Using a high wattage head with a low rated PA speaker unit

[DaromahBassPlayer]

I have a Gallien Kruegar 1001rb which is rated 540 at 4 ohms but I have a 8 ohm pa cab which I want to use round a friends house becuase im not going to play that loudly. The cab is rated at 160 watts but the head is rated at 300 watts at 4ohms.

So could I use the PA cab if I didnt turn up loud? Will it damage anything?

Please just /slap me if im being stupid and doing will explode my bass amp and my whole house! :eek:


:thumb:

cheers

[DaromahBassPlayer]

please help me out. Its for a possible band I may join!

[rh15951]

That cab will be fine so long as you don't crank your amp.

[DaromahBassPlayer]

That cab will be fine so long as you don't crank your amp.

Just the answer I was looking for! Now wish me luck!

[rh15951]

Just the answer I was looking for! Now wish me luck!

good luck man :chug:

[Jimbobntnr]

As a precaution you could always turn the amp's volume to zero before turning it on or off. I know that GK has addressed the pop issue in the past, but it still happens on some models.
good luck with your audition!

[edgebass5]

More wattage rated on the head than the cab is a good thing. Just follow the edgebass golden rule:

There's never such a thing as too many watts. Clean headroom is always a good thing. Its always possible to turn down, but not always possible to turn up any further.

[Sade]

^Edge, what's your thoughts on underpowering a cab?

[edgebass5]

^^^Well, what most people refer to as underpowering is quite different than what it actually is. Here's the real way to look at underpowering:

Underpowering has nothing to do with the cab itself. Underpowering is simply the point at which your power amp (or the power section of your head) runs out of headroom and begins to clip, but you still need more volume, so you simply turn up more. The result is a clipping tone which sounds terrible, and sends DC (direct current) through your speaker cabinet, which will eat up speakers faster than Rosie O'Donnel at a crab cake buffet.

[ebe9]

Surely the fact that the head is running at 4 Ohms and the cab at 8 Ohms will also come into play?

Correct me if I am wrong but surely the head is going to run at 8 Ohms and thus the wattage it produces will be halved to 150 Watts?

[edgebass5]

^^^Look at the post more closely. He indicates that the head runs 540 watts under a 4 ohm load, so his 8 ohm load will be around 250-300

[ebe9]

did read..............more specifically the part where he said the cab is rated at 160 Watts and the head at 300 Watts.

Or is that different from the initial 540 he quoted?

[edgebass5]

^^^Seems to be a typo on his part, where he said that head was rated a 300 at 4 ohms he should have said "300 at 8 ohms"