my amp mod (and a couple questions)

[Niccolai]

I've got a Crate GT3500h.

I'm absolutely in love with it, and it's got the perfect tone for me.

It's the amp that's responsible for all of the best tones in grindcore (pig destroyer, dying fetus, misery index, eyehategod, ect.)
And I love it way more than any tube amp I've ever played. I'm probably never going to get rid of it.

so, of course, I want to opperate on it.

This is the original amp:




and this is what I want to turn it into:




What I plan to do is buy a second one and put it in the top of the amp box.

This means I'll haveto remove the spring reverb boxes from both amps (they are mounted to the top of the box, so they'll haveto go). That is a problem for me sense I don't know much about them. I know I can just unplug the boxes and the amp still works, but is it healthy for the amp to leave the spring reverb unplugged? it makes an awful noise if I try turning the reverb up while the box is unplugged. is that bad for the amp?

also, the reverb box has two plugs in it. a red and a white. I unplug both of them to deactivae the reverb, but should I connect those two wires somehow to 'finish' the circuit? or is it fine to leave them free floating?


My reason for doing this mod is rather ingenious to me.

These heads are monsters, they can power eight 16ohm cabs at 350 watts or four 8 ohm cabs at 350 watts.

I plan on using the head as a full stack, but a full stack isn't as loud as having two full stacks, so I'm going to use each of the heads to power one cab.

This will also benefit me because I will alwas have a backup head without the hassle of having to lug two HUGE heads around (and these heads are the biggest amp heads I've ever seen). and if something were to happen to one head live, the otherone would still be kicking so it wouldn't fuck up the set, plus I can always run the backup as a fullstack if something happens to one of them.


So I guess my biggest issue is going to be with the reverb box. Help with that would be greatly appreciated.


also, what is this?



There's one on the back of the heads and they take up a good amount of space. can they be moved or removed? because otherwise both heads won't fit in one box, as they will overlap. I understand they are called heat sinks and are supposed to aid in cooling the head down, but that's all I know.

Are they free floating or attached to the amp? and the most important question is can they me relocated.

[Twisteramps]

Is there really enough room to do this? I doubt it.

BTW, moving that heat sink would be a very bad idea - it's to keep your amp from getting too hot and damaging itself. They are not free floating.

[StukaJU87]

Buy or build a larger head shell, Dr. Frankenstein.

[Niccolai]

there's easily enough room to do this if it weren't for the heatsink.

I'm going to try to find some pictures online of the back of the amp.

[toejam]

but is it healthy for the amp to leave the spring reverb unplugged? it makes an awful noise if I try turning the reverb up while the box is unplugged. is that bad for the amp?

Why would you turn the reverb up if it's unplugged? It's obviously not going to work unplugged, so leave the knob at zero. Either you want reverb or you don't.

[rjohnstone]

You need the heatsink... unless you feel like buying a new amp after every gig. It will cook without it.

[jeff300]

Even if there were enough space in the box, adding an entire second amp in that enclosed space will not allow proper ventilation. You will most likely end up killing both amps.

[Niccolai]

Why would you turn the reverb up if it's unplugged? It's obviously not going to work unplugged, so leave the knob at zero. Either you want reverb or you don't.

I knew it wouldn't work unplugged, I just wondered what turning the knob up would do.

It turns out the only way to do this project and make it fit without serrious mods is turn the top amp upside down and mount it that way. the heat sinks would be fine and everything would fit...

I think it would look stupid with the top amp upsidedown though, so I might not do it.

Someone on another forum suggested I just throw both amps in a double live-in. Maybe I'll do that.

[Spivonious]

If you still want to put both amps in the same head, you could replace the heatsinks with smaller ones and add a fan or two at the back. It definitely wouldn't work for mic recording, as the mic would definitely pick up the fan noise, but for live situations you won't be able to hear the fan over the amp. Fans are easy to come by, just check out any computer enthusiast store, like www.newegg.com . I'd guess that an 80mm-120mm fan would do fine. Of course you'll need to supply a 12V line to the fan.

Finding different heatsinks will be tough. Nothing inside of a computer approaches the size of an amp. You could always buy a bunch of smaller ones. In any case, the above posts are correct: if the amp didn't need heatsinks Crate wouldn't have put them there. Heatsinks effectively dissipate heat from hot materials.

There is one more option, but it's pretty crazy. Build a water-cooling system for the amp. It can get a bit pricey ($200 or so) but it's better than a heatsink and you could place it outside of the amp head. Just google it to find more information. It's a fairly common cooling solution for the overclocking computer fanatic.

[Model 6 Matt]

You should run both heads at the same time, 6 channels then! just use a A/B box and there's 6 channels to work with!
Looks awesome and great idea!!

[khabibissell]

Where are you playing where you need the volume of TWO full stacks?

I do the original band thing, and find that 1 50 watt tube halfstack is more than sufficient. I'm lucky if I can turn it up halfway before the sound guy bitches.

You guys crack me up...

[Racerx2k]

...yeah, no offense, but I find this whole thing a waste of time and money. If you MUST run two heads, stack one on the other. you're just asking for trouble trying to jam 2 heads into 1 chassis, and it does nothing.

[nateb]

First off, yeah... Just like everyone else said. Keep the heatsink. Second, it is not a good idea to cram all that electronics in the same box. When these products are designed, airflow, operating temperature and many other factors are taking into consideration. It is very likely that you will not have a problem... Initially.... But, the wear and tear over time due to it's new operating temperature will start to take it's toll on your rig ending up with a plethora (Si El Guapo a plethora) of shit happening to you at very bad times. So, in short, listen to Ron.

-Nate

[Infernal Death]

I also don't get it. Why anybody would find a 350watt amp not sufficient is beyond me (unless you are the bass player).
Oh and it's pretty clear that you don't seem to have an understanding about your amp. So if i were you i would completely stay away from modding. The chances to ruin your amp are just way too big.

Also you say 1 fullstack isn't as loud as 2 full stacks (well yes seems logical) but then you say you want two amps powering one cab each. But this would then be 2 halfstacks. Why just not use 1 amp and two cabs like everybody else does ?

Flo

[toejam]

So, in short, listen to Ron.

RacerX (Ron) did not post in this thread.