Wiring a 2X12 cabinet for maximum flexibility

[peAk]

So I have been using my 70s Fender Vibro Champ for awhile now and I just love it. That said, it really struggles with some settings/pedals due to the limited frequency range of the 8" speaker.

Last weekend I purchased an open back 2X12 cabinet that was partially loaded with a Celestion Vintage 30. Wow! Huge improvement. The speaker is an 8ohm but this doesn't seem to be an issue for the Champ even though it's 4 ohm.

So yesterday I ordered an Eminence Cannabis Rex to finish the cabinet. I read that this is a good pairing with the Vintage 30.

So what I am wanting to do is be able to use both speakers independently as well as run them both in parallel (4ohms) to achieve the maximum flexibility in tone.

What is the best way to achieve this? Obviously using a switch and some input jacks but I wanted to hear from members who have done this before and their suggestions.

just a quick note....this is for studio/recording use only. I am sure there are people reading this thread that LOL at the thought of hooking a small champ up to a 2X12 cabinet.

[Ralfg]

Probably the easiest way is to get one of those multi jacks from Avatar. If the speakers at both 8ohm the multi jack allows you to hook them up as a 16 ohm, 2 8 ohm, or a 4 ohm configuration. If you want to do this yourself it gets a bit complicated. You could just those jacks with switches built into them. Or you could wire up a switch yourself. Just make sure you verify the load with your multimeter when setting you amps impedance. I played with this idea myself and then abandoned it because I didn't want a switch on my cab. Too risky when playing live. Just remember your amp at 8 ohms could power a 16 ohm cab. It will run colder. But don't use 16 ohms to power an 8 ohm cab.

Curious what you think about the cannabis rex. I tried one once and didn't like it, too dark for my needs. 

[peAk]

Probably the easiest way is to get one of those multi jacks from Avatar. If the speakers at both 8ohm the multi jack allows you to hook them up as a 16 ohm, 2 8 ohm, or a 4 ohm configuration. If you want to do this yourself it gets a bit complicated. You could just those jacks with switches built into them. Or you could wire up a switch yourself. Just make sure you verify the load with your multimeter when setting you amps impedance. I played with this idea myself and then abandoned it because I didn't want a switch on my cab. Too risky when playing live. Just remember your amp at 8 ohms could power a 16 ohm cab. It will run colder. But don't use 16 ohms to power an 8 ohm cab.

Curious what you think about the cannabis rex. I tried one once and didn't like it, too dark for my needs.

Yeah, I have seen those avatar plates but I would prefer to be able to do everything through a switch using just one input jack. Mine is just for studio use so I am not worried about a switch getting bumped live.

As far as the Cannabis Rex, I read quite a few reviews of pairing it with a Celestion Vintage 30 and how it balanced the mid-heavy Celestion. I guess I will just have to see. I didn't read any reviews of it being a "dark" speaker but I guess I will find out tomorrow when it arrives.

[samhay]

You can do this with an on-on-on DPDT toggle switch or various flavours of rotary switch.
Depending on how big the amp is (5W?), you will likely need a heavy duty switch. I have never seen a heavy duty on-on-on toggle switch, so you may not have much choice.

Edit: 5W into 8R is a little less than 1A.
Apparently a modestly sized toggle switch is happy with 5A, so I would use something like this:
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/toggle-switches/7109876/

[peAk]

You can do this with an on-on-on DPDT toggle switch or various flavours of rotary switch.
Depending on how big the amp is (5W?), you will likely need a heavy duty switch. I have never seen a heavy duty on-on-on toggle switch, so you may not have much choice.

Edit: 5W into 8R is a little less than 1A.
Apparently a modestly sized toggle switch is happy with 5A, so I would use something like this:
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/toggle-switches/7109876/

I think this is the direction I want to go but I am now torn into maybe getting a jack plate like this: https://www.amplifiedparts.com/products/jack-plate-plug-and-play-monostereo    like Ralfg suggested 

decisions decisions

[peAk]

Another way I have been reading about it to just have two jacks and use a simple DPDT to break the parallel connection.

[Ralfg]

Have you seen this?
http://www.colomar.com/Shavano/2x12wiring.html

You can get a 5 amp switch on Amazon. I bought some that was way higher than 5 amps when I wanted to do the same thing... but then I opted for one of those flex jacks