412 Half Stack to Combo

G

gmcelroy

New member
As I get older I have seriously been contemplating dumping my 412 half stack for a combo and pedals set up. I usually play in rock and classic rock cover bands but I also lean towards the blues and rockabilly so I would need a bit of tone flexibilty. I have thought about buying a Fender Super Reverb or Twin and then using pedals for the dirt applications. There seems to be a pretty good selection of overdrive and distortion pedals on the market.

How many of you are using combos and pedal setups and how's that working for you? Advantages/Disadvantages?
 
Re: 412 Half Stack to Combo

First question - Why make this change? Space considerations? Ease of transportation? Back problems? Hearing problems? To be honest, a Fender "Evil" Twin Amp 2x12 combo is going to be just as awkward to shift about as a half stack.

Second question - How loud do you need the combo to be?

If I had the money to spend all over again, I would have bought my friend's hardwood 'n' wicker MESA/Boogie Mk3 Simul-Class combo. Fender clean, Marshall crunch and Santana all-day sustain all in one tiny container.
 
Re: 412 Half Stack to Combo

Funny, but it's sometimes easier to transport 4x12 (two handles, two men, 40 lbs each), than 30W combo (one handle, one man, 60 lbs).

This is a bit better solution:
vox_ac30_13.jpg
 
Re: 412 Half Stack to Combo

In the last 5 or 6 days I have attempted to emulate my 5150 style half-stack, and my 3 main sounds, with a super-cheap, but high-powered stereo rig, modular enough that I can mix and match for any venue by adding any size extension cab I want, or none, mono or stereo, bedroom to coffee shop to small club to big shows. I've only acquired the first mono part, and it has been getting me some enormous sounds at a whisper volume.

it is all based on original ZT Lunchboxes, which are super loud little 9 lb. solid staters that sound tubey, have a sweet breakup, and don't wimp out at low volumes. My second one is on the way. 6.5" internal speaker is a cannon even at low volumes, and will fill a very large room by itself without even trying. I liked it for the same *sorts* of things I liked in a tweed deluxe clone I played recently. I put some cool distortion in front and add extension cabs to taste. Drives a Bogner Uberkab just as well volume-wise as my 5150* minus some rumble and oomph of course, but if you switch on that internal 6.5" it always stays as loud as the 412.

First time I tried it that way, when I finally started turning down for the night I was pert near deaf for a half hour.

won't replace my 5150* but it's nice to know I can get my big sounds at *any* volume I want with a touch of the ZT's volume knob, which acts like a master fader for everything. If I'm ever in an apartment I can still solo like I've got my 5150* on 4, and have my big fat cleans and grunty caveman OD.

I feel like in less than a week I've created quite a versatile little stereo rig for under a $1000 using cabs and modulation FX I have around already that would compete with an Axe-FX or any 2 modelers. That's 2 new amps, and 2 new distortion pedals. Any venue. Even just headphones. I can drive a 212 at a whisper and sound like Boston or Aerosmith or Megadeth and not bother folks in the next room. Or, I can turn it up just a little and bother the next county.

sounds ... pretty good, man. I'm gonna keep that Uberkab though.
 
Re: 412 Half Stack to Combo

pvfan said:
in the last 5 or 6 days i have attempted to emulate my 5150 style half-stack, and my 3 main sounds, with a super-cheap, but high-powered stereo rig, modular enough that i can mix and match for any venue by adding any size extension cab i want, or none, mono or stereo, bedroom to coffee shop to small club to big shows. I've only acquired the first mono part, and it has been getting me some enormous sounds at a whisper volume.

It is all based on original zt lunchboxes, which are super loud little 9 lb. Solid staters that sound tubey, have a sweet breakup, and don't wimp out at low volumes. My second one is on the way. 6.5" internal speaker is a cannon even at low volumes, and will fill a very large room by itself without even trying. I liked it for the same *sorts* of things i liked in a tweed deluxe clone i played recently. I put some cool distortion in front and add extension cabs to taste. Drives a bogner uberkab just as well volume-wise as my 5150* minus some rumble and oomph of course, but if you switch on that internal 6.5" it always stays as loud as the 412.

First time i tried it that way, when i finally started turning down for the night i was pert near deaf for a half hour.

Won't replace my 5150* but it's nice to know i can get my big sounds at *any* volume i want with a touch of the zt's volume knob, which acts like a master fader for everything. If i'm ever in an apartment i can still solo like i've got my 5150* on 4, and have my big fat cleans and grunty caveman od.

I feel like in less than a week i've created quite a versatile little stereo rig for under a $1000 using cabs and modulation fx i have around already that would compete with an axe-fx or any 2 modelers. That's 2 new amps, and 2 new distortion pedals. Any venue. Even just headphones. I can drive a 212 at a whisper and sound like boston or aerosmith or megadeth and not bother folks in the next room. Or, i can turn it up just a little and bother the next county.

Sounds ... Pretty good, man. I'm gonna keep that uberkab though.
Click to expand...

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

edit:


... these things aint Roland Cubes ... and I really like Roland Cubes ....

more like, something small in disguise that you expect at any moment to unfold into something like Optimus Prime

pvfan said:
3891145007_a1126ca39a.jpg
copy-of-ztamps_1.jpg
Click to expand...
 
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Re: 412 Half Stack to Combo

I did it recently, but i got a deville 410 and put a 15" JBL clone in it so it's not really THAT much quieter. I think a super reverb'd do you fine. If you're buying new though you might czech out sligo amps, they sell '65 SR clones for not that much more than fender and they use better speakers. I think it's all PTP wired too, but for me the speakers are the real selling point on em. I think it's called the sligoverb
 
Re: 412 Half Stack to Combo

PVFan said:
In the last 5 or 6 days I have attempted to emulate my 5150 style half-stack, and my 3 main sounds, with a super-cheap, but high-powered stereo rig, modular enough that I can mix and match for any venue by adding any size extension cab I want, or none, mono or stereo, bedroom to coffee shop to small club to big shows. I've only acquired the first mono part, and it has been getting me some enormous sounds at a whisper volume.

it is all based on original ZT Lunchboxes, which are super loud little 9 lb. solid staters that sound tubey, have a sweet breakup, and don't wimp out at low volumes. My second one is on the way. 6.5" internal speaker is a cannon even at low volumes, and will fill a very large room by itself without even trying. I liked it for the same *sorts* of things I liked in a tweed deluxe clone I played recently. I put some cool distortion in front and add extension cabs to taste. Drives a Bogner Uberkab just as well volume-wise as my 5150* minus some rumble and oomph of course, but if you switch on that internal 6.5" it always stays as loud as the 412.

First time I tried it that way, when I finally started turning down for the night I was pert near deaf for a half hour.

won't replace my 5150* but it's nice to know I can get my big sounds at *any* volume I want with a touch of the ZT's volume knob, which acts like a master fader for everything. If I'm ever in an apartment I can still solo like I've got my 5150* on 4, and have my big fat cleans and grunty caveman OD.

I feel like in less than a week I've created quite a versatile little stereo rig for under a $1000 using cabs and modulation FX I have around already that would compete with an Axe-FX or any 2 modelers. That's 2 new amps, and 2 new distortion pedals. Any venue. Even just headphones. I can drive a 212 at a whisper and sound like Boston or Aerosmith or Megadeth and not bother folks in the next room. Or, I can turn it up just a little and bother the next county.

sounds ... pretty good, man. I'm gonna keep that Uberkab though.
Click to expand...

I'm officially intrigued.
 
Re: 412 Half Stack to Combo

yep, it's kinda unreal. harder to dial in a nice and perfect 5150 metal chunk, but it gets close, and in all other ways the tone is nothing less than superb and wide-ranging with the guitar's volume knob and a dirt pedal I can just leave on. Always sensitive to every nuance and attack dynamic.

for $650 I got a new stereo rig, but that includes a new GT-500 dirt pedal. 500 bucks for the 2 high-powered amps with the buttery breakup or massive headroom or anything in between.

I am peeing with excitement about my 2nd one. Both are originals that get super-hot (but not as hot as a tube amp!!) because the power is shared across the internal and external speaker loads, unlike the newer ones, and they work harder. So if using *only* the internal speaker *or* external speakers, and not both, they are gonna get the full blast of power, unlike the newer ones where internal and external loads are powered separately. I was able to talk to a tech at ZT directly.

so far I'm totally behind these guys. Super fun to play, I just can't stop, and I've been comparing with my tube amp to make sure I'm not crazy or hearing things....Everybody I tell thinks I'm nuts....
 
Re: 412 Half Stack to Combo

I have an 8 ohm stereo 212 with Celestion 75s that this runs the coolest temperature (see--by itself, or with just the Uberkab it runs much hotter) ... and it's a stereo cab, too! and it's a *vertical* cab. The 2 ZTs could both sit on top, each powering 1 of the speakers in the 212.

and I can split the signal with my Hardwire delay cuz it's stereo, and it comes after the GT-500 in the chain, so I don't even need to get another dirt pedal unless I want radically different distortion going to each ZT.


son,
I'm giddy about this here. Too much fun.
 
Re: 412 Half Stack to Combo

gonna get a 100w 112 so I can put

1 amp and pedals in backpack
112 in one hand
guitar in other hand

and then really overdrive that speaker!!!!!
 
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