purpledc said:
No the amount gain (which is a bad term. We should say distortion) is pre determined for the most part by your preamp. The type or ohm speakers should have little to no effect on the actual amount of it available. But the "perceived" amount of distortion can be more pronounced or less pronounced depending on the cab. For instance when I switched from a marshall cab with G12T75 speakers to my mesa with V30's my Mesa cab seemed to have a lot more distortion. What I was hearing was not actually distortion from my amp but rather the way the speaker "interprets" the distortion coming into the speaker. Some speakers just have a more "dirty" sound and will sound more distorted than they actually are. Another thing that I notice is projection of a speaker effecting the amount of gain. If I have a cab fire directly into my face it appears to have not only more highs but also more distortion. Turn this same cab to the side and the edge is gone and some of the dirt. But the short answer, no your amp doesnt know the difference between speaker types. It only see a load and a load alone. But depending on the speaker it will sound more or less distorted. This is why I feel speaker choice is critical to achieve certain tones. I almost think speaker choice is more important than pickup choice and I most certainly feel its way more important than what wood your guitar is made from.
Purpledc- right on....except for the last few lines:
"This is why I feel speaker choice is critical to achieve certain tones. I almost think speaker choice is more important than pickup choice and I most certainly feel its way more important than what wood your guitar is made from."
I think it's better to say that we need to look at the guitar,pickups,amp,speakers,cables as one WHOLE instrument--not just exclusivley one or the other. It's better to teach this early on rather then have some folks frustrated for years as some of us have been.
