2 amp heads into 1 4x12 cab is it possible and how?

A_Danger

Hey guys could use a pointer or two with this.. I'm getting a roland jc120 head soon and want to use it with my mesa triple rectifier head and cab, I used to have the combo of the roland a few years ago and had an a/b/y box to select between the two. Can you use the 2 heads with the one cab and how would you go about it.. sorry if it seems like a dumb question, the whole science of it all is a pain in the hole.. also further apologies if this is in the wrong section..

Nailz

I'd say there'll be plenty of folks around here who would definitely be able to help you out as they're a knowledgeable bunch on the R&M forum, but I'd say your best shout is to drop into the Instruments forum and ask there as it'll be right down their street.

Best of luck in your tech set-up, sorry I couldn't be of any greater help.

120_Minutes

I wouldnt advise it. especially if either (or both) are valve heads. you see, if you want to go the a/b box route, while one head is switched on and going through your cab (a) the other one is sitting idle and switched on but "seeing no load from a cab" (b) if i remember the parlance to be correct. this can cause the head to blow, and you'll be replacing a transformer.... pricey (esp a mesa one!)

on the other hand, if the cab is a stereo one (has two inputs) and can be switched to dual mono, and your resistance (ohms) and power rating (watts) all match up, you might (and i say MIGHT) be able to send both heads to the cab at once, and switch with your a/b/y in front of both heads.


my advice? buy another cab.

A_Danger

cheers for your help. yeah I wanted to get the head because of space issues.. i had the 2 amps before 1 was a combo and it took up way too much space.. so another cab would mean the same thing.. cheers though appreciate it..

slavetothegrind

switch to two 2x12 cabs maybe to save space?

Squidgy Black

If the cab is wired in stereo you can, meaning if there is two seperate inputs on the cab.

firefly08

If the cab is wired in stereo you can, meaning if there is two seperate inputs on the cab.

Yes but you'll only be using 2 speakers for each amp. You might not notice a difference however - I suppose it depends on whether you want to have both amps going at once or switch between them? If you're running both at the same time, just do what stetyrrell said. If you're switching, try it anyway - you might be happy with the sound, and then all you'd need is a splitter for your guitar signal.

There a few devices out there that can do the switching electronically, to use the full cab with either amp, but they're expensive. The problem is that they have to switch the power amp signal which is very...well, powerful, and on top of that, you can't simply switch the speaker over to one amp and leave the other with no load (that could damage the amp). So there has to be a way to provide a dummy load for the amp that's not in use.

Here's one product that takes care of all that

I have 2 heads and a single 4x12, and I just switch over manually. You just have to remember to switch the amp off before you plug it out of the speaker to avoid leaving the amp with no load.

A_Danger

nice one man thats exactly what I'm looking for.. cheers!

Malice

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