 2 of those to make it 8 ohms?

thanks
 
nlukes said:
Tricki said:
IMO you need at least 200 W solid state power to get a decent sound from a guitar cabinet with 1 or 2x12 speakers. But watch out, most of the guitar speakers have 8 or 16 Ohms. The power rating of solid state power amps often refers to 4 Ohm speakers. A solid power amp rated 200W/4 Ohm on a 8 Ohm speakers is about as loud as a 120 W/4 Ohm power amp on 4 Ohm speakers. You could drive two 1x12 8 Ohm cabs parallel which results in 4 Ohm though.

Sorry for the English ;)
Click to expand...

The speaker cab that I am considering is 16 ohms. Is it better to get 2 of those to make it 8 ohms?

thanks
Click to expand...
Assuming you're going to run in stereo, you'll need 4, 2 to chain together for each channel of the power amp to get to 8 ohms. The ART SLA-2 does have 2 channels, it would be a shame to not use them both and run in stereo (for your own sake). I know the audience won't hear it in stereo too much. I really wouldn't consider 16 ohms cabs unless for some reason you want to buy 4.
 
Between the two I would go with the SLA-2.. it's always better to have to much than not enough, you can always pull the masters back to 50%. If you ever want to drive a bigger cab you will have the headroom to do so.
 
jerotas said:
nlukes said:
Tricki said:
IMO you need at least 200 W solid state power to get a decent sound from a guitar cabinet with 1 or 2x12 speakers. But watch out, most of the guitar speakers have 8 or 16 Ohms. The power rating of solid state power amps often refers to 4 Ohm speakers. A solid power amp rated 200W/4 Ohm on a 8 Ohm speakers is about as loud as a 120 W/4 Ohm power amp on 4 Ohm speakers. You could drive two 1x12 8 Ohm cabs parallel which results in 4 Ohm though.

Sorry for the English ;)
Click to expand...

The speaker cab that I am considering is 16 ohms. Is it better to get 2 of those to make it 8 ohms?

thanks
Click to expand...
Assuming you're going to run in stereo, you'll need 4, 2 to chain together for each channel of the power amp to get to 8 ohms. The ART SLA-2 does have 2 channels, it would be a shame to not use them both and run in stereo (for your own sake). I know the audience won't hear it in stereo too much. I really wouldn't consider 16 ohms cabs unless for some reason you want to buy 4.
Click to expand...

Ok, not what I wanted to hear but glad that I am aware of it. It seems that I will have to hunt for an 8 ohm 1x12. I wanted to get the Egnator Rebel cabs cause they are really light / closed back and have birch material. But they are 16 ohm... That's not going to work...

Thanks for the info
 
according to the SLA-2 manual its 200watts per channel into an 8 ohm load, a 16ohm load would drop that lower but I bet it would still have plenty of volume with a 16ohm cab on each channel. Its 560 watts bridged into an 8ohm load, so if you don't care about stereo and run the 16ohm cabs in parallel its got way more than enough headroom for that. Stereo sounds cool when you are playing alone but is not real useful in a lot of band contexts IMO.
 
Thanks everyone for getting the ohm understanding thru my head. Not going to bother with the 16 ohm cab since 2 cabs would always be needed to safely use with 4/8 ohm power amps.

Mesa Thiele 1x12 - 8 ohm is what I am going to get.
 
I'm using an SLA-1 in bridge mode and have plenty of power with my Hughes & Kettner 1X12 at 16 ohms. I run the amp at full and my master output on the Axe is at half. I just ordered 2 custom made 1X12 Sourmash cabs which I'll put my V-30's in and than I'll have an 8 ohm load which will give me more power out of the SLA should I need it.

I also have a chrome face Carvin TS-100 tube amp but that's an extra 15 pounds in the rack I don't want to lift! I'm thinking of selling it :lol:
 
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