smithydude Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Hi all I have an Ashdown 220 115 touring combo which I am finding difficult to gig with due to the fact that I have to have the volume up full to be heard which almost distorts the sound of my bass. Therefore I am going to add an extension cab to give me more 'headroom' and hopefully make me a bit louder without having to pump up the volume but I am unsure as to what to add wattage wise. The amp gives out 180w into the built in 15" speaker at 8ohms but apparently this will push out 220w at 4 ohms when I add an ext cab. I am thinking of getting the Ashdown mag210 deep cab which is rated at 200w at 8 ohms. Will this be safe to add to my combo without damaging anything?? There is an ext cab that Ashdown do that is designed for these amps but it's a 112 and I'm not sure a 112 will pair up nicely with a 115 so I really wanted to go for a 212 ??? Any help and advice is greatly appreciated. Cheers Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkin Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 (edited) With 2 x 8Ohm cabs, the available power will be split equally between the two - so 110W into each. Personally speaking, if I liked the sound of the 15 and simply wanted more of it, I'd go with another 15... Edited January 3, 2013 by barkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithydude Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 I do like the sound of the 15 but the high notes seem to get a little lost as well as the volume problem so I was thinking if I added a 2x12 cab it might accent the highs a bit better. So all in all there should be no problem with running a 200w rated 212 cab with the 220w 115 combo then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Check what ohms the 2x12 is as a lot are 4 ohm (which could help turn your amp into a smoke machine). You want an 8 ohm cab. Like Barkin said, adding another Ashdown 15 will give you more of the same. It's not the 15 speaker that sounds like that, it's the Ashdown sound. Some call it warm, some call it muddy, some call it wooly. Ideally, if you're not happy with it, you should sell it & get something that you like the sound of & then add more of the same drivers if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 The theory is always use the same size speakers, for a lot of techie reasons which I still don`t get, having mix-matched brands/speaker sizes/configurations many times without encountering any problems. That said, I prefer to use the same size purely so that I can rehearse with the combo, then pull out the extension cab for gigs, without having to re-eq. But, ultimately, if it sounds good to the user, that is the main thing. Certainly a 2x12 will add more depth to the sound, as more speakers working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithydude Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 Thanks for the input guys, yeah the 212 cab is an 8 ohm cab same as the combo so impedance wise it will be fine. Good point about having to re-EQ if only using the combo at practice[i],[/i] I hadn't thought of that, although I'll probably use both at practice/rehearsals anyway. Think I'll go down the local PMT and faff about with a few combinations first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithydude Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 Don't know why I've been harping on about 2x12! I meant 2x10!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithydude Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 Well been and tried the ashdown mag 210 cab with my amp and it sounds ace, only downside is the weight which at 27kg is heavier than my amp which is 26kg and already breaks my back!!! So, I am gonna go for the Gallien Krueger 210mbx cab which is a nice weight at only 18kg. Gonna have to risk buying one online..ie..not being able to try it as I dont know anywhere in Manchester that stocks them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 MBX cabs are awesome. Loads of punch and ultra-lightweight. Seeing as you'll only be putting 110w maximum through it it'll swallow it all up and never sound overworked. I do wish GK'd do a vintage styled version ofthe MBX/MBE range though; not keen on the silver grille. Though I suppose it's easy enough to paint black if one cares that much. Truckstop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 [quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1357757952' post='1927991'] MBX cabs are awesome. Loads of punch and ultra-lightweight. Seeing as you'll only be putting 110w maximum through it it'll swallow it all up and never sound overworked. I do wish GK'd do a vintage styled version ofthe MBX/MBE range though; not keen on the silver grille. Though I suppose it's easy enough to paint black if one cares that much. Truckstop [/quote] Or you could put some vintage grey or black cloth over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithydude Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 That's a good enough endorsement for me, thanks. Yeah I know that GK have a good reputation so I'm gonna go for it deffo. I too am a little turned off by the silver grille but I can live with that I guess, although it will look wierd underneath the red cloth of my ashdown 220 dual tube combo but who cares so long as it does what I want Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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