Acoustic 220 cab pairing?

[MichaelZodiac]

So picking up my recently acquired Acoustic 220 on saturday and since this my first head I'm figuring out which cab would be best. Ideally I would just pickup a 2*15 Peavey cab on the local equivalent of Craigslist but since I live in mainland Europe and not in Mississipi that isn't really an option. The Acoustic was already a lucky find. It's a late seventies model so it runs 160W @ 2ohms and 125W @ 4ohms.

Last summer I had the plan to build my own 2*15 but had to abandon that plan because of money shortage... So this is an opportunity but I would need the help from my dad with the woodwork and he's abroad until mid August and I don't think he'll immediatly have the spare time to work on it when he gets back.

Any suggestions on this pickle? There aren't exactly new 2 ohms cabs in abundance... Buy a Peavey 4*10 running at 4 ohms? Or any other sort of 4*10?

[James1214]

I play my 230, which is the same thing only with an additional bright channel and reverb,  thru an
ampeg 810 at 4 ohms. and I can attest to the fact it is one of the loudest and most toneful 100ish Watt SS amps I've ever played. I think plugging into a good 410 should work out just fine.

[Mr. Foxen]

Use a 4ohm cab. The volume difference between 160w and 125w is basically not appreciable, but you'll be running a vintage amp much hotter on 2ohm. There are plenty of Peavey 2x15s around the UK, dunno about the mainland though. If there is woodwork possibility, make an endgame Fearful dually or similar.

[MichaelZodiac]

Ha! My luck seems to have changed, just checked local listings website, there's a Peavey PA 120 with two 215s for sale. Just emailed the seller.

[MichaelZodiac]

Yes. Scored those cabs and amp for 60 euros, if they don't work properly I'll haggle some off the price to get the cabs and change the speakers or recone them, whatever's necessary. Who would've thought?!

[justJon]

IMO, the Acoustic 220 wants to run into 2 ohms. 220 into 2, 2x15, 4-ohm cabs, 2 ohm total resistance, is pure thunder!

[MichaelZodiac]

Picking up those cabs tonight, since the seller doesn't have a clue what they are (the guy doesn't even have speaker cables to test the goods), can somebody already give me an idea what they are? I thought they were 215s but the height seems off if I compare with other pictures of the Interwebz.



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[Mr. Foxen]

Look like 2x12 PA speakers.

[chlorpromazine]

or 1x12 with a horn

compare to Peavey 112 PT

[justinhedrick]

I think those are 2x12s.

btw, the rumor is that is the same head greg ginn used in black flag.

[MichaelZodiac]

Hmm, bummer they're not 215s, I'd figured as much when looking closely. They're still a steal so I'll just test them out.

Now, I was looking at current 215 PA cabs, they're cheaper than a bass 410 but the range of those PA cabs is smaller: a current Peavey 410 has a range of 30Hz to 15KHz and the Peavey 215 PV has a range of 40Hz to 21kHz, would I lose much lowend? Or is this is just a bad idea?

Didn't know that about that head, my guitarplayer is gonna be stoked when he finds out.

[MichaelZodiac]

They're 210's in working order, gonna check if the speakers are all still original. The amp works pretty well, haven't had the chance to fully test it, that's something for tomorrow. Thanks everybody!

[chlorpromazine]

just remember that PA cabinets will provide a more flat frequency response for full range operation
bass cabs will provide more low end
the response curve is what you need to look for
the operating range doesn't tell the whole story

[Mr. Foxen]

An operating range without an @-xdb is pretty much meaningless. Bass cabs, especially cheaper ones tend to have a response hump in the mid or upper bass to give an impression of being fuller sounding. Pair of 2x10s vertical is the good way to make yourself be able to monitor yourself with minimal volume/stuff to carry.