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Topic: Splitting a combo in two? |
Nicholas Dedring
From:
Beacon, New York, USA
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Posted 3 Mar 2004 7:55 am |
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I've been thinking about the hassle of the weight of my Peavey combo, and the sort of oversived nature of the cabinet...
Would putting the BW into a smaller, lighter seperate cab, and getting a way to hold the head unit portion for a session 400 LTD result in a compromise in terms of sound quality? I just would like to shave some weight off... splitting into two pieces would make transportation a whole lot easier. Anybody have any experiences with doing this with a peavey, or other SS amp? Any input appreciated. |
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Larry Bell
From:
Englewood, Florida
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Posted 3 Mar 2004 8:16 am
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No compromise. I play my late 70s Session 400 (chassis in a separate cabinet) through a Nashville 115e cabinet (or sometimes two of them). Great sound, no noticeable change compared to the original cabinet.
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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps
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Steven Welborn
From:
Ojai,CA USA
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Posted 3 Mar 2004 8:23 am
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| Ive considered doing this for my Webb 614E. With a tuned cab it could improve lower end who knows. |
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Nicholas Dedring
From:
Beacon, New York, USA
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Posted 3 Mar 2004 8:36 am
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For me, I'd like to be able to have the option of using a different head, without having to buy a new speaker and all that jazz...
More importantly, the Session 400 LTD cabinet and chassis both extend WELL past the edges of the speaker (compared to the very square-looking Nashville form factor). This makes for a big hassle, not just in terms of weight but also just bulkiness, when transporting the amp.
I figure I could also shave some pounds off by using a marrs or other lightweight cabinet... so, how would I go about housing the chassis, if I wanted to do this??? I'm not really clear on what the method would be. |
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Larry Bell
From:
Englewood, Florida
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Posted 3 Mar 2004 9:25 am
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Please be aware that the dimensions of the cabinet are designed for the characteristics of the speaker and the desired application (e.g., for steel guitar as opposed to 6-string). The dimensions of the speaker (e.g., 15") set the MINIMUM but not the OPTIMUM width or height. The physics of speaker box design should be taken into consideration as well as portability and weight issues.
The original LTD 400 amp (NOT the Session 400 LTD) was identical to the Session 400, EXCEPT for the size and shape of the cabinet. The LTD cabinet was about the minimum size for a 15" speaker. Many players (me included) felt that the LTD sounded thin in comparison to the Session. If I were you I'd seriously consider a cabinet designed for steel like the Nashville 115e or the Pacific cabs. Just a thought or two.
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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 3 Mar 2004 9:54 am
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| Nicholas, see my post on your other thread. Take the chassis out and buy a custom made cabinet for it or make one yourself. For a ss amp, any old crate will do, or you can get as fancy as you want with dovetail joints, tolex, or natural finish. Buy a new speaker cabinet of your desired dimensions, or slap a closed back on the speaker in the old combo cabinet, and use the old chassis slot for a reflex slot. It's not exactly tuned, but it sounds considerably better than the stock open back cabinet. I'm doin this for tube combos like Twins and Vibrasonics, and it should work just as well for a solid state combo. |
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Nicholas Dedring
From:
Beacon, New York, USA
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Posted 3 Mar 2004 10:00 am
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is there a way to keep the reverb tank when you move the chassis? I'd hate to lose the tank that's in the peavey...
I'm not much of a cabinetry guy... not least because I live in an apartment without workshop space... yeah, that's my excuse  ... who could do it and/or what kind of cost would there be for a cabinet for the chassis? |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 3 Mar 2004 1:23 pm
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Nick, you just move the reverb tank with the chassis. Easy as pie. Unscrew it from the bottom of one cabinet and screw it on the bottom of the new cabinet. You don't even have to disconnect it from the chassis.
If you don't care what it looks like, you literally can just get some lumber and wood screws and slap together a crude crate for your amp head. It might come out looking kind of cool, in a trailer park kind of way. If it is a good amp, it could be your own mysterious sleeper - like when hot rodders would put a Chrysler hemi in stock Valiant. There are some amp parts places on the internet that sell handles, corner protectors, etc. |
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Rob Anderson
From:
Sherwood, Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 5 Mar 2004 5:34 pm
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Hi Nicholas,
I did this to a tube combo I have and it worked great-nice little head and a speaker cab.I did get excessive noise coming from the reverb though. It seemed to be too close to the chassis since when I placed the reverb tank outside the box the noise went away. Perhaps that is not a problem with solid state amps.
By the way I make instrument cases and speaker cabs for a living, if your serious about the endeavor call or write, I love projects like that.
Rob Anderson 920-989-1396 |
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Rich Weiss
From:
Woodland Hills, CA, USA
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Posted 5 Mar 2004 6:01 pm
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Yes, I did this with my Session 400 LTD years ago. My friend built a head to house the amp, and we used an old Fender cabinet to house the 15" BW. I put a back on the cabinet and drilled holes in it till I got the sound I wanted. No compromise in doing this, and it's much easier to lug around two similarly weighted pieces, one in each hand.
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