Nobody Wants Heads / We All Want Small Amps... Really?

[8bit Barry]

Can you give me your opinion?

Over my entire guitar playing life I have bought mostly guitar heads and cabs. I live in the UK, I am not rich, I don't live on a farm in the middle of the countryside, I have neighbours and not surprisingly I have a few attenuators. Head + Cab has always been the sound.

Playing metal through a 90's JCM, classic rock though a JMP, 60's rock through a 1987 - that's what its all about.

**Asking some retailers in the UK recently they said that the market for larger amps is pretty dead. Half stacks are really hard to sell, only larger retailers with space to store them in separate warehouses will stock them and no retailer wants them for trade second hand. This surprises me considering the flavours on offer.**

Some points - personal / general - I have left out the obvious weight / transportation advantages of most combos.

1. I don't gig. Nobody I know gigs. The local gig scene here in the UK is almost completely dead unless you live in a city. Guitar (where I live) has almost become a second bedroom activity (which is sad).
2. A head can stored easily, be tamed easily to satisfying balanced levels moreso than a 10w amp. I have a Fender 65 Princeton Reissue and that far from neighbour friendly. Its the only amp my neighbours have complained about, loud as hell if you want the 'sweet spot'.
3. With an attenuator / head the player can open a doorway to all manner of amazing rock / blues sounds / vintage flavours.
4. Often those vintage heads are the near the same price as the reissues (or in the case of the JCM900 Dual Reverb) far exceeds it.
5. The last three amps I have bought have been 100w. The sonic weight is incredible and I much prefer them.

What do you think?

 

[Kuga]

I think small portable amps it's the fashion sensation of this times. A 100W amp with a 2x12 or 4X12 sounds much better. If you have a resonable space playing a 1X12 combo it's not enought. If you play with a drumer a 1X12 combo it's not enought IMHO.

 

[PelliX]

I agree with most of what you said, but I think there are a couple of key factors missing which make the current state of affairs a little easier to comprehend;

Size. If you don't have a roadie or a massive rehearsal room a full stack is pretty cumbersome to transport. Enter the combo - proven since guitar amps were first made pretty much. Light, single unit, easy to transport, fits in said bedroom, plenty loud enough for most occasions. This is also where I slightly disagree with Kuga; many a 1x12 combo can easily hold up with a normal drummer. My AC15 is the smallest combo I have in terms of power and it does the job. Depends a *little bit* on the drummer, sure.

Volume. You don't NEED to fill a stadium or a concert hall anymore, that's handled by the PA. Keyboards are on the PA, vocals are on the PA, drums are often on the PA - why not the guitars? This is why you can get by with a 10W combo provided it's mic'ed. Is that better? Well, from an audio perspective, yes it can easily work a lot better as the PA is typically not a central point blasting out to the entire audience. Don't get me wrong, I understand how bigger iron sounds bigger, but my AC15 or JTM45 (which is effectively about 30W) don't sound wimpy when used right.

Price. 20W combo is cheaper than a 50/100W head AND the cab(s) to handle it, often. The one-stop-solution is attractive to many.

3. With an attenuator / head the player can open a doorway to all manner of amazing rock / blues sounds / vintage flavours.

There is no reason an attenuator cannot be used with a combo, I use one on my AC15 from time to time. If you happen to have a rather poorly designed combo where the speaker is hard wired in, you just need to make some trivial adjustments to enable this.

Personally, I'm not a fan of combos either, though I have a DSL combo, the AC15 and a Fender BD. They all have their charm, though a Marshall in particular needs a closed back cab to me. Personal preference, of course. I honestly don't understand the people who dig the Jube, ST, SV or SC combos. I'd rather have the head and a (small-ish) cab with it. Multiple speakers do something that a single speaker on its own can't IMHO. I love my SC (head), but I run it through a 2x12 for it to 'shine'.

 

[8bit Barry]

Size. If you don't have a roadie or a massive rehearsal room a full stack is pretty cumbersome to transport. Enter the combo - proven since guitar amps were first made pretty much. Light, single unit, easy to transport, fits in said bedroom, plenty loud enough for most occasions. This is also where I slightly disagree with Kuga; many a 1x12 combo can easily hold up with a normal drummer. My AC15 is the smallest combo I have in terms of power and it does the job. Depends a *little bit* on the drummer, sure.

Thanks for that. I did mention I wasn’t highlighting the size / weight advantages but you also added more into that.

 

[BlueX]

I see many nice, used 100W Marshalls coming up on sale sites, over and over again, at fair prices. Seem difficult to sell.

The "brick'n'mortar" shops I visit usually don't have 50/100W amps or 4x12 cabs. Don't know if it's because of limited space or market, or both.

Attenuators seem to have a bad reputation, limiting the interest for NMV amps.

Digital solutions, with headphones and/or active monitor speakers seem popular.

I'm a dinosaur, playing Cream, Hendrix, LZ, etc., and I want what they had. Have to understand that new generations might prefer other things.

 

[ido1957]

I'm old and I use a Katana after decades using a JCM900. Love the sound of a Marshall, but I can't be lugging around a half stack. My amp gets mic'd if needed.

Actually had some guy compliment me on my sound yesterday and he was amazed when I told him it was coming from a Katana. That type of comment is rare and he was probably two sheets to the wind daydrinking.

 

[paul-e-mann]

Several years back before COVID, I was in my mom and pop local music store and noticed they only had combos, I asked the sales guy and he said head and cab has gone way of the dodo, they can't sell them and nobody asks for them. I was shocked and surprised to hear that and didn't believe it, I'm a head and cab guy myself, just for the weight transport reason and sound is always better.

But for obvious reasons I find my big amps stay home, and in recent years I've bought smaller wattage and more portable amps I can carry in a backpack (BluGuitar Amp1 and Orange Stamp), I even built a small lightweight grab and go tweed deluxe combo, so without even realizing it I'm living what that guy was saying! So now I'm thinking maybe there's some truth in what he said.

Us older guys have the big gear already, youngsters aren't buying it and don't need it, so nobody is buying new big gear, there's no market for it, and there's plenty of used big gear to go around as the oldsters retire from music or die off. As long as I have room for my big gear I'll keep it and enjoy playing it at home, but as of now I gig with small gear that plugs directly into my bands PA, no cabs. I would love Marshall to make a small hybrid amp head that replicates some of the obvious old amps we all know and love, but it's gotta fit in my backpack lol.

 

[Edgar Frog]

If you need smaller, lighter and more portable and love heads there's absolutely no reason to compromise at all nowadays. Just get a mini stack. If the shops want to sell more heads and cabs they just need to set up some mini stacks next to some regular stacks. Or at the very least a lower wattage head on a single 1x12 for people can visually see how much smaller and more portable they can actually be. There's tons of options of all sizes nowadays in heads and cabs. There's just zero reason to compromise in this day and age.

 

[TammyRiffs]

I have a fender practise combo amp that's been collecting dust for 8 years but exclusively play amp heads through a Palmer PDI-03

Sometimes I feel they're a pain to lug around and i'm handy enough to dial in a good vst tone but there's just something about playing a real amp, even if it's into my computer, thwt I can't give up

 

[thesunship]

Coming from combos, I prefer small or at least lighter weight heads and smaller 2x12 or 1x12 cabs with good speakers.

If someone doesn't know amps very well (and many young guitarists don't) understanding ohms, speaker choices, which cab to buy, etc can be overwhelming. A lot of people just want to buy something that will work right away without much thought about it. Combos are definitely the easiest choice.

But heads are better!

 

[PelliX]

I have a fender practise combo amp that's been collecting dust for 8 years but exclusively play amp heads through a Palmer PDI-03

Those Palmers are great. I've looked at the circuits and I must honestly admit that I'm at a loss as to how that sounds "so good", but they do.

 

[tallcoolone]

That type of comment is rare and he was probably two sheets to the wind daydrinking.

 

[tallcoolone]

There is no reason an attenuator cannot be used with a combo

Yeah I didn’t get this either?

 

[PelliX]

Yeah I didn’t get this either?

Unless you're technically inclined, I see that it's 'unintuitive'. As it happens, I don't actually attenuate the combo's speaker in the AC15 but rather run it through a 2x12, but it's a great example of a hard wired speaker. Pop a jack on the end of the lead, then run back to the speaker from the attenuator using another jack to spade connector lead or simply use the external speaker connection. I prefer the DSL or classic Fender type arrangement where the combo's speaker simply has a jack plug already and you can connect it however you like with no modifications. Most DSL combo's have a stock speaker lead that's too short to reach on top of the chassis, though so you still need to replace it or add a male/female extension. [sigh].

 

[8bit Barry]

Attenuators seem to have a bad reputation, limiting the interest for NMV amps.
Digital solutions, with headphones and/or active monitor speakers seem popular.
I'm a dinosaur, playing Cream, Hendrix, LZ, etc., and I want what they had. Have to understand that new generations might prefer other things.

I agree with you.

I don't think enough people have tried the latest league of attenuators out there. I sold my 2x Weber, my 16Ω THD Hotplate as soon as I found the Ironman II. On the first day I owned it I took my 1987x cranked the channel volume at 10, rolled down the tone and experienced 'woman tone' for the first time and it sounded absolutely glorious. The Oxbox, Boss TAE, Ironman II offer such great flexibility for tone exploration at safe levels, with the cheaper ones disregarded.

Us older guys have the big gear already, youngsters aren't buying it and don't need it, so nobody is buying new big gear, there's no market for it, and there's plenty of used big gear to go around as the oldsters retire from music or die off.

I have a few of my friends kids who are totally blown away when they hear my heads / cabs at room level. They have literally never listened to anything quite like it and leave understanding what is possible. I was exactly the same when I began this journey.

It's so easy to go and spend £1000 on software and plugins etc / modellers etc when the real deal is out there and comparable prices (vintage Plexi's JTM45 etc excluded of course).

If you need smaller, lighter and more portable and love heads there's absolutely no reason to compromise at all nowadays. Just get a mini stack.

Yes that'sa really good halfway house. I was looking at the new Marshall range at the Guitar Show last week. You couldn't hear them as they had them all going into headphone amps, but I was pleased at the size and styling. I am yet to hear one.

If someone doesn't know amps very well (and many young guitarists don't) understanding ohms, speaker choices, which cab to buy, etc can be overwhelming. A lot of people just want to buy something that will work right away without much thought about it.

That's a very good point. I guess I was the same in the 1990's when I bought a Crate. I then sat it on top of my friends Peavey bass rig, sent the effects send into the input, and so the quest for super deep tones began!

 

[67mike]

Combos often are hard on tubes, rattle, rattle rattle.

Some don't, but most do.

 

[NumbSkull]

I like small amps, big amps, combos, heads and cabs.
I have all of them and intend to keep them.
I just bought 3 more this week, 1 small 1 medium and 1 big.
Cheap second hand prices because everyone is switching to modellers ? fine by me.

Will amps go the way of old brown furniture and Grandfather clocks ? Dunno and dont care.

 

[FleshOnGear]

(Welcome to the forum, @TammyRiffs!)

I get the love for heads and cabs. I play them, mainly. Combos are still great, though. I think the experience of standing in front of an amp dialed to rehearsal volume lends to a preference for big cabinets. More air, more enveloping, bigger sound. But at the gig, you can shove a mic really close on a combo, get the proximity effect of the mic boosting bass, and get an appropriately big sound through the PA and monitors. And when I play at home (which is always these days), I can plug my combos into my cabinets, and it still sounds huge.

Strangely, when I play late at night through my Mooer Radar speaker simulator, I prefer the 8” Champ model through my headphones.

 

[iron broadsword]

(Welcome to the forum, @TammyRiffs!)

I get the love for heads and cabs. I play them, mainly. Combos are still great, though. I think the experience of standing in front of an amp dialed to rehearsal volume lends to a preference for big cabinets. More air, more enveloping, bigger sound. But at the gig, you can shove a mic really close on a combo, get the proximity effect of the mic boosting bass, and get an appropriately big sound through the PA and monitors. And when I play at home (which is always these days), I can plug my combos into my cabinets, and it still sounds huge.

Strangely, when I play late at night through my Mooer Radar speaker simulator, I prefer the 8” Champ model through my headphones.

That radar is a great piece of gear. I use mine for recording the line out from my weber mass 200

 

[iron broadsword]

Head vs combo is gonna depend on who you ask, but I think it’s pretty obvious that while most people might prefer the look of a stack it’s just not practical. So for the common man playing small gigs and jamming with his friends or playing in his bedroom, a combo is an all in one solution that’s portable, less hassle with cables etc, and just an easier experience for someone who doesn’t know the ins and outs of speaker loads