Heads

JaguarOW

will an amp head work on its own or does it need a cab

sorry for the noobish question

jace

You will need a cab to run the head

AshleyNirvana

Although I think you can use the Orange Tiny Terror on its own. Could be wrong.

jace

AshleyNirvana said: Although I think you can use the Orange Tiny Terror on its own. Could be wrong.

Only if its the combo

tragictravisty

AshleyNirvana said: Although I think you can use the Orange Tiny Terror on its own. Could be wrong.

youre wrong. you need a cab (ie external speaker)

JaguarOW

kk thx

jellybelly

When something is referred to as a 'head' it is JUST the pre-amp and power amp, their are NO speakers in it (I was also confused when I was young: I blame marshall for putting speaker grille cloth on its heads), a cab has JUST speakers in it and a combo has BOTH.

JaguarOW

jellybelly said: I was also confused when I was young: I blame marshall for putting speaker grille cloth on its heads

yeah thats what got me

btw what are the advantages of getting a head and cab instead of just a combo?

Mustang-Pete

Looks cooler. Also lets you mix and match heads and cabs.

tragictravisty

jellybelly said: I was also confused when I was young: I blame marshall for putting speaker grille cloth on its heads

none. you can run different cabs though and more than one at a time. people just think it looks cooler. the only real advantage is when you either have lots of head, lots of cabs, or both. that way you can mix and match or only have one cab but lots of heads.

jellybelly

jellybelly said: I was also confused when I was young: I blame marshall for putting speaker grille cloth on its heads

There are, contrary to what people who I'm guessing have never owned a stack would have you believe, several important diferences:

-with head-and-cab the tubes and reverb (if it has it) will not rattle at high volume: this can be an annoying issue if anyone has experience with a combo at gigging volumes

-cabs are generally speaking, closed-back whilst combos are open-back: closed back is more focused, has MUCH better bass response and tightness and better projection whilst open back is better for clean sounds to 'bloom' I guess the best word to use would be. If you're into metal then you will be dissappointed with an open back, same for heavy/tight rock, but everything else an open back will do just as well

-also tube amps can be very heavy so often easier to carry two parts seperately

-as mustang-pete said, you can try an amp with many speaker configurations, and also just take a head to practice and borrow a house cab: most places I've been generally have a few beat up marshall 1960As knocking about.

Get a combo until you know exactly what kind of sound you want; it'll be cheaper and more compact

tragictravisty

jellybelly said:
There are, contrary to what people who I'm guessing have never owned a stack would have you believe, several important diferences:
-with head-and-cab the tubes and reverb (if it has it) will not rattle at high volume: this can be an annoying issue if anyone has experience with a combo at gigging volumes
-cabs are generally speaking, closed-back whilst combos are open-back: closed back is more focused, has MUCH better bass response and tightness and better projection whilst open back is better for clean sounds to 'bloom' I guess the best word to use would be. If you're into metal then you will be dissappointed with an open back, same for heavy/tight rock, but everything else an open back will do just as well
-also tube amps can be very heavy so often easier to carry two parts seperately
-as mustang-pete said, you can try an amp with many speaker configurations, and also just take a head to practice and borrow a house cab: most places I've been generally have a few beat up marshall 1960As knocking about.
Get a combo until you know exactly what kind of sound you want; it'll be cheaper and more compact

I play a 50 what 4x10 bassman cranked up when i practice. its a loud ####er. no rattling. its also closed back, and while open and closed back are different, neither is definitively better, and its not an arguement towards stacks. no arguement against the point on weight. and it can be convinient if youre playing at allot of places so you dont have to lug a whole amp around.

jellybelly

Your bassman is closed backed? did it come modded? I know lee ranaldo did that to his vintage blackface super reverb (and also separated it into a head and a cab). And like I say, closed back is only really necessary if you're playing dedicated lead or you're into metal, otherwise its not really an issue, thats why a lot of dedicated metal combos are closed back otherwise it'd get 'flabby' (I hate these words which have been chosen to describe specific attributes of tone, all seem a little too childishly onamatapaeic).

tragictravisty

completely stock. the bassman 10 was meant as a bass/guitar amp, im pretty sure thats why its closed. it can really fart out at high volumes with the bass cranked. believe it or not, treble and middle maxed, bass on 2 gives a very balanced tone.