120W Head into 60W 1 x12 Cab?

[fibredrive]

Hi all,

Am looking to get a 1x12 60w Vintage 30 cabinet to take my 120w head. is this possible given that my master volume never goes beyond 3? anyone has any experience or horror stories to share?

Thanks!

 

[lightice]

Tube or SS head?

 

[seekz]

Yes it is possible.

I've tried it before, but its a 50W head to a 25W speaker
The speaker is some cheap piece of shit speaker to begin with
so I was, ermm how to say... More daring with the vol.

you'll just get speaker break-up quicker than tube break-up
Sounds quite bad and farty.

but of cos if the speaker gets blown because of that, it
naturally voids the warranty.

 

[fibredrive]

lightice - tube head.

seekz - thanks for sharing bro. its a toss up for me between the orange 1x12 with v30 and marshall 1936 loaded with celestion gt12-75s. the marshall shouldn't be a problem but i thot i'd like to give the v30s a go. farty is probably the last sonic attribute i want. eeks.

 

[Dongara]

Don't do it.

A 120 watt Head supplies 120 watts power to the speaker at all volume levels. When driven to distortion, the power output doubles (yes that's 240 watts drom your 120 watt head).

The ideal for your head would be double the power load, or 240 watts worth of speakers. The early 70's Celestions were conservatively rated so could be matched one to one with the head (50 watts into 50 watts).

The speaker will be damaged whatever level you play at and if it blows it will likely take the output transformer of your amp with it. Better to look for a 4 x 12 cab, or a 2 x 12 with higher rated speakers.

cheers,

Mark.

 

[lightice]

Well, that's not true.

120W is rated at onset of distortion.

The signal going into the amp also plays a part.

If you want to be safe, I'd say go get some attenuator.
If you do blow the speaker, like what dongara said, the OT would likely go as well if you're not careful.

If you want a 1x12 speaker option, maybe an empty cab with an EVM speaker would suit your needs better.