mounting a head in a combo cabinet

[vigs]

i picked up a 36w TMB head on craigslist recently. i want to make it into a combo. what sorts of things should i be looking out for? i've done some rudimentary measuring and i don't think i should have any problems with clearance for the speaker with the tubes. perhaps more important is the actual mounting in the cabinet. will i be able to mount a head in a standard 18watt style combo?

[John_A]

I've mounted both an 18W and a JTM45 head chassis in a combo cab, and both have been fine. Just make sure the cab is high/deep enough to get a few inches clearance between the valves and anything else.

[vigs]

thanks. so the fact that a head chassis has those little wings and a combo chassis doesn't shouldn't be a problem? i'll most likely be ordering a cabinet from gabkits or the like so i suspect i can not how i'll be mounting the chassis and they should know if the standard style will work, right?

[loverocker]

The mounting points of flanges (the wings?) can be used with combo cabs - that's how Marshall did it with the original Bluesbreaker and early JMP/Artiste combos. In these instances, the chassis mounted to the upper rear panel (i.e. the flat wooden and tolexed bit) of the cabinet, and then this panel was secured to battens on the insides of the cabinet

The original 18W was a departure for Marshall - because that chassis was secured to mounting points within the cabinet - and so TRUE 18W clone cabinets may not be suitable - you need to check. You don't want your chassis to foul against the internal mounting points that are there for true clone chassis.

And then check that the upper rear panel is tall enough to accept a head-style chassis (some are shorter - like the original). It's a simple change though so cabinet makers may be able to alter it to suit your chassis.