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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Combo vs. cabinet
Combo vs. cabinet
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the_happy_honker
52 posts
Jan 15, 2011
4:13 AM
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Does anyone use the head/cabinet versions of small-watt amps like the Valve Jr., Vox AC4TV or Harley Benton GA-15? Why or why not?
I notice that the cabinets are watt-rated much higher than the respective heads - that might make it hard to overdrive the speaker cone, yes?
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5F6H
467 posts
Jan 15, 2011
6:50 AM
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Tube amps under overdrive can make much more than their rated wattage (AC RMS - clean sound out), so it is common practice to make sure speakers are rated for at least twice what the amp is rated for. A speaker's W rating is just a measure of the heat that it can take before the voice coil fails, it is not directly related to tone, modern materials mean that higher W ratings are available for the same sensitivity as low W vintage speakers.
In my half W amp I use a 60W speaker, not because it handles 60W, just because it has good sensitivity (high SPL rating). Tone of a speaker can only really be assessed by listening to it, some specs may hint to what you might avoid but they never give you the full story.
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5F6H
468 posts
Jan 15, 2011
7:12 AM
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...forgot to say that heads & cabs allow more speaker options than a combo & make big heavy amps easier to break down & transport, conversely lots of guys like to be able to pick up an amp in one hand, harp case in the other & go.
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isaacullah
1360 posts
Jan 15, 2011
2:07 PM
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I have a Valve Jr Head. I bought it off a craigslist deal, which was $70 for just the head. I like having it for the same reason 5F6H says in his 2nd post: It's easier to plug it into different cabs. I'm currently just using a 1x8" cab I built myself from an old organ speaker, but I've plugged it into different cabs (2x8", 1x10", 2x10") that my friends have, and it really does change the sound. It lets you get a cool variety of tones out of the same amp, which is pretty cool. I have a couple of other heads, including one I built myself, and I've liked the flexibility of them. But for busking, I like the convenience of an "all in one" package that a combo gives you, so that's what I use on the street.
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