speaker outs on concert bass

[timmyriot]

i just got my first sunn, a concert bass. it has two speaker outs on the back and i was wondering if they are run in parallel to each other or in series.

also...is it possible to plug an rca cable into the footswitch jacks to have it short itself out and have the distortion on all the time?

[Isaac]

The speaker outs are in parallel.

Yes, it is possible to have a shorted RCA cable. This would result in having the distortion on all the time.

[timmyriot]

thanks. the speaker outs are 4ohm, correct?

and i have read somewhere that the left footswitch jack is for the distortion while the right is for boost. when i put a shorted rca cable on the right jack, nothing happens. it actually turns the distortion off, any reason behind this?

[JoeArthur]

thanks. the speaker outs are 4ohm, correct?

and i have read somewhere that the left footswitch jack is for the distortion while the right is for boost. when i put a shorted rca cable on the right jack, nothing happens. it actually turns the distortion off, any reason behind this?

The minimum load is 4 ohms - it doesn't matter how many output jacks you use. Don't assume each output jack is rated for 4 ohms - they ain't.

On a concert lead, the far right set of RCA jacks... the "L" controls the distort and the "R" controls the boost. It doesn't make any sense that the concert bass should be wired differently - but someone could have done it, for example, by replacing the RCA jacks.

But putting a shorted RCA plug into the "R" jack should not turn off the distortion - it should turn it on as it is off normally. Conversely, putting a shorted RCA plug into the "L" jack should turn the boost off as it is on normally.

Hopefully you are not plugging a cable between the jacks and shorting between them... Right? Each jack needs the center shorted to ground, not to each other.

[timmyriot]

Yup, I'm plugging in an RCA cable that has the outer ring shorted to the inner. What exactly is the boost? Treble boost or volume/overdrive boost? I could be hearing this wrong.

And if the outputs are a 4 ohm min, I can use 8 ohm with zero problems then? They don't have to be matched?

[JoeArthur]

Yup, I'm plugging in an RCA cable that has the outer ring shorted to the inner. What exactly is the boost? Treble boost or volume/overdrive boost? I could be hearing this wrong.

And if the outputs are a 4 ohm min, I can use 8 ohm with zero problems then? They don't have to be matched?

The boost is a little confusing - as it's actually a cut. With the boost off, you will lose both volume and high end. The Distort knob will control how much is lost - with the maximum loss occuring with the knob at 10. You should still have distort, but it will sound much mellower... again, at 10.

You can use two 8 ohm speaker cabs, one into each output jack, for a total load of 4 ohms. Or you can use a single 8 ohm cab into one jack.

If you have a 4 ohm cab, only use one speaker jack. Do not plug anything into the other as you WILL be going below the 4 ohm minimum.

[timmyriot]

I understand now, thanks.

As far as the footswitch jacks go, this "boost" you refer to has nothing to do with the treble boost on the front correct?
And if I was to wire up a footswitch for myself, I'd want two switches one for each jack?

[JoeArthur]

I understand now, thanks.

As far as the footswitch jacks go, this "boost" you refer to has nothing to do with the treble boost on the front correct?
And if I was to wire up a footswitch for myself, I'd want two switches one for each jack?

Yes, the boost is a separate function from the treble boost.

The amp is set up to separate the boost and distort functions, so yes, a switch for each is normal.