The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

[dr0]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

ORANGE COMBO+ EXTENSION :


ORANGE 2x12:


ORANGE COMBO:
This Rockerverb 50 has two 12" speakers, and weighs an impressive 82 lbs.
Which may be why almost all Orange combos have always been 1x12's and this one has been discontinued.
(Though, the new Marshall JVM's are just about the same weight).

 

[dr0]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

I like the 2x12 cab. I can switch out the head depending on the gig and it fits in the trunk.

Cool, I haven't seen a Jazz Chorus for a while. Larry Corryell played one (a twin) when I saw him.
He played the entire "Black and Tan Suite" by Duke Ellington in overtones. It's a LONG head, it was astonishing.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

I voted Head + 2x12 Cab, but I also love a great 2x12 combo, like a Mesa Roadster.

Have you ever lifted one? My Road King weighs in at 98 lbs. Bruce’s Quad Reverb is heavier, but that’s about it.

Head + 2x12 is manageable. I like the vertical 2x12 concept too.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

Have you ever lifted one? My Road King weighs in at 98 lbs. Bruce’s Quad Reverb is heavier, but that’s about it.

I rolled the Roadster on casters. Maybe picked it up for giggles. Yeah, it was ridiculous. If I had one, I would wheel it around and try not to move it very often — that’s a perk enjoyed by bedroom players. My JVM410H is about as heavy as I want to haul around much. 1960A, casters. HRD III, weighs the same as the JVM head.

 

[dr0]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

FENDER:
Leo started making "Piggyback" Head+Cabs around 1960. The 2x12 was the favored cab for all of them but there were others.
The Showman had no combo version - however, the Bassman, Tremolux, and Bandmaster did, at various points, not always simultaneously.

Tremolux (which has a 2x10 extension cab usually, and here, I think)


Bassman w/ 2x12 cab


Fender Piggybacks:

 

[Sprinter]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

I use a 1x12" Top Hat, Club Royale combo amp with a 1x12" Bogner cabinet under it. I'm very happy with this setup!

 

[dystrust]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

Marshall has made 2x12 combos of most of their 50 watt and 100 watt amps over the years. The heads are most iconic, but there are a lot of 2x12 combos out there in clubs and practice rooms.
Here's a couple of JCM 800 era twins. I say "era" because basically most 1980s Marshalls were JCM-800, and there are a huge number of variations - horizontal inputs, vertical inputs, single inputs, etc.


View attachment 87036

View attachment 87038

the "Lead Series" I believe came later in the 1980s
View attachment 87040

Marshall built the occasional red amp back in the day, and of course some have been recovered.
View attachment 87041

I'm not sure if any JCM800 4104s (50W single channel 2x12) have 'Lead Series' on the face plate, but it doesn't tell you anything about the age of the amp. You can date JCM800s using these rough guidelines:

Gold handle caps indicates '81, maybe early '82
Black handle caps start in '82
2205/2210/4210/4212 2-channel amps introduced in '83
Horizontal inputs start in '85
100W power amps switch to 2 filter caps (from 4) in '85

You can't tell from looking at it, but later 2-channel JCM800s have a totally different overdrive channel than their earlier counterparts. I'm not 100% sure when the transition happened, but anything '87 or later will be the 'new' circuit. I've heard varying opinions on the two amps, but I greatly prefer the later one.

 

[dystrust]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

I voted something else because I believe in taking the right amp for the room (if possible).

I start out with a 20W Mini Jubilee head through a ported 1x12:

If I need a little more volume, I switch the 1x12 for a ported 2x12.
If that still isn't loud enough, then I swap the Mini Jubilee for a 2555.
If I need even more volume, then I rent a 4x12 or two.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

I voted fot the early Boogie...112 combo plus a Thiele. I've used this for years, and I think it is the most versatile.

But....

I have Maverick and SUNN 212 combos. I have a pair of older Mesa Half-Back 412 cabs. I have an old Mesa Half-Back 212, and a newer Horizontal Recto 212 cab. I like to use this cab with the Maverick 212 for a low-power halfstack. I have a pair of the Mesa 112 EVM Thiele cabs.

I have two heads. One is my first Mesa, a 200-watt Mark III Coliseum head for the 412s. This is just a glorious rig to play through, if I can get the MV up around 3 on the dial.

And then there is my little Mark V:25 mini-stack; head with the slant and straight 112 Mini Recto cabs...like the one picrured above, but in basic black. This is a fun little amp to play!

Overall, I think the 112 combo plus 112 extension is the most flexible rig, but honestly my house looks like I voted, "All Of The Above". I am definitely amp rich at the moment.

The pictures of the old Twins made me think back to the '70s. Two of the most popular club amps were the Fender Super Six Reverb and the Quad Reverb. I knew a guy that had a Quad with JBLs...probably close to 200 lbs. I had an old Acoustic Control 150 head and 610 cab; it was a lightweight compared to the Super Six.

I like heads and cabs, but sometimes...all you need is a combo. Flexibility.

Bill

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

Oh, and you forgot THE coolest Marshall 212 of all time: the Club and Country. Yummy.

Bill

 

[dave74]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

IIRC Mesa also had a 212 horizontal with one side sealed and one side open.
maybe it was a RK 212, or a roadster212

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

Head and cab for me. 2x12 combos are way too bulky and heavy. 1x12 cabs and combos usually involve compromises in physical size and therefore sound. Over sized 1x12 combos may as well be 2x12s. A good 2x12 cab can get most of the sound and projection of a 4x12.

IMO, 4x12 are still best when they are not too impractical for the situation.

 

[dr0]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

Clapton pictured with Music Man combo.


Clapton publicity shot for his signature Fender amp.

 

[muttznmongrelz]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

My Vote: Head + 2 x 12 Cab: Marshall & Boutiques

Recently discovered I'm really not a 1x12 or 2x10 fan. Loved my '78 Marshall JMP 2x12 and would definitely buy another Marshall JTM 50 Tremolo 2x12 (maybe next year's pension payout/bonus/income tax refund purchase). Quite pleased with my 1992 Peavey 5150 2x12 with stock speakers since the day I bought it 3 or 4 years back - ZERO complaints. I am also totally loving my recently acquired Mesa Express 5:50 Plus Head through 80's Mesa/Boogie Vertical 2x12 Cab with Celestion G12T-75s.

 

[dr0]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

Famous picture of Clapton with his Marshall combo from the Bluesbreakers studio session, from which the amp got its nickname.

 

[dr0]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

Photo taken directly from Keith Richard's Twitter feed, and captioned:
Some of my @Fender high power tweed twin amps ... road ready!

 

[dr0]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

My Vote: Head + 2 x 12 Cab: Marshall & Boutiques

Recently discovered I'm really not a 1x12 or 2x10 fan. Loved my '78 Marshall JMP 2x12 and would definitely buy another Marshall JTM 50 Tremolo 2x12 (maybe next year's pension payout/bonus/income tax refund purchase). Quite pleased with my 1992 Peavey 5150 2x12 with stock speakers since the day I bought it 3 or 4 years back - ZERO complaints. I am also totally loving my recently acquired Mesa Express 5:50 Plus Head through 80's Mesa/Boogie Vertical 2x12 Cab with Celestion G12T-75s.

Fantastic looking amps. I've thought about getting one of those Mesa 5:50 heads, as I've never played a Mesa or any other decent amp that is remotely modern. About the closest I got was my Carvin 1x12 combo, which, come to think of it may have been a Mesa copy-cat.

 

[dr0]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

Is that a Super 400 with soapbars in it?
Take the world's most expensive production guitar, loved by jazzers.
Mount up the most gritty single coil ever, loved by Neil Young.
Makes perfect sense Keith would have one.


Also looks like a Brownface Super there?

 

[muttznmongrelz]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

Fantastic looking amps. I've thought about getting one of those Mesa 5:50 heads, as I've never played a Mesa or any other decent amp that is remotely modern. About the closest I got was my Carvin 1x12 combo, which, come to think of it may have been a Mesa copy-cat.

Thanks! I'm just getting to know the Mesa but I like all four modes (Clean/Crunch & Blues/Burn) it has via toggles and the Clean/Blues Settings are actually quite nice and satisfying as well as the obvious Crunch/Burn that you would expect to be great with a Mesa. Add a the option of Pre-Set EQ on each channel or self set via the 5 Band Slider EQ and a Solo Boost and it's pretty well equipped.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: The 2 x 12: How do like it served? Combo, Combo+Extension, or Head+Cab.

I personally prefer 4x12's for sound and 1x12's for portability.