Rebuilding combo amps into ampheads?

[YnJ]

I was thinking of converting certain combo amps with speaker outputs into ampheads. At first glance it looks like it's just cutting the upper part of the cab off at a suitable place as well as the bottom and then join them back together. Without removing and replacing the tolex it might not look quite professional, I was thinking perhaps just to place a stripe of thin metal sheet over the joint between the upper part and bottom. Perhaps with screws to hold the parts together. I can use the speaker elsewhere, I don't think I'll bother making a cab out of the rest

Anything I should know, or is it as simple as it looks at first glance?

[Dirk Diggler]

Or just build a new amp head instead, that way you can still go back if you need to.

[Etienne1973]

Anything I should know, or is it as simple as it looks at first glance?

CAUTION DANGER !!! High voltage is still present inside the amp, even when the tube amplifier is turned off. Don't touch anything if you don't know exactly what you're doing!

[Nameerf]

Essentially it IS that simple yes. But there are things to consider - HOW exactly are you going to join the cabinet back together? It needs to be sturdier than you think (loading in and out of cars etc.)
If it's a tube amp you have to be careful not to turn it on without a speaker attached - they don't like having no load.
As Dirk said your best bet would be to make a separate head cabinet and store the original cab somewhere so you can revert it if needed (for resale for example).
(I used to make and sell tube amps - built LOTS of cabinets!)

[lfm]

Apparently there are kits to buy doing this, here is one thread about it from "CarlsCustomGuitars"
https://www.reddit.com/r/Guitar/comment ... ?rdt=63804

Where there is a demand there is often a product to meet that.

I got a FBJ and since I don't use speaker in my silent setup I was looking for these kind of things.
But did not bother so far, but might. Only have heads otherwise.

[YnJ]

Or just build a new amp head instead, that way you can still go back if you need to.

Too much work, I'm just going to do it with cheap amps anyway

CAUTION DANGER !!! High voltage is still present inside the amp, even when the tube amplifier is turned off. Don't touch anything if you don't know exactly what you're doing!

If it's a tube amp you have to be careful not to turn it on without a speaker attached - they don't like having no load.

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind

HOW exactly are you going to join the cabinet back together? It needs to be sturdier than you think (loading in and out of cars etc.)

I don't think the amps I have in mind will be used outside my home much. I have an idea on how to make them sturdy though. I'm not sure what you call them in English, it's like metal skirting boards with holes for screws. I plan to fasten the bottom part to the top part using these with screws or bolts over the joint. I'm open to other solutions though

[Uncle E]

Yes, people used to do this all the time. My 1963 Deluxe and 1966 Super Reverb were cut in half like this. The Super Reverb didn't even have a bottom put on, it just sat on the sides as if they were legs.

[pekbro]

Messing with amp guts, scary…

[Uncle E]

Discharge the caps with a 10 watt ceramic resistor.

[pekbro]

Send it to Uncle E, have him do it. heh

*of course I meant via tone bakery.

[YnJ]

Discharge the caps with a 10 watt ceramic resistor.

I will when I figure out what that means

I see a lot of these amps have an output for external cabs often marked something like 2-16 ohm, or 2 ohm minimum, which confuses me as all my other amps have either switches or separate outputs clearly marked with their specific ohm. Should I rather use the wires to the speaker to make an output?

[stoopicus]

Discharge the caps with a 10 watt ceramic resistor.

+1. Definitely don't just use a screwdriver - I have seen one weld to the cap.

[YnJ]

I found something which translates into wirewound ceramic cement resistor 5 ohm 10W 5%, would those work?

I still don't understand what you mean by caps, I just don't know what that word means in this context

[effie]

‘caps’ in this case are electrolytic capacitors

[ghettosynth]

I found something which translates into wirewound ceramic cement resistor 5 ohm 10W 5%, would those work?

I still don't understand what you mean by caps, I just don't know what that word means in this context

Ok, most of what's in this thread is a bit too nanny for my tastes, e.g., the danger with driving a tube amp with no load is mostly about driving it hard with no load which can cause arcing in the transformer. Just turning it on without a load isn't likely to cause harm.

However, you not knowing how to identify a power supply capacitor and also not recognizing that plate voltage can kill you is a serious concern. You are nowhere near ready to tackle this project without help.

What happens is that when you work with electronics you internalize these ideas and develop good habits. I was thrown against the wall at 17 from inadvertently touching a 6146 plate cap (not capacitor, literally cap). I touched it in the same accidental way that you will inadvertently touch the plate voltage somewhere in the output circuit while you're taking it apart. It doesn't happen just because you don't understand the electronics, it happens because when you don't understand the electronics and haven't developed habits your handling of the chassis hovers between carefree and careless. I was lucky, you may not be.