combos. Never again.

[PVFan]

Re: combos. Never again.

it's worse when the rectifiers are tubes ...

on those it's easy to get bells ringing even when playing super quiet. I can make the bells ring in time with my vibrato. It's a resonance thing. It's a zen thing. I admit it's weird.

[DankStar]

Re: combos. Never again.

jingle bells, PV smells, lucid laid an egg...

[WhoFan]

Re: combos. Never again.

PV... i have been enjoying a 1x12 cab with various heads for years... i use a Marshall 1912 cab a lot... the smaller cab cuts down on over all sound pressure... i tilt it back and mic it up... i put my head on a wooden make shift road case thing i have so it gets less vibrations... maybe a simular set up is what you'd like if you still need a smaller set up but still a 2 piece head and cab....

me i've been trying out some 1x12 higher gain combos so i can oneday just take one great sounding combo instead of a head and cab... less to haul... but i have not found many that i could replace my current rigs just yet... at least in my price range...

[some_dude]

Re: combos. Never again.

The only thing I hate about combos is that they always seem to sound better when plugged into just about any cab other than the one that's permanently attached to it.

[briggleman]

Re: combos. Never again.

it's worse when the rectifiers are tubes ...

on those it's easy to get bells ringing even when playing super quiet. I can make the bells ring in time with my vibrato. It's a resonance thing. It's a zen thing. I admit it's weird.

OH, I get it.... you have the super-human ability to harmonize (but not quite) with the natural harmonics of the tubes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND because you are slightly out of sync (not able to vibrato at thousands of hz) ..... thus Jingle bells

Sorry, could not resist PVFan. But now I sort of get what you are saying, that it is your playing style that is causing the issue, and even a well built combo could exhibit the same behavior. It may very well be something to do with the harmonics of the tube.

[glassman]

Re: combos. Never again.

I'm still waiting for one of mine to rattle...even the ones that ride around in the trunk of a car between gigs don't.

The original one I made 16 years ago has started to develop a little bit of a rattle come to think of it. I guess after 16 years on the same cheap Chinese tubes with probably 10,000+ hours on them I should feel lucky they lasted that long.

[gilaltom3]

Re: combos. Never again.

Played MANY combos and own 2 that have never even thought about rattling. As a matter of fact, this is the first I've heard of a combo rattling...

[PVFan]

Re: combos. Never again.

this usually gets a 50/50 reaction

50% say "yup" and live with it, and 50% of ALL TYPES of players great and small say "huh?"

it happens often enough that I don't want to make an investment anymore that just leaves me wondering when it's gonna happen again, and it always does, right when I'm resolving a phrase and landing on the magical note CLANG scares the life out of my whole sh!t and I wonder if I'm having a heart attack.



edit: "never heard of a combo rattling before" ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha okay.

[briggleman]

Re: combos. Never again.

"As a matter of fact, this is the first I've heard of a combo rattling..."

Me neither, but PVFan will never believe....... Tea Party Republican!!!!

[JOLLY]

Re: combos. Never again.

You're just not playing loud enough. Crank it up and you won't hear any rattling.

[UberMetalDood]

Re: combos. Never again.

I have zero problems with my Engl Screamer and I have turned that thing up all the way a bunch of times.

[GuitarDoc]

Re: combos. Never again.

I've got 4 combos right now and have had a few others. Some VERY cheap ones, but I don't recall any of the jingle bell effect in any of them. However......I've heard alot about the rattle that combos are prone to and about the potential shorter tube life in combos due to the vibration and I tend to agree that it is real and not just in PV's head. Definitely could have a lot to do with playing style/technique.

My personal preference is head/cab for a variety of reasons...
1) I want to avoid the potential of ringing (if it really exists),
2) I don't want to risk premature tube failure due to vibration from the speaker in the cabinet,
3) Like was said, I too have never liked the sound of the speakers that came in combos,
4) I think it is easier and more convenient to pack and haul a small head and separate cab than a larger and heavier combo.
5) I like the flexability of being able to simply plug into different spkr cabs at will.

But there is no wrong or right, just personal preference. (Some people actually don't even mind having an 8x10 Ampeg box).

[ken361]

Re: combos. Never again.

No problems here

[PVFan]

Re: combos. Never again.

good for you guys!

I have a head doing it a little, thanks to the tube recto. But I'll just squeeze the clips together a little. Not too bad. Not as bad as if, say, the speaker was in the same box to convey structureborne mechanical agitation to those fragile little glass-housed transducers and rectifier, like in a combo.

[Wattage]

Re: combos. Never again.

The problem is more with the quality of tubes than the amps. Tubes in a combo amp have a rougher life for sure and since tubes are made like crap these days they go pretty easy. Just a fact of life, got a tube combo keep extra tubes around.