40Watt Solid State guitar amp Speaker Question

[zeni]

Hi All,
I know nothing of guitar amps. I have a 40Watt Solid State guitar amp. It's pretty old, it doesnt even have a brand name so I dont have much info on it. It has an 8" speaker and I would like to replace it because all the time I take the Vol. to 8 it sounds loud but starts distorting. I found a fender 12" 75W 8ohm speaker, which I dont know what an ohm is, and a 10" 50 Watt which says 4/8/16/32 ohm impedance. Will any of these work? and if they do will it make the amp louder? I can't find out the ohm on my amp. Your help is greatly appreciated.

[joecool85]

SS amps are pretty forgiving as to what ohm speaker you run and it's a pretty safe bet that it takes an 8ohm anyway.  I'd hook that one up (the 75w 8ohm Fender) and see how you like it.

[zeni]

Thanks Joecool85. Do you think it'll help my amp get louder or it should be the same volume i get now? Its pretty loud now but with the 8" i guess the speaker can't handle that volumebecause it starts distorting.

[Jack1962]

If you are just wanting it to be louder use a 4 ohm speaker or parallel 2  4 ohms down to 2 ohms , do not drop below 2 ohms , Solid State or Tube amps don't not like speakers below 2 ohms are above 16 Ohms.

[joecool85]

It should be louder.  As a rule a 12" speaker will be much louder than an 8".  My dean markley k-20x is driving a 10" Dean Markley cab right now and it is MUCH louder than when it is driving the stock 8" speaker.