Thread: Ohms....
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Old 08-21-2008, 11:47 AM   #10 (permalink)
Big John
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Re: Ohms....

Yup, it comes down to compatibility. You can blame it largely on Fender. Back in the tweed combo days, there was only one impedance available for the output of the amp, and that impedance depended on which model amp was being used. In late-60/early-61 when Fender went to piggyback rigs, this openned up (although not at first) the options for mixing and matching different speakers. But because the model of amp determined the total ohms available (Bassmans could drop to 2 ohms!), it was determined to be a good idea by speaker makers at the time to offer different impedances to allow for more speaker configuration options. I was told all this by a very wise retired AirForce electronics technician.
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