Mikey's Serial Box

Post custom amp, guitar and fx mods. Share details about your custom builds.

Moderators: greatmutah, GuitarBilly

User avatar
Tortuga
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 17174
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2013 11:29 am
Location: Slow and steady, bruh

Mikey's Serial Box

Post by Tortuga »

Modest Mike is wanting to connect two 8-ohm cabs to his Laney IRT, which only has 8-ohm and 16-ohm outputs. Daisy-chaining the speakers using the standard jacks on his 2x12 would put the cabs in parallel, resulting in a 4-ohm load that the amp can’t handle, so he needs to wire the cabs in series, which will make for a 16-ohm load.

There’s a few ways to accomplish this. He could rewire the connectors on the 2x12 to do series, but it’d take a little tricky work with switching jacks to allow the cab to be used without the second one attached. Plus, you could never use the two cabs in parallel (if needed) without rewiring the jacks. He could also rewire his outputs inside the amp, but it has similar limitations. The other option is to get a y-cable (not sure if these even exist) or a box to perform the wiring between amp and cabs.

For fun, I'm making him a little connector box to use. I had planned to use a (metal) utility box I had on hand for this, but realized when I was looking up the wiring that you can’t use a conductive box between the two jacks for the cabs, as it will cause a direct short across one of the speakers, which means you'll be back to half the expected load. Definitely not the best thing to do :eek:
Last edited by Tortuga on Wed Apr 27, 2016 11:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Co-founder of the Jet Setters 2.0 (Jet ★ City Lounge Redux)

Gear
  • CEOwLP (Sig T), Carvin DC135, Westone Spectrum SX (guitar) & GT (bass), Squier strat
  • '66 Bassman, '61 Magnatone, Mark III, 1960AX, homebrew 2x12 (C90 / EVM12L Thiele), HX Stomp, JCA50H
  • PLX GABion, SD-1, TS9, Crybaby, MXR108, Algal clone, Carbon Copy deluxe

DIY

Ostinato Rubato wrote:"That's the second boomery bro on this forum I've helped seduce to the greenside." :evil:

"Slow and steady gets to **** again eventually" :fap:
User avatar
Tortuga
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 17174
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2013 11:29 am
Location: Slow and steady, bruh

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by Tortuga »

Here’s a wiring diagram that I found (which also confirmed my realization that you can’t use a conductive box)

Image

Went to Radio Shack and got the parts needed, and soldered it up with 16-gauge wire (should be fine for any amp). The following is a build diary, for anyone who may be interested in building one for themselves. It was really pretty simple - only took me about 45 minutes or so to build it up.
Co-founder of the Jet Setters 2.0 (Jet ★ City Lounge Redux)

Gear
  • CEOwLP (Sig T), Carvin DC135, Westone Spectrum SX (guitar) & GT (bass), Squier strat
  • '66 Bassman, '61 Magnatone, Mark III, 1960AX, homebrew 2x12 (C90 / EVM12L Thiele), HX Stomp, JCA50H
  • PLX GABion, SD-1, TS9, Crybaby, MXR108, Algal clone, Carbon Copy deluxe

DIY

Ostinato Rubato wrote:"That's the second boomery bro on this forum I've helped seduce to the greenside." :evil:

"Slow and steady gets to **** again eventually" :fap:
User avatar
Tortuga
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 17174
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2013 11:29 am
Location: Slow and steady, bruh

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by Tortuga »

One of the cool things about building your own custom box is that you can place things wherever you want. I sent this to Mike, to see what he liked best - he picked option B. I told him that I could locate a second Amp jack on the other side of the box (it’d be wired in parallel with the first Amp jack), but he didn’t need it.

Image

All the parts needed

Image
Co-founder of the Jet Setters 2.0 (Jet ★ City Lounge Redux)

Gear
  • CEOwLP (Sig T), Carvin DC135, Westone Spectrum SX (guitar) & GT (bass), Squier strat
  • '66 Bassman, '61 Magnatone, Mark III, 1960AX, homebrew 2x12 (C90 / EVM12L Thiele), HX Stomp, JCA50H
  • PLX GABion, SD-1, TS9, Crybaby, MXR108, Algal clone, Carbon Copy deluxe

DIY

Ostinato Rubato wrote:"That's the second boomery bro on this forum I've helped seduce to the greenside." :evil:

"Slow and steady gets to **** again eventually" :fap:
User avatar
Tortuga
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 17174
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2013 11:29 am
Location: Slow and steady, bruh

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by Tortuga »

Measuring for the jacks - the box is 4 inches long, 2 inches wide, and 1 inch tall (mamberg will probably note that I put 3x2 on the drawing, but I decided to go with the bigger one when I saw just how small the 3x2 one was at the store).

Image
Co-founder of the Jet Setters 2.0 (Jet ★ City Lounge Redux)

Gear
  • CEOwLP (Sig T), Carvin DC135, Westone Spectrum SX (guitar) & GT (bass), Squier strat
  • '66 Bassman, '61 Magnatone, Mark III, 1960AX, homebrew 2x12 (C90 / EVM12L Thiele), HX Stomp, JCA50H
  • PLX GABion, SD-1, TS9, Crybaby, MXR108, Algal clone, Carbon Copy deluxe

DIY

Ostinato Rubato wrote:"That's the second boomery bro on this forum I've helped seduce to the greenside." :evil:

"Slow and steady gets to **** again eventually" :fap:
User avatar
Tortuga
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 17174
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2013 11:29 am
Location: Slow and steady, bruh

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by Tortuga »

There were some grooves in the sides of the box (probably for holding circuit boards) that needed to be removed. A chisel made fast work of it.

Image

Image

Image
Co-founder of the Jet Setters 2.0 (Jet ★ City Lounge Redux)

Gear
  • CEOwLP (Sig T), Carvin DC135, Westone Spectrum SX (guitar) & GT (bass), Squier strat
  • '66 Bassman, '61 Magnatone, Mark III, 1960AX, homebrew 2x12 (C90 / EVM12L Thiele), HX Stomp, JCA50H
  • PLX GABion, SD-1, TS9, Crybaby, MXR108, Algal clone, Carbon Copy deluxe

DIY

Ostinato Rubato wrote:"That's the second boomery bro on this forum I've helped seduce to the greenside." :evil:

"Slow and steady gets to **** again eventually" :fap:
User avatar
Tortuga
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 17174
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2013 11:29 am
Location: Slow and steady, bruh

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by Tortuga »

Heating up the iron, getting ready for wiring

Image

Closeup of the box before soldering

Image

…and with the wiring completed

Image
Co-founder of the Jet Setters 2.0 (Jet ★ City Lounge Redux)

Gear
  • CEOwLP (Sig T), Carvin DC135, Westone Spectrum SX (guitar) & GT (bass), Squier strat
  • '66 Bassman, '61 Magnatone, Mark III, 1960AX, homebrew 2x12 (C90 / EVM12L Thiele), HX Stomp, JCA50H
  • PLX GABion, SD-1, TS9, Crybaby, MXR108, Algal clone, Carbon Copy deluxe

DIY

Ostinato Rubato wrote:"That's the second boomery bro on this forum I've helped seduce to the greenside." :evil:

"Slow and steady gets to **** again eventually" :fap:
User avatar
Tortuga
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 17174
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2013 11:29 am
Location: Slow and steady, bruh

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by Tortuga »

oops... double post

"."
Last edited by Tortuga on Wed Apr 27, 2016 11:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Co-founder of the Jet Setters 2.0 (Jet ★ City Lounge Redux)

Gear
  • CEOwLP (Sig T), Carvin DC135, Westone Spectrum SX (guitar) & GT (bass), Squier strat
  • '66 Bassman, '61 Magnatone, Mark III, 1960AX, homebrew 2x12 (C90 / EVM12L Thiele), HX Stomp, JCA50H
  • PLX GABion, SD-1, TS9, Crybaby, MXR108, Algal clone, Carbon Copy deluxe

DIY

Ostinato Rubato wrote:"That's the second boomery bro on this forum I've helped seduce to the greenside." :evil:

"Slow and steady gets to **** again eventually" :fap:
User avatar
Tortuga
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 17174
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2013 11:29 am
Location: Slow and steady, bruh

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by Tortuga »

Final testing using two of my 8-ohm speaker cabs. We’re measuring resistance of the coil, which translates to a bit less (around 6-ohms) resistance than the actual impedance that the speaker is actually rated for. Impedance acts just like resistance when you put speakers in series or parallel, so the calculations are the same. Where Z = Impedance:
* Z total (series) = Z1 + Z2
* Z total (parallel) = (Z1 * Z2) / (Z1 + Z2)

12.6-ohms = winner! :rawk:

Image
Co-founder of the Jet Setters 2.0 (Jet ★ City Lounge Redux)

Gear
  • CEOwLP (Sig T), Carvin DC135, Westone Spectrum SX (guitar) & GT (bass), Squier strat
  • '66 Bassman, '61 Magnatone, Mark III, 1960AX, homebrew 2x12 (C90 / EVM12L Thiele), HX Stomp, JCA50H
  • PLX GABion, SD-1, TS9, Crybaby, MXR108, Algal clone, Carbon Copy deluxe

DIY

Ostinato Rubato wrote:"That's the second boomery bro on this forum I've helped seduce to the greenside." :evil:

"Slow and steady gets to **** again eventually" :fap:
User avatar
Tortuga
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 17174
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2013 11:29 am
Location: Slow and steady, bruh

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by Tortuga »

One thing I'm realizing is that you've got to be careful with this type of box. If the speaker cables have jacks with metal covers (which are generally connected to the 'sleeve' or ground terminal on the jack), and if they touched metal (like the handle hardware in the pic above) or were 90 degree plugs that touched, they could cause a short across one of the speakers, which would halve the load on the amp. Same goes with the amp plug - and I'm not certain what happens to the load if the Amp jack cover makes connection with one or both of the speaker jack covers. Will have to test :hmm:

I would say that the safest thing to do is use straight jacks and zip-tie the serial box to the amp or one of the speaker cabs so it doesn't move around.
Co-founder of the Jet Setters 2.0 (Jet ★ City Lounge Redux)

Gear
  • CEOwLP (Sig T), Carvin DC135, Westone Spectrum SX (guitar) & GT (bass), Squier strat
  • '66 Bassman, '61 Magnatone, Mark III, 1960AX, homebrew 2x12 (C90 / EVM12L Thiele), HX Stomp, JCA50H
  • PLX GABion, SD-1, TS9, Crybaby, MXR108, Algal clone, Carbon Copy deluxe

DIY

Ostinato Rubato wrote:"That's the second boomery bro on this forum I've helped seduce to the greenside." :evil:

"Slow and steady gets to **** again eventually" :fap:
User avatar
Ostinato Rubato
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 35812
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2013 1:14 pm
Location: Fruitville, TX

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by Ostinato Rubato »

:fap: looks very nice

You mean to tell me soon I will be able to run my thiele and a BL80 cab at the same time!?!?!? :crazy:

This is high level fucking around and it's awesome thanks man!!! :bow:
EBMM Stingray Tobacco and Tort
Marshall 2555X Jubilee
Marshall 2536 2x12
CS Deja Vibe mkii > SupaTrem Jr. > Xotic Wah > OCD v2.0 > Fulldrive 2 mkii > TB Jailed Pitchblack > (Alter Ego x4)
User avatar
Tortuga
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 17174
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2013 11:29 am
Location: Slow and steady, bruh

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by Tortuga »

Ain't done yet. Told you, I gotta install the penor. It's on order, but it'll be here in time :thu:
Co-founder of the Jet Setters 2.0 (Jet ★ City Lounge Redux)

Gear
  • CEOwLP (Sig T), Carvin DC135, Westone Spectrum SX (guitar) & GT (bass), Squier strat
  • '66 Bassman, '61 Magnatone, Mark III, 1960AX, homebrew 2x12 (C90 / EVM12L Thiele), HX Stomp, JCA50H
  • PLX GABion, SD-1, TS9, Crybaby, MXR108, Algal clone, Carbon Copy deluxe

DIY

Ostinato Rubato wrote:"That's the second boomery bro on this forum I've helped seduce to the greenside." :evil:

"Slow and steady gets to **** again eventually" :fap:
User avatar
fretless
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 26940
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2013 5:15 am
Location: Why am I here, and for how long…

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by fretless »

I'm gonna watch some fuck'rs light up ! And I don't just mean mister smokey . :snax:
“Our virtues and our failings are inseparable, like force and matter. When they separate, man is no more”
― Nikola Tesla

“I cannot be arsed with this right now”
― MISTER NOBODY™

"Stand up for what you believe in even if you are standing alone"
― Sophie Scholl
User avatar
Walt
Hall of Fame Member
Posts: 3568
Joined: Sat Sep 07, 2013 4:29 pm
Contact:

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by Walt »

That's awesome. You are a great friend!

So it looks like in the pic that all 3 jacks are wired together?

Also lol at the Mamberg comment. Good call. :lol:
User avatar
JiveTurkey
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 20463
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2013 3:49 pm
Location: Amp on a stick. Duh.

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by JiveTurkey »

Some nice work in this thread. Good stuff Grime :thu:
User avatar
Tortuga
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 17174
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2013 11:29 am
Location: Slow and steady, bruh

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by Tortuga »

fretless wrote:I'm gonna watch some fuck'rs light up ! And I don't just mean mister smokey . :snax:

Looking forward to hearing you guys at the jam next week :thu: Making a day of it in Santa Monica - gonna go by West LA Music (haven't been there since late 80s), True Tone (Mike told me I needed to check it out), and maybe check out the Venice Beach (never been there, and I've been in SoCal all my life).

Walt wrote:That's awesome. You are a great friend!

So it looks like in the pic that all 3 jacks are wired together?

Also lol at the Mamberg comment. Good call. :lol:

Thanks Walt - yep, all 3 wired together in a series loop. Amp output connects to first jack, Speakers connect to the two other ones.

JiveTurkey wrote:Some nice work in this thread. Good stuff Grime :thu:

Thanks JT :thu:
Co-founder of the Jet Setters 2.0 (Jet ★ City Lounge Redux)

Gear
  • CEOwLP (Sig T), Carvin DC135, Westone Spectrum SX (guitar) & GT (bass), Squier strat
  • '66 Bassman, '61 Magnatone, Mark III, 1960AX, homebrew 2x12 (C90 / EVM12L Thiele), HX Stomp, JCA50H
  • PLX GABion, SD-1, TS9, Crybaby, MXR108, Algal clone, Carbon Copy deluxe

DIY

Ostinato Rubato wrote:"That's the second boomery bro on this forum I've helped seduce to the greenside." :evil:

"Slow and steady gets to **** again eventually" :fap:
User avatar
fretless
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 26940
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2013 5:15 am
Location: Why am I here, and for how long…

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by fretless »

cool you coming by for the jam ? I thought WLA closed ?
“Our virtues and our failings are inseparable, like force and matter. When they separate, man is no more”
― Nikola Tesla

“I cannot be arsed with this right now”
― MISTER NOBODY™

"Stand up for what you believe in even if you are standing alone"
― Sophie Scholl
User avatar
ajaxlepinski
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 23723
Joined: Sun Jul 21, 2013 12:35 am
Location: Same town as Lindsay Lohan, Amy Fisher, Joey Buttafucco & Debbie Gibson

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by ajaxlepinski »

GABroing at it's best!

You guys are awesome!
1969 Sunn Solarus ● 2x 1980's Randall RG-80 ● 2013 Hi-Tone HT103-DG (Best Rig 2014) ● 2015 Mortatone 12/15 Cab w/EV SRO's ● 2017 Jubilee ● 2019 Ceriatone Model Tee ● 2019 Randall Diavlo ● 2020 VHT D50 Dumble Clone
Walt wrote:But when the hour is nigh, and the lights are low, and I got a little toothpick of a shwag joint in my teeth, and my friends want to hear me play "Into the Void", or "TNT", "or "Cemetery Gates"...I plug my 600 dollar guitar into my 150 dollar amp, and I am a Rawk gawd.
User avatar
itchyfingers
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 10987
Joined: Tue May 28, 2013 1:51 am
Location: Sandy Eggo

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by itchyfingers »

Nice work Steve! Busting out the calipers = not fuck!ng around. :lol:
User avatar
JerEvil
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 18252
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2013 4:36 pm

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by JerEvil »

Dude this is super cool! I always say GAB=bast web evar!
_____________________________________________________

I have some gear and junk...

Like Coffee? Like Pedals and amps? Like General Jackassery???

Check out "Dunky's N' Demos at:

https://dunkysndemos.com
https://www.youtube.com/c/JeremyVarao
User avatar
Tortuga
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 17174
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2013 11:29 am
Location: Slow and steady, bruh

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by Tortuga »

fretless wrote:cool you coming by for the jam ? I thought WLA closed ?

Hell yeah, been hoping I could get out to see you guys jam. I wasn't sure about West LA Music, but they still have a website up. Mike tells me the other store is the one to see, anyway.

If you guys know of a place to eat out there, let me know! I'm hoping to get out there by 10 or 11am.

ajaxlepinski wrote:GABroing at it's best!

You guys are awesome!
:hi5:

itchyfingers wrote:Nice work Steve! Busting out the calipers = not fuck!ng around. :lol:

When it comes to this stuff, I never fuck around - despite what my kids will tell you :lol:

JerEvil wrote:Dude this is super cool! I always say GAB=bast web evar!

:thu:
Co-founder of the Jet Setters 2.0 (Jet ★ City Lounge Redux)

Gear
  • CEOwLP (Sig T), Carvin DC135, Westone Spectrum SX (guitar) & GT (bass), Squier strat
  • '66 Bassman, '61 Magnatone, Mark III, 1960AX, homebrew 2x12 (C90 / EVM12L Thiele), HX Stomp, JCA50H
  • PLX GABion, SD-1, TS9, Crybaby, MXR108, Algal clone, Carbon Copy deluxe

DIY

Ostinato Rubato wrote:"That's the second boomery bro on this forum I've helped seduce to the greenside." :evil:

"Slow and steady gets to **** again eventually" :fap:
User avatar
fretless
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 26940
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2013 5:15 am
Location: Why am I here, and for how long…

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by fretless »

GRIMESPACE wrote:
fretless wrote:cool you coming by for the jam ? I thought WLA closed ?

Hell yeah, been hoping I could get out to see you guys jam. I wasn't sure about West LA Music, but they still have a website up. Mike tells me the other store is the one to see, anyway.

If you guys know of a place to eat out there, let me know! I'm hoping to get out there by 10 or 11am.

ajaxlepinski wrote:GABroing at it's best!

You guys are awesome!
:hi5:

itchyfingers wrote:Nice work Steve! Busting out the calipers = not fuck!ng around. :lol:

When it comes to this stuff, I never fuck around - despite what my kids will tell you :lol:

JerEvil wrote:Dude this is super cool! I always say GAB=bast web evar!

:thu:



Truetone is a nice store with kinda dopeyaholes running it

go here for all you can eat lunch $10 , food is fantastic
http://www.jaipurla.com/Japur-indian-food-delivery.html

hang out in the mall and WLA GC is right across the street
“Our virtues and our failings are inseparable, like force and matter. When they separate, man is no more”
― Nikola Tesla

“I cannot be arsed with this right now”
― MISTER NOBODY™

"Stand up for what you believe in even if you are standing alone"
― Sophie Scholl
User avatar
Ostinato Rubato
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 35812
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2013 1:14 pm
Location: Fruitville, TX

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by Ostinato Rubato »

yeah I've never been happy with the staff at true tone necessarily but the gear they stock... man... really great stuff.
EBMM Stingray Tobacco and Tort
Marshall 2555X Jubilee
Marshall 2536 2x12
CS Deja Vibe mkii > SupaTrem Jr. > Xotic Wah > OCD v2.0 > Fulldrive 2 mkii > TB Jailed Pitchblack > (Alter Ego x4)
User avatar
Tortuga
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 17174
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2013 11:29 am
Location: Slow and steady, bruh

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by Tortuga »

It's ok. Not like I'm buying anything. Just going to drool a bit :drool:
Co-founder of the Jet Setters 2.0 (Jet ★ City Lounge Redux)

Gear
  • CEOwLP (Sig T), Carvin DC135, Westone Spectrum SX (guitar) & GT (bass), Squier strat
  • '66 Bassman, '61 Magnatone, Mark III, 1960AX, homebrew 2x12 (C90 / EVM12L Thiele), HX Stomp, JCA50H
  • PLX GABion, SD-1, TS9, Crybaby, MXR108, Algal clone, Carbon Copy deluxe

DIY

Ostinato Rubato wrote:"That's the second boomery bro on this forum I've helped seduce to the greenside." :evil:

"Slow and steady gets to **** again eventually" :fap:
User avatar
Ostinato Rubato
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 35812
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2013 1:14 pm
Location: Fruitville, TX

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by Ostinato Rubato »

drooling happens when I unleash Laneys and BL80's and Thieles and Algal Blooms and Lukes and vape
EBMM Stingray Tobacco and Tort
Marshall 2555X Jubilee
Marshall 2536 2x12
CS Deja Vibe mkii > SupaTrem Jr. > Xotic Wah > OCD v2.0 > Fulldrive 2 mkii > TB Jailed Pitchblack > (Alter Ego x4)
User avatar
fretless
Crystal Lettucer
Posts: 26940
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2013 5:15 am
Location: Why am I here, and for how long…

Re: Mikey's Serial Box

Post by fretless »

with all that gear around it will be easy to lose weed
“Our virtues and our failings are inseparable, like force and matter. When they separate, man is no more”
― Nikola Tesla

“I cannot be arsed with this right now”
― MISTER NOBODY™

"Stand up for what you believe in even if you are standing alone"
― Sophie Scholl
Post Reply