Combo Amps vs. Cabs

[thewk]

hi, i'm still really new to electric guitars (i've been playing acoustic for about 4 years) and i recently just purchased my first electric.
i am just a bit curious as to the difference between a combo amp and a cabinet? pros/cons, differences, etc. i would like to know whatever.
thanks a lot.

[devinisdie]

Patrick is going to drop large amounts of awesomeness into this thread.

[thewk]

Patrick is going to drop large amounts of awesomeness into this thread.
he's pretty much the only one who knows everything there is to know about instruments.
so basically, i address all my questions to him, indirectly.

[headclub]

yea, pat will give the best advice

as to my opinions combos are a good starter amp but nothing to stick with

if you are in a band or are playing gigs of any sort (basement shows/local festivals/etc) a stack is the way to go.

[we are cured]

combo amps are smaller. and sometimes weigh more.

[xwisebuddhax]

im a combo man myself, only problem is ya cant mix n match

[youcomebeforeyo]

There's differences between combo amps and cabs. Usually the bass response on a combo is a bit more powerful but at the end of the day it comes a lot down to the make.

My personal opinion is that there are really only minute tone differences and that the speaker type is usually the most important at the end of the day. A standard Marshall JCM900 cab with Mid-Price Celestons pales when compared to a Vox AC15Combo's Greenback Celeston really sounds average due to the high quality speaker.

A good combo is cool though because you can transport it really easily and they're nowhere near as bulky as cabs and heads. Look wise I think your standard half stack looks a lot cooler but tone > looks when it comes to amps.

Generally (though there are definate exceptions) you get more volume out of a head and cab combination and usually you can run two cabs out of one. For bigger performances and gigs being able to hear yourself on stage is most important and there are not that many heads/cabs that won't achieve that whilst a combo can be slightly harder to achieve that.

My friend got a Vox AC15 recentely and it's made me love combos again, that thing almost beats his bands bassists 8X10" with Ampeg head on volume and it has only one speaker.

[underthetalking]

This seems like a good place for advice and I'm not much of a thread starter, so...

I have a Hartke 3500 head and I love the sound I've been getting out of it so far. But I'm having trouble finding a good cab. I've been using a VX4x10 and its pretty sturdy but I want to upgrade to something better. A friend of mine told me to go with an Ampeg SVT810E stating that it was one of the best around. Does anyone here think changing to this is a bad idea and that stack would sound like shit? Or would changing that cab not make that much of a difference?

[patrickhowell]

This seems like a good place for advice and I'm not much of a thread starter, so...

I have a Hartke 3500 head and I love the sound I've been getting out of it so far. But I'm having trouble finding a good cab. I've been using a VX4x10 and its pretty sturdy but I want to upgrade to something better. A friend of mine told me to go with an Ampeg SVT810E stating that it was one of the best around. Does anyone here think changing to this is a bad idea and that stack would sound like shit? Or would changing that cab not make that much of a difference?

That cab would sound a lot better than the one you are playing now.

[patrickhowell]

hi, i'm still really new to electric guitars (i've been playing acoustic for about 4 years) and i recently just purchased my first electric.
i am just a bit curious as to the difference between a combo amp and a cabinet? pros/cons, differences, etc. i would like to know whatever.
thanks a lot.

It's really hard to know where to start on this topic, and I haven't slept in about 30 hours, so I'll write more about this later... But, for now, I'll just say I think that the difference between the two really comes down to nothing more than a personal preference.

[underthetalking]

That cab would sound a lot better than the one you are playing now.

Thanks. I figured as much but I wanted an opinion from someone who knows his shit. And I know you know your shit.

[patrickhowell]

as to my opinions combos are a good starter amp but nothing to stick with

if you are in a band or are playing gigs of any sort (basement shows/local festivals/etc) a stack is the way to go.

That's not necessarily true. I think it's more important to make the distinction between Tube amps and Solid-State amps than to make a distinction between stacks and combos.

For example, a Fender Twin Reverb (2x12 combo) is just as loud as most stacks and just as professional.

[patrickhowell]

There's differences between combo amps and cabs. Usually the bass response on a combo is a bit more powerful but at the end of the day it comes a lot down to the make.

I think that the issue of bass response is probably just incidental, since most Combos are open-back and most stacks used closed-back cabinets.

My personal opinion is that there are really only minute tone differences and that the speaker type is usually the most important at the end of the day. A standard Marshall JCM900 cab with Mid-Price Celestons pales when compared to a Vox AC15Combo's Greenback Celeston really sounds average due to the high quality speaker.

There is actually another reason (besides speaker quality) that this combo sounds better than a stack. Speakers sound better when they are driven harder. This amp has a 15w power output, and the speaker also has a 15w power handling. When you start pushing the limits on a speaker's power handling, that is when you can really hear its tonal qualities.

Because of this, I think that a lot of times a 212 cabinet sounds much better than a 412 cabinet.

A good combo is cool though because you can transport it really easily and they're nowhere near as bulky as cabs and heads. Look wise I think your standard half stack looks a lot cooler but tone > looks when it comes to amps.

Generally (though there are definate exceptions) you get more volume out of a head and cab combination and usually you can run two cabs out of one. For bigger performances and gigs being able to hear yourself on stage is most important and there are not that many heads/cabs that won't achieve that whilst a combo can be slightly harder to achieve that.

I think that these two problems - the looks, and the stage volume for a combo (or a 212 cab) - have one simple solution: get it up off the ground.

The best way to do this is to buy a road case for your combo, and set it on top of the case for shows. This will get the speakers closer to ear level (which is very important), and it will make it fill up more space and look more professional.

[johnh5304]

If price is an issue I'd look into combos just because through my experience, I could find a great sounding combo for a lot less than a decent stack. But this is if you care about the difference between tube and solid state amps.

[patrickhowell]

If price is an issue I'd look into combos just because through my experience, I could find a great sounding combo for a lot less than a decent stack. But this is if you care about the difference between tube and solid state amps.

Yeah, that's true. With a combo, you can get basically the same amp for much less money.