Solution for lack of space?

[Masterofnocaster]

Good morning.

Nobody has ever confused me with an electronics whiz - although I could probably figure out which end of a soldering iron to hold - but I'm pretty good at calculating area, and I know there's not enough room at home for another amplifier.

I have one amp, a made-in-the-USA Fender Deluxe 112 Plus and original foot switch I picked up from a pawn shop for $150. Super clean, no rips, no stains, grill cloth is pristine. I cleaned out the scratchy pots, and now it sounds fine.

Still, I keep wondering what all the fuss is about tube amps, but have no floor space for another full-sized amp. The only option seems to be a tube amp small enough to sit on top of the Fender, and making do with an 8 or 10 inch speaker. Then I thought: what about just getting a head, sitting it on top, and using the Fender as an external cabinet?

Problem is, there's nothing on the back of the Fender to accept the signal from a separate head. It's not something I'm about to tackle, just wondering if it's worth paying a tech to have a line-in jack installed?

Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[summer_69]

Get a tube head and use the speaker in the combo. Typically wires connect to speakers with spade connectors so it would not be super complicated to shift back with a cable with 1/4"Jack in one end and spade things in the other end of a cable.

https://images.reverb.com/image/upload/s--kSgqT-cx--/f_a

 

[andy__d]

One thing you don’t want is the ability to turn the combo on with no speaker connected. There was a thread a little while back about adding a cliff jack to an amp for external speakers, with good advice from Peegoo https://www.tdpri.com/threads/fender-champion-20-speaker-line-out-added.1127283/ - I don’t know enough about tube amps to know if this all applies to a tube amp too: but I know my buddy did Expensive damage to his tube amp by turning it on with no speaker connected.

 

[arlum]

1 X 12" combos don't take up much room. Side by side would be best but, if you're using one tube and one solid state you could stack them, after removing the handle of the lower amp, with a wooden board in between leaving at least 6" between the back of the amps and the wall. Be sure the tube amp is on the bottom for the best quality of tone. A tube amp of this size isn't going to create enough heat to damage the amp sitting atop. Note* Don't attempt this if the tube amp is vented through the top. Few are but, if that's what you've got, reverse the order. Tube amps with a vented top require the vent to be open to open space. Good luck. I hope you find a way to pull this off.

 

[ChicknPickn]

One thing you don’t want is the ability to turn the combo on with no speaker connected. There was a thread a little while back about adding a cliff jack to an amp for external speakers, with good advice from Peegoo https://www.tdpri.com/threads/fender-champion-20-speaker-line-out-added.1127283/ - I don’t know enough about tube amps to know if this all applies to a tube amp too: but I know my buddy did Expensive damage to his tube amp by turning it on with no speaker connected.

Ab - suh - lootly.

Just got my tube head back from the shop. Somehow missed the lesson about never firing her up without a speaker attached.

 

[Masterofnocaster]

Thanks Andy and Summer69. That's good to know. I was looking at a Garnet "stencil" head to do just that, but it sold the same day it was posted. Weird, because there are Blues Juniors out there at reasonable prices that are still on the market a month later. Good thing floor space is at a premium.

 

[schmee]

It's easy to add a jack to the back panel which interrupts the internal amp wire to the speaker when you plug into it, thus allowing the external amp to use the speaker.

 

[Peegoo]

One thing you don’t want is the ability to turn the combo on with no speaker connected. There was a thread a little while back about adding a cliff jack to an amp for external speakers, with good advice from Peegoo https://www.tdpri.com/threads/fender-champion-20-speaker-line-out-added.1127283/ - I don’t know enough about tube amps to know if this all applies to a tube amp too: but I know my buddy did Expensive damage to his tube amp by turning it on with no speaker connected.

That discussion is a slightly different application of a speaker jack, but it's important to understand that was use of a switching jack in a combo amp that allows use of an extension speaker. In that application, the jack guarantees there's no way to switch on the combo amp with no speaker connected to it. Very safe, and prevents mistakes that can fry the output stage.

This topic in this thread is different; it may appear subtle, but it matters because installing a switching jack in a combo that allows a 2nd amp to use the combo's internal speaker presents the opportunity for the combo to be switched on with no speaker connected.

One thing you do not want to do is simultaneously connect two amplifiers to a single speaker. Even if one amp is left switched off, it would probably smoke one or both amps.

 

[printer2]

A good question would be what do you want in a head? I am guessing you are not into chugging guitar as some of the kids do right now. Do you want to buy one or make an amp?

 

[Dukex]

I used to have one of these:

Here's how I used it.

 

[Masterofnocaster]

A good question would be what do you want in a head? I am guessing you are not into chugging guitar as some of the kids do right now. Do you want to buy one or make an amp?

I'm not sold on a head, I'm just looking for a way to experience tube amp sound without shelling out a lot of money for something I have no room for. Maybe a small tube amp that could sit on top of my Fender and plug into it, with those mods.

 

[printer2]

One of the cheaper combos.

Stage Right by Monoprice 5-Watt, 1x8 Guitar Combo Tube Amplifier with Celestion Speaker - Monoprice.com

Stage Right™ by Monoprice™ 5‑Watt 1x8 Guitar Combo Tube Amp with Celestion® Speaker World's best reviewed and and most affordable 5‑watt 1x8 all&#

www.monoprice.com

Or this.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=611815

 

[captain_jack]

Could be a good excuse to get a nice shelf that allows you to keep one amp over the other.

 

[Stubee]

I’d just get a small tube combo amp and set it on top of your 112.

 

[Masterofnocaster]

I used to have one of these:
View attachment 1086767

Here's how I used it.
View attachment 1086758

That might just do the trick. Here's all the footprint I'm allowed:

 

[Twang Deluxe]

I would get a 68 Vibro Champ Reverb. It will fit perfectly on your amp.

I also own a Fender Deluxe 112 plus, it has an amazing clean tone, but I never play it at home, because of the strange Volume pot. It's pretty hard to find the sweetspot for bedroom volumes. So I bought two Vox Pathfinders and a TMDR