Cabling Up
There are several ways of configuring setups. Read and heed the following cabling
tips to achieve the best results and keep your gear safe from harm:
Tube Amps
Power tubes are instrumental in shaping a guitar amp’s response, so we recommend
tapping the power amp’s signal at the speaker output.
Heads up! Never operate a tube power amp without a connected speaker or a
load box to provide the necessary resistance! The RED BOX 5 merely taps the
signal between the power amp and speaker; it does not replace the speaker or
provide a dummy load!
Tube Amp Heads:
Simply insert the RED BOX 5 between the head and speaker
cabinet using two loudspeaker cables.
Tube Amp Combos:
You have four options for tapping tube-driven combos’ signals:
1) The combo provides a separate jack for connecting external speakers alongside
the built-in speaker, and the jack for the external speaker DOES NOT switch off
the internal speaker. In this case, connect RED BOX 5’s input (IN) to the external
speaker out and do not use the THRU jack.
2) The combo provides a separate jack for connecting external speakers that
SWITCHES OFF the internal speaker. In this case, you have no choice but to also
connect the THRU jack to a speaker cabinet or load box in the same way you
would connect a tube amp head!
3) The combo does not provide a separate jack for connecting external speakers,
but the internal speaker is connected to the power amp via a cord with a ¼"
(6.3 mm) jack plug. In this case, insert the RED BOX 5 between the power
amp and speaker in the same way you would connect a tube amp head. Plug
the internal cord connected to the built-in loudspeaker into the THRU jack
and connect the combo’s speaker out to the RED BOX 5’s input (IN) using an
additional speaker cable.
4) The combo provides neither an additional speaker out nor a plug-in connection
to the built-in speaker. In this case, you cannot tap the power amp’s signal and
will have to use the line out or FX send jack as your signal source. If you have
connected a signal processor to the FX send jack, you can insert the RED BOX 5
between the effect device’s output and the FX return jack. Use a shielded line
cable to do this.
Solid-State Amps and Preamps
You can use a preamp’s line out or FX send jack for this purpose. If you have
connected a signal processor to the FX send jack, you can insert the RED BOX 5
between the effect device’s output and the FX return jack. Use a shielded line
cable to do this. Technically speaking, the same goes for solid-state or transistor
