25 combo conversion?

I've just got a MV25 head, and it's fitting in well. Portability is a big plus, so I need to buy, or preferably make a small speaker cab or 2.

I've a pile of 12" speakers already so was thinking of 1x12s, probably an open back, and closed back.

I then saw the MB 1x10 cabs, and love the small size but wonder if I'll loose much.

And then there's the 1x10 combo...

What way would you go?

Anybody have plans for DIY cabs?

Thanks

I use my MV25 with a Mojotone Lite open back 1x12 loaded with an EV12L. Nice overall tone. Loud and light.

I went with the 1x10" combo. I'm a fan of combos and like it a lot. It's the ultimate grab and go amp on its own for practice, jams and rehearsals and is portable enough to use as a head if that's the sound you're after.

There was a guy on this forum a few years ago who made his own Mark V:25 1x12" combo.

Don said:

There was a guy on this forum a few years ago who made his own Mark V:25 1x12" combo.

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That was me. I just received an email notification from the forum that I had a message from Neil. However, I can't can't figure out where it lives on the forum so that I can answer him. I've gone to the PM section and it shows there is nothing there.

Anyway, try me again with a PM.

And by the way.....that little combo has had a ton of gigs on it and I still love it. Weighs in at 24 pounds. I saw that Mesa came out with a 1x10 combo - but I still like the 12 and I bet mine is lighter than theirs....

I figured it out.....even though the email was from the webmaster, when you click reply, it loads the address of the person that it's from.

Bruce Weldy said:

And by the way.....that little combo has had a ton of gigs on it and I still love it. Weighs in at 24 pounds. I saw that Mesa came out with a 1x10 combo - but I still like the 12 and I bet mine is lighter than theirs....

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My 1x10 combo weighs 24 pounds. It's impressive that yours weighs the same with a 12" speaker. What speaker did you use?

Don said:

Bruce Weldy said:

And by the way.....that little combo has had a ton of gigs on it and I still love it. Weighs in at 24 pounds. I saw that Mesa came out with a 1x10 combo - but I still like the 12 and I bet mine is lighter than theirs....

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My 1x10 combo weighs 24 pounds. It's impressive that yours weighs the same with a 12" speaker. What speaker did you use?

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I used an Eminence Lil' Texas neo driver. Only 4 pounds. I could have probably shaved a little more off by building it a little shorter, but I wanted to make sure it would all fit. I'd post pics if I could figure out how to do that on here without having to link to an outside source.

With Bruce's permission, here are his build pics, and comments...

From Bruce:

Here’s the pics I took along the way of the build. I actually built two of these at the same time as another guitar player in my band also had a Mark V:25. As I said, I used ½” Baltic Birch. That’s not the same as cabinet grade birch plywood. BB has 9 equal plies and doesn’t have the thin veneer like regular birch plywood. It is typically sold in 5x5 sheets from lumber suppliers, not big box stores like Lowes or Home Depot. You can also find it a it at cabinet shops. The planning took the longest amount of time. I took the amp out of the case and measured it thoroughly, then drew out the layout to determine the final dimensions.

Pieces cut to size….

These are the speaker baffles cut with a router and a circle jig.

What you are seeing here is the baffle up on blocks so that I could position the speaker in the baffle and drill the mounting holes. The wooden disc is the cutout from the baffle. I always lay that on top of the speaker cone while drilling the holes or mounting the speaker. Protect from an accidental slip that could puncture the cone. I actually used T-nuts on mine and screws on the other one. Honestly, screws are plenty to hold the speakers and T-nuts can be a PITA.

If you use screws, then put little backer blocks where the screws will go.

These are the tops with T-nuts installed for the handle. Definitely use T-nuts for the handles. Note the pre-drilled amp mounting holes in the top. When you construct the cabinet, be sure and NOT put any brads or nails through those holes.

These are the bottom panels pre-drilled for the reverb tank.

The cab is first assembled as just a box. I use PL Premium adhesive (comes in a tube you put in a caulk gun) and brads from a brad nailer. You can use wood glue, but the PL will NOT come apart and it expands to fill any gaps. I began using it years ago building PA cabs – great stuff. Messy, but amazing.

You can see the little guide rails I used behind the baffle to ensure it was aligned properly during construction. The little hardwood cleats in the back are for the back panel.

At this point the box construction is complete…..but, the final piece is cutting the face angle on the table saw. It’s much easier to do it this way than to try and cut all the angles on the side and top pieces before construction – they’ll never line up correctly.

You just turn the box upside down and run it through the saw at the proper angle to make the face cut. Here it is with the amp installed to make sure it all lined up right. You can see the tilt of the table saw blade in the background.

You’ll have to buy or build some new cables for the reverb tank as the ones from the head aren’t long enough. I always build my own cables.

The grill frame is cut from a single piece of plywood. Yes, there’s some waste doing it this way instead of using strips of wood, but it is infinitely stronger and won’t rack on you. You have to make the frames about an eighth of an inch shy of the case. Wrap the grill cloth around it and do a test fit before attaching the grill cloth. At this point all of the edges are rounded over with a router and a 3/8” bit….including the grill frame.

There are some spacers attached to the baffle that the grill frame will be screwed to.

Everything gets a couple of coats of flat black paint….don’t use anything with a gloss… flat black serves as a good primer. Now, this is if you intend to use Duratex for a finish like I did. If you are going to wrap it – it doesn’t need to be primed – but I’d certainly paint the grill frame so that the wood doesn’t show through.

I stapled the grill cloth to the frame, put on two coats of Duratex and assembled everything…….and there ya’ go – twin baby boogies.

Gotta’ tell you ya’ – guitar players come up and stare at ‘em…..trying to figure out what they are. My cab is loaded with and Eminence Lil’ Texas Neo speaker. It only weighs 4 pounds. My goal was to keep this as light as possible. Total weight is just over 24 pounds.

Those look great! Thanks!

There was another DIY Mark Five:25 1x12" combo. The builder put green Tolex on theirs.

Very nice!

Bruce Weldy said:

Very nice!

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Not quite as elegant as yours.

Don said:

Bruce Weldy said:

Very nice!

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Not quite as elegant as yours.

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I just took a little different approach by sticking with the width of the head. He extended the cab width which makes it look a little more like what we are used to.

I ones I built look more like toys since they are tall and thin - like the Tiesco amp I got for Christmas in 1969.... It's about the size of the Boogie, but has a tiny SS amp, a 6 inch speaker and a lot of air. :mrgreen:

The Mesa built 1x10" combo looks like a toy! It's barely bigger than a Champ. I'll be most people would assume it's a solid state practice amp.



Next to my Mojotone tweed Champ clone-

Nice-looking 335. All my rock gigs are with the LP, but I like my 335 for blues and country stuff. The 335 just sings through my Mark V:25.....I can hit a note and turn just a little to the side and that note will go on forever!