Discuss: Are combo amplifiers a compromise?

[CzarSketch]

Architect, man, I think a lot of us regulars (and I'm barely in that category) are responding to how abrasive you're being in expressing your opinion. If you've got something to say, no one is going to stop you from saying it if you say it respectfully.

This thread has outlived its usefulness. Mods, do your worst!

Imma go play through any amp I can find for the entire afternoon, cause they all make my guitar louder. The rest is just splittin' hairs when you've got to get that music out of you and into the world.

[Totally bored]

There is always one dude that knows everything.

[Rickenjangle]

I take it that I was right to use my ignore list...cause I'm sure that if I could see the stuff that guy is saying I might end up getting banned...

Correct me if I'm wrong...most of us are on here to have fun discussing our hobby, and to learn from others??

[grandturk]

I come here to look at lots and lots of pictures of Strats, but its pretty slow.

[CzarSketch]

Yeah the instrument porn has been a bit slow, eh?

Here's a little more fodder from our friend O'connor, by the way:

In his power-amp discussion, he determines that because Class-A operation is only possible at <50% efficiency, it is therefore inferior to Class-AB...

If the guy weren't amazing at explaining the technical stuff, I'd shut the book right there. He treats opinion like fact, and that gets on my nerves.

[grandturk]

He sounds like an engineer. Engineers love to create solutions for problems that don't exist.

[Wilko]

I think this guy got treated poorly before he got upset.

He offered up that there are other tones that combos can't do, and that those tones are considered better by some. He got shit for that?

You guys didn't "learn" shit from this guy. If I were him I'd be pissed too. His point was ignored because he personally doesn't agree on the same subjective arguement that was used to dismiss the "author" of the amp book in question.

[grandturk]

I don't understand what tones a combo can't do. Man, you can do so much with the room and mic placement that its pretty irrellevant what the amp is housed in to say nothing of EQ.

To me, the number one advantage of a head/cabinet setup is the ability to swap the componants as you see fit with a considerable savings over the combo unit. However - sometimes heads go for more than the combos on the used market.

[muddy]

I kind of think dude is getting treated a bit rude?!

He posed a reasonable opinion for debate and got a bunch of illmannered smarmy responces.

To the smarmy ones...you're certainly entitled to post such responces, but you're being pretty rude imo. Perhaps work on your delivery...............or not?

[Wilko]

I don't understand what tones a combo can't do. Man, you can do so much with the room and mic placement that its pretty irrellevant what the amp is housed in to say nothing of EQ.

Live tones like those of Marshall 4x12 cabs just don't come from combos.
More modern sounds, as posed by Architect don't come from combos either. Sure, in the studio or close mic'ing onstage can make up that sound if you have the luxury of massive stage monitors.

Matalica, Megadeth are a few easy examples that most of us have heard of tones that are just not going to happen with the average combos.

[CzarSketch]

Has there ever been a combo that was designed to separate the speaker cavity from the tubes/chassis so that the back can be sealed?

Take the AC30 design and go from there?

[Wilko]

Yes.

[CzarSketch]

Well shoot. I'm gonna get on that. Make two back panels, one sealed, one open, and have them attach with thumbscrews for easy removal.

patent pending! just kiddin'!

[CocoTone]

Last time I checked, you mic'd from the front, bout two or so inches from the cone. Do you think an SM57 cares if the cab is open or closed, and if'n its a Marshall or Vox??!?

CT.

[Rickenjangle]

I think this guy got treated poorly before he got upset.

Maybe so, Rick, I don't know 'cause I put him on the ignore list before I blew my stack (pun definitely included in light of the thread's content!), but he seems more than capable of going to defcon four with little provocation. Anyway, the original thread is a good setup for a discussion and I've hijacked it enough myself.

CocoTone, you make a very valid point - especially if you're in a room big enough that the ambient amp sound itself is not a big part of the sonic picture (or if you're recording close-mic'ed) but I've only played a half dozen times in rooms and through systems that were that large that I was hearing "all wedge" and no amp-direct sound.

But on top of that - it's all apples to lemurs to amoebas anyway in terms of comparison...it all depends on the source of the heavy crunchy distortion, the type of guitar, speakers, volume, amp type, damping factor on the power amp, what mic and mic placement, what room...and the source of the distortion in the first place (i.e. amp on ten; or metal zone pedal through clean amp or clipped diodes in Marshall preamp or cascading 12ax7 gain in Boogie preamp...) the list goes on and on and it would be difficult to isolate the cabinet type (open back, closed back, front-loaded speakers, rear-mounted, ply baffle, MDF baffle, cleats or dado'ed...and so on) as the deciding factor on great modern-rock distortion.

[thegeezer]

I sometimes use a combo with a closed back extension speaker, it sounds great but I play some decent sized clubs and have never needed more than a 15 watt Vox. It is my subjective choice but remember I have been making these choices for over 40 years. I have tried most brands of amps.
Jerry