Ok, so Ive been playing guitar for some years now but always using a pedal ran through a mixer. I want to get an Orange amp, but since I am not familiar at all with amplifiers, I have quite a few questions. Im looking into getting an orange stack, maybe a Rockerverb 50 with the 2 x 12. I figured this was the best place to get them answered. Ok, here they go:

1.) How do watts work with heads and cabs? For example, the Rockerverb is a 50 watt head. If I buy a half stack cab that handles, lets say 240 watts, will the head only push it to the 50?

2.) If I buy a Rockerverb 100 and want the 2 x 12, will the head be too much for the speakers?

3.) If I do buy the Rockerverb 50 with the 2 x 12, but leter decide to make it a Half stack:
a.) Can I buy another 2 x 12 and stack the three of them up to make it the size of a half stack?
b.) If I simply buy the half stack cab by itself, will the 50 watt head be able to handle the half stack cab?

4.) If the 2 x 12 can handle over 100 watts, what's the difference from buying a 2 x 12 than a 4 x 12?

I hope I mad myself clear. They might seem like pretty darn stupid questions to most, but that's how I'm feeling right now anyways. I dont expect a single person to answer all of these, but if you can that'd be great! Thank you!

Wattage (I'm not the most knowledgeable but I get the general picture or what I need to know)

1. If you get a 50 watt amp and a 4x12 cab rated at 240 watts. You are doing just fine. The speakers won't breakup much but that's a good thing, what you'd more likely be looking for is the tube breakup which you could safely handle at with that setup.

2. If you bought a RV100 and PPC 212 (which is rated at 120 watts) I would suggest you not push that amp much or you do risk damage to the speakers as tube amps can push out much more than their rated wattage. You could do this safely by not pushing the amps master volume.

3a. Yes, you can run two 16 ohm speaker cabs using the two 8 ohm speaker outs on the back of the RV on most current production Orange amps. The options for running an Orange amp are:
GUITAR AMPS:
*one 16 ohm cab using the 16 ohm jack
*two 16 ohm cabs using both 8 ohm jacks
*two 16 ohm cabs using one 8 ohm jack with the cabs daisychained off each other
*one 8 ohm cab using one of the 8 ohm jacks

BASS AMPS:
*one 8 ohm bass cab using the 8 ohm jack
*two 8 ohm bass cabs using both 4 ohm jacks
*one 4 ohm bass cab using one of the 4 ohm jacks
3b. I have an Orange RV50, and run a Crate 4x12 cab with V30s (240 watts total). Yes, it's plenty. In fact I could run another 4x12 cab (16 ohms) and the RV50 would still have room for desert.

4. Spread of sound by moving more air with more speakers. Better bass response and more ease hearing the direct sound while standing up. Oh and the 4x12 is prone to give you future back problems. The PPC 412 is one heavy mother ****er.


My best advice. Try before you buy! Make sure it's what you want. Also try out other amps and brands just in case there is something that has another flavor that you like better. Orange amps are loud, even the minute looking Tiny Terror. So protect your ears while jamming.

1, the amps wattage is the power it puts out.. usually rated clean, so the tt for example puts out 15 watts, however, distorted it puts out more... ive heard 20, 22 and 30!..

as far as speaker cabs go, aslong as the handling is higher than the watts the amps putting out, all is well!..

really, its the ohmage you want to look at!..

2, a vox ac30 usually comes with 2 alnico blue's... u can blow the speakers.. but there usually rated with a bit to spare..


3, yeah.. if u buy an orange, and the orange cab... u can run it thru the 16 ohm out.. if running 2 16 ohm cabs, plug them into the 8 ohm outs.. (using a SPEAKER LEAD! - different to instrument cable!)
adding another cab at a later stage is fine, just remember to make sure both cabs are 16 ohm cabs (if ur going orange)

4, 4x12 is bigger! more bottom end and sounds bigger, though the orange 2x12's sound pretty big already!
i'd be tempted to go 2 2x12s over an orange 4x12 due to the size... though a good 1x12 is always handy!

Actually, the speakers will break up plenty with a 50W amp. Speaker breakup is a complex motion of radial and concentric "waves" which vary with frequency. As the "waves" hit the edge suspension, they "roll back" across themselves - much like the wave motion when throwing a pebble in a bucket. Some of these waves cancel and some combine, which is what causes the non-linear response we can hear especially at higher levels.

Don't forget that even one or two Watts of amplifier power can drive guitar speakers well beyond bedroom levels.

As to the question of speaker rating - I'm not fully sure it always matters that much. I've never blown a speaker in a guitar amp in 15 years of recording - and I have recorded a LOT of amps.

(I have blown one or two using a guitar amp for bass, however.)


otek

Great questions here from a first timer, and great answers too.

One thing to work on is to gain as much of an understanding as you can about tube amps. There are a lot of people that will steer you wrong and cause you to damage your amp. I had a guy in guitarcenter tell me that I could run EL34's or 6550's in an amp I had that was biased for 6550's. He said that EL34's and 6550's were the exact same kind of tube! I knew better, but if I didn't I could have damaged my tubes/amp.

Also, one really big thing with tube amps is making CERTAIN that you don't mismatch you ohm settings and damage a transformer. Always match your ohm selector on the amp to the ohm rating of the cab and make sure your cables are snug. I'm sure this is beating a dead horse, but I had a friend fry his output tranny the other day for this very reason.

It is true that some amps will put out more than their rated power when driven, but I've been using a 2x12 cab with a rating of 120 watts with my JCM 800 2203 for awhile now with no issues. I boost it with a microamp, but I don't ever get above 5 on the master volume either. So, I guess you're taking a risk with very high master volume settings, but in the old days, guys used non-master volume 100 watt heads with 100 watt rated cabs with greenbacks all the time. Today most speakers can handle a little more than their rating. I guess it depends on how long your playing sessions are and how hot the speaker coils get.

Welcome to the forum, and good tone hunting!



Ironlung

Two great starter tips for tube amps.

1. Never turn an amp on without the proper speaker cable connected to the proper ohm setting.
2. Always give the amp a minute or two to warm up after you set it on standby, and never jump straight to "on".

Ironlung brings some very good advice.

3a

If you want to stack 3 2x12s eventually your amp must have 3 speaker outputs at the right Ohm ratings.
You might consider a 4x12 and then getting a 2x12 to complement it. All things equal (IMHO) the sound from a 4x12is far superior to that from a 2x12 (could be a matter of taste I suppose ). it is hell carrying up and down stairs...definitely a two man job...but well worth it believe me.

+1, you take the larger $$ hit now and its less of a sticker shock to pick up the 2x12 later. Plus you can use the 2x12 to experiment with blending different speaker kinds with the 4x12. Just make sure you get a nice "roadie" who will lug your 4x12 for you if needed

they're beefy. all your questions are answered...i'm just saying welcome.