Sunn and/or Fender - through Bassman 50 cab - possible solutions? Impedance mismatch

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

Hey!
Thanks again to all of you who have guessed my new amp. Back in November.
Fact is: I‘m not playing it as often as I thought I would. But the only reason for that is an impedance mismatch. And the only perfect match cab is in the rehearsal room and I‘m just too lazy to walk twice (pedal case and guitars can be handled going down once, Sunn would also need the US to EU power converter)

I have this super cool vintage Bassman cab at home that sounds great with the Bandmaster and runs on 4 Ohms. And theoretically (I read it somewhere I forgot) it could be wired in both series and parallel so that would yield either 4 or 16 Ohm and would therefore also match the Sunn Solarus (16 Ohm). I‘m only planning to use one amp at a time



Can this be somehow done by using a stereo jack - instead of a switch that control the input. Like Mono cable is 4 Ohm/paralel and stereo cable is 16 Ohm/series?
Even if it is a road worn and rocked out cab - it‘s still vintage and I would like not to mess with the backplate or anything besides the jack.

Also how would I solve the cable issue with the amps? Do stereo speaker cables exist?

The Solarus also has an 8 Ohm output (that I haven‘t yet figured out) - in my logic it runs on 8 Ohms when attached to two 16 Ohm cabs - but maybe those old Sunn amps are wired differently. Anyone got an insight here? Or a good and reliable source where to check?

If it‘s not solvable that way: there is a Jet City 2x12 cab that runs on 16 Ohm to be had for 90€ just a 25min drive away. But then the Vaporizer would have to move as I don‘t have enough space for three amps in the living room.

Happy to hear your solution-suggestions and ideas!

[JSett]

I'm pretty sure the only way to do this would be to use a switch or a second jack (a-la Marshall). Both would require a new hole in the cab. I'd, personally, go the extra jack route as its less likely to be damaged in transit.

If you're okay with circuit diagrams then you can easily adapt this:

[rumfoord]

Is this the situation(?):
-
Cab with two 8 ohm speakers, and one jack cup on back.
Bandmaster is 4 ohm head.
Solarus is 16 ohm head.

Question is: Why does this not seem possible? even though it seems completely possible?!
(is that right?)
--
With two holes in the cab you can do parallel/stereo. And then wire a junction box to put them in series, maybe.




With one hole, I don't know. My wildest idea is to put a speakon jack on the cab, and then

...idk what.. I'm not sure that's not a dumb idea or if it'd work or be safe,
but then something?
a speakon cable to take it to some other kind of junction box that is wired as above?
or hack some jumpers into a custom cable to have one cable be parallel, and the other cable be series?

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

Is this the situation(?):
-
Cab with two 8 ohm speakers, and one jack cup on back.
Bandmaster is 4 ohm head.
Solarus is 16 ohm head.

Question is: Why does this not seem possible? even though it seems completely possible?!
(is that right?)

--
With two holes in the cab you can do parallel/stereo. And then wire a junction box to put them in series, maybe.

Yes, these are exactly my thoughts.
Thank you two for the input(s) so far!

I've no experience with Speakon cables/jacks.

Hmmmm. Too bad.
Anyhow. I will take it to the next rehearsal to see/hear if it cuts through the mix and all. And decide how I'll proceed.
why can't vintage amps have a 3 way impedance switch to choose from like my supersonic?

PS: Any experiences with the Jet City cab(s) it's one with front divided into two parts - one with a grill cloth and one with a blue tolex. Missing the logo.

[JSett]

I've been playing with wiring diagrams and, a don't think there's a way to adapt your cab without drilling for a switch or a second jack.

The absolute easiest workaround is to buy a Weber 8ohm attenuator. The Bassman will be fine at 8, as will the Sunn. Both will be mismatched but within safe specs. Even if you don't actually attenuate, just having it in line will present an 8ohm load.

Plus, having a decent attenuator to hand is always good...you never know when it'll come in handy.

*EDIT: after looking, most Weber attenuators seem to be impedance switchable these days so you can just plug it in-line and switch to the appropriate load. Easy peasy

[hulakatt]

The absolute easiest workaround is to buy a Weber 8ohm attenuator. The Bassman will be fine at 8, as will the Sunn. Both will be mismatched but within safe specs. Even if you don't actually attenuate, just having it in line will present an 8ohm load.

Plus, having a decent attenuator to hand is always good...you never know when it'll come in handy.

*EDIT: after looking, most Weber attenuators seem to be impedance switchable these days so you can just plug it in-line and switch to the appropriate load. Easy peasy

First thing I thought of. Nothing easier than an external box to do the switching for you! Just leave it plugged into the Sunn and either jack back and forth between the Bassman and the attenuator or putting a head switcher after it.

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

Hmmm. I'm a bit skeptical about that. I played a Tube Amp Doctor Silencer before (as my Supersonic was hard to tame before I found out how) - and it changed the sound like A LOT! Also the dynamics went missing in the Gain mode. All Boosts were useless.

But I guess in 6-10 years some things might have improved in that area as well...
Do you know more models/makers that offer that impedance correction? Weber stuff is hard to come by in Europe and mostly has to be imported...

[JSett]

Hmmm. I'm a bit skeptical about that. I played a Tube Amp Doctor Silencer before (as my Supersonic was hard to tame before I found out how) - and it changed the sound like A LOT! Also the dynamics went missing in the Gain mode. All Boosts were useless.

But I guess in 6-10 years some things might have improved in that area as well...
Do you know more models/makers that offer that impedance correction? Weber stuff is hard to come by in Europe and mostly has to be imported...

The Weber's do allow you to dial back to the tone you like. BUT the important thing is the impedance....if you just plug it in and set it so it's not even doing any actual attenuation - just in line - you won't hear the difference, just the load will change.

[hulakatt]

Hmmm. I'm a bit skeptical about that. I played a Tube Amp Doctor Silencer before (as my Supersonic was hard to tame before I found out how) - and it changed the sound like A LOT! Also the dynamics went missing in the Gain mode. All Boosts were useless.

But I guess in 6-10 years some things might have improved in that area as well...
Do you know more models/makers that offer that impedance correction? Weber stuff is hard to come by in Europe and mostly has to be imported...

You will hear the bigger change in your tone the more you attenuate an amp. Leave it up all the way and it shouldn't change much at all.

Lots of companies making attenuators now, who makes nice ones in Europe these days?