room for reverb tank in a head cab?

[docmh]

I want to get a head cab for my Fender Vibro-King. How much interior room is needed for the reverb pan? What can happen if the pan is too close to tubes, trannies etc? I see old Fender Dual Showmen Reveb heads are 13" deep. I'd like to keep mine as small as possible to cut down on already considerable weight, but don't want problems if it's too small.
Mucho Thanks

[WaltC]

one of the reasons that the Dual Showman Reverb or Bandmaster Reverb heads are so tall is to keep the reverb tank far enough away from the transformers and assorted components to minimize hum pickup. You might get lucky and not have the problem, but I'd ere on the side of safety and make the cab as tall as fender did just in case.

[frankie5fingers]

+1 Done it... with a DR using a standard small Marshall sized head cab - too much hum. Built a taller (Fender sized) cab and now all is right with the world (well, with my reverb anyway).

[GearHeadFred]

It can be done... and in a shorter cab than the Dual Showman and Bandmaster heads.
On my homebuilt SR head, the tube tops are only about 1 inch from the pan.

Several keys:

- Make sure you turn the tank so that the pickups (output end) are AWAY from the power transformer.
- Before you mount the tank, turn everything on and move it around... listen for hum... changing the position by even an inch or two has a huge effect.

Good luck,

[smolder]

The showman/BMR heads are beasts. Mine has the reverb box mounted on the front baffle, not on the bottom - but I've seen these cabs with (6's?) speaker on the front baffle and the reverb on the bottom.

[GearHeadFred]

I just measured mine.. It's 10 inches tall, and 9 inches deep.
This guy built the cab for me: http://www.thecabguy.com

(I think my cab is photo #79 in his photo gallery) Very nice quality work. Reasonable price.

[johnadam]

My BMR's cabinet was damaged in a fall, and I put it into a much smaller head cab. I mounted the reverb tank to the bottom of the chassis rather than on the baffle. It's a lot closer to the transformers/tubes, obviously, and oriented differently, but I didn't hear any audible different.

I'd have to imagine Leo had some good reason for making his reverb-equipped head cabs so big, but I've yet to encounter any problems with using a smaller cab.

[smolder]

Originally Posted by johnadam

I'd have to imagine Leo had some good reason for making his reverb-equipped head cabs so big, but I've yet to encounter any problems with using a smaller cab.

I think the big head cabs (BMR and Dual Showman) were after Leo, in the early CBS silverface era. They may have been designs on the shelf in waiting.

[Marshamps]

Mojo Head cabs are not tall like the Silverface Head Cabs and there are no problems if you put the Tank in (as said by Gearhead Fred) with the input jack under the PT.

[docmh]

Thanks guys!