twelvepoint wrote: Sun Apr 05, 2026 5:47 am
I was playing bass the other day with a friend at his place. He has an old Ampeg 8x10 (cool!) but it was intermittent (not cool!). Wiggling the 1/4” jack seems to be the culprit.
From the outside, it looks like the cab uses a long barrel jack like this:
There’s another hole drilled in the cab just above for what seems to be a second, similar jack wired in parallel but it’s just an empty hole.
Is this Switchcraft #151 the correct part to use? It seems like a little wimpy to put 300 watts through.
Again, this cab has just 2 holes in the back. No jack plates, and the holes aren’t big enough to use those goofy 4 pin jacks the very old 8x10s had.
How would you fix this?
Edit: my buddy will never get around to fixing this himself, so if I want to play a nice bass rig, it’s on me to fix it. It would be better to not have to modify the cab, but if enlarging the hole for a jack plate is better, we could do that.
The jack you posted aint right. 1) to properly tighten it you;d have to take off a speaker and move some batting around to get at the nut from the inside and 2) the shoulders are too soft for wood so you'd need big nuts (yes) on either side to keep the thing snug. The amp would have, I believe, originally had a jack plate and that's how i'd secure it now. Something like this:
Or even this:
You might need to widen the existing hole, or inspect to find if there is an existing larger hole to use, but that's the way to do it.
Re: Small questions that don't fit anywhere
Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2026 9:04 am
by twelvepoint
Thanks Tony! It is weird because there’s nothing that would indicate there was ever a plate attached, or that there was a larger hole that was filled. A plate solution would definitely need a bigger hole drilled in the cab. That’s probably ok, and definitely preferable to having a short or open load on the SVT that’s powering it
Re: Small questions that don't fit anywhere
Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2026 9:32 am
by Nate Dort
twelvepoint wrote: Sun Apr 05, 2026 5:47 am
Is this Switchcraft #151 the correct part to use? It seems like a little wimpy to put 300 watts through.
300W RMS into a 4 ohm load is about 8 A. The switchcraft 151 is rated for 1 A. I know these get used all the time for these applications, but you're much better off using something like the switchcraft Z15J, which is rated for 15A.
FWIW, my early 70s ampeg 8x10 has one of those 151 jacks in it, I think, but somebody added a small aluminum plate as a washer on the outside to keep it from pulling into the wood. I've been meaning to update it for a while.
Re: Small questions that don't fit anywhere
Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2026 5:01 pm
by llllllllllllllllllll
defendyachtrock wrote: Fri Apr 03, 2026 7:01 pm
Has anyone used any of those doofy Wingman knobs on a pedal? I want to be able to toggle my DOD Carcosa between rhythm and lead volumes, my board is way too tight to fit a boost pedal and I don’t think the pedal I want instead exists in production (what if a Carcosa, but with a footswitchable volume boost and oriented horizontally like a Zvex). The low-tech idea is to put a Wingman on the volume knob and I can move between rhythm and lead volume levels without having to bend over my board.
twelvepoint wrote: Sun Apr 05, 2026 5:47 am
Is this Switchcraft #151 the correct part to use? It seems like a little wimpy to put 300 watts through.
300W RMS into a 4 ohm load is about 8 A. The switchcraft 151 is rated for 1 A. I know these get used all the time for these applications, but you're much better off using something like the switchcraft Z15J, which is rated for 15A.
FWIW, my early 70s ampeg 8x10 has one of those 151 jacks in it, I think, but somebody added a small aluminum plate as a washer on the outside to keep it from pulling into the wood. I've been meaning to update it for a while.
Ok, at least I’m not crazy. I was starting to wonder if it’s really an Ampeg or some knockoff, but that jack was actually used. Anyway yeah, plan is to use a small plate and more appropriate jack and drill it out.
Re: Small questions that don't fit anywhere
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2026 4:53 pm
by Teacher's Pet
I'm looking for one of these EHX wall warts so I can power up an old EHX pedal (Tube EQ), confirm that it works, and then hopefully sell it.
And I figure it's more appealing to buy if it comes with it's own (weird) power supply.
This power supply (on eBay) is gonna be $30+ with shipping.
Is there a cheaper generic alternative? One that comes with the weird 2-prong polarized plug?
Or should I just say fugget and sell untested with no power supply? I'll shell out if necessary, it seems likely that I'd get the $ back in the eventual sale.
Re: Small questions that don't fit anywhere
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2026 6:43 pm
by llllllllllllllllllll
Teacher's Pet wrote:
I had that expensive piece of shit supply with a Tube Zipper. It sucks paying $30 for a little bit of plastic and wire but selling your EHX as ‘parts or not working’ means it will either sit until you take a tragic lowball or you are going to deal with the worst sort of tire kickers, and that isn’t a guarantee that they won’t try to get their money back anyways.
If the pedal works you will make the $30 easy. If not, that’s not a huge loss. That pedal seems to go for a lot of money and will probably sell quickly as long as you price it under everybody else.
I'm looking for one of these EHX wall warts so I can power up an old EHX pedal (Tube EQ), confirm that it works, and then hopefully sell it.
And I figure it's more appealing to buy if it comes with it's own (weird) power supply.
This power supply (on eBay) is gonna be $30+ with shipping.
Is there a cheaper generic alternative? One that comes with the weird 2-prong polarized plug?
Or should I just say fugget and sell untested with no power supply? I'll shell out if necessary, it seems likely that I'd get the $ back in the eventual sale.
its AC so I dont think it is polarized. There is only 2 conductors in that plug so I bet only 2 pins are doing anything. I bet you could change out the plug and socket with a standard guitar pedal din style and use any 12vAC 1 amp wall wart. I would do it if it were mine.
Re: Small questions that don't fit anywhere
Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2026 8:59 pm
by defendyachtrock
My bassist had a couple Option Knobs lying around so I picked some up from him today along with a pedal I let him borrow.
It does the thing just fine. Took me no time at all to set it to where I wanted it and to move it with my foot back and forth. More cost effective than getting another boost pedal at this point!
Re: Small questions that don't fit anywhere
Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2026 8:02 am
by twelvepoint
How good would the Grateful Dead’s Wall of Sound compare to a contemporary line array PA?
