Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Markbass... whats the difference between 4 and 8 Ohm Cabs?


Greg.Bassman
 Share

Recommended Posts

Forgive my ignorance, this probably such a boring question for many of you music's out there- however, I'm stilling learning, so please bare with me here.

What's the difference between 4 and 8 Ohm cabs?

I'm currently looking into the Markbass Standard 104HR Bass Cab. However, they offer it in both 4Ohms and 8Ohms. What does this means? How does it effect the sound... does it means its louder or something?

All feedback appreciated. Cheers. Greg.

P.S - Not too much technical jargon please lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A 4 ohm cab means you can use just 1 cab with an amp with a min load of 4 ohms, an 8 ohm means you can add a 2nd at a later date.
As for sound/volume, there's next to nothing in it.
If your amp's a 2 ohm min load, then it may make sense to go for the 4 ohm cab.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most amps will say on the back. Minimum load 4ohms.
Therefore if you use a 4ohm cab thats all you can use but you will get the full power of the amp.
However this is where it gets confusing for a newbie. 2 x 8ohms cabs togther equals 4 ohms. So you can put 2 of these cabs together from the amp to get the full power. It will only be as 'loud' as using 1 x 4ohm cab but because you are moving more air using 2 cabs it will sound 'louder' plus if one is on top of the other one it will be closer to your ears when playing which is good.
You can just use 1 x 8ohm cab with the same amp but you will only get abour 2/3 of the output. Some amps go down to 2ohms meaning you can use 2 x 4ohms cabs but these are rarer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Both the above posts have summed it up perfectly. The volume difference between a 4 ohm and 8 ohm cab will be like 3dB so not massive. If you are certain you'll never get a second cab go for 4 ohms, but I'd always recommend 8 ohms in case GAS sets in...and the volume difference is so negligible you may as well keep your options open ;)

I'm lucky, my amp has a 4/8 ohm switch so I get full power out of mine no matter what I do :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep, the difference in volume between getting the full watts of say a 500 watt amp at 4ohms, and "only" the 350 or so watts at 8ohms hardly makes a difference on the ears. So in that case I`d go for the 8ohm, just in case you ever really want to make a huge set-up for big stages with adding in another cab (at which point I`d recommend getting the same cab again).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Greg.Bassman' timestamp='1436651659' post='2819829']
I understand, cheers lads! :) Just curious, what would happen if I DID link 2x 4Ohm cabs together? Are the results disastrous? ;)
[/quote]

Loud bang, magic blue smoke and expensive repair bill or new amp. :o

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...