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Super small cabinet options


jjang1993

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Hi Everyone,

 

I have a Quilter Microblock 45 that I bought to have as a backup amp head when I use tube amps on gigs. I will be living abroad for 3 months in Europe and luckily the Quilter will work anywhere in the world. The only problem is finding a cabinet that I can stick in my suitcase surrounding with sweatshirts and clothing. I'd like to keep costs down as well as size and weight. One that I am looking at is the ZT Lunchbox Cabinet which is rated at 100 watts but the manufacturer says this product should only be used with other ZT Lunchbox amps. Has anyone gone rogue and used a different amp head with this cabinet and can report on results?

 

Other alternatives are the Vox AC108, Randall RG8, and the Orange Mini terror cabinets but replace the speakers with 8" PA drivers (I'm looking for clean headroom given the cirumstances). Has anyone done this yet?

 

 

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Finding a cab that can handle the full 45w is going to be tough. Somethings like the Randal RG8 is good up to 30W. Problem is the smallest guitar speakers are either 6" or 8" and few are good for more than 25W. Many 10" can handle higher wattages. I have a Jensen Mod that can handle up to 70W which was very reasonable in cost. If placed in a very slim, extremely lightweight cab, a 10" is likely your best bet. I've been building cabs long enough to even build my own cab for something lightweight enough to fit in a suitcase. I'd use some of that thin 1/8" plywood or maybe Masonite to build the cab. leave it as an open back for even lighter weight and calk it really well so it doesn't rattle. Anything you'd buy is going to be made of much heavier wood, built to last, not necessarily to travel.

 

You could use a lower wattage 8" speaker/cab so long as you don't crank the amp so high. SS watts aren't the same as Tube watts. You'll only get 45W out of that head with the Volume and tine controls maxed. its much more likely to run at 15/20W with the volume at half up so it would be OK running many 8" speakers.

 

I'd also say, unless you're playing out you probably don't need a cab that's a full 45W. 5W is plenty for any practicing you may do.

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Hi Everyone,

 

I have a Quilter Microblock 45 that I bought to have as a backup amp head when I use tube amps on gigs. I will be living abroad for 3 months in Europe and luckily the Quilter will work anywhere in the world. The only problem is finding a cabinet that I can stick in my suitcase surrounding with sweatshirts and clothing. I'd like to keep costs down as well as size and weight. One that I am looking at is the ZT Lunchbox Cabinet which is rated at 100 watts but the manufacturer says this product should only be used with other ZT Lunchbox amps.

 

Have you asked them the reason why they say that?

 

I may be missing something (which is why I suggest you drop them an email and ask...) but that appears to be a passive 8 ohm cabinet with a 6.5" speaker and a "100 watt max" rating (probably ~50W RMS), and I can't think of any particular reason why it wouldn't be compatible with your Quilter.

 

 

 

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One option suggested to me in the jazzguitar.be forum was to get a Randall RG8 or a Vox PC108 and stick a Celestion TF0818 (the same speaker they stick in the Quilter 8 inch combo amps) in it. It's small enough to sneak into a suitcase.

 

That said the Celestion TF0818 only has 94.6 sensitivity, so I'm not sure how much volume I'd lose as a result of that despite the speaker being 8 inches instead of 6.

 

I'm not sure what the sensitivity rating is on the ZT lunchbox speakers, but I would imagine it would be high given how loud their amps are. The ZT cabinet could probably fit into my carry-on duffle bag if I use compression bags for my clothes that would be in there.

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I'll shoot ZT an email to see if there is anything I am missing. This is really 33 watts through 8 ohms (45 was 4 ohms) so I doubt it'll blow the speaker by sheer wattage. The primary objective here is straight up volume and stopping power per say.

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One option suggested to me in the jazzguitar.be forum was to get a Randall RG8 or a Vox PC108 and stick a Celestion TF0818 (the same speaker they stick in the Quilter 8 inch combo amps) in it. It's small enough to sneak into a suitcase.

 

That said the Celestion TF0818 only has 94.6 sensitivity, so I'm not sure how much volume I'd lose as a result of that despite the speaker being 8 inches instead of 6.

 

I'm not sure what the sensitivity rating is on the ZT lunchbox speakers, but I would imagine it would be high given how loud their amps are. The ZT cabinet could probably fit into my carry-on duffle bag if I use compression bags for my clothes that would be in there.

 

 

Power handling and efficiency are really not dependent on physical dimensions - you could in theory have a 6” speaker that can handle more power and that’s louder at a given amount of power than an 8” speaker...

 

Where are you planning on playing this amp - in hotel rooms... or are you going to play gigs while you’re there too?

 

While a speaker with a 94.6dB sensititivy rating isn’t the most efficient, it is still giving you nearly 95 dB with only one watt of power... which is more than enough for practicing; especially if coupled with a 33 watt amp.

 

If if you know the relative power handling and efficiencies for multiple speakers, you can do the math and compare their maximum volume capabilities....

 

https://www.harmonycentral.com/articles/wattage-speaker-efficiency-and-amplifier-quotloudnessquot

 

 

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One option suggested to me in the jazzguitar.be forum was to get a Randall RG8 or a Vox PC108 and stick a Celestion TF0818 (the same speaker they stick in the Quilter 8 inch combo amps) in it. It's small enough to sneak into a suitcase. . . .

Did anyone say why you couldn't use either cab as-is? The Randall is rated to handle 35 Watts, which ought to match your Quilter. The Vox will handle 25 Watts, so you could use it as-is as long as you don't get carried away.

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