Mesa combo to head conversions?

[ClintN667]

Is there any drawbacks to grabbing a combo and doing a head conversions vs just buying a head.

 

[SpiderWars]

I bought one of those raw head cabs and did it. It was used that someone had started to finish but never completed it and was really cheap. All the hardware (corners, feet, etc) had to be used from the combo. It went without a hitch. The reverb tank is a tighter squeeze than I expected. I took the EV out of the combo and paired it with another EV-12L in a 2x12 for my Fender so that worked out nice too. I do have an empty combo shell that just takes up space, I don't want to get rid of it for when I sell.

 

[ClintN667]

So aside from the cosmetic stuff the functionality/tone is basically the same? You can find combos a lot easier than you can find heads these days so I was thinking about just grabbing the combo and converting it.

 

[155]

I did it, made my own mahogany with wicker head, turned out great, its the same amp so no difference as far as mounting or anything..that combo weighs 10 tons so yeah ...

 

[ClintN667]

fantastic!

 

[Beyond Black]

Is there any drawbacks to grabbing a combo and doing a head conversions vs just buying a head.

I was gonna do this because the combos are much cheaper. So I scored one last week for $900 shipped on Reverb. Well, UPS fucking DESTROYED it, so I shipped it back the next day. That day I found a head locally, and scored it the next day for $1000. There was a head on Reverb yesterday for $1100, but it sold pretty quick. If you hold out for a little, a good deal on a head will probably pop up. I know the wait sucks though. Check Facebook Market place, that’s where I found mine.

 

[Chris6870]

You could just measure carefully and cut the combo cab down to size. But to answer your question, the amp chassis is the same whether it was in a combo cab or head..

 

[GJgo]

I've done this 5 or 6 times. No big deal, just takes a little more effort.

 

[mnemonic]

I’ve been tempted to do this also, tremoverb combos come up for sale quite often and at good prices, whereas the heads are more rare here, and people always want way more than they’re worth. But I already have a 3-channel recto head I quite like and I really don’t need a second recto.

I did cut an old Marshall Valvestate 8080 combo into a head, and it went fine. I peeled back the tolex, cut off the bottom, cut out a section in the middle, and screwed the bottom back on. Then re-sprayed some contact adhesive and glued the tolex back on. Not hard to do if you own a power saw, drill, tape measure, etc.

You can kinda see how the bottom is attached here:

https://i.ibb.co/LNwxrMg/8-AF4-CA3-C-69 ... 477641.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/NCZt0Gt/0-ECFA4-C2-57- ... 820-A9.jpg

If I were gonna do it to something good like a Mesa, I would probably buy some 3/4” plywood and make something nice.