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Post by stevee on Nov 9, 2006 3:25:20 GMT -7
I have a Maz 38 Sr and have been using it with an extension cabinet, the 12" Celestion Alnico Blue (out of a Vox AC-15) for a number of months. I play in small to moderate sized clubs (150 - 400 seats) and have just picked up an Airbrake. Reading the manual , very last paragraph speaks to the issue of parallel connections on what I am assuming are 'other'amps. The question is can I come off the 4 ohm output of the Z in to the 'Brake then spilt out to the internal speaker as well as my extension cab as I have been doing (both the internal and the Alnico Blue are 8 ohms hence the 4 ohm tap)? Dangers? I do have this nagging concern about blowing up the Alnico Blue as it is rated at 15 watts, any comments on that? Looking forward to cranking up with the airbrake!!
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Nov 9, 2006 12:45:17 GMT -7
If you're worried about blowing up the Alnico Blue, you're already doing a good job of putting it in danger. But adding the Airbrake can only make things better, not worse. Your description of the hookup is correct as far as I can tell (you don't say how you've been doing it up till now). But even with the Airbrake, you could possibly blow that speaker if your amp is wide open. It will depend on a lot of variables that are pretty hard to quantify here, but I would say if you haven't blown it yet, you're probably fine - and as I said, the Airbrake helps, not hurts.
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Post by axetrader on Nov 12, 2006 7:45:33 GMT -7
I have a similar question and will add it here: 1) how is an attenuator different from a master volume and can you benefit from both? 2) if you can benefit, then what is the right way to connect a combo speaker and a separate cabinet, both 8 ohms? Would this work: Connect AB (AirBrake) to one of the 4 ohm taps on rear of amp (normally Mesa tells us to use the two 4 ohms taps, one for each 8ohm speaker), connect the output side of the AB to the stand alone 8 ohm cabinet, use the parallel out on the cabinet to power the combo 8 ohm speaker (it does not have a parallel out tap so I am coming from the cabinet). Seem correct? Other options? Thanks!
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Post by mudskipper on Nov 12, 2006 8:30:13 GMT -7
i can comment on the first question: 1) how is an attenuator different from a master volume and can you benefit from both? most definitely... your master volume would control the preamp gain and the attenuator would control the final volume. an ideal situation would be that you have a PPIMV and an attenuator, though.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Nov 12, 2006 10:29:47 GMT -7
I have a similar question and will add it here: 1) how is an attenuator different from a master volume and can you benefit from both? 2) if you can benefit, then what is the right way to connect a combo speaker and a separate cabinet, both 8 ohms? Would this work: Connect AB (AirBrake) to one of the 4 ohm taps on rear of amp (normally Mesa tells us to use the two 4 ohms taps, one for each 8ohm speaker), connect the output side of the AB to the stand alone 8 ohm cabinet, use the parallel out on the cabinet to power the combo 8 ohm speaker (it does not have a parallel out tap so I am coming from the cabinet). Seem correct? Other options? Thanks! Mudskipper is right - both are useful. The master volume lets you set the amount of preamp distortion you like, the Airbrake lets you set the amount of power amp saturation you like. A good way to look at it is that your preamp gain control sets your preamp distortion, and your master volume sets your power amp distortion. Then the airbrake controls your volume. My Stingray doesn't have a master volume but my Flexi-50 does, and on that amp, I notice the power tubes starting to contribute distortion when the master volume is at about 3 o'clock. So that's about where I run it's master, and use the attenuator for final volume. And your connections seem right to me. Plugging them together the way you describe is connecting them all in parallel, so two 8 ohm cabs equals 4 ohms.
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Post by axetrader on Nov 12, 2006 17:44:18 GMT -7
OK thanks! So am I correct in thinking that the Carr Mercury is a low watt tube amp with an attenuator built in? That I am accomplishing the same thing putting an Air Brake on a Maz 18 or other lower watt amp?
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Nov 12, 2006 18:11:24 GMT -7
OK thanks! So am I correct in thinking that the Carr Mercury is a low watt tube amp with an attenuator built in? That I am accomplishing the same thing putting an Air Brake on a Maz 18 or other lower watt amp? That looks about right, although the Carr Mercury starts out at only 8 watts. It does have an integrated attenuator, and the Airbrake is indeed an attenuator, so you're right in saying you accomplish the same thing, although you have a lot more power to work with in the Maz.
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Post by mudskipper on Nov 14, 2006 11:44:28 GMT -7
OK thanks! So am I correct in thinking that the Carr Mercury is a low watt tube amp with an attenuator built in? That I am accomplishing the same thing putting an Air Brake on a Maz 18 or other lower watt amp? i thought Mercury actually scaled the power output of the amp rather than simply attenuating it.
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Post by stevee on Nov 18, 2006 17:15:03 GMT -7
Thanks to all for their comments.. Played Thursday night with my setup as described with eh 15w in parallel witht he Celestion 12H in the Sr, ranthe 'Brake at 4 and found that I could get some amazing tone out of that puppy!! i was a bit concerned about the 15w speaker, so Celestion has a new 50w that will shortly find it's way in to replace the 15w - I'll sleep better.. It was interesting that my pedals (modified TS and Super overdirve) performed as expected, less pedal required, while my FuzzFace (also modified) ran in to trouble as it likes a very clean amp. With the 'Brake in place, and being close to overdrive with no pedal, when I would ad the Fuzz things got a little nasty - I suspect next time around I will back off a bit to give me a little more headroom before 'natural' overdrive..
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