Mod - Turning my Power Cable into A Detachable One -Ampeg V4

[whoatherechunk]

Ok here's the deal.....My Ampeg V4 has a non-detachable power cord and I want to turn it into a dettachable one. Of course I will be discussing this with my amp tech to figure out quotes and various details etc.

Has anyone performed such a mod? Any problems that you encountered with it? How much should I expect to spend on this?

Thanks!

 

[K-Frog]

piece of cake. Hardest part is punching out the hole for the new connector, all of this assuming there is ample room to not interfere with a board.

Cost? who knows. I would be doing this myself, but I'm confortable with that type of mod.

 

[billfitzmaurice]

piece of cake. Hardest part is punching out the hole for the new connector,.

+1. While you're at it use a connector with built in line noise filtering, such as those found at [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Add three $2 MOVs and you've got the equivalent of the average $100-$150 power conditioner.

 

[K-Frog]

+1. While you're at it use a connector with built in line noise filtering, such as those found at [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Add three $2 MOVs and you've got the equivalent of the average $100-$150 power conditioner.

MOV = surge protection

thanks for the reminder Bill

 

[whoatherechunk]

great great advice guys. bill should i use a particular connector...there seems to be quite a few. thanks guys!

 

[beans-on-toast]

If you don't want to punch a hole in the chassis, you can install a 2" power cord and plug. MOV's and line filters can always be installed inside the chassis if you want them.

 

[4Mal]

Even if there is room on the chassis, I would think about a cabinet mount to avoid devaluing the amp... and it were me I would be thinking about a twist lock style cord and connector though I suppose you could jimmy up some strain relief cleat or sumpin' to hold the power cord in place.

 

[TONYTHOMAS1956]

What are MOV's?

 

[ddnidd1]

What are MOV's?

Metal Oxide Varistor

 

[kdogg]

+1. While you're at it use a connector with built in line noise filtering, such as those found at [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Add three $2 MOVs and you've got the equivalent of the average $100-$150 power conditioner.

This is why talkbass is one of the greatest message boards on the planet!

The wealth of knowledge here is invaluable.

 

[Rick Auricchio]

When punching out the hole for the chassis connector, care must be taken to capture all metal filings and dust. Strong magnets work well for this.

I suspect there may not be enough room for the internal portion of the connector, however.

 

[GearHeadBassMan]

This is why talkbass is one of the greatest message boards on the planet!

The wealth of knowledge here is invaluable.

and thanks to k-dogg, I'm now looking at pictures of alyson hannigan...

lovesit.

 

[whoatherechunk]

i don't see how i would be devaluing it...but i do understand what you're saying. **** it.....i'm not gonna get rich off selling it....it's for my own convenience. stupid rotted power cable would be a b**** to repair.

Even if there is room on the chassis, I would think about a cabinet mount to avoid devaluing the amp... and it were me I would be thinking about a twist lock style cord and connector though I suppose you could jimmy up some strain relief cleat or sumpin' to hold the power cord in place.

 

[JimmyM]

I think the only Ampegs that benefit monetarily from keeping the original speaker cord and connection are the B-15's. A V4B or an SVT with a replaced cord isn't going to hurt my feelings.

 

[whoatherechunk]

yay! jimmy! you popped in! do you agree with my decision to want to replace the cord? the old original one has the insulation coming undone and hell...maybe it's a hazaard to my health ha.

 

[JimmyM]

Whoatherechunk! I misread before, sorry. I thought it had a 4-pin XLR speaker cable you wanted to replace. That's the usual thing that gets replaced.

The power cord...eh, I'm not a fan of drilling. However, nobody wants to die. I think you're perfectly fine replacing the power cable. And if it's only a 2 prong, you should do it no matter what. But drilling to accomdate a detachable cable could devalue it. My tech did that to my SVT without asking me, and I'm a little bit bummed about it. Fortunately, I don't think it will affect its future price since it's already got the cache of being owned by the keyboard player for Iron Butterfly. But I would have liked him not to drill a hole to install it. I could live with a permanently mounted power cable.

 

[T-Bird]

Hi.

A good option for the standard IEC connector, with or without the noise suppression would be a Neutrik Powercon connector.

A round Neutrik size punch/cutter should be a standard tool in any shop as it covers almost all their MI connectors. Then You only have to drill the holes for the mounting screws.

Not all chassises have room to use the punch/cutter without major disassembly though.

OTOH if the V4 is a vintage one, I'd just replace the cord. There's NO WAY IN HELL that I'll replace the "deadly", "fire hazard" three prong Bulgin in the front panel of my 2003 Master PA Marshall, unless someone comes with a similar sized connector that doesn't require drilling, if even then. Heck, I haven't even drilled a hole for the echo socket since this particular amp didn't originally come with it.

Regards
Sam

 

[JansenW]

Perhaps you have room to put an IEC connector where the cord now attaches to the amp. It depends how much room is on the other side of the panel.

 

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Didn't remember the aux power connector that quite a few USA amps seem to have.

There should be enough room, at least for the connector without the noise suppressor. Just plug the original cord hole.

What's the AUX power outlet for anyway? IIRC someone explained it some time ago, but I seem to have forgotten.
For a slave power amp perhaps? Effects? Echo tank?

Regards
Sam

 

[JimmyM]

Just a second outlet for whatever.