Marshall Micro Amp MS-2 thru a 4x12

[Markfresh]

Hi all , has anyone tried the MS-2 thru a 4x12?

Ive been meaning to get one to try it but thought id ask here first.
From what i've read/seen on youtube there are 2 ways to do this.
The first involves unplugging the speaker wires and replacing the speaker with a 1/4" output jack.
The second involves soldering a wire across the R2 on the PCB and using the headphone jack.

The later apparently involves using a mono cable not pushed all the way in to the amps stereo jack which sounds dodgy AF to me.

So is the first way possible?
The fellow in the clip explains in the comments that he .........(" had to replace the internal speaker with a speaker out jack where I connect the 4X12. I have seen other people connecting the cab to the Headphone jack, but that's not the same sound".)
And how would you tell what ohms it is?

Here are a clip.

 

[mmrizio]

The later apparently involves using a mono cable not pushed all the way in to the amps stereo jack which sounds dodgy AF to me.

If your 4x12 is the Stereo version, you don't need to do this workaround. Even better: You use both ends of the headphone amp. Not sure it is happy to handle 8 Ohms load at full tilt for a while. Most headphones are 32 Ohms; with transistor amps lower loads mean more current and more heat. While it is open, you might want to add a cooling device.

Did you already do a search on this forum? I read about it a year ago, I think it was also here.
I also remember an option using an L-pad, but I could be confused.

 

[Markfresh]

Hi , my amp is a origin 4x12 which is mono wired to 16ohms.

I'm not really keen on using the headphone out, which is why I'm curious about wiring a speaker jack in place of the speaker.
From the video above it sounds good (speaker output) , but hey its youtube, it could be anything.

I did read about the headphone mod and the l-pad , but sounds like alot of stuffing around if i can just remove speaker and replace with output jack.

This was just a cheap idea i had while waiting for my proper amp head to arrive in june.

 

[fitz288]

If you are just looking for an inexpensive temporary amp for your cab, try looking for a used MG10/15/30 combo.
GC usually has dozens of these for about the same price as the little MS-2.

 

[junk notes]

The ones I mod pretty much sound like this sgraight in.

 

[Markfresh]

If you are just looking for an inexpensive temporary amp for your cab, try looking for a used MG10/15/30 combo.
GC usually has dozens of these for about the same price as the little MS-2.

Thanks, can i run these thru the cab? Or do you mean as a standalone?
And here in australia we dont have GC , but i just seen a mg 10 for $30 more than a MS-2,

 

[fitz288]

Thanks, can i run these thru the cab? Or do you mean as a standalone?
And here in australia we dont have GC , but i just seen a mg 10 for $30 more than a MS-2,

The MG10C does not have a speaker out jack, but that would be easy to add.
Probably easier than getting a speaker out on the MS-2.
Just run the speaker leads to a jack & make a cord from the speaker to the jack.

 

[junk notes]

just seen a mg 10 for $30 more than a MS-2,

What is your goal? To have a headphone amp that can plug into (an 8Ω) extension cab and become a small low watt combo? You would have to mod MG10 for an extension speaker if you wanted better tones besides the 6½ internal speaker,. 10 watts is fairly loud, but the modded MS-2 at one watt can be perceived as loud. The MS and MG both have 2 channels, clean and dirty, but both have to be modded to utilize and extension cab. I would wager that you would have a little more flexibility with the MG, having 10 watts and a line-in for a CD player or a phone.
Externally the modded MS-2 usually sounds great with the volume on 10, but is still a bit loud, and that is where the L-pad comes in taming the distorted volumes, but is not necessary; just an option to control volume levels, as well as it being an extra cost to achieve usable low volume distortion standalone tones..

 

[junk notes]

The MG10C does not have a speaker out jack, but that would be easy to add.
Probably easier than getting a speaker out on the MS-2.
Just run the speaker leads to a jack & make a cord from the speaker to the jack.

I would guess that with the MG10 at 10 watts one could probably install a separate jack for the external speaker directly off the chassis to the added jack. (I am guessing that the MG10 speaker is eight ohm, but unsure of watts) 10 watts would probably not need any modding, but with the MS-2 you cannot do that without rewiring the headphone out to be a one watt - eight ohm speaker out. (the MS-2 internal speaker is eight ohm/two watts). IOW you cannot detach the wires and simply hook up a jack for it to be an external speaker. There is not enough power to run the external speaker without rewiring the jacks internally.

 

[fitz288]

I would guess that with the MG10 at 10 watts one could probably install a separate jack for the external speaker directly off the chassis to the added jack. (I am guessing that the MG10 speaker is eight ohm, but unsure of watts) 10 watts would probably not need any modding

Yep, 8 ohm - 10w

I just did this with a G215 combo chassis for external cabs.

 

[junk notes]

Yep, 8 ohm - 10w
View attachment 102224
I just did this with a G215 combo chassis for external cabs.
View attachment 102225

Cool as I suspected. So for convenience the +$30 more for the MG10 would be the sound choice low watt micro combo to use with an external cab.
@fitz288 has your best option for the money @Markfresh.

 

[Markfresh]

The ones I mod pretty much sound like this sgraight in.

Which mides do u do Junk?

 

[Markfresh]

Thanks all for the replies,
The reason i wanted to do this is i have a 20 watt head on order that wont arrive until june.
I have a 4x12 sitting there, so was looking for something cheap to use thru the cab in the meantime and the cheapest seemed to be the MS-2.

It seems though that the MS-2 would be 8 ohm, (not sure how people are using them thru a 16ohm cab)
And the MG10 would be 8 ohm etc.
So i guess unless i can find a cheap combo with 16ohm tap, i guess maybe im just better off forgetting the cab for now and just getting a used 10 watt combo and play it as is.

 

[EADGBE]

Email Marshall and ask if it is safe to do this.

 

[fitz288]

Thanks all for the replies,
The reason i wanted to do this is i have a 20 watt head on order that wont arrive until june.
I have a 4x12 sitting there, so was looking for something cheap to use thru the cab in the meantime and the cheapest seemed to be the MS-2.

It seems though that the MS-2 would be 8 ohm, (not sure how people are using them thru a 16ohm cab)
And the MG10 would be 8 ohm etc.
So i guess unless i can find a cheap combo with 16ohm tap, i guess maybe im just better off forgetting the cab for now and just getting a used 10 watt combo and play it as is.

Solid state 8 ohm out to a 16 ohm cab is fine.
I do that with my Crate.
It'll just lose a little volume.

 

[junk notes]

Which mides do u do Junk?

I had taken the lead from @glina (and a little help from @ampmadscientist) then incorporated the L-pad as a master volume on the speaker, taming the micro amps distortion volume levels, as it sounds better with the volume being on 10.
That is where the L-pad comes in, and where the difference is in getting those overdriven Marshallesque tones.

*again, this part of the mod is optional

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

I had put a speaker out on the back panel of an MG 30 but we plugged it into a MG 412 ,, an those cabs are 8ohm, sounded great for the spread of the 30.
Cheers

 

[Markfresh]

Excellent info cheers, i like a project

 

[junk notes]

Hi all , has anyone tried the MS-2 thru a 4x12?

 

[Markfresh]

I had taken the lead from @glina (and a little help from @ampmadscientist) then incorporated the L-pad as a master volume on the speaker, taming the micro amps distortion volume levels, as it sounds better with the volume being on 10.
That is where the L-pad comes in, and where the difference is in getting those overdriven Marshallesque tones.

*again, this part of the mod is optional

Awesome, so for my project , i would just put a 1/4 jack where you have the speaker connected?
And also i would use a speaker cable not a instrument Cable?
Also how do i wire the output from the MS-2 headphone jack, (which is i gather how you did it ?)