Are there any awesome benefits to having a head & cab instead of a combo?

[45acp]

Originally Posted by pfschim

the Walkabout is 47lbs and its on the heavy side for these kind of rigs. Does not sound like a "ton of combo" to me.

Sorry, my point was mainly i can carry my bass, head, and backpack full of crap all in one trip whereas a combo would mean 2 trips. Not important to some, a major bonus to others.

Im not down on the combo in any way, but there are advantages and disadvantages to both it and a head with cabinet.

[Davyo]

While I do like separates I most of the time use one of my GK MB combos for giging and used to use my Markbass Berlin combo when I had that.

Almost all my gigs have PA support so my combo is basically a monitor,,, takes 2 seconds to load in and set-up,,, my GK MB115 weighs 33lbs and does great in a big room with PA.

I'm waiting for delivery on the new GK 500 watt MB212 to be used for bigger gigs with no PA.

I've had an SVT410hlf and a Hartke 8x10 but loading a combo is so much easier and lighter.

Cheers
Davyo

[pfschim]

Originally Posted by 45acp

Sorry, my point was mainly i can carry my bass, head, and backpack full of crap all in one trip whereas a combo would mean 2 trips. Not important to some, a major bonus to others.

hmmm, I think you might have this confused a bit. So, one trip gets your amp head, bass and backpack into the venue, which carry gets the separate cab into your gigs ?
Sounds like 2 trips to me.

I use a Walkabout 12 combo for a lot of my gigs. I equipped mine with an attachable luggage cart kind of thing made by Mesa. I have a super easy one trip load in/out with this rig. Amp and gig bag with one hand, double bass bag over my shoulder (fretted and fretless), and I still have one hand free to open doors and such. Easy as it gets, and the tone of the WA is legendary.

If I ever need more ummph than the 1x12 of the combo, an easy 5 min effort has the WA head out of the combo and ready to rock any cab combination you can think of (from 8ohms down to 2ohms - so lots of flexibility).

not trying to convince you or anyone else of anything, just sayin' ... no head/cab rig is more useful/flexible than the arrangement I am describing with the WA combo.

peace

[Sid Fang]

The most significant benefit of going with separate components is that people on TB won't rag on you for using a combo.

[Jazz Ad]

Originally Posted by BassmanPaul

very often a combo is a series of compromises between engineering and marketing. Separates are less so.

Unless you talk about entry models, in which case the issue is the price rather than the form factor, I have never seen a real life example of this.
A good combo is made of a good head built into a good cab.
The prejudice against combos isn't deserved.

[45acp]

Originally Posted by pfschim

hmmm, I think you might have this confused a bit. So, one trip gets your amp head, bass and backpack into the venue, which carry gets the separate cab into your gigs ?
Sounds like 2 trips to me.

No dude, you are bypassing the 1st post i made in this thread- Band Practice- and the ability to leave a cabinet there. That's why i told the boring story of my band practicing once a week at the drummer's house... me having to lug all my junk upstairs and then back downstairs... etc. etc.

Doesnt matter now, as we practice at my house and only once a month. I do however leave my gig cab in our trailer... and my practice cab at home. So when we load up for a gig im only loading a bass/head/ and effects.

[amir93smith]

maybe look into getting an extension cab.....i'm using an ashdown MAG 410 deep cab with mine (got it for £60 of ebay) that might solve your problem.....the advantages of cab n head over combo, is that head easier to take around if u supporting and they have their own cabs u can use......but i would look into extension cab first

[adk teleman]

I am a combo guy. I prefer my Rumble 150 combo. I am always into the PA so for me it is the perfect set up because I use the line out to the PA and have the amp as a monitor on stage. We play at a low stage volume so I have no need for a bigger amp. I always chuckle at the guys who rag on folks who use combos. I have both and 99% of the time I go with the combo. Just me.

[Thumper]

Ditto, I also have a LMII. I use the combo for gigs because I like the tilt option and simplicity

[blubass]

It can also depend on how big of a venue you anticipate playing. I personally have a gk rbx810 and a gk 700rb II head. Overkill for some- maybe. The biggest benefit of it was the speakers are much closer to ear level. It stands above the guitar cabs and helps me hear what's going on because I don't like in ear monitors, and I let the vocalist use the up front monitors. Combos are great. Love them, and love the sound some of them reproduce. There's just hardly ever a 4.5 foot wall to pick it up to the level of my ear when I need one!

[Sid Fang]

Originally Posted by blubass

It can also depend on how big of a venue you anticipate playing. I personally have a gk rbx810 and a gk 700rb II head. Overkill for some- maybe. The biggest benefit of it was the speakers are much closer to ear level. It stands above the guitar cabs and helps me hear what's going on because I don't like in ear monitors, and I let the vocalist use the up front monitors. Combos are great. Love them, and love the sound some of them reproduce. There's just hardly ever a 4.5 foot wall to pick it up to the level of my ear when I need one!

Personally, I've got a big rectangular plastic step-stool that I use to get my combo off the floor if I gig with it. It's not 4.5 feet high, but it's light and takes up less space in my car than a cabinet. Works wonders for self-monitoring and dispersion, especially on small stages.

[DigitalMan]

Choices for separates are vast compared to the combo world, and that's before you include the effect of mixing and matching which is another exponential leap. Many of the iconic amp sounds are only available as separates. There are some great sounding combos however, and it only takes one to be the one you like. The logistics mentioned earlier and the ability to scale up and down I think are what tip the scale.

[JimmyM]

I have both separates and combos. I use whatever the situation dictates...or rather, I use whatever I feel like bringing But clearly there is more variety if you use separates.

[bedroommuso]

Something I don't think has been mentioned is that it is seems at least in theory easier to treat a head more carefully than a combo. When browsing the used market, you see many combos and cabs that have been beaten to **** just by virtue of their size, however in contrast, heads because they are smaller and lighter don't appear to be as knocked around as much. One of the problems I think too is that a lot of combos have top handles instead of side handles - so that makes things just that bit more awkward to carry resulting in more damage.

Any knocks and bangs that would otherwise only be going to cab part of a seperate rig, the amp part of the combo cops it.

[JimmyM]

Well that's on you to take care of your gear, isn't it?