Pro's and Con's of Combo VS. Head + Cab

Nite_Maresz_25

Nite_Maresz_25

on Elm Streetologist
Hey guys, sense I'm getting so close to buying a new amp (:D), I need to figure out which would be better for MY needs.
  • I only play in my bedroom FOR NOW.
  • My friend will be getting a drum set around september/october.
  • I'm not sure how much exactly I can lift.
  • I'd like not to have back problems when I'm older.
  • My room is in the up strairs part of the house, so that might be a problem
  • moving the amp.
  • I might go to my other guitar playing friend to jam.
(list will be updated when I think of more things)

so...based off of that, waht are the pro's and con's of a head + 2x12 cab VS. a 1x12 (tube) combo.

thanks.
-alex.


ps. anything else you need, let me know.
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Combo VS. Head + Cab

No need for a 2x12. I've got a Mesa/Boogie Mark III head with a 1X12 M/B cab, and I can drown out drums and bass if I want to. Actually, when we jam I have to use a Power Soak (attenuator) to drive my power tubes still. I've never had the master volume above 3 and I can shake the house.
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Combo VS. Head + Cab

if you do or will do outdoor gigs the head+cab(4x12s) is a better idea.
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Combo VS. Head + Cab

I'd go for a combo. That's what I'm doing. My 2x12 is at the high school and is staying there for jazz band. Getting a Peavey Classic 30 soon, and it should be plenty for jamming and stuff and it'll shake the house good I'm sure. You can always hook it up to a cab later...I'll let you know how I like it once I've had it for a while. Good luck.
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Combo VS. Head + Cab

Get a combo man. I could've gotten any number of tube combos but I wanted to be cool and get a Bassman head and now i'm kicking myself every time I have to take two trips to move it :D

And even if you can't lift your amp at first, you'll learn to...it's just a box and most of 'em have handles hahahaha

-X
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Combo VS. Head + Cab

A Fender Deluxe reverb should have you covered unless you're going to be playing metal or anything. Nothing can beat the Marshall head/cab crunch, but the Fender Deluxe is one of the best amps ever. I guess it just depends on what you play.
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Combo VS. Head + Cab

a combo and a cab is a good option too if the combo has speaker outs( most have it). i'm actually thinking of buying a 4x12 cab for my traynor 50W combo to be used on outdoor or large gigs.
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Combo VS. Head + Cab

bryvincent said:
a combo and a cab is a good option too if the combo has speaker outs( most have it). i'm actually thinking of buying a 4x12 cab for my traynor 50W combo to be used on outdoor or large gigs.
Click to expand...

If you do, could you shoot me a PM and let me know how it turns out? I can't decide what type of cab to get for my YCV50 - the matching Traynor 112, Mesa 112, Orange 212, or Avatar 212.
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Combo VS. Head + Cab

I'd say in your case get a combo. The only reason I didnt was because I need the ability to hook up to other cabinets easily, and need a closed back cab.
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Combo VS. Head + Cab

There's no chance you need a half stack. I performed in front of 700 people in a huge school gym with a 50 watt combo, solid state too. I could be heard just fine. And 50 tube watts is a hell of a lot louder too, Im sure. If you want to be able to say "I have a half stack", then go ahead. But I know tons of people who don't need 100 watt half stacks, 50 watts can get you by just fine. If you're really worried about volume., get a 100 watt combo. Look at the 5150s and XXXs, they're rated at 120watts.
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Combo VS. Head + Cab

Vox Valvetronix head & cab.....

Head & headphones at home

Leave the cab at the friends with the drum kit & rock out there
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Combo VS. Head + Cab

Dude, my Road King (50W-120W?) 2x12 is blastingly loud! Although if I hadn't gotten such a good deal on it and had what I'd wanted, I would have gone with the head/2x12. Heck, I think I'm going to add a closed back Recto cab for the distortion channels and use the open back combo for clean/semi-distorted. (This thing is so cool... El-34s and 6L6s, Diode/Tube Rectifier, 2 loops, switchable outputs by channel...)

Yeah, so a 100W 2x12 combo with 75W speakers is stupid loud if you want it to be, just doesn't look as cool as a head/4x12.
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Combo VS. Head + Cab

I prefer a lower wattage combo and then miking it at gigs but thats probably cos my fave amps are combo amps (AC-30, Super REVERB, Bluesbreaker etc)
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Combo VS. Head + Cab

BluesGuyJ said:
There's no chance you need a half stack. I performed in front of 700 people in a huge school gym with a 50 watt combo, solid state too. I could be heard just fine. And 50 tube watts is a hell of a lot louder too, Im sure. If you want to be able to say "I have a half stack", then go ahead. But I know tons of people who don't need 100 watt half stacks, 50 watts can get you by just fine. If you're really worried about volume., get a 100 watt combo. Look at the 5150s and XXXs, they're rated at 120watts.
Click to expand...


my 120 watt XXX stays in my bedroom :D sure i dont need that much volume, but it sounds f*cking evil cranked.

oh and if you want a XXX combo, and youll be moving it around a lot, youd be better off with the 40w or 60w ones. the speakers (at least in my 2x12) are chrome plated, so the whole thing ends up weighing 95lbs (im not exaggerating, look on the peavey website). thats not much of a problem for me, but like you said you wanna save your back and stuff, so...go smaller.
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Combo VS. Head + Cab

I got 50 watt combo, 2X12, its is heavy, but i'm probably gonna stick some casters on it soon, a head and cab would be too much hassle for me at this time. For what you are wanting i would say a combo, a head and cab would be overkill at the moment, and for most gigs a combo can cut it anyway, especially if its tube.
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Combo VS. Head + Cab

go for the stack, even if you never need the power, chiks will dig it. i used to always gig with a full stack, but would just run the one cab, it looked cool, and once again, CHIKS DIG IT
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Combo VS. Head + Cab

Someone else brought up this very good point: A lightweight combo with an external speaker out can give you something close to the best of both worlds.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top