Turning a combo into a cab....

[RhysP]

Following on from my "Knackered EBS combo" thread, I am wondering how easy it is to turn a combo into a cab: is it as easy as just wiring up the internal amp/speaker connection to a jack or speakon socket and plugging in an amplifier head with the correct ohms , or is it more complicated than that?.

I ask this because I have absolutely f*** all money to buy a new combo/rig with, so if I can get by with using the speaker part of the combo & just buying a sh*tty secondhand head of some sort that would be OK.

Just trying to make the best of a bad situation; the alternative is not having any amp at all for the first time in 33 years.

[LukeFRC]

yes, easy.
Easier to ask around for someone in your area who's comfortable opening up that amp of yours.....

[RhysP]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1343944449' post='1757802']
Easier to ask around for someone in your area who's comfortable opening up that amp of yours.....
[/quote]

The thing is I can't afford to give somebody a load of money just to open it up & tell me they can't do anything with it - I'm better off putting that money towards another amp.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1343944884' post='1757807']
The thing is I can't afford to give somebody a load of money just to open it up & tell me they can't do anything with it - I'm better off putting that money towards another amp.
[/quote]

fair enough, I guess if it were mine I would open the thing up and try fix it myself, but I'm wired like that and not everyone is, the next thing would be if you have any electronic proficient friends who you could buy a pint to look inside for you.

But then if that's not going to work...

having found a picture of the back of your combo, it's not the easiet thing... you need to get the amp out somehow, work out which screws hold it in, my guess would be if you take the handles off the top off the thing should slide (forward?) it it doesn't shift don't force it.
you should find a cable coming out of the cab section and into the amp section... don't pull it too hard but see if it's easy to detach at the amp end somehow (depending on the fastening- otherwise you may need to take the speaker/s out to see how it's connected at that end) if it comes off and theres enough length solder a jack or speakon connector there and bobs your uncle.
Keep the amp somewhere for sometime you've got a bit of money for repairs or sell it as broken (It's the kinda thing I'ld not mind trying to fix)

[RhysP]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1343947055' post='1757848']
having found a picture of the back of your combo, it's not the easiet thing... you need to get the amp out somehow, work out which screws hold it in, my guess would be if you take the handles off the top off the thing should slide (forward?) it it doesn't shift don't force it.
[/quote]

I've tried taking the amp out of the combo to see if there was anything obvious wrong (and for me it would have to be REALLY obvious ) but I couldn't get the amp to budge even a tiny amount when I took the screws out of the top.

Thanks for the rest of the information.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1343947922' post='1757863']
I've tried taking the amp out of the combo to see if there was anything obvious wrong (and for me it would have to be REALLY obvious ) but I couldn't get the amp to budge even a tiny amount when I took the screws out of the top.

Thanks for the rest of the information.
[/quote]

hmmm interesting... wonder how they've stuck that together. maybe go in through the front by taking the speaker out? or the tweeter switch might come out and with a torch let you see inside whats going on

[icastle]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1343947922' post='1757863']
I've tried taking the amp out of the combo to see if there was anything obvious wrong (and for me it would have to be REALLY obvious ) but I couldn't get the amp to budge even a tiny amount when I took the screws out of the top.
[/quote]

That sort of mounting method is usually based on a 'drawer' mechanism and, as Luke quite rightly says, it's usually held in place using the bolts that hold the handle on.
You have to completely remove them.
I presume you tried pushing the amp from the back as well as the front?

I can't find a picture of the side of the combo - are there any screws there that might be holding the 'drawer shut'?

If not, that leaves only two possibilities.
The first is that it's bolted on the underside - you'd need to unbolt the speaker to get to that bolt.
The second is that the front panel is fixed and the amp slides up to it and is held in place using the nuts on the pots (I've only ever come accross this method once and it took me nearly an hour to worjk out how to get into the unit!)

Couple of things you could try that doesn't involve a screwdriver and elastoplasts:

Plug an active bass into the Return socket on the back of the combo (if it has one) - you'll not get a massive output, but you're effectively bypassing the preamp and narrowing down 'where' the problem might be.

If there's a Speaker Out socket on the back of the amp, it'll be connected in parallel to the existing speakers.
Now, I've never tried this, but as long as resist the urge to plug the combo in, I can see no reason to stop you from taking advantage of that socket and feeding a different amp into it.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1343949856' post='1757898']
If there's a Speaker Out socket on the back of the amp, it'll be connected in parallel to the existing speakers.
Now, I've never tried this, but as long as resist the urge to plug the combo in, I can see no reason to stop you from taking advantage of that socket and feeding a different amp into it.
[/quote]

while theoretically that would work no problem.... I wouldn't do it! an hour with a screwdriver getting the amp out and you would be far safer I would have thought.

[RhysP]

There's no speaker out on the combo anyway - it sticks it's full 350 watts into the internal speaker.
There's a bi-amp thingy on it, but you have to use a powered cab with it.