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Can you use a combo speaker as an extension cab?


Defo
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Its two questions really, with two answers...

You can use the speaker half of a combo as a speaker, as in bypassing the amp part. You cannot however plug the speakon output of your amp into the speakon output of your combo and expect it to work.

You need to isolate the speaker of your combo from the amp of your combo basically. If you're not sure how to do this I would avoid it as making a mistake could cost you both your amp and combo.

Some combos are simply a speaker cabinet with an amp bolted on top and actually have a wire coming out of the speaker part going in to the amp (or technically the other way around) - usually with a jack or just hardwired. If this is the case then, assuming you have the right connectors, you can plug the wire coming from the speaker part of your combo into your separate amp instead of the combo amp.

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^^^
Like he says. My combo is in essence just a LMII attached to a 2x10 cab & there's a short cable hardwired to the speakers with a 1/4" jack that's plugged into the amp.
If I wanted to use a different amp, I'd need a lead with a female jack on the end that's going to the "cab".

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I can also confirm the above. The speaker in my Ampeg combo plugs into the rear of the amp with a 1/4inch jack, so the amp and speaker can be completely disconnected. In such cases, both the amp and the speaker can be used completely independently - albeit both in the same box - though, as pointed out above, a suitable adapter/cable would be required.

But, if a combo doesn't have this sort of arrangement, trying to use it as an extension cab could end up with the the outputs of both amplifiers being connected together, which is generally a bad thing and would probably lead to damaged amps (unless specifically designed for such applications, which a combo amp almost certainly won't be).

Certainly not a daft question.

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Hi folks, just an update. Got a Speakon to Jack connector for the TH500 and a Female to Female jack connector for the Trace and bingo it works fine. I now have a 15" extension cab if I need it as well as the combo and TH500/SL112. Thanks for your help

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