4 ohm 1x12 extension cab?

[AirBagTester]

I have 3 small amps that each have 4 ohm output and I'm looking for a 4 ohm 1x12 extension cab to use with them for recording. It seems 4 ohm 1x12's are not common. I can't find any! I know Jensen makes some 12" 4 ohm speakers but I'd rather get a ready built cab if possible as I've never built a cab before and I don't even know what parts to buy.

Are there any 4 ohm 1x12 cabinets?

I know that I might be able to get by with an 8 ohm cab, but I've also seen a few people on this forum and others recommend against mismatching ohms - especially with tube amps.

 

[Singin' Dave]

Any 1x12 cabinet can be 4 ohms by inserting a 4ohm speaker into it. Very very simple thing to do as most cabs have speaker wire clips these days - no soldering required.

Weber makes just about all of their speakers in 4 ohms and they make cabs too. www.tedweber.com

Tons of other good cabinet makers out there at all price points from JD Newell to Lopo to our own esteemed muchxs.

For my money though, I'd get a good quality used 1x12 cab and stick in the 4ohm speaker of my choice from Weber or Eminence. Probably be all in for ~$200.

 

[BobbyZ]

What kind of amps are these? Weber has speakers in 4ohms.

 

[alnicopu]

I built a 1x12 cab for my champ and got a Magnavox labeled Quam Nichols 4 ohm 12 for 29 bucks on ebay and it sounded great. You would be surprised at how good an old low dollar full range speaker sounds.

I have an old rola alnico 12 in there now, from a Hammond tone cab pull, I use with my Princeton reverb. Sounds superb, got the cab for 100.00, sold the power tubes for 90.00. Ended up with 2 12's and 2 15's all rola alnicos with pretty big magnets.

 

[AirBagTester]

For my money though, I'd get a good quality used 1x12 cab and stick in the 4ohm speaker of my choice from Weber or Eminence. Probably be all in for ~$200.

Yeah, the more I think about it the more that seems the easiest way to go. Also I didn't realize Weber and Eminence made 4 ohm 12's... will definitely consider those over the Jensens.

 

[AirBagTester]

What kind of amps are these? Weber has speakers in 4ohms.

Fender Champ 600, Vox VT15 and Vox DA5 (I'll have to rig up some line outs for the last two but I've seen kits available that just plug in or clip on.)

 

[AirBagTester]

Oh wow! Weber definitely seems to offer a bunch of 4 ohm speakers and cabs to put them in...

 

[SamClemons]

Virtually every speaker comes in a 4 ohm version.

 

[jefrs]

I think the OP means they cannot find an off the shelf 4ohm loaded ext cab.

Solution, purchase an empty 1x12 ext cab and fit a 4ohm speaker. Pretty well all makes have 4ohm speakers. 4ohm, 8ohm ans 16ohm are common. 12ohm, 24ohm and 32ohm are rare.

 

[6942]

Live BOLD!!

Find a cheap, used 2 x 12 cab and stick a couple of 12", 8 ohm speakers in parallel.

Steve

 

[Singin' Dave]

Find a cheap, used 2 x 12 cab and stick a couple of 12", 8 ohm speakers in parallel.

Steve

That'll work too.....

 

[jhundt]

do your amps have ONLY 4-ohm outputs, or do they offer 8 ohm output as well?

here's why I ask:

I picked up a very nice used 12" cab at a thrift shop. It has an old Fane speaker in it and it sounds very good. But it is a 4-ohm speaker. My Fender amps are designed for 8 ohms. They will play quite well with 4 ohms. But if I add the 4-ohm extension cabinet to the built-in 8-ohm speaker, the load is down to 2.66 ohms and I think i might be pushing my luck with the output transformer.

So I can use the ext cab alone with an amp, but it is not a great choice as an extension with the onboard speaker connected too.

If I had the choice I would have preferred an 8-ohm extension cab; for my amps that would be a more useful cabinet.

 

[SamClemons]

I would have to think about how you could do it, but it would be possible to put a 4 ohm speaker in you amp, then wire it such that when you plug in the extension speaker it becomes 8 ohms rather than 2.

You could sell the Fane and then buy the same speaker in an 8 ohm version.

 

[AirBagTester]

Virtually every speaker comes in a 4 ohm version.

I probably just wasn't looking in the right place. The only 4 ohm 12 I could find on Amazon were Jensen MOD's. All Celestions and Eminence were 8 and 16. Amazon probably isn't the right place to look then. The Weber website does list quite a few options...

 

[AirBagTester]

I think the OP means they cannot find an off the shelf 4ohm loaded ext cab.

That's what I meant to ask.

Seems like the best thing to do rather than keep looking for a pre-loaded cab is just look for an empty or a cheap one I can swap speakers with. Problem solved.

 

[jefrs]

Most Celestion speakers /are/ available 4ohm, 8ohm or 16ohm, there's only a couple that are not.

I do not know the other makes well enough to comment.

Example, the Laney GS212IE cab is loaded with a pair of Seventy80 8ohm speakers, switchable from 4ohm parallel to 16ohm series in "mono", or individual 8ohm in "stereo". About £200, which is cheap for a decent 2x12 cab.
The Seventy80 drivers are ok for sound reinforcement, less so for the primary. Add these to a 2x12 combo and you have your 4x12 mini-stack.

 

[jazzguitarist09]

I realize I'm activating an old thread, but I was looking for the same thing today. Henriksen makes a great 1-12'' 4 ohm cabinet. www.jazzamp.com

 

[Robster]

The DA5 has an 8 ohm speaker.