Head or combo?

ICBM

Combos. I prefer the sound of an open-back cab, and to me they're just cooler because they look less 'rock'. I do genuinely find them more portable too - I prefer to carry one thing, no matter how heavy, to two. Wheels and good handles make far more difference than weight, to me.

I don't find the choice of cabs with a head very useful because to me, most amps sound better with only one specific speaker or combination of speakers than with any other, so once you find it there's no point having the option of different ones.

viz

Head, 2x12 and two 4x12s. And possibly another head.

JayGee

Awkward bugger here....

Combo *and* cab :-)

The combo is a Mesa Express 5:25 1x10 which is actually a good deal more one-handed-carry friendly than many heads, the cab is a Marshall 1936 closed back 2x12. 

Whether I take just the combo or the combo and cab, whether I run both the cab and the combo speakers, just the cab, or even occasionally just use the cab as a stand depends on the venue and the gig.

Getting back to the original question I'll take a well designed compact combo (like my Mesa) over a head every time (but keep the closed back 2x12 cab handy as an alternative), a big "wide body" or 2x12 combo is a different matter and the head and cab option starts to look rather more attractive in that case...

guitarfishbay

ICBM said:

I don't find the choice of cabs with a head very useful because to me, most amps sound better with only one specific speaker or combination of speakers than with any other, so once you find it there's no point having the option of different ones.

It massively depends on the amp.  I've gone through several heads and a lot of cabs over the past few years.  There are some amps that are mega picky and some that aren't.

My Mesa Roadster head is probably the best sounding and most versatile head I've ever tried.  But it only sounds amazing through Mesa cabs.  Through my other cabs, EVH, Blackstar, Marshall - I don't like it half as much.

I thought my previous S1 104 EL34 Blackstar sounded great through Mesa, Marshall, EVH, Orange and even a Laney cab, but ironically it always annoyed me through its matching cab.  It accentuated its compressed voicing and made it sound boxy for high gain.  I loved what I could get from the first two channels through the matching cab but was never quite there with OD1/OD2 until I started trying other cabs.

I've still got a Laney Ironheart, which I'd say is a solid sounding amp but not in the same league as more expensive high gain heads like the Mesa Recto or a 5150 iii.  However it seems to work well with every decent cab I've tried it with after a bit of tone stack tweaking.

FWIW I'm talking entirely about 4x12 cabs here, with V30s, Greenbacks or T75s.

I prefer a head and 4x12 cab for anything high gain.  Plus, anything smaller doesn't look right on stage with some bands, I'm with @IanSavage on that one.  Also, a combo is just a pain for re-amping or even tracking rock/metal guitars at high volume assuming you're using the inbuilt speakers and not an extension cab.  With a head you can have it in your control room and run a speaker cable to another room where you've got your amp up loud, so you can easily adjust the tone stack and also be able to hear what is coming from the monitor speakers.

I'll take a combo for clean or mid gain though - I feel like the combo enclosure is part of the tone of many of the classics eg AC30 or Twin.

monquixote

JayGee said:

Awkward bugger here....

Combo *and* cab :-)

The combo is a Mesa Express 5:25 1x10 which is actually a good deal more one-handed-carry friendly than many heads, the cab is a Marshall 1936 closed back 2x12. 

I agree with this. I quite like the idea of a small, but powerful combo (Mesa Mark for example) which can then be stuck on top of a cab for big gigs. Best of both worlds IMO.

Jalapeno

Combo with options is good. I used to have a 2x12 "stack" with my Mesa Combo & 1x12.  But the combo was stupidly heavy.

So like the Mesa combos - different speaker loads for parallel / series speaker combinations. And an attenuator as standard.

Matamp's earlier combos like their First Lady were a ridiculous size - based on the monster 1x12 cab I think.

Dr Z do a nifty little 2x10 that is awesome, and probably smaller & lighter than the 1x12.

Phil_aka_Pip

Once upon a time I'd have said head&cab, but that was because the amplifiers I wanted to gig with were heads. These days the amplifiers I want to gig with are combos. Were I to invest in different gear I think I'd be after a head and a 2x12.

Cirrus

I don't really have a preference as long as it sounds good. Combos have a certain neat aesthetic that I like. Heavier ones can be a struggle to get up and down flights of stairs, especially flightcased.

Heads and cabs make loading in and out of cars, stairs etc a breeze which is quite refreshing at 2am.

Having gigged with an AC30 combo for a few years I ended up with an AC30 head and matching cab. The (open backed) cab sounds a little bigger than the combo version despite having the same dimensions probably because there's more open space inside and there's less mass dampening the top part of the cab, so it's a bit more resonant. Microphonic preamp tubes have pretty much stopped being an issue too which is nice. The main downside is that I always prefer to use my own speakers for reasons of familiarity, reliably recreating my sounds etc. When I had a combo it was a self contained setup so I didn't have to explain to other bands, soundmen etc that I didn't want to use their backline gear. Now there's a bit more politics involved in getting my own cab up there without annoying people at my gear OCD.

hywelg

Jalapeno said:

Dr Z do a nifty little 2x10 that is awesome, and probably smaller & lighter than the 1x12.

But......
Once you've heard the 4x10 you'll not want to go back. OR the Z-Best 2x12.

Grumpyrocker

I prefer amp heads, though it's a completely aesthetic choice on my part.

Wish I'd bought the head version of my Laney Cub 12, I'd probably use it much more.

bandmaster188

 I agree with guitarfishbay on this. I have found my bandmasters very usable through different cabs. At rehearsal I usually put it through a greenback loaded Marshall cab which sounds very different to my open back 4x10 Alnico Jensen cab. But both sound good to my ear holes, different but good.

ddlooping

+1 for combos.

jaygtr

Combo, but not fussed overly either way

Van_Hayden

Interesting - I thought there might be more hard line combo owners. Most people seem to think head and cab are the way to go. Which I do personally...

ROOG

I bought a combo last time on grounds of cost, and also because they don't make it as a head, but then I don't need a big amp.

The amps on my fantasy, (never likely to happen) wish list are:

A Blues Deluxe,  - combo only,

A Princeton reissue  - again combo only, and

A Mesa MkV, which I could get as a head but it looks so neat as a combo, 

so I guess by default I have to vote Combo.  

Fez

I have been a combo boy for years and years but earlier this year I bought a Blackstar HT20 head and it has proved very useful.

p90fool

I'm a bit weird, I use 4x12s, but they have to be open backed. It's the sound I like and I see no point in compromising it for portability just so I can be set up 20 minutes earlier than the drummer, rather than 18.

ICBM

p90fool said:

I'm a bit weird, I use 4x12s, but they have to be open backed. It's the sound I like

You are Ritchie Blackmore and I claim my £5!

You can see his open-backed 4x12" clearly in the California Jam footage where he goes mental and throws the cab off the stage.

If I remember rightly he took the backs off the top cabs and left them on the bottom ones, but I could be wrong.

p90fool

Rumbled!

stickyfiddle

Combos for me. I've had head+cab once and it was annoying having an extra thing to carry into gigs.

I can see the appeal of heads if you have several heads and only one or two cabs, but for me I love a nice combo.

All the best amps are combos anyway- AC30, Deluxe Reverb, Princeton, Bassman, Bluesbreaker, Champ, etc