# Can A 4 Ohm SS Amp Be Used With My 8 Ohm Suhr Reactive Load?



## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

I have a crappy little Squire SS amp with a tiny 6 inch speaker that I use for practicing. I am really liking the sound of it with my pedals going into it. I would like to try and use it to record with my Suhr Reactive Load, but the Suhr is 8 ohm. Would this still work, sound the same and not blow the little amp? Do SS amps even need a load and would the 4 ohm be OK?

The amp is a Squire SP 10


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

SS amps still need a load however (with he exception of some very early ones that still had OTs) impedance matching is not as critical as with tube amps (and even then you can getaway with stuff) - the 4 Ohm rating is a minimum (amp will shut down or melt the output chips with prolonged use below that). You can safely go as high as you want. The only side effect is that the wattage is cut in half (-3 db quieter) each time you double the load.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Granny Gremlin said:


> SS amps still need a load however (with he exception of some very early ones that still had OTs) impedance matching is not as critical as with tube amps (and even then you can getaway with stuff) - the 4 Ohm rating is a minimum (amp will shut down or melt the output chips with prolonged use below that). You can safely go as high as you want. The only side effect is that the wattage is cut in half (-3 db quieter) each time you double the load.


So the amp will be fine with the 8 ohm Suhr, but the volume will be cut in half? If so I should be able to live with that.


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

Not volume; wattage. Volume is nonlinear, halving or doubling the power only makes 3 db difference. Just enough to notice.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

It'll work and that Suhr load box won't even know it's being used.


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## alwaysflat (Feb 14, 2016)

Put a NC (shorting) jack inline with the speaker drive. Assuming you'll be listening to your monitor vs the amp. When u plug in the sure, it'll open the circuit to the speaker. Just like wiring for external speaker, you want to bypass the speaker in the cab, if you go parallel, both active, impedance will be 2.5 ohms .. loading the amp a little too much perhaps.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

alwaysflat said:


> Put a NC (shorting) jack inline with the speaker drive. Assuming you'll be listening to your monitor vs the amp. When u plug in the sure, it'll open the circuit to the speaker. Just like wiring for external speaker, you want to bypass the speaker in the cab, if you go parallel, both active, impedance will be 2.5 ohms .. loading the amp a little too much perhaps.


Thanks. I was wondering how I was going to do that. I was thinking about a toggle switch, but a shorting jack is the way.


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