Two speakers in a 4x12?

[Whoopysnorp]

In another thread, Rob pointed out how important it is to match speakers with modules as appropriate. I'm certainly picky about speakers, so I'm on board with that. It got me thinking about an idea: what if you had a 4x12 that was loaded with two dissimilar pairs of speakers, and only two of them were active at a time? There would be a switch to choose between which pair you wanted (or I guess you could just wire them to separate inputs, but a switch would be cooler). That way you could easily select the speaker pair that was most appropriate for the mod you wanted to play. Would the extra space in the 4x12 (as compared to running a 2x12 with those same speakers) affect things acoustically in an adverse way, or would you get the effect you were after? I swore off 4x12s a while ago because I don't need things to be that loud, but I would consider picking up a 4x12 again and wiring it up in this configuration if it would work. I used to have a 2x12 that I had set up with one G12T-75 and one V30, wired completely independently so you would either plug into one or the other. That worked out OK.

 

[Oregon]

1st to note, you'll impact the low end (possibly in a great way based on the cab) by using a larger resonance chamber than typical for the speakers.

2nd to note, is there are lots of cabs set already with multiple inputs for mono or stereo, so I would recommend that configuration for ease of use. Put one tone pair to left and the other to the right.

I use a 2x12 Tourmaster cab that is oversized, and is wired that way (I still have same speakers, but I like running the different power sides of my rm2/50 into each side.). It's also convertible as there is a back strip of the cab that can be removed for semi open use.

I dig the oversize cab, and don't see a need for a full 4x12 in the tones I like, but ymmv.

 

[trimix]

I set up a Randall R412CB75 this way last month. It had four 16 ohm G12T-75s stock, so I pulled the upper left and lower right ones and put in an 8 ohm WGS Veteran 30 and an 8 ohm Greenback. I added two jacks wired straight to the G12T-75s, and connected the 8 ohm drivers to the existing stereo/mono switched inputs. It's a bit convoluted I suppose, but I run the diagonal Veteran/Greenback pair at 16 ohms as my center dry and the G12T-75s as either a stereo wet or just a dual mono wet depending on if I'm connecting a third power section.
So the intent was separating my wet/dry speakers, but it's been cool for matching different speakers to different tones. I will say that if you use one or two drivers in a 4x12 without the others working, the inactive ones act as passive radiators and the cab will feel a bit looser and slower. So you can't chalk up all the sonic differences to just the speakers, as the rest of the cabinet will have an effect.
I dig the Marshall mods driving the G12T-75s via my Sound City's EL34 power section. My Mesa SwitchTrack 395 power amp sounds good through the Veteran 30/G12T-75 blend.

 

[BigBrewtus]

My Carvin 4x12 is wired this way. That would be a cool way to use it too. Most simple A/B boxes work for the use you are wanting. I have an EH Switchblade that is rated for doing just such that.