Connecting a cabinet to a combo.

[Valdemar_konov]

Hello, fellow guitarists and musicians, I have been wondering about something for quite some time now and I wanted to ask you if it is possible/safe/useful to connect a combo amplifier to a guitar cabinet. I have a made in Britain Marshall Valvestate 8080 - 80 watt, 8 Ohm combo(with all of this written on the back of the amp) And it has a line out output jack. Although it might as well be a stupid question, I want to ask if it is possible to connect it to a cabinet, what should the cabinet's specs be and if it is even worth it. Thanks in advance!

 

[jeremy]

Re: Connecting a cabinet to a combo.

welcome to the forum!

the line out jack will not power a cabinet. it is a line level output, not speaker level

 

[VinceT]

Re: Connecting a cabinet to a combo.

I don't know the specific amp, but from what I can see on a quick scan of manual/ images, it looks like the combo speaker is hard-wired into the amp. If that's the case, it would take some (not much for experienced folk) surgery to wire it for use with an extension cab. Other models in the Valvestate range seem to have options for a second cab - unfortunately not the 8080.


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[stratguy23]

Re: Connecting a cabinet to a combo.

It can be possible, provided the combo has the right connection in the back. If your combo accommodates a conventional speaker cable in the back, it's like a head connected to a cab that happens to be attached to the head.

If that's the case, just unplug the stock speaker cable and connect your cab into that jack via another speaker cable. Your combo will now output sound out of the cab instead of its own speaker.

As for what specs cab to plug into, just follow the spec numbers usually provided in the back (8 ohms, 16 ohms, etc.) in the back of the combo. Again, you're thinking of your combo as a head now.

Some combos also have a dedicated jack in the back for extension speakers that allow sound to be outputted from both the combo's speaker and the cab.

As for if it's worth it - it's worth it if you're seeking the benefits of the cab - typically, better or more speakers.

 

[BriGuy1968]

Re: Connecting a cabinet to a combo.

One of my amps is a Crate combo with an "external speaker" output, and for a while I was running it into a 2x12 cab, giving me essentially a 3x12 setup. I'm not using it any more (replaced by a Fender 2x12 combo), but it was pretty nice for rounding out the bottom end. It did, however, result in having one more heavy thing to carry to a gig!