Amps: Combo or Head & Cab - which is better & why?

[rfurtkamp]

If I worried about what the gear looked like, I never would have found half the cool stuff I've played over the years!

[blakestree]

I like combos because I play low power, at home. I don't think I'd ever tote around a 4X12, again. And, I can't imagine ever wanting to be louder than my JC-120.

[repoman]

Check out this beast

[BoatRich]

Check out this beast

One of my bucket list amps....

[crochambeau]

And here I was going to complain about the portability of my Quad Reverb...

I love it to death though, even if head/cab gets more use.

[friendship]

I prefer small combos but I live in a city and don't have a car. In an ideal world I'd use heads/cabs and have my own personal burly manservant to lug them around.

[Bartimaeus]

I prefer small combos but I live in a city and don't have a car. In an ideal world I'd use heads/cabs and have my own personal burly manservant to lug them around.

+1

[Disarm D'arcy]

Honestly like both. To me the factor is overall size and weight. If it's bearable as one, might as well do only one trip. If it's too heavy, split it and do to trips. Simple.

[Smarty]

Honestly like both. To me the factor is overall size and weight. If it's bearable as one, might as well do only one trip. If it's too heavy, split it and do to trips. Simple.

That's a good way of putting it. All my gear inc. drum kit lives in our converted attic, it has a proper staircase but its still two flights of stairs to get anything down to the car. I had a Laney VC30 and its was a swine lugging it up and down the stairs. In the end I moved it on which i regret now and went for a little 15w Vox combo since my band is not gigging at the moment. Its nice and all but there's a part of me that's curious about heads and cabs.

[Psyre]

I've been trying to get rid of my '68 Super for about 2 years, I just can't do it though. When I'd go out of town someone would contact me wanting it- who was in from yet another town. Also everytime I played it, I would take the ad down because I know it's my favorite amp I'll find.

As much as I hate carrying it, I can't find another amp I'd take over it, despite mostly using stacks before it.

Perhaps you don't choose combo vs head and cab. Perhaps it will choose you

[waltdogg]

i do love tiny low watt combos, but that doesn't work for gigging. and if you gig a lot, and your amp is tube, and a combo, well, you'll be in for a full retubing fairly regularly.

[frigid midget]

A 20ish watt head and 1x12 cab is usually a little less inconvenient to haul around than a heavy 2x12 20ish watt combo
Plus, if you keep a 1x12 cab at home, and a 4x12 at the place where you jam, you're usually good to go with just a 20ish watt head. Especially if the head's got some sort of power scaling option, to make it easier to use at home. Cheaper than two amps too

Swapping speakers in a combo is just as easy if not easier than replacing a speaker cabinet, so that argument is kinda mute imo

[Muff_Diver]

i do love tiny low watt combos, but that doesn't work for gigging. and if you gig a lot, and your amp is tube, and a combo, well, you'll be in for a full retubing fairly regularly.

What is the reasoning behind combo amps requiring a full retube sooner than an identical head?

[tremolo3]

Rattling because of the resonance?
Heads usually sit on top of a cab... idk!

[waltdogg]

in most combos, the tubes are being physically blasted by soundwaves. in a head a cab situation there is far more isolation between the tubes and the speakers.