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Cabinet
Which is better: combo or head?
The answer to that question really does depend on what you want it for.
First of all, let's get some definitions:
- Head: Guitar amplifier in a single (wooden) box. Includes the pre-amp and power amp stages.
- Combo: Guitar amplifier and speaker driver in a single wooden box. Again, includes the pre-amp and power amp stages.
- Cab: (cabinet) Wooden box including speaker drivers. Also known as the enclosure.
- Driver: the speaker inside the cab, including the cone and magnet.
For simplicity's sake, a combo is an amp with driver included. With a head, you still have to provide a driver by plugging into a cab.
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New 15W Guitar Amplifiers
The last few years have seen a rise in the number of smaller, low-powered all-valve guitar amplifiers. These are great for achieving awesome tone at lower volumes and so we set up the Smaller Amps section. In the last few months, Marshall and Vox have both released small amplifiers; Marshall with their Haze line and Vox with the Nightrain. Read more »
How much should you pay for a speaker cabinet?
I remember paying between £300 and £400 for a Marshall 1960AV 4x12 cabinet about 10 years ago. The price has increased, as I'd expect prices to inflate over time. A quick search and I can see it on sale for £489. I could probably spend longer looking and find it cheaper.
And then I look at Engl. The equivalent Engl cabinet is the Engl Pro Cabinet E412. In the UK, it's £899! They make superb products and I like the cabinets a lot, but not enough to pay almost twice as much.
Think about this, they both contain the same drivers; Celestion Vintage 30s. The current retail price for 4 of these is £278. Remember that's the retail cost, not the wholesale cost and only for four, so no volume discount for 1000 speakers. Read more »
Marshall 1960AV Speaker Cabinet
What we say about the Marshall 1960AV Cabinet
For any serious rock or blues tone, the Marshall 1960AV speaker cabinet is the minimum speaker cabinet you should be looking at. There are cheaper cabinets out there, same as there are more expensive cabs as well, but this should be your benchmark and your starting point.
The drivers
The cab features 4 Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. These are quite deep in tone and may not be to everyone's taste. If you've never heard your guitar and amplifier through four Vintage 30s, then you need to, at least so you have something to reference.
Blackstar HT Series HT-110 Cabinet
What we say about the Blackstar HT-110 Cabinet
I wouldn't ever say that any cab is awesome, maybe I just haven't tried the right one! But the right speaker cabinet can give you access to awesome tone. Read more »
Blackstar HT-5H and HT-110 Mini Half Stack
What we say about the Blackstar HT5 stack
I wish this amp had been around when I was first learning how to play guitar. It's great for bedroom usage and beyond. I'm convinced this would have been at the top of my wishlist had it been available then. Read more »
