Rm50 downsizing options (UK based) - RM4 or rehouse amp?

Hi guys, I'm a UK based user of a Randall RM50 combo that I got at a VERY good price over here in an auction. Unfortunately I've just moved house and space is a bit scarce and wanted to downsize it a bit to make the most of my room. I really wanted an RM4 so I could keep the amp stored away, then put an RM4 in a rack with a power amp and separate cab so as to have a more discreet set up but still get the benefit of the modules. But they are very hard to come by over here, and the ones I've been quoted on are near £400 (over $600 to you chaps in America).

So the other option I thought of was to get the combo custom converted into a head, then pair it with a cab. This could probably take more space ultimately but it would give flexibility. Been very roughly quoted about £200 for a head cab, then of course more on top for a cab.

Do you people know of any other innovative ways to do what I'm trying to do?

You could do a very bare bones head box for a lot less money, no tolex, no corners, etc. Just paint it black and it will look decent in a utilitarian way. I've seen many racks made like that being used in professional situations.

Hi there. See I do kind of feel like I could knock something together as an amp head box, but a part of me just thinks I don't have the skill (only did woodwork at school) nor the tools to do it. I'm sure even then all I'd technically need is ply wood, a saw (handheld one and a jigsaw, the latter one I do have), some No More Nails glue and some screws, or am I underthinking it?

I guess it's a box to fit, blocks of wood to strengthen the joints, then front and back panels to slot in the empty spaces as required. I imagine even getting some corner protector things on it would not be much more work really. Not sure if I'd paint it or cover it in fabric (maybe black denim or black paisley if I want to be a bit more garish, then lacquer it).

I know I can get the MJW amp guys to do me one for £200 but I might just give it a shot at making one myself first then, and if it looks awful I can always just go back to the professionals.

Building a very simple box is pretty easy IF you have good square/straight cuts on the plywood. Unfortunately a jigsaw isn't good enough. Here in the US, we can get the lumber yard to cut our wood for us at about $1 per cut though. Just make sure you do your measurements well and don't fall into the trap of not adding on 2x the thickness of the wood onto one set of sides. e.g., a box built to hold a 16" x 4" chassis needs either 16" top/bottom and 5.5" sides or 17.5" top/bottom and 4" sides for 3/4" plywood. I've built about a dozen amp cabinets and still mess this up occasionally if I'm in a rush. Then you just need to make sure the box is square when putting it together. Screws aren't pretty, but wood glue and screws are plenty strong without any special joints like dovetails, miters, laps, etc. Just pre-drill for the wood screws. Extra support blocks glued into in the corners are a good idea, just don't put them in the corners that the chassis part will fit into

IMHO, the fabric/tolex covering is the trickiest part to get looking professional. It's also the most time consuming. I'd bet that MJW could do a head box for much cheaper if you just got raw wood and painted it yourself. You could always try to tolex it later yourself. I'm sure youtube has some good info on that.

here is mine. I left room for my RM4 but decided against putting it in for now, It;s heavy. Now I have the reverb in place. When I do put the RM4 in I will move the tank to the 1x12 cab that houses an Eminence Maverick. It moves easier than the whole combo

sides are solid pine boards and the rest is birch ply. Painted with primer and good paint. I did not care about paint wearing off.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-vdnF3V4bbXTlU5TU5Uam5DdWc/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-vdnF3V4bbXQ1cwU09VSFdSRzQ/view?usp=sharing[/img]

Oh wow yes that looks good, along the lines I was thinking of in fact so encouraging that the paint effect looks quite nice. I would be quite interested to paint it black then do some kind of personal design on the top or the front, I enjoy painting and am quite nifty with a brush so some kind of illustration might work.

I don’t suppose you have any drawings etc with your measurements on for this project do you? I will obviously measure everything myself as well but to start with some measurements and dimensions will greatly help in the design phase

if you PM me your email I will forward my cad drawing or PDF if you don't use cad

You sir are wonderful, thanks. I shall pm you directly

I had a custom pine cabinet made by TRM and it was cheap enough I couldn't have knocked together anything close for the $160 it ran me:
http://www.trmguitarcabs.com/Head-cabs---combo-cabs.html

It would cost me near to twice that to import to the UK but yes - I know I'll be able to get a custom one over here if I fail to make one myself Thta's my trusty fall back option

Sadly I've given up on this project as I don't think a) it's worth the effort and b) it won't really reduce the space taken up in the room as it's a fixed width

Very disappointing to say the least as I really do like the amp (well, the Blackface mod anyway), but it just won't cut it here at home. As per mt other thread about the value of it, I shall be looking to sell it on (or trade it for something else)

Thank you all for the help though guys, especially to withmittens for his kind help in sending me his CAD designs. Hopefully one day I'll give it all a go when I have more space

happy to help anyway. good luck in finding your solution