Blackstar Studio 20 Combo into 4x12???

[glp1996]

So my main amp right now is a Blackstar Studio 20 1x12 combo and its great except its not.....beefy enough (i guess would be the word im looking for) and i have 4x12 that i haven't been able to use since my Bugera 6262 broke down. So anyways i just want to be safe and ask some of the more knowledgable members here if it'll be ok to plug the combo into the 4x12.

heres the options on the back of my amp:

 

[guitarfishbay]

Yes you can do this.

You've left out the all important information of what ohm rating your cab is though.

To do this ensure the amp is either off or in standby. First you remove the speaker cable for the internal speaker currently sitting in the 16 ohm output. Then you connect a speaker cable from your cab to the matching socket on the amp.

If your cab is 16 ohm, use the 16 ohm socket. If your cab is 8 ohm you can use either 8 ohm socket.

^ These are the instructions for running the external cab only, and not using the internal speaker.

If you want to connect both the internal speaker and an external cab - this will only work if the internal speaker is 16 ohm and the cab is 16 ohm. To do this, connect each to the 8 ohm (2x16 ohm) sockets.

FWIW, I think you will get a better sound using only the 4x12. This is because when the load is even both cabs receive the same amount of 'sound'. So that means you've got 50% of the signal going to a single 1x12 in the combo and 50% of the signal going to be split between four 1x12s in the 4x12 cab. I personally don't like mixing cabinet sizes but YMMV.

Never disconnect a speaker cable when the amp is on. Always make sure the amp is in standby or off when changing speakers.

Hope this helps.

 

[VBCheeseGrater]

yeah it is designed to run an external cab - 2x16 ohm cabs or 1 8 ohm i believe.

When i had the HT20 combo - i had the same problem - it was barely enough volume. I swapped out the shitty Rocket 50 for an Eminence Wizard and BOOM!!! Volume!! Amp could finally breathe it seemed like. Never had volume issues again. Sounded good with a V30 too running at 8ohms.

by the way the stock speaker is 16ohms so if you get another cab get a 16ohm cab, then you can run both. If you got an 8ohm cab you could only run the cab

 

[glp1996]

Yes you can do this.

You've left out the all important information of what ohm rating your cab is though.

To do this ensure the amp is either off or in standby. First you remove the speaker cable for the internal speaker currently sitting in the 16 ohm output. Then you connect a speaker cable from your cab to the matching socket on the amp.

If your cab is 16 ohm, use the 16 ohm socket. If your cab is 8 ohm you can use either 8 ohm socket.

^ These are the instructions for running the external cab only, and not using the internal speaker.

If you want to connect both the internal speaker and an external cab - this will only work if the internal speaker is 16 ohm and the cab is 16 ohm. To do this, connect each to the 8 ohm (2x16 ohm) sockets.

FWIW, I think you will get a better sound using only the 4x12. This is because when the load is even both cabs receive the same amount of 'sound'. So that means you've got 50% of the signal going to a single 1x12 in the combo and 50% of the signal going to be split between four 1x12s in the 4x12 cab. I personally don't like mixing cabinet sizes but YMMV.

Never disconnect a speaker cable when the amp is on. Always make sure the amp is in standby or off when changing speakers.

Hope this helps.

Thank you! Thats the exact answer i was looking for! I planned on running both the speaker from the combo and the 4x12 but now that i know this ill just run it through the 4x12

yeah it is designed to run an external cab - 2x16 ohm cabs or 1 8 ohm i believe.

When i had the HT20 combo - i had the same problem - it was barely enough volume. I swapped out the shitty Rocket 50 for an Eminence Wizard and BOOM!!! Volume!! Amp could finally breathe it seemed like. Never had volume issues again. Sounded good with a V30 too running at 8ohms.

by the way the stock speaker is 16ohms so if you get another cab get a 16ohm cab, then you can run both. If you got an 8ohm cab you could only run the cab

Hm interesting ive never had much of a problem with the stock speaker especially when its cranked (which is easy to do since its only 20 watts) with an OD pedal in front of it through the OD channel, it sounds pretty good to me. Now I'm curious to see how good it sounds with a V30. Also Its not so much that volume is an issue its more that its........ not present enough (i guess). i can't really think of a good word to describe it. Kinda of wish i got the HT 20 head or the HT 50 Club Head...... oh well the combo sounds pretty good to me.

 

[VBCheeseGrater]

yeah I do think an extra cab Will help with what you are describing. for me, I was using it for a metal band so I was really pushing the amp. I never thought the rocket 50 sounded bad until I replaced it. the main thing is it's inefficient, I think around 96db sensitivity. vs say 103db for an eminence wizard - it's truly like doubling your wattage - twice! I never thought a speaker could make that much difference until then. but if you prefer to push the amp, keep the rocket 50 and add a cab.