Fender Rev. cab/speaker advice...

[misterfolkertsma]

Hi, everyone. Don’t worry, I also have an Orange since day one!

So, haven’t been actively playing for a while now since band-life stopped. Been meaning to pick it up again and always wanted a higher wattage american amp to ABY with my Orange R30c.

I’ve been out of it for too long to fully remember impedence matching, but the OA forum has always been helpful in the past to help and educate so I figured I’d ask here again!

So, I bought this Fender:
https://imgur.com/gallery/Xr2jBHN

(Click the link above for more pictures)



It’s supposed to be a Twin Reverb, minus its speakers and ported over to a Quad enclosure. I’ve included searchresults-screenshots regarding it’s serial number (A629931) and it shows up as either a ‘73 Twin Reverb or ‘73 Dual Showman Reverb.

What I already own: 2x12” G12H30 cab @ 16ohms for my R30c, Montage enclosure.

Q: Is this 2x12” cab safe for home-use with the Fender?

Q: I’m in the process of finding a 1x15” cab for the Fender. Unfortunately the matching Montage cab I originally wanted isn’t in-stock anymore. Any tips? I’d prefer it to be sold within the EU.

Any advice would be highly appreciated, thanks Orange fam!

[northernguitarguy]

Hi there....looks like your amp is 4 ohms out into the 16 ohm cab....safe mismatch, but it might not sound very good.....you could always rewire your 2x12 in parallel to have a 4 ohm cab.

Not very scientific, but look at it this way (my old man's theory...or someone he borrowed from). The amp is the fireplace and the speaker is the chimney. Big fire and small chimney, could blow up the place (i.e. your amp) Small fire into a big chimney, works alright, but thins out the smoke (tone). Matched is the best way.

If you want to have a 2x12 with both a 4 and 16 ohm input, you could always wire it like this. Note that the there are only two jacks needed and the pic is showing both sides of the same jack.

[misterfolkertsma]

Thanks! When you’re saying small/big chimney, you’re referring to the impedence numerically? As in, big fire (16ohms amp) and small chimney (4ohms speaker) = bad.

I don’t want to rewire my current 2x12 though, I keep that for my R30c. The fender will get it’s own dedicated 1x15. I still have a eminence ca154 300watt laying around. It’s a Bass/PA speaker, but I loved the sound of this speaker in an old Peavey 1x15 combo.

Hi there....looks like your amp is 4 ohms out into the 16 ohm cab....safe mismatch, but it might not sound very good.....you could always rewire your 2x12 in parallel to have a 4 ohm cab.

Not very scientific, but look at it this way (my old man's theory...or someone he borrowed from). The amp is the fireplace and the speaker is the chimney. Big fire and small chimney, could blow up the place (i.e. your amp) Small fire into a big chimney, works alright, but thins out the smoke (tone). Matched is the best way.

If you want to have a 2x12 with both a 4 and 16 ohm input, you could always wire it like this. Note that the there are only two jacks needed and the pic is showing both sides of the same jack.

[northernguitarguy]

Thanks! When you’re saying small/big chimney, you’re referring to the impedence numerically? As in, big fire (16ohms amp) and small chimney (4ohms speaker) = bad.

Yeah, that's exactly what I meant.

[Les Paul Lover]

Don't do it.

It's too big a mismatch, forget that fire / chimney story.

You're usually fine up double mismatch (16o amps into 8o cab, or 8o amp into 16o cab), but here, the mismatch wouldn't be safe.

Just wait until you have the correct cab.

[misterfolkertsma]

Thanks, I won’t.

Don't do it.

It's too big a mismatch, forget that fire / chimney story.

You're usually fine up double mismatch (16o amps into 8o cab, or 8o amp into 16o cab), but here, the mismatch wouldn't be safe.

Just wait until you have the correct cab.

[northernguitarguy]

Thanks, I won’t.

Don't do it.

It's too big a mismatch, forget that fire / chimney story.

You're usually fine up double mismatch (16o amps into 8o cab, or 8o amp into 16o cab), but here, the mismatch wouldn't be safe.

Just wait until you have the correct cab.

Yup. I was wrong. Never tried such a mismatch, but just learned the rule of thumb is to limit your cab to double the ohms of the amp.

However, I still say that a good bet is the wiring diagram I posted above. I did this for my 2x12 and can use it at 16ohms when using my VOX Night Train or Orange R15T. However, for bigger gigs, I can run it at 4 ohms with my BadCat Unleash attenuator/reamplifier. This gets me 160W of pure, clean SS power, and makes my amps playable in any venue. It really makes the cab versatile for a number of amps.

[misterfolkertsma]

I don’t think 2x G12H30 would be able to handle a 100w amp though.

[northernguitarguy]

I don’t think 2x G12H30 would be able to handle a 100w amp though.

Excellent point! Unless you can attenuate, that would be bad. lol....probably best to NEVER listen to me!

Good luck with the 1x15"!

[misterfolkertsma]

I highly appreciate the help though!

I’m probably going to end up ordering a cab from Cathredal Cabs, they look frikkin cool. And they’re made in Belgium, not far from me.

I don’t think 2x G12H30 would be able to handle a 100w amp though.

Excellent point! Unless you can attenuate, that would be bad. lol....probably best to NEVER listen to me!

Good luck with the 1x15"!