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Removing amp from combo - crazy?

dwjazz54

dwjazz54

Jan 21, 2003
500
10
Jersey City, NJ
thedrunkardswife.bandcamp.com
#1
Afternoon, all-
For a while, I've been trying to unload an old GK 400RB/115 combo to a new home, since gigging that heavy sucker around NYC in a Fiat is less fun than doing the same with my MB212-ii. But no one seems to want it.

Thing is - I LOVE that amp. Whilst sitting here at the office pretending to work, a thought went through my head - what if I removed the amp and just used it as a head? Our rehearsal space has a few cabs lying around that aren't mine, and sometimes I have access to other cabs wherever our music might take us. And I would LOVE to have that GK voicing in a package even more tote-able than my lightweight combo.

I know that chopping up my old girl will make her pretty un-sellable, but I haven't had any luck in selling her as is and have pretty much given up on that idea. So, not worried about re-sale or anything like that.

How hard could it be? Anyone have any experience with this sorta thing?
 
#2
I would do it for sure!

If you love the amp and the sound, it would be a waste to let it go. I currently have a Trace Elliot twin valve, that used to be in a combo. The owner had a tech make a new wooden enclosure, but it you're a bit crafty, it shouldn't be to hard to make one yourself or just leave it as is.

I don't know the amp, but it might even be rackmountable!
 
#5
Almost all amps can be removed from their combos without having to resort to chopping it up. Lots of people do this for combos like the Ampeg VT-22 which is a V4 head in a combo--very very heavy, so people pull the amp out and use it as a head only.

So-remove the amp and merely fabricate a new small enclosure to use it as a head only. That way you can keep the combo enclosure intact so it can be sold later as an intact combo if you wish.
 
#6
If you remove the amp, notice if the cassis has a cover plate or not.

On some amps, the chassis doesn't have a cover plate and is open. In these amps, they often use a shield, a sheet of aluminum, metal tape, a screen, or even paint, against the open chassis surface to reduce electronic noise. If your combo cabinet had a shield, you should build one into the new case that you make.
 
#10
I removed the 3500 head from my old Hartke 1155 combo. That was a no-brainer though - it's a rack-mount head anyway, fully enclosed. Four screws at the front and two on the sides and it slid right out. I now have it in a Gator 2u rack bag. The old 15+5 cab sits at my singer's place for rehearsal. I just use my GK MB200 with it.
 
#11
Stumbo said:
Maybe you don't have to chop it up to remove the amp. Most slide in, probably from the back.
Click to expand...

I thought this might be the case - and was kinda hoping it was. Thing is, I'm usually pretty good at figuring out this kinda stuff on my own, but the thought only came to me here at work where I can't look at it in person.

But knowing how easy this *might* be, I am VERY much looking forward to having a look at it when I get home tonight.
 
#14
An update - to laugh at myself thinking this might be complicated!

Got home, grabbed a cold Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald (yum!), and had the amp out of the combo before I took a sip. Fours screws being undone was all it took.

So, now I'm enjoying the brew and admiring the innards. I could pretend to myself that I know what any of the parts are (well, other than the FAN ;)), but I'm finding it visually fascinating nonetheless. So...who wants to build me a sexy lid? (And sides.)

Pics to follow when I feel inclined!
 
#16
...and what a pretty thing it is inside (and out!)

Thanks again everybody for the reassurance earlier that this would be as easy as it turned out to be - you learn something new every day.
 

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#17
I removed the amp from both of my Hartke Kickback 15's and made a small stack. It was pretty easy to do although I had to cut off the top of each speaker cabinet where the amp fit. the speaker was still in a complete box after I made the cut. I was even able to peel back the carpet covering before the surgery and reuse the pieces to cover the newly exposed top of the cabinet.
The amp has no cover plate on top or sides when you pull it out so I bought two custom speaker grilles from Reliable Hardware (I think about 7" x 21") to cover it. They cost about $14 each and matched the original grille material on the amp. I centered the grille, screwed through the top holes into the existing screw holes, folded the grille down around the sides and overlapped the bottom by 1 inch and screwed that down. The result looked like a small, lightweight amp such as a Mark Bass head on top of my small custom 15 cabinet.
I'm on vacation in San Diego this week but I'll post some pics when I get home.
 
#18
oddeotek said:
I removed the amp from both of my Hartke Kickback 15's and made a small stack. It was pretty easy to do although I had to cut off the top of each speaker cabinet where the amp fit. the speaker was still in a complete box after I made the cut. I was even able to peel back the carpet covering before the surgery and reuse the pieces to cover the newly exposed top of the cabinet.
The amp has no cover plate on top or sides when you pull it out so I bought two custom speaker grilles from Reliable Hardware (I think about 7" x 21") to cover it. They cost about $14 each and matched the original grille material on the amp. I centered the grille, screwed through the top holes into the existing screw holes, folded the grille down around the sides and overlapped the bottom by 1 inch and screwed that down. The result looked like a small, lightweight amp such as a Mark Bass head on top of my small custom 15 cabinet.
I'm on vacation in San Diego this week but I'll post some pics when I get home.
Click to expand...

That would be awesome - sounds like something I could do myself. Enjoy San Diego - I imagine your weather is nicer than ours right now...
 
#19
Here are some old pics that were already on TB. This is before I put the nice speaker grille covering on the amps. I actually painted some gutter leaf screen black since it was already the right width and folded it around in my first "prototype". It worked well enough to keep curious fingers from harm until the speaker grille material came.
 

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