Just curious, could I run an amp head into my combo amp (into the return on my effects loop) and use it as a speaker cab? The combo is a fender pro185, rated at 165 watts RMS, and the head is an ibanez tbx100, so the speakers should hold the load. I'm just not tech savvy enough to know if there is any problem with ohms-the fender runs 8 and the ibanez can run 4-16 mono and 8 stereo. any info would be greatly appreciated.
You don't have to firebomb dresden to prove you can fly a plane.-Warren Zevon
Generally speaking, if the head has a LINE or PREAMP output, or an effects loop send jack, you should be able to run it into the effects loop return jack of the combo amp.
But DO NOT :!: connect a speaker output to the effects loop jack; it might cause serious problems with one or both units. If the head has only a speaker output, then only connect that to a speaker input jack or directly to the speaker. Set the impedance to match (8 ohms to 8 ohms.) (With some solid state amps you can mismatch the impedance or even give no load at all, but I prefer not to take a chance on stuff like that.)
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
okay, so if I used the effect send on the head and the the return on the combo, I should be alright? (provided the impedence is the same on both)
You don't have to firebomb dresden to prove you can fly a plane.-Warren Zevon
I could be wrong, but I think impedance matters going from power amp to speaker, not between effects loops. That's a line-level signal, and is not loading the power amps. Does impedance matter in the preamp stage? I don't know ...
I think, because these are both solid state amps, what you are doing should be fine. If the head were tube I'd be more worried ...
But, either way I would still recommend connecting the head to the speakers; not much point trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Why not sell the combo and get a proper cab for the head?
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
