combo or head amp plus cabinet

kris · #1 01-03-2011, 11:42 AM

There is a lot of different amps for hollow-body jazz guitar but what is the best solution: small combo or head plus small cabinet?
or...?

GodinFan · #2 01-03-2011, 11:52 AM

I like to carry as little as possible, so I like a combo.

mr. beaumont · #3 01-03-2011, 11:56 AM

To me, that's all about transportation-- One heavier box to carry, or two lighter boxes (well, and plus guitar)

I'm currently really liking carrying around my henriksen head in a shoulder bag. Then I have a small, light speaker enclosure in my one hand, and the guitar on my back in a gigbag or in a hard case in the other free hand.

Steve Z · #4 01-03-2011, 11:59 AM

I like having a head and separate cabinets. By choosing a nice head (Acoustic Image Clarus) I can mix and match cabinets to get different sounds. My favorite right now is a Raezer's Edge Twin 8. The key is choosing a smaller cabinet as I would hate to lug around a 2-12 cab.

That stated, a great sounding small cabinet would be great as well.

Cheers,
Steve

kris · #5 01-03-2011, 12:05 PM

is that true that good head plus good cabinet has cleaner sound that combo?

mr. beaumont · #6 01-03-2011, 12:07 PM

No, but it does allow for easier experimentation in finding what sound is right for you.

cjm · #7 01-03-2011, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kris

is that true that good head plus good cabinet has cleaner sound that combo?

I think that would have to be a very subjective judgement. A lot of "A list" jazz guitarists use combos and find them to be the right choice. Some others play through a head and separate cabinet.

In my wildest dreams, I'll never be as good as Joe Pass was, or Howard Alden is, and so on.

So, I don't think it matters all that much in the final analysis. If a combo is good enough for one of my "heroes" but another swears by the two piece setup...

Just remember that as a guitar player you are the target of an industry dedicated to persuading you to spend yourself broke replacing perfectly adequate gear with the latest "must have" accessory.

Charlie Christian set the world on fire with a craptacular amp and a so-so guitar.

jazzguyfromnc · #8 01-03-2011, 01:49 PM

I think the answer to this question is tough. Do you perform regularly? If so, then of course a combo would be more practical. When I purchased my Cube 60 I needed something affordable and also portable since I gig a lot. Is your sound more important? In that case you'll want to try a lot of combinations out. You might find the perfect tone in a combo like a Roland, Henriksen, Evans, etc. Or you might mix a head by Henriksen, Evans, Acoustic Image, etc with a Buscarino Chameleon, Evans cabinet, etc. It's really about what's more important to you, and what helps you reach your own personal tonal nirvana.

mr. beaumont · #9 01-03-2011, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazzguyfromnc

I think the answer to this question is tough. Do you perform regularly? If so, then of course a combo would be more practical.

You know, I thought that for a while, but now I'm thinking, if I was ever actually a touring musician as opposed to just playing local gigs, I could literally just bring my henriksen head and use what speaker cab the venue had or was able to grab in town...With the henriksen being such a definite "sound" I'd be able to have a pretty consistent tone thru pretty much anything.

lpdeluxe · #10 01-03-2011, 02:12 PM

I definitely love the portability of my Blues Jr NOS, and, to a lesser extent, my Deluxe Reverb reissue. Either is perfectly adequate for any venue I find myself in -- and, since I belong to the "mic the amp through the PA" cult, they are as big as I need. Another one that is easily transported is the Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight, which is technically a head and cab but is configured so that it is in effect a combo (and the 2 ohm cabinet limits the mix and match possibilities).

So many places have restricted access to the stage area that I am leery of taking anything much larger than these.

On the other hand, I have a Band-Master VM head with a Weber California Ceramic Fifteen cab that sings. Due to its size, it seldom leaves the house, even though I love love love the sound.

So it's ultimate sound or ultimate portability: pick one. I am often tempted to have a cabinet made to house another Weber 15" and my DR head.

docbop · #11 01-03-2011, 02:36 PM

seems like a pretty personal decision to me. You want connivence of a one pieces amp. Is there a specific combo that gets the sound you want. Do you want the flexibility of head and cabinet to adjust size and sound for different gigs. Also what's your budget that can influence the decision.

For me as a bass player I use head and cab to have flexibility in size and sound. But as guitar player I've always used combos.

kris · #12 01-03-2011, 02:38 PM

I think that a lot of guitarists looking for good sound because new techology give them a chance...:-)

Scotto · #13 01-03-2011, 11:11 PM

I play through a super reverb and really like the tone I get. What I ended up doing was purchasing a beat up blackfaced super reverb apart from my super combo and had it made into a head. I play the super reverb head into a custom 15" cabinet with an 8" tweeter. I like it because I can carry both with relative ease compared to the super combo unit which is extremely heavy. I can also hook it up to a variety of different cabinets if I wanted. I keep the super combo in a closet while my super cabinet sits in my office because apart from sound, it looks cool.