Musician Gear & Tech Discussion

I have an vox ad15 i was wondering is it possible to build a new cab and install 2 10" celestions. will it push it. the lil 10" cant hang when i get it pumpin good. Thanks.

"tape measure time.."

I don't like 12" speakers in a Fender Twin Reverb, so I found a qudraverb that someone cut in half.

I then measured it (25 3/4"), the twin chassis was prime to go right in.

I then mounted (2) 70 watt, OEM, Eminence speakers in the (2) 10' baffles.

Result? Wow. Loud amp that doesn't even think of breaking up till 6 on the dial.

Bigger wattage/smaller speakers = different tone.

PS: Celestions come in different wattages, so bump it up a little if your amp breaks up too early, bump it back if it takes too long to break up.

I.e. It's all about the tone you like..tape measure is your best friend.

The worst part is trying to spot the new cab/combo cab that will house your chassis.

I have an vox ad15 i was wondering is it possible to build a new cab and install 2 10" celestions. will it push it. the lil 10" cant hang when i get it pumpin good. Thanks.

The AD15VT with 8" speaker is probably not enough amp to run with a drummer no matter how many speakers you add. It sounds good, just not very loud. A pair of 15" EVs in a well designed cabinet would give you about 8db more volume but it still might not be enough.

Rather than drag around a bunch of extra speakers, why not just mic it? That's what I always do when we play large outdoor shows. A good guitar amp sounds great thru a 57.

I'd not purchase an amp that does not have a direct line out.

The only way to get more volume out of an amp by swapping or adding speakers is to swap them for more efficient ones. Two larger speakers will not be louder, but might get better tone. I've run my Fender Champ through its built in 8", a 1x12 cabinet I built and a Kustom 2x12 with a pair of Emminence 12's in it. No noticeable change in volume level. The 1x12 cabinet is slightly louder, it's a bit more efficient but not much.

If you check the specs, most average speakers will show an efficiency rating, usually around 96. If you can find one with a 100-102 efficiency rating, that means it's easier to push the speaker to the same volume level, so any specific amp will push that speaker louder than a 96 rated speaker.

Otherwise the only way to get more volume is with more wattage.

I dont know Pete, Ive run my little twenty watter thru a 4x12 and it seems quite a bit louder than thru the 10 inch in the unit, I havent put a meter on it, but too me it sounds much louder.

Im not sure about the speaker efficiency ratings, my 4x12 has Celestions in it, not sure what the little black shadow is in the combo.

I dont know Pete, Ive run my little twenty watter thru a 4x12 and it seems quite a bit louder than thru the 10 inch in the unit, I havent put a meter on it, but too me it sounds much louder.

Im not sure about the speaker efficiency ratings, my 4x12 has Celestions in it, not sure what the little black shadow is in the combo.

if I'm not mistaken, changing from 8ohm (likely that a single ten is 8 or 16) to 4 ohm (typical 4x12 wired in series parallel would be) would actually increase the wattage your amp is putting out due to less resistance...
but I think pete is alluding to the fact that this is not always an option, especially if your transformer isn't beefy enough to handle it.

I dont know Pete, Ive run my little twenty watter thru a 4x12 and it seems quite a bit louder than thru the 10 inch in the unit, I havent put a meter on it, but too me it sounds much louder.

Im not sure about the speaker efficiency ratings, my 4x12 has Celestions in it, not sure what the little black shadow is in the combo.

if I'm not mistaken, changing from 8ohm (likely that a single ten is 8 or 16) to 4 ohm (typical 4x12 wired in series parallel would be) would actually increase the wattage your amp is putting out due to less resistance...
but I think pete is alluding to the fact that this is not always an option, especially if your transformer isn't beefy enough to handle it.

Yep, that little AD15VT was never really designed as a gigging amp for live performance volume levels. Hooking it up to a gaggle of speakers without carefully matching impedance will quickly fry the amp to a crackly crunch.

Ive got a 16 ohm cab and a 8 ohm cab, Ive always hooked the 8 ohm to a 4 ohm output, and the 16 ohm to a 8 ohm output on my little amp, I havent seen any problems. Thats the way the Mesa manuals I have say to hook it up.

On my Triple Rec I do the same thing 8 ohm out to 16 ohm cab, and 4 ohm out to 8 ohm cab. I have used it a bunch like this and never had any issues.

To my ears more paper(speakers) means more volume, but thats just me.

Ive got a gig coming up sat night, and Ive messed up the last couple of weeks, Ive been playing on my little 20 watter and really digging it, so yesterday I hooked up my gig rig, Triple head and 2 4x12 cabs, and the little amp just sounds better, LOL.

I like my big rig for rythyms more than the small one, but there is just something special about the little amp on leads, they just breath and come alive way more.

Im sure I will wind up just playing my big rig for the gig, cause its just what I use for that.

Anyone else that has multi amps ever face the problem of what amp to bring to a gig? Just curious.

Ive got a 16 ohm cab and a 8 ohm cab, Ive always hooked the 8 ohm to a 4 ohm output, and the 16 ohm to a 8 ohm output on my little amp, I havent seen any problems. Thats the way the Mesa manuals I have say to hook it up.

On my Triple Rec I do the same thing 8 ohm out to 16 ohm cab, and 4 ohm out to 8 ohm cab. I have used it a bunch like this and never had any issues.

To my ears more paper(speakers) means more volume, but thats just me.

hooking 8 ohms speakers to a 4 ohm output is running your amp with less output... not pushing it as hard... running an 8 ohm output to 4 ohm speakers is where you could see an issue.

afa audible difference, there are all sorts of things that will result in the impression of more volume, but fewer that will actually deliver measurable increases. that said, I agree that more speakers sounds louder.

Ive got a gig coming up sat night, and Ive messed up the last couple of weeks, Ive been playing on my little 20 watter and really digging it, so yesterday I hooked up my gig rig, Triple head and 2 4x12 cabs, and the little amp just sounds better, LOL.

Anyone else that has multi amps ever face the problem of what amp to bring to a gig? Just curious.

Yep, all the time JW. I have 4 guitar amps and 3 are gig worthy. The other one is a piece of history from the 40s and it stays in the studio. What do I keep bringing out? My little Mesa F30. It has just enough juice to run with a drum kit and every time I use it one of my friends or band mates says "wow dude your guitar sounds fantastic tonight". Ok, that is all I need to know. I probably need to sell the others cause they just don't get out much.