Thanks for this! I bought the jack about 4 months ago and just got around to this today. I've got a nice collection of amps, but this is too fun, easy, and inexpensive to not do. Fantastic improvement through both a Vox closed-back 1x10, or a small Marshall angle cab conversion to a 1x12 w/ V30.
I'm having an issue getting sound to come out of the internal speaker. When I plug an external cab in I hear sound as expected, but with no speaker cable plugged in the internal speaker is dead quiet. I can hear the amp with headphones as well. It seems the issue is between the jack and the speaker but I can't figure out what. I've tried redoing the connections in multiple places but no luck. I'm tempted to say screw it and just turn the amp into a head because that functionality works but I'd still like to be able to use the internal speaker.
Thanks a ton for the video. Ran across 2 1x12 cabs with eminence speakers. Going to use one with a Blackstar head I'm buying and take another to our beach hut so I don't have to carry guitar stuff back and forth. May get a micro terror or tube to run it, but I like the Mustang I keep down there because of the many amp models and effects. Was thinking it would be cool to run the Mustang into the nicer speaker and bam... you have a video to show how.
Just wanted to follow up with my experience to add something that worked slightly better. I did not have all my tools at the beach so struggled with what Chris had to mod to get the jack installed. He had to route out the 1/2" or 3/4" back panel because the jack was not long enough to fit. I was going to use my muti-diameter hole drill bits to do a large hole halfway through and then the smaller hole for the jack, but could not find them anywhere. So I thought I'd drill the hole for the jack. It just so happened that the largest drill bit I had on hand was the exact diameter of the jack. Actually slightly smaller, but perfect to screw the jack into the particle board. It was so tight I had to use pliers to finish. Best of all the jack was almost flush on the other side so the speaker cable fit perfect. I was going to use a bit a gorilla glue so it would not eventually push back through after many uses, but think it will never go anywhere. Tell you what, a 1x12 Celestial cab hooked to the Mustang makes for a very nice sound. I only started to explore. Love my tube amp I keep at home, but the versatility of the Mustang is nice to have at our little beach shack. Don't have to worry about carrying a pedal board. I jam on our porch and have been putting the Mustang on one end on a small table. I play from the other side about 20 feet away. Always had to get up or walk over to change the settings. Got a 20' speaker cord, so I can keep the amp next to me now. And, because it's right there one tends to explore its options a bit more. I just started going through the presets and thinking of what songs I play that match. This setup will also get me back into FUSE presets and effects. I installed the jack in a location that will allow me to go a step further if I want... turn it into a head.
Almost looks as though one could replace the 1x8 speaker with a 1x10 or even 1x12 instead ? Area of the speaker hole goes from 50.27 (8 in diameter/4 in radius) to 78.54 (10 in diameter 5 in radius) to 113.1 (12 in diameter/6 in radius). A 1x10 has 56% more area, while a 1x12 is 125% more area. Depth of the closed back combo might be an inefficiency that would be better suited to go with a 1x10 woofer. But a 1x12 woofer gets the Mustang I to Mustang II 40W territory. The Mustang I V2 is 7.6 x 15.5 x 14.5 inches vs the II v2 8.7 x 18.25 x 17.25 inches. An inch of cabinet depth probably is do-able for a 1x10. The weight of the I vs II goes from 17 to 24 lbs. A speaker upgrade gets to the differences between weight of the woofers as the cabinet's dead particle board weight remains the same for the I V2. Even a better 1x8 woofer is an option.
Was thinking of just replacing the stock speaker with a Celestion VT Jr. But it's 16ohm and what is the wire that's soldered to the stock speaker?? Is it just a ground of sorts? Thanks. Want to stick this 10" speaker in the 8" spot, it will work, I just want a HAIR more volume and curious the tonal difference. And prefer to stick it in the amp as I want this to be portable. Thanks for this BTW, good work!
Do you think the mod will work and is safe if I use it like this: Bass -> Mustang 1 -> Line out -> bass amp's input. The point is to use the modeling part of the mustang (effects) and a proper bass amp to not damage the mustang
Do you mean using the external cab out that I modified and added, to go into the input for a bass amp? If so, no I don’t think that would work or be a good idea, as it is not a line out, it is a connection for a cab.
Nice mod! I looking to do the opposite. I have a Mustang GTX with nice Celestion 1x12 4 ohms and I would like to install a 1/4 switched jack so that I can use my Mustang as cabinet and plug my valve amp head (4-16 ohms). I think it is just a matter to make sure when I plug the cable in the added jack, it will connect the head amp to the speakers (and not to the Mustang electronics). Any advice? Concerns?
Sounds like an interesting and worth while project. I think the main thing you will need is a something like a "Neutrik NMJ4HC-S 1/4" Mono Phone Jack Switched" (and soldering gear of course). The Mono Phone Jack Switched should allow you to install the jack and solder the speaker wires from the amp to the jack on one side and on the other side of the jack, wire that to the speaker. If done correctly, with nothing plugged into the jack, your amp and speaker should work normally but when you plug a speaker cable in, it will break the connections from the combo amp to the combo speaker and connect the speaker cable to the combo speaker. Concerns, just ensure you know which wire is negative and positive going to the speaker and making sure that is soldered correctly and that they don't get swapped around. The only other concern would be to ensure the external head you plug in, is appropriate for the ohms of the speaker and wattage rating....but it sounds like you have that already sorted out. Good luck, sounds like fun.
I replaced my stock speaker with a Celestion VT Jr, and had to just adjust the EQ a bit because I went to a 10" speaker, but IMO it helped SIGNIGICANTLY.
great little amp, i also opted for an external speaker jack, i built a cab.,, using fender eminence, 12" ,( bought used , 30.oo u.s.d. ),, i included a bass port, using 2"" diam. tubing, sounds much better, gets real loud!,,some of the pre-sets, won't work with this setup, but that does'nt bother me.!
Gene Kloszewski Interesting! What does a "bass port" mean and what kind of 2" diam. tubing did you use? I mean, what do you mean by "tubing"? I need an amp head for my bass cab and all I have is this fender mustang.
2 Large flat head screwdrivers working on opposite sides etc. Tore the tolex a bit, but glue and a black Sharpe will do the trick.. I porter the back panel on mine for the heck of it, definitely let's the sound expand and breathe. Getting ready to make a birchwood plywood cabinet and load a better spkr, celestion 8/15 jensen mod 8, or w wgs, and put a extension jack to run different cabs, have katana artist and 50 mkii etc.. but it's fun pushing practice amps to best possible tone you can get.. little mustang has gobs of potential.. great video thanks for putting it up..👍👍
This is why I think most affordable practice combos sound shit because they come with shit speakers. This shows that the amp circuitry is great and when connected to a 1x12 you see the potential of the amp circuitry
Man! This is absolutely fantastic!! I had one that I used to keep down on our boat. It went through all kinds of temp changes and was on the boat all year (Austin). One day it just stopped working. I bumped it a few times, but ultimately just thought it was spent. Whatever I paid for it new ($119?), I figured I got my money out of it and was going to just bring it to the house and set it on the curb. But then I thought about how cool it was when I first got it and decided to at least take a look at it before putting it out with the trash. Popped the back cover and boom, the speaker connector had come off. That was two years ago. It's been perfect ever since as a late night amp. This upgrade will be fantastic! Thanks so much for this! Great sound samples and as for your illustrations - is that something you do for a living? Pro level!
Frevler Sorry, I’m not sure I follow the question. Do you mean...can you use the “aux” in as the headphone jack? Either way, I think the headphone jack is PCB (printed circuit board) mounted. So I guess I would say it might depend on how bad it broke. It possible you could take the amp apart and solder in a new headphone jack.
Hi Chris. Can the amp be directly connected to the computer using the added jack out through the USB interface? So, can the guitar be recorded through the interface this way?
Well to get both working at the same time you'd want to solder a jumper between the pins So a small wire connecting both positive pins together And a small wire connecting both negative pins together However do this at your own risk because i do not know of having both sets of speakers running at the same time is a great idea
Hello Chris, great video . I saw one comment stated that they couldnt use all of the presets with this mod . Did you find this to be the case as well? Also did you get any feedback from the heavy metal presets?
Mike Torres I would say you can use all the presets but you will probably have to tweak the EQ a bit as they were EQ’ed for a 8” speaker 🔈, so if you go to a 1x12 Cab it will have a lot more bass. No feedback on the metal settings but I normal don’t play too loud.
Hey Chris, I want to do this mod to my mustang too! could you tell me if this jack works for this mod as well? www.thomann.de/gb/neutrik_nmj2hf_s.htm?ref=intl&shp=eyJjb3VudHJ5IjoiZ2IiLCJjdXJyZW5jeSI6IjQiLCJsYW5ndWFnZSI6ImVuIn0%3D And what kind of wire/cabel do you use? on this site there are two categories, audio cable and speaker cable. wich one do i need? www.thomann.de/gb/cable_per_meter.html I´m a total beginner in this ... Thanks! :)
I have the back off my Mustang 1 v2 at the moment, because I stuffed up the other day and tried walking across the room not realising I was still attached....and the amp fell off the couch and somehow bent the input jack insides. I can now get at the jack and have fiddled enuf with this sort of thing to be able to repair it. But while it's open I did think hmmm I wonder how hard it would be to add an effects loop to the amp. Your video is the closest I've come to sourcing good info about it. I have made a basic external footswitch pedal so I've played with the momentary switches and jacks, but I'm not like an expert. I'm thinking that to do it, the first jack (the output of the amp going to whatever pedals) would be wired essentially the same as what you have here. The input (returning with the effects from the pedals' output) would be sort of the opposite...but I'm wondering about the exact specifics of that, because you'd want it to bypass like yours does if nothing is plugged into either jack, and go direct to speaker. Any thoughts on the wiring?
LOLOL, you wanna be backyard guys who fool around with electronics......buddy did you ever hear of a TUNED CAVITY!!! this amp is engineered to the exact specs which is beyond the scope of this discussion, by ripping of that back cover which IS GLUED and torqued screws you effective ruined that tuned cavity.....BRAVO!!!!!
terry walls lol I’ve done noise and vibration along with acoustics and as long as he didn’t change anything he’s fine and your full of it. Geezus it a small 119 dollar amp the only thought they put into the cab was as open or closed back. Zombie apocalypse lol
Yeah, I’m pretty sure they didn’t have a crack team of NASA scientists on this one. Adding a speaker isn’t anything that can’t be re eq’d back into or out of the preset
Thanks for this! I bought the jack about 4 months ago and just got around to this today.
I've got a nice collection of amps, but this is too fun, easy, and inexpensive to not do. Fantastic improvement through both a Vox closed-back 1x10, or a small Marshall angle cab conversion to a 1x12 w/ V30.
Awesome!!!
Great work on the mod Chris. I like the panama one, still clear plus more bass. Well done!!.
Thank you, I've just made the change, it's very satisfactory. 👍
I'm having an issue getting sound to come out of the internal speaker. When I plug an external cab in I hear sound as expected, but with no speaker cable plugged in the internal speaker is dead quiet. I can hear the amp with headphones as well.
It seems the issue is between the jack and the speaker but I can't figure out what. I've tried redoing the connections in multiple places but no luck. I'm tempted to say screw it and just turn the amp into a head because that functionality works but I'd still like to be able to use the internal speaker.
Thanks a ton for the video. Ran across 2 1x12 cabs with eminence speakers. Going to use one with a Blackstar head I'm buying and take another to our beach hut so I don't have to carry guitar stuff back and forth. May get a micro terror or tube to run it, but I like the Mustang I keep down there because of the many amp models and effects. Was thinking it would be cool to run the Mustang into the nicer speaker and bam... you have a video to show how.
Just wanted to follow up with my experience to add something that worked slightly better.
I did not have all my tools at the beach so struggled with what Chris had to mod to get the jack installed. He had to route out the 1/2" or 3/4" back panel because the jack was not long enough to fit.
I was going to use my muti-diameter hole drill bits to do a large hole halfway through and then the smaller hole for the jack, but could not find them anywhere.
So I thought I'd drill the hole for the jack. It just so happened that the largest drill bit I had on hand was the exact diameter of the jack. Actually slightly smaller, but perfect to screw the jack into the particle board. It was so tight I had to use pliers to finish. Best of all the jack was almost flush on the other side so the speaker cable fit perfect. I was going to use a bit a gorilla glue so it would not eventually push back through after many uses, but think it will never go anywhere.
Tell you what, a 1x12 Celestial cab hooked to the Mustang makes for a very nice sound. I only started to explore. Love my tube amp I keep at home, but the versatility of the Mustang is nice to have at our little beach shack. Don't have to worry about carrying a pedal board. I jam on our porch and have been putting the Mustang on one end on a small table. I play from the other side about 20 feet away. Always had to get up or walk over to change the settings. Got a 20' speaker cord, so I can keep the amp next to me now. And, because it's right there one tends to explore its options a bit more. I just started going through the presets and thinking of what songs I play that match. This setup will also get me back into FUSE presets and effects.
I installed the jack in a location that will allow me to go a step further if I want... turn it into a head.
Rob Gilliam Great feedback and I love beach time jamming ❤️ 🏖 🎸
Almost looks as though one could replace the 1x8 speaker with a 1x10 or even 1x12 instead ? Area of the speaker hole goes from 50.27 (8 in diameter/4 in radius) to 78.54 (10 in diameter 5 in radius) to 113.1 (12 in diameter/6 in radius). A 1x10 has 56% more area, while a 1x12 is 125% more area. Depth of the closed back combo might be an inefficiency that would be better suited to go with a 1x10 woofer. But a 1x12 woofer gets the Mustang I to Mustang II 40W territory. The Mustang I V2 is 7.6 x 15.5 x 14.5 inches vs the II v2 8.7 x 18.25 x 17.25 inches. An inch of cabinet depth probably is do-able for a 1x10. The weight of the I vs II goes from 17 to 24 lbs. A speaker upgrade gets to the differences between weight of the woofers as the cabinet's dead particle board weight remains the same for the I V2. Even a better 1x8 woofer is an option.
Was thinking of just replacing the stock speaker with a Celestion VT Jr. But it's 16ohm and what is the wire that's soldered to the stock speaker?? Is it just a ground of sorts? Thanks. Want to stick this 10" speaker in the 8" spot, it will work, I just want a HAIR more volume and curious the tonal difference. And prefer to stick it in the amp as I want this to be portable. Thanks for this BTW, good work!
Thanks, much appreciated.
The yellow wire? Yeah, that is just a ground wire.
Do you think the mod will work and is safe if I use it like this: Bass -> Mustang 1 -> Line out -> bass amp's input. The point is to use the modeling part of the mustang (effects) and a proper bass amp to not damage the mustang
Do you mean using the external cab out that I modified and added, to go into the input for a bass amp? If so, no I don’t think that would work or be a good idea, as it is not a line out, it is a connection for a cab.
Great mod! Thanks a lot I will try it!
Nice mod! I looking to do the opposite. I have a Mustang GTX with nice Celestion 1x12 4 ohms and I would like to install a 1/4 switched jack so that I can use my Mustang as cabinet and plug my valve amp head (4-16 ohms). I think it is just a matter to make sure when I plug the cable in the added jack, it will connect the head amp to the speakers (and not to the Mustang electronics).
Any advice? Concerns?
Sounds like an interesting and worth while project. I think the main thing you will need is a something like a "Neutrik NMJ4HC-S 1/4" Mono Phone Jack Switched" (and soldering gear of course). The Mono Phone Jack Switched should allow you to install the jack and solder the speaker wires from the amp to the jack on one side and on the other side of the jack, wire that to the speaker. If done correctly, with nothing plugged into the jack, your amp and speaker should work normally but when you plug a speaker cable in, it will break the connections from the combo amp to the combo speaker and connect the speaker cable to the combo speaker.
Concerns, just ensure you know which wire is negative and positive going to the speaker and making sure that is soldered correctly and that they don't get swapped around. The only other concern would be to ensure the external head you plug in, is appropriate for the ohms of the speaker and wattage rating....but it sounds like you have that already sorted out. Good luck, sounds like fun.
I replaced my stock speaker with a Celestion VT Jr, and had to just adjust the EQ a bit because I went to a 10" speaker, but IMO it helped SIGNIGICANTLY.
Nice 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
great little amp, i also opted for an external speaker jack, i built a cab.,, using fender eminence, 12" ,( bought used , 30.oo u.s.d. ),, i included a bass port, using 2"" diam. tubing, sounds much better, gets real loud!,,some of the pre-sets, won't work with this setup, but that does'nt bother me.!
Gene Kloszewski Nice work!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Gene Kloszewski Interesting! What does a "bass port" mean and what kind of 2" diam. tubing did you use? I mean, what do you mean by "tubing"? I need an amp head for my bass cab and all I have is this fender mustang.
Do you think this kid will be the same for the fender mustang GT series?
Exactly same process. I’ve done two gr 109s, and I’m doing a gtx 50 today with a vintage 30.
Any difference in perceived volume?
Can you add an Fx loop return and send?
Not that I have found.
Do you think that its possible to cram a 10" or even a 12" speaker in there?
Possibly a 10” but not sure a 12” would work.
Will the amp speaker still work along side the monitor when they are conected?
No, when the external speaker is connected, it disables the internal speaker.
Does the wattage matter? Can I use like a 60 watt speaker on a 20w amp? And is it possible to use a bass cabinet instead?
@@profile_01 so I can use a 20watt bass cabinet as long as I'm not over loading the normal wattage amount and ohms resistance
@@profile_01 impedence mismatch should not be too big a deal on a low-watt SS amp.
I can’t figure out how to open the cab I’ve tried prying it with a screw driver but that did t work
Will D Mine was extremely tough to get off too because it is screwed and glued on. I used two large Sheetrock/Putty blade to pry mine off.
Ok ok I’ll give that a try thanks for the help
2 Large flat head screwdrivers working on opposite sides etc. Tore the tolex a bit, but glue and a black Sharpe will do the trick.. I porter the back panel on mine for the heck of it, definitely let's the sound expand and breathe. Getting ready to make a birchwood plywood cabinet and load a better spkr, celestion 8/15 jensen mod 8, or w wgs, and put a extension jack to run different cabs, have katana artist and 50 mkii etc.. but it's fun pushing practice amps to best possible tone you can get.. little mustang has gobs of potential.. great video thanks for putting it up..👍👍
@@robphillips8351 thanks for the tips!
This is why I think most affordable practice combos sound shit because they come with shit speakers. This shows that the amp circuitry is great and when connected to a 1x12 you see the potential of the amp circuitry
Man! This is absolutely fantastic!! I had one that I used to keep down on our boat. It went through all kinds of temp changes and was on the boat all year (Austin). One day it just stopped working. I bumped it a few times, but ultimately just thought it was spent. Whatever I paid for it new ($119?), I figured I got my money out of it and was going to just bring it to the house and set it on the curb.
But then I thought about how cool it was when I first got it and decided to at least take a look at it before putting it out with the trash. Popped the back cover and boom, the speaker connector had come off. That was two years ago. It's been perfect ever since as a late night amp.
This upgrade will be fantastic! Thanks so much for this!
Great sound samples and as for your illustrations - is that something you do for a living? Pro level!
I fell over my headphone cable and broke the jack. Do you have any idea if it is possible to use the "phone" jack as a headphone jack?
Frevler Sorry, I’m not sure I follow the question. Do you mean...can you use the “aux” in as the headphone jack?
Either way, I think the headphone jack is PCB (printed circuit board) mounted. So I guess I would say it might depend on how bad it broke. It possible you could take the amp apart and solder in a new headphone jack.
Aux is IN only
Hi Chris. Can the amp be directly connected to the computer using the added jack out through the USB interface? So, can the guitar be recorded through the interface this way?
Charis Theodorakopoulos you can record via a normal USB cable, you just need the Fender ASIO4ALL plugin
Not direct from the speaker jack, without running through a DI first. A speaker level signal might make a toaster out of your interface
Can that amp be used on acoustic guitar? How?
frankie restituto I would say yes, maybe not the best solution but the amp does have some really good clean sounds.
Nice! I'll try to modify mine, dividing into a cab and a head. God help me not to damage it!
Great stuff, I was wondering, is it possible for the internal speaker to produce a sound while it is also connected to the external speaker?
Aries Vitan Wong For the method I picked, it can’t . I suppose it could be possible but keeping the impedance correct might be tricky.
Well to get both working at the same time you'd want to solder a jumper between the pins
So a small wire connecting both positive pins together
And a small wire connecting both negative pins together
However do this at your own risk because i do not know of having both sets of speakers running at the same time is a great idea
It would change the impedance, probably not a good idea to try to run them together.
Hello Chris, great video . I saw one comment stated that they couldnt use all of the presets with this mod . Did you find this to be the case as well? Also did you get any feedback from the heavy metal presets?
Mike Torres I would say you can use all the presets but you will probably have to tweak the EQ a bit as they were EQ’ed for a 8” speaker 🔈, so if you go to a 1x12 Cab it will have a lot more bass.
No feedback on the metal settings but I normal don’t play too loud.
Definitely eq tweaking
Hey Chris,
I want to do this mod to my mustang too! could you tell me if this jack works for this mod as well?
www.thomann.de/gb/neutrik_nmj2hf_s.htm?ref=intl&shp=eyJjb3VudHJ5IjoiZ2IiLCJjdXJyZW5jeSI6IjQiLCJsYW5ndWFnZSI6ImVuIn0%3D
And what kind of wire/cabel do you use? on this site there are two categories, audio cable and speaker cable. wich one do i need?
www.thomann.de/gb/cable_per_meter.html
I´m a total beginner in this ...
Thanks! :)
I have the back off my Mustang 1 v2 at the moment, because I stuffed up the other day and tried walking across the room not realising I was still attached....and the amp fell off the couch and somehow bent the input jack insides. I can now get at the jack and have fiddled enuf with this sort of thing to be able to repair it. But while it's open I did think hmmm I wonder how hard it would be to add an effects loop to the amp. Your video is the closest I've come to sourcing good info about it. I have made a basic external footswitch pedal so I've played with the momentary switches and jacks, but I'm not like an expert. I'm thinking that to do it, the first jack (the output of the amp going to whatever pedals) would be wired essentially the same as what you have here. The input (returning with the effects from the pedals' output) would be sort of the opposite...but I'm wondering about the exact specifics of that, because you'd want it to bypass like yours does if nothing is plugged into either jack, and go direct to speaker.
Any thoughts on the wiring?
1.5.metres = 4' 11 1/16"
LOLOL, you wanna be backyard guys who fool around with electronics......buddy did you ever hear of a TUNED CAVITY!!! this amp is engineered to the exact specs which is beyond the scope of this discussion, by ripping of that back cover which IS GLUED and torqued screws you effective ruined that tuned cavity.....BRAVO!!!!!
terry walls lol I’ve done noise and vibration along with acoustics and as long as he didn’t change anything he’s fine and your full of it. Geezus it a small 119 dollar amp the only thought they put into the cab was as open or closed back. Zombie apocalypse lol
@terry walls=waaa waaa waaaaaaaa...uhm...uhmmm....waaaaaa waaaaaaa.....BRAVO!!!!!
Yeah, I’m pretty sure they didn’t have a crack team of NASA scientists on this one. Adding a speaker isn’t anything that can’t be re eq’d back into or out of the preset
It's not ported and therfore not tuned. It's a cheap box with a cheap speaker.... You're thinking into it to much.
@@SomeJustice19k Thats why I put a Vintage 30 in it. I can sell the 70-80 somewhere or give it to someone as a spare for their cabinet or something.
I followed this to a t
However when i plug in a 1x12 it just mutes the signal all together
Not plugged in its normal but plugged in ots muted
yeah .mp4 You used a “REAN Neutrik NYS212 1/4" Stereo Jack Switched”?
If so, sound like the soldering might be off.
@@Tone-Quest i used a stereo jack i had handy from an amp but if the soldering was off it wouldnt produce sound at all
@@Tone-Quest nevermind i just realized my jack is bacwards from yours
So i was just connecting 2 speakers not the amp to the new cab