Unmatched speakers in combo amp?

[Lage]

I have a Musicman 212 150, and I want to replace the speakers in it.
I was considering putting in 1 Mesa black shadow C90, and one Weber California. Is it a really bad idea to have two different speakers in one amp?
Thanks.

[kafka]

The two speakers may not match each other in output, but there are a number of manufacturers who have done this because of the tone. Mesa used to offer their 4x12's with a pair of EVMs and a pair of Celestions. I think Matchless had one with dissimilar speakers, too.

[Lage]

The black shadow is 90W and the Weber 80. Would that be an issue? (both @ 8ohms)

[kafka]

No, power rating is just the maximum power the speaker can take before the voice coil melts. The important characteristic is the speaker impedance, which is 8Ω for both. You should be fine.

Let us know how it sounds. The C90 is a relabeled Celestion, and the Weber Californias are supposed to be like JBL's. It could be a really good combination.

[Lage]

[quote=kafka;4022885]No, power rating is just the maximum power the speaker can take before the voice coil melts.

So since this amp is 150W, would I then need to find speakers rated at at least 150W?

[kafka]

Originally Posted by Lage

So since this amp is 150W, would I then need to find speakers rated at at least 150W?

No. Combined they need to handle 150 Watts. You should be ok, but there's a caveat to that. The caveat is that no speaker is exactly 8Ω. So, one speaker might dissipate more energy than the other. If you're putting out the full 150 Watts, and the 80 Watt speaker is the one with the lower impedance, you could exceed it's rating and blow it. I would be surprised if this actually happened, but you should be aware of the possibility. At most, just keep the volume down somewhere below 10, and you won't be putting out anywhere near full power.

Now, there is one important question, and that's whether the 150 Watt rating is RMS or Peak. Speaker ratings are in RMS. If the 150 watts is RMS, then all of the above is relevant. If it's Peak, then the amp will be putting out a lot less. RMS would be nowhere near 150 Watts, and you'd be totally safe. (BTW, 150 Watts RMS is one big freaking guitar amp.)

I'm not familiar with the MusicMan 212 150. How many output tubes does it have, and what type? If it's four 6L6's, then 150 watts has to be Peak. If that's the case, then it has to be at most an 80-100 Watt RMS amp.

[dewey decibel]

Like Kafka said, you should be ok with those speakers. I think that amp is running 4 EL-34s, which is pretty powerful, but I seriously doubt you've got it cranked as that would stun children an small animals.

As for the speakers, what are you going for? Those are both loud, clean speakers, is that what you want? Most often when guys mix speakers in the same cab it's to blend the breakup characteristics and get a fuller, more 3-D sound. But both those speakers are designed to stay clean.

[Lage]

Originally Posted by dewey decibel

Like Kafka said, you should be ok with those speakers. I think that amp is running 4 EL-34s, which is pretty powerful, but I seriously doubt you've got it cranked as that would stun children an small animals.

As for the speakers, what are you going for? Those are both loud, clean speakers, is that what you want? Most often when guys mix speakers in the same cab it's to blend the breakup characteristics and get a fuller, more 3-D sound. But both those speakers are designed to stay clean.

Great, thanks for the help. I need an amp with lots of headroom for clean sounds, so that's why I'm going for those speakers + the 150w amp

[dewey decibel]

Like Kafka said, you should be ok with those speakers. I think that amp is running 4 EL-34s, which is pretty powerful, but I seriously doubt you've got it cranked as that would stun children an small animals.

As for the speakers, what are you going for? Those are both loud, clean speakers, is that what you want? Most often when guys mix speakers in the same cab it's to blend the breakup characteristics and get a fuller, more 3-D sound. But both those speakers are designed to stay clean.