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

[rustywire]

Condensed quoting:

NSFW: show

Also, I feel like playing loudly out of a combo amp might be worse for the amp itself. I had a Beta Lead combo that basically rattled itself to death. After converting it to a head I haven't had any problems. I could just be talking out of my ass on that one though, I haven't really heard anyone else complain about this problem.

I feel like I've also read that the sound waves blasting your tubes (combos) can put a dent in longevity. After buying NOS stuff I'm aiming to put off having to replace any of that business for a while.

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?

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.

Combo amps make up more business for repair techs than heads. But it's mostly due to the inverted amp chassis absorbing all the waste heat from the tubes, transformers and so on. All the components run hot, near the limit (or beyond) of their maximum operating temp range. That shortens their lifespan. Esp in summer, esp in crowded venues, attics etc. Most heads have bottom-mounted chassis where the heat can rise up away from everything.
Fenders are the outlier with top-mounted, inverted chassis like most combo amps; and so is my Selmer (which I use upside-down)

The proximity of tubes to the speakers and the amp chassis being directly coupled to the speaker baffle, does lead to annoying rattle in combos... and tubes going microphonic sooner than similar head+cab setups with buffering material between them.

Also in small combo amps, you're going to be cranking them, which eats up the life of tubes at a rapider rate.

Combo amps aren't bad, they're just more cumbersome due to center of gravity. If you think an AC30 or Twin is a pain, I have a SFQR which is a half stack version
But sometimes open-back just isn't appropriate for #soundgoals

TL;DR
Both rule.

[Smarty]

Thanks for the all input guys.

If you had a 15w amp head (and couldn't afford a bigger wattage head) would a 1x12 cab suffice or would a 2x12 cab be the better choice?

[HAVN]

Is this mostly for a bedroom setting or are you rehearsing / playing live with this rig? I'd think that most 1x12"s would be plenty loud. Plus if you want to get a second down the road you can.

[Smarty]

Is this mostly for a bedroom setting or are you rehearsing / playing live with this rig? I'd think that most 1x12"s would be plenty loud. Plus if you want to get a second down the road you can.

Both and yeah, I can always hook up another cab if/when needed. Thanks for you response.

[maggot]

I like combo amps if they're a classic combo design, like a Vibrolux Reverb or AC15 or something, and they're not too big. Anything larger than 2x10 and you wish you had a separate cab. Exception made for certain 4x10s, just because I like them. And the Fender Super 6 Reverb because fuck yeah, even though you need a crane to move it.

[waltdogg]

agreed. anything larger than a champ/g-18/class 5 is too large to haul around. 4x10 combos are cool by default though. damn i miss my super reverb, devilles, and classic 50... sigh...