Rewire Orange 4x12 from 16ohm to 4ohm

Keg8605

Keg8605

Power User
Thought I'd post my question here. I'm embarking on a stereo setup for one of my bands and have a carvin dcm1540. I'm considering rewiring my orange 4x12 16ohm to 4ohm to gain max output from the carvin in stereo. Anyone think this is a bad idea?? My second cab would be either a mesa 2x12 or 4x12 8 ohm as well, so that brings another question about ohm mismatch in stereo.
 
Thanks for the reply - i did a lot of research last night and ordered a new jack plate shown here. I'll need to cut out the hole more on my orange since its only a 2 jack plate currently. Gives me great options - 16ohm mono, 4 ohm mono and 8ohm stereo.
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I think you would need to know the impedance of the speakers in the Orange cabinet. The impedance listed on the jack plate would only be correct on a 4x12 with 16 ohm speakers if I understand things correctly...
 
Yup - they're 16ohm. I could rewire them in series to 4ohm but it will be nice to have options.
 
Basically you need to know about series and parallel wiring which is super easy. It works likes this

When resistances are wired in series the formula is R1 + R2 = RT (Reistance Total). Two 8 ohm speakers wired in series will be seen as 16 ohms by the amp.

When resistances are wired in parallel the formula is (R1 + R2)/2 = RT (Reistance Total). Two 8 ohm speakers wired in parallel will be seen as 4 ohms by amp.

You can do series+parallel wiring easily enough too.

There are lots on resources on line that make it quick and easy to see all the possible impedances from wiring speakers different ways.
 
I hate to knit pick but the formula for resistors in parallel is (R1 times R2) divided by (R1 plus R2) although it is easier (with a calculator) to do 1/(1/R1 + 1/R2).
 
Keg8605 said:
My second cab would be either a mesa 2x12 or 4x12 8 ohm as well, so that brings another question about ohm mismatch in stereo.
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Please keep in mind that using a 8 ohm cab and a 4 ohm cab in parallel results in 2,6 ohm. I assume that way you could damage your amp
 
Also double check (if the Carvin is a solid state amp) whether it can handle common ground. The metal plate may act as a connection unless the jack sockets are isolated. Connecting the amp in stereo (if it cannot handle common ground) may damage the amp.
 
RB_Guitar said:
Please keep in mind that using a 8 ohm cab and a 4 ohm cab in parallel results in 2,6 ohm. I assume that way you could damage your amp
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I'm using the Carvin DCM 1540L, from the manual I found its ok to use 2 different ohm cabs. Everything seems to be working great.

Lightningboy said:
Also double check (if the Carvin is a solid state amp) whether it can handle common ground. The metal plate may act as a connection unless the jack sockets are isolated. Connecting the amp in stereo (if it cannot handle common ground) may damage the amp.
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There's plastic washers between the jack and the plate so I think I'm good. I wired it up over the weekend according to their wiring diagram (PARALLEL) and it was actually pretty simple. Its nice being able to use the carvin (or matrix if i ever get one :)) efficiently and power that 4x12 at 4ohms with one side.
 
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