What's up with the Combo negativity?

[coyote1]

One of the examples I chose, the Hartke 5410c, is not a compromise sonically. It is a complete 4x10 cabinet, with an additional compartment for the amp.

Of course, because it is not a compromise it is heavy.

 

[jamzilla]

Please so me an example of a combo with a well designed enclosure. Every single one compromises box size.

Compromise isn't necessarily a bad thing either.

 

[levis76]

My combo puts most head/cab setups to shame. It's a Mesa 212 cabinet with a Mesa Basis M-2000 loaded in the head space. Two separate but blendable preamps with a 600W power section. It's freakin' sweet.

 

[BullHorn]

I bought 1 combo and it was enough to know that I will never buy a combo again. Carrying two separate parts? Boo-hoo.

At least I know I can easily replace and match different parts of my rig. Heck, I can use 5 different amps with my cabs of choice or the other way around.

 

[CL400Peavey]

One of the examples I chose, the Hartke 5410c, is not a compromise sonically. It is a complete 4x10 cabinet, with an additional compartment for the amp.

Of course, because it is not a compromise it is heavy.

Ok but isnt that weight a compromise in of itself?

Compromise isn't necessarily a bad thing either.

Why not get everything I want, if it is just as available as the compromise?

My combo puts most head/cab setups to shame. It's a Mesa 212 cabinet with a Mesa Basis M-2000 loaded in the head space. Two separate but blendable preamps with a 600W power section. It's freakin' sweet.

And that is a killer rig, but it doesnt fall under the argument of "Lighter and more portable than separates..."

My head and cab weigh 46 pounds total.

 

[jamzilla]

Ok but isnt that weight a compromise in of itself?



Why not get everything I want, if it is just as available as the compromise?




And that is a killer rig, but it doesnt fall under the argument of "Lighter and more portable than separates..."

My head and cab weigh 46 pounds total.

You can get everything YOU want, and more power to you brother.

As far as what I want, it has to fit in a honda civic trunk or I'm not playing it, hence the compromise.

That means all big gigs better have a good sound company.

Either way, just spell the name correctly on my check.

 

[Old Fart]

Two gigs today. Wedding and a nightclub. I'm taking my Ampeg BA-115HPT. One trip in, one trip out. Lots of tone options, balanced out, headphone and input jacks, built in tuner.....

I've had a lot of compliments on my tone(s). My go-to bass is a Squier VM. Go figure.....

 

[onosson]

Please so me an example of a combo with a well designed enclosure. Every single one compromises box size.

The GK 700RB + 2x10" combo that I owned (8 years ago?) was pretty nice in that regard. If the speakers had been a little more powerful like the ones in my current Eden 210MBX, and if the head had been the 700RBII with more power (I think they bumped it up from 350 to 480 watts or something like that) I would have hung on to it for sure.

 

[JimmyM]

Not every single combo compromises box size. I can name a butt-ton of combos from the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's that don't. The only ones I've seen compromise box size are the super small micro combos. Hard to look at a B-15 or my old Acoustic 136 and say it compromises box size.

 

[Adam Bomb]

I haven't been around long, but I have been around long enough to see first hand how much of this debate is carried over from another era. Combos as a species evolved dramatically maybe 4 or 5 years ago and rendered much of what I am reading here obsolete. A good example is the ubiquitous "I could never use a combo because 60 watts into a single 12 isn't enough" post.

It's a valuable lesson for me, and I will be less quick to repeat something simply because I heard/read it a bunch of times. (Except for the underpowering your cabs thing.)

--Bomb

 

[onosson]

A good example is the ubiquitous "I could never use a combo because 60 watts into a single 12 isn't enough" post.

I don't recall seeing any of those in the past 8 pages.

 

[Yango]

My SWR220 head and (2x)custom 15" cabs have been sitting in my friends basement, being used by his son so he can jam with his buddies—for the last eight years or so and I sold my Eden 2x10XLT.

I can't tell you how much I dig my Mesa Walkabout 12" combo... it only weighs 39lbs and it sounds AMAZING!!

I think it's similar in all audio equipment. To listen to music I used to have a turntable, tuner/amplifier, cd player, and two cassette decks... I now have iTunes in my computer and a couple of speakers. But for sure there are still folks out there who absolutely love their huge component systems.

There's no right or wrong, good or bad. It's all good. If it works for you, and you're happy with it—then who cares what anyone else thinks... that's my philosophy.

 

[JimmyM]

It's a valuable lesson for me, and I will be less quick to repeat something simply because I heard/read it a bunch of times.

Well that makes one...5000 more TBers to go

 

[njbluesbassist]

I work in Manhattan. Thank God for combos! Much easier to schlep around. Try hailing a cab with a full amp set up. Forget about it!!! You will stand their with your hand in the air all night. Combos are king.

 

[Korladis]

Where did I say two of the same amp?

You said to get two combos.

 

[Mousekillaz]

My SWR WorkingPro 12 see's way more action than my big rig.

 

[kevteop]

Combos have their uses. Smaller gigs, jams in houses, home practise, what's not to like?

I see combos as being a bit of a luxury item though - I wouldn't want one as a main gig rig. Partly because of the weight.

 

[Adam Bomb]

Combos as a species evolved dramatically maybe 4 or 5 years ago and rendered much of what I am reading here obsolete. A good example is the ubiquitous "I could never use a combo because 60 watts into a single 12 isn't enough" post.
--Bomb

I don't recall seeing any of those in the past 8 pages.

Hm. Here are five.

I have both but the combo can't keep up with the louder gigs so it stays home a lot recently.

Then the first time they rehearse with two guitar players, especially metalheads, they realize the limits with a 100W 12" combo amp...

I love a combo for the small gigs.

My practice/small gig/etc rig is a combo amp. It's great to use when I can, but it doesn't provide enough volume for louder situations. Sure, I can add more speakers to it, but at that point why not just use the amp/cab stuff instead?

I have been a combo guy for the last 6 years or more. But I got tired of the weight of my Fender 75 lbs and after it fell out and hit my knee this past winter I said enough. I went to a Little mark III (6 lbs) and a 210p MB cab (25lbs?) and its a dream.

I love combos and use them regularly. They don't move as much air and don't have the same presence on stage.

I took the poster's names out b/c I am not trying to single anybody out. Nobody said exactly what I said in my example quote, and I think I get the (valid) points they were all making. But. I think that to some extent all of those posts, and others here, confuse (1) combo vs. head/cab with (2) size.

A 210 combo does not necessarily move less air than a 210 cab with a head, or a 115 cab with a head, or a 112 etc. And there are plenty of such rigs. (See the several mini/micro/nano-rigs of doom pages.) There's nothing about the fact of it being a combo per se that makes it move less air. Less speaker surface moves less air. That's my point. (With the caveat that if the box is too small for the driver, that would suck, but I am guessing that there are cabs with that flaw as well.)

Agreed that an 810 cab with a head of any size moves more air than any combo on the market. Most any other cab too, though.

I get it if a particular combo was inadequate. My point is that a head/cab setup of the same config would have been inadequate too. I could be wrong but I think I see an implication that combos are inadequate because a particular combo is inadequate.

I think that the unfounded misconceptions about all combos globally can be seen in the fact that some people don't like them because they are small and measly, and others don't like them because they are heavy and bulky. I'm sure that some are each but doubt that many are both. Also, I'm guessing that one or the other complaint could be made about a great many cabs, but no one is dismissing the head/cab setup, in toto, on those grounds.

I like hot chicks

Please – no more controversy!!!

--Bomb

 

[vin*tone]

Please so me an example of a combo with a well designed enclosure. Every single one compromises box size.

There are plenty. My practice amp is a first gen swr baby blue. The enclosure is so good that jack Cassidy had Aguilar make it as a separate box.

 

[chadds]

There are plenty. My practice amp is a first gen swr baby blue. The enclosure is so good that jack Cassidy had Aguilar make it as a separate box.

Oh yeah. I've gigged for years with a BBII. Highs cone is set back so there's proper alignment. A truly professional rig. Proper port size all perfectly matched to a sophisticated eq section. Includes a more me function for studio use.