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Expensive HEAD affordable CABINET or expensive BIG COMBO?

expensive head with affordable cabinet or expensive combo?

  • head and cabinet

    Votes: 83 80.6%

  • combo

    Votes: 20 19.4%
  • Total voters
    103
#41
Let's say you get wild and dedicate up to half the monies to a head: lots of high-wattage choices.
Bass Guitar Amp Heads | Sweetwater

The other half goes towards a cabinet, and since you don't want to invest in a truck, I'm omitting 410s. I'm also leaving out 1x10s and 2x8s, as a single won't hang with a drummer (flameproofing on, I'm generalizing).
Bass Guitar Amp Cabinets | Sweetwater

But again, the used market can provide bargains, if you know what you need and like.
Just curious, but why the infatuation with Aguilar?
 
#42
10emmanuel said:
Hello mates! I am planning to get my first big amp, I have had several small combos, 80 watts the biggest, but now I want to upgrade.. What do you recommend ? ... ... I have a limited budget. About 1.500 USD. ... ... I could buy a good 800 watts combo for 1.000 USD which is so big that I would need a truck to carry it around. ... ...
Click to expand...


Hi, Manny. May I ask you, have you progressed in amp knowledge much since you posted this last year?


If you still don't understand the importance of matching the impedances of heads & cabs, and how to do it, then get another combo until you do. You can spend a lot of money on a great (but mismatched) head & cab rig and burn it up the first time you plug it in! The combo significantly reduces that possibility (but doesn't always eliminate it). Many very powerful combos allow connecting an external cab, or two, and their impedances must also be appropriately matched.

Take the new Rumble 800 combo, for example. You don't need a truck to move it at less than 30 lb.s and it can put out up to 400 watts continuous (like RMS) all by itself. That should be plenty for rehearsals with a loud drummer, couple guitars and keyboard, maybe even for some really big gigs if you use the XLR Out to PA/FOH. But, if you do need more stage volume, you can connect a 400 watt continuous 8 ohm cab, or two, to get 800 watts from the whole rig!! Or, for a small gig, flip the Output switch from Full to Low and get up to just 100 watts continuous out of the combo alone, or just 200w with cab(s).

And it's got some other improvements over the still very capable Rumble 500 combo, besides power levels. The Master volume doesn't affect the XLR Out level anymore, which can now send a Pre- or Post- preamp signal. It also has snappier Neodymium speakers and can push the aforementioned one or two 8 ohm cabs, or one 4 ohm cab.

Get this lightweight, reliable, versatile, powerful combo for just $850US and the matching Rumble 210 8 ohm cab for just $500US + tax (~10%? = $115) and you've got a great 4x10" 800w rig with full 7ender 2-year warranty, all for under your $1,500 budget!!
.
 
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#43
G-Dog said:
Hi, Manny. May I ask you, have you progressed in amp knowledge much since you posted this last year?


If you still don't understand the importance of matching the impedances of heads & cabs, and how to do it, then get another combo until you do. You can spend a lot of money on a great (but mismatched) head & cab rig and burn it up the first time you plug it in! The combo significantly reduces that possibility (but doesn't always eliminate it). Many very powerful combos allow connecting an external cab, or two, and their impedances must also be appropriately matched.

Take the new Rumble 800 combo, for example. You don't need a truck to move it at less than 30 lb.s and it can put out up to 400 watts continuous (like RMS) all by itself. That should be plenty for rehearsals with a loud drummer, couple guitars and keyboard, maybe even for some really big gigs if you use the XLR Out to PA/FOH. But, if you do need more stage volume, you can connect a 400 watt continuous 8 ohm cab, or two, to get 800 watts from the whole rig!! Or, for a small gig, flip the Output switch from Full to Low and get up to just 100 watts continuous out of the combo alone, or just 200w with cab(s).

And it's got some other improvements over the still very capable Rumble 500 combo, besides power levels. The Master volume doesn't affect the XLR Out level anymore, which can now send a Pre- or Post- preamp signal. It also has snappier Neodymium speakers and can push the aforementioned one or two 8 ohm cabs, or one 4 ohm cab.

Get this lightweight, reliable, versatile, powerful combo for just $850US and the matching Rumble 210 8 ohm cab for just $500US + tax (~10%? = $115) and you've got a great 4x10" 800w rig with full 7ender 2-year warranty, all for under your $1,500 budget!!
.
Click to expand...

I've done some research since that post but still want to hear advices.
 
#44
abarson said:
Let's say you get wild and dedicate up to half the monies to a head: lots of high-wattage choices.
Bass Guitar Amp Heads | Sweetwater

The other half goes towards a cabinet, and since you don't want to invest in a truck, I'm omitting 410s. I'm also leaving out 1x10s and 2x8s, as a single won't hang with a drummer (flameproofing on, I'm generalizing).
Bass Guitar Amp Cabinets | Sweetwater

But again, the used market can provide bargains, if you know what you need and like.
Just curious, but why the infatuation with Aguilar?
Click to expand...
Because of all the models I've would be interested in getting, Aguilar have the most of the good reviews. Also is well known as a prime brand. But still doing reaserch
 
#45
The Invalid Link Removed was a game changer for me. I was always Class D into cab. Now I have a 28 lb combo. I can add a second cab if I need to (I never do). I have the lightest and easiest loadout of anyone other than our singer, and also rarely go above 9:00 on the master volume.

Affordable cabinet, light cabinet, good sounding cabinet... you can usually only have two of the three. Not the case with the Rumble 800.

It's not dirt cheap, but it's certainly not much more than a half decent class D amp and an affordable cab.
 
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#46
10emmanuel said:
Hello mates!
I am planning to get my first big amp, I have had several small combos, 80 watts the biggest, but now I want to upgrade.

What do you recommend ? I want to have an interesting good sounding amp that allows me to play in stage. I am not a big star so I would have eventual small gigs. Mostly garage band rehearsals.
Yeah some will say "hey the best option is this a million dollar amp" but I have a limited budget. About 1.500 USD.

One person told me I should get a good Head and dont worry that much about the cabinet. That allows me to transport it easily. That I could even borrow or rent the cabinet for the occasion .
In the other hand, I could buy a good 800 watts combo for 1.000 USD which is so big that I would need a truck to carry it around.

What do you say? It's worth to say that It would be an amp that I will accompany me for long time.

Thanks!!!
Click to expand...
Look for a used Mesa Subway D-800 (or D-350 new) and a Mesa Subway 115 cab. A little over you budget but you can thank me later. Good luck in your search.
 
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#53
10emmanuel said:
Hello mates!
I am planning to get my first big amp, I have had several small combos, 80 watts the biggest, but now I want to upgrade.

What do you recommend ? I want to have an interesting good sounding amp that allows me to play in stage. I am not a big star so I would have eventual small gigs. Mostly garage band rehearsals.
Yeah some will say "hey the best option is this a million dollar amp" but I have a limited budget. About 1.500 USD.

One person told me I should get a good Head and dont worry that much about the cabinet. That allows me to transport it easily. That I could even borrow or rent the cabinet for the occasion .
In the other hand, I could buy a good 800 watts combo for 1.000 USD which is so big that I would need a truck to carry it around.

What do you say? It's worth to say that It would be an amp that I will accompany me for long time.

Thanks!!!
Click to expand...

IME, a crappy or substandard cabinet will always sound like a crappy cabinet not matter what amp you use to drive it. Not only that, cabinets are probably the most 'voiced' part of the system, and sometimes those voicings are so baked in that they dominate and define your overall sound regardless of what you try to do with the amp. Get it wrong and you will never be happy. As such I would focus my initial outlay on getting a high-grade high-power cabinet that fits your style and can grow with you.
YMMV
 
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#55
honestly, this decision should come down to what is the best deal you can find locally.

search all your local listings, and see what eligible items you find. check what they normally sell for and figure out your best deal.

lots of stuff that is very low in price can be as good or better than the fancy stuff.

i've told this story so many times:

I have a bass student i've known for years, and the family was going to go to GC and buy him an amp. i told them to tell me their budget and i'll find a used item locally to get better value. i found them an old peavey 1x15" combo from the made in USA days. i think we paid $175. that amp is possibly the best sounding amp i've ever used. i can never remember exactly what model, but it's just an example that being on a tight budget does not mean you'll have crappy gear necessarily.

if your willing to buy used/local, and make sure to follow the general consensus of folks like us (ie, peavey is a good call almost always for amps) you'll be okay.

good luck!
 
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#57
10emmanuel said:
Hello mates!
I am planning to get my first big amp, I have had several small combos, 80 watts the biggest, but now I want to upgrade.

What do you recommend ? I want to have an interesting good sounding amp that allows me to play in stage. I am not a big star so I would have eventual small gigs. Mostly garage band rehearsals.
Yeah some will say "hey the best option is this a million dollar amp" but I have a limited budget. About 1.500 USD.

One person told me I should get a good Head and dont worry that much about the cabinet. That allows me to transport it easily. That I could even borrow or rent the cabinet for the occasion .
In the other hand, I could buy a good 800 watts combo for 1.000 USD which is so big that I would need a truck to carry it around.

What do you say? It's worth to say that It would be an amp that I will accompany me for long time.

Thanks!!!
Click to expand...
I'm not sure where you are located, but Traynor provides a lot of "bass for the buck" (to turn a phrase). I have the 500 watt head with a 2x10 cab. Bass – Traynor Amps
ACAD1932-B212-4666-A7ED-E20953912A3B.jpeg
 
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#58
abarson said:
This isn't accurate information. Although the amp has only one speaker output, there is nothing to prevent the common practice of daisy chaining a second cabinet from the first, as long as you don't go below the minimum load that the amp will support.
Click to expand...

Yes, which is why I said "In nearly all circumstances" and not "always" :rolleyes:

The OP appears to be new to the head + config and I don't want to overcomplicate my response, as he/she appears to want a more direct, simple answer to the dilemma or setup. So in like manner, it's not accurate to say he/she can daisy chain cabinets either, as not all cabinets have that as an option :thumbsup:
 
#59
_One//Man//Mutiny_ said:
To piggy back off of this, if your cabinet is 8 ohms has 2 parallel outs, you can still daisy chain another 8 ohm cabinet to to that cabinet run the head at the 4 ohm minimum.
Depending on if your cabinet is 4 or 8ohms to begin with. If it’s 4, you can’t run another cab.
8+8=4ohm
4+8=2.67ohm
4+4=2ohm
Click to expand...

Yup, make sure the ohms rating on your cabs is right, OP and you should be fine. Reference above is spot-on.
 

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