Bi-amping GK with another brand cab?

#5
Not without rewiring as others have mentioned. If this is a shot of the back of your cab (I think it is), the proof is the "2+ not used" and "2- not used" labeling. Those conductors are where the GK sends the horn signal.

Now the maybe good news - the fact that they have those 2+ and 2- conductors listed, I'd take to mean that they're using a 4 conductor speakon in there, which may mean that rewiring might actually be slightly easier for that cab than for most - if you were interested.

brx10.4-closeup-large-1_1024x1024.jpg
 
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#6
Not with a Carvin cabinet, but I have used a non G-K cabinet.

I had my Dr. Bass cabinets built with a second Speakon jack that did basically what @Steve Dallman descibed above. When I plugged a 4-wire Speakon cable into that second jack, the signal bypassed the cabinet's internal crossover and one pair went directly to the woofer and the other pair went directly to the tweeter. That way I was able to take advantage of the bi-amp capability of the 1001-RBII I was using at the time and I still had the original full-range Speakon jack that worked "normally".

But, to be honest, for the use I was giving it, I didn't really detect much of a difference in bi-amp mode. So I just went back to using the full-range jack on the speaker cabinets and a 2-wire Speakon cable. But, keep in mind that was just my personal experience and I'm definitely not poo pooing the concept. I'm sure there are lots of G-K users who bi-amp, notice a discernible difference, and it's a useful feature for them. If you find it improves your sound, then make use of it.

Bottom line, yes it's possible with other brands of cabinets. You just need to have your cabinet(s) properly wired to do it.
 
#7
To be honest, the biamp feature was convenient as the control was in front on the face of the amp. The purpose was to be able to drive the amp into "growl"/breakup, but keep the tweeter clean. My GK didn't "growl". My current amp, an Ampeg PF-500 does get a bit of grind all the time, but I have no problems with my horn, crossed at 3kHz.

I prefer a tweeter crossed lower than GK's 5kHz. 3kHz sounds better to me, as well as using a light bulb limiter in the crossover. My current speakers use a 6.5" midrange, and I use less of the tweeter than I have in the past.

I was intending to change the crossover point in the GK when it died. I haven't fixed it yet, as I just love the Ampeg. I never bonded with the GK despite using it for years. For a non-class D head, it was light enough with small enough size for me and had plenty of power.
 
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#8
kap'n kro said:
Not without rewiring as others have mentioned. If this is a shot of the back of your cab (I think it is), the proof is the "2+ not used" and "2- not used" labeling. Those conductors are where the GK sends the horn signal.

Now the maybe good news - the fact that they have those 2+ and 2- conductors listed, I'd take to mean that they're using a 4 conductor speakon in there, which may mean that rewiring might actually be slightly easier for that cab than for most - if you were interested.

brx10.4-closeup-large-1_1024x1024.jpg
Click to expand...
Thanks, very informative!
 
#9
I did it to my Carvin RC210. They do have a 4 pin Speakon. So you can either permanently bypass the crossover or put a switch in as I did. That way you can run it biamped or normal with a flip of a switch. Here is my GK 1001RB-II Carvin combo.
IMG_2327.JPG
 
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