Greetins, I need a repair on one of the speakers in my Concert Amp so I've run it recently with 3 speakers. Any thoughts on how much louder I'll be after I add the fourth. And, any opinions on what I might add if I change it instead? It doesn't need help with bottom, great sound -nice curve to it, but could use more cut. This video actually demonstrates what I get pretty well (jump to 3:40 to really hear it). Thanks.
Unless you altered the wiring of the speakers then the amp will have been running on a mismatched ohm setting. Which wouldn't be good for the amp I would have thought. I'd imagine that once the fourth speaker is in place the amp will be louder and may have more bottom end. Mainly though it will be running the way it was intended too, which is always a good thing.
Okay, I'm talking out my butt here, but until an expert shows up...
If your Fender Concert looks like this:
it puts out a theoretical 40 watts.
according to this when you run three 8 ohm speakers in parallel, each of them will receive a theoretical 13.3 watts; running four 8 ohm speakers in parallel, each of them will receive a theoretical 10 watts. 40 (theoretical) watts total either way.
Of course you will have more speaker area and you will be running the correct 2 om load (as opposed to 2.6 with three speakers) so it should sound a bit louder. Whether it'll be loud enough for you, only you can say.
I'm not really sure what "25% louder" even means, really. How many dB is that? ----------
Gotta love this new software: I woulda thought if you take a speaker out of a parallel array you have increased impedance so it would likely sound a little bit quieter. I mean its 8 divided by 3 instead of 4, so you showing the OT 2.66 ohms instead of 2. I'm assuming its 4 8ohm speakers in parallel. So adding the speaker back will make it potentially louder but I dunno by how many dB at where. And the extra voice should project a bit better.
The brown Concerts were rated at a nominal 40W in the early 60s, wall AC has risen since then & subsequently so has the amp's operating voltages (485-520vdc). They are now on par with amps like the Deville and the SS rectified 59 Bassman and capable of more like 50-58W RMS in a diagnostic test.
The impedance mismatch with 3 speakers is not really of great concern (as long as the speakers can take the wattage), the tubes still see a suitable load. A Concert with 3 speakers is, to all intents & purposes a "Bandmaster", Fender built the brown 3x10" Bandmasters with an impedance mismatch of around the same proportion, but a lower rather than higher load.
I agree with what has already been posted with regards to volume: a little more with a little more low end. Enough to be noticable (we have done back to backs with otherwise similar amps).
The extra speaker gives you more sq inches, later break up and better lows. However, there is something about those circuits with 3x10", less woof but sweet, pretty tone. If you have enough volume with 3x10" and like the tone, there's no real reason to change.
Bear in mind, we don't hear in W (even if we did, you won't get 50W clean with harp), we hear in dB, the same amp with one 95dB speaker would be a quarter as loud as with 4x95dB speakers...all other factors being equal (which they almost never are). ---------- www.myspace.com/markburness
