"Repurposing" combo amp cabinets into ext speaker cabs.

[gnappi]

I've been working on amps for years, sometimes friends, clients, or myself will run into a solid state combo amp that goes into the trash.

I've kept a few cabinets that had very nice speakers in them from Line 6, Marshall, and Fender.

I'm thinking about remaking the cabs into an extension cab and wondered if anyone else has done it.

I figure there are four ways to do it.

1. Leave the gaping hole where the controls were in the front, mount a jack on the rear and go forward.

2. Insert some sort of plywood tolex covered insert into the front gap where the amp controls were, and use it.

3. Cut the top off and lower the top using the existing top (like lowering the top on a 40's or 50's car) and handle. Problem with MDX is it's not as stable (IMO) as plywood.

4. Insert a rectangular frame where the controls were and cover it with grill cloth, sorta lika an air reflex port.

In all cases you could leave the cab open in the back, or close it.

[olddawg]

Try it as is . See how it sounds. Mount a rough cut piece of something over the hole. She how it sounds. If it is a sealed cab it will probably make a difference. You might even experiment with a port hole in it. If it is an open back cabinet, it's probably more esthetic. I see people gigging with cabs like that all the time as is. As we say tone is in the hands.

[Richard]

Another way could be to put a shelf where the bottom of the chassis is and then you could stash things there. This is probably more useful if you close the back. You could also close the back and make the shelf a little shorter and then you would have a port. Closing the back alone could give you a sort of "detuned cab". I have played around a little with unplugging or removing a speaker from a cabinet, sometimes you may get good results.

[gnappi]

Well I decided to close the front panel hole on a Line6 cab and just paint the wood, I left the back open. All it took was about an hour.

Cleaning up the coffee stain on the grill took about the same time :-)

[olddawg]

It will be fine as an open back cab.