Combo v Head + Cabinet

Malice

I'm looking to pick up a new bass rig for myself in the near future. Up to now I've always played combo amps and I'm a bit confused over the price difference between a combo amp and a head + cabinet pair.

For example, here is a 450W Markbass Mini for €979. On the other hand, here and here are a 500W Little Mark III Bass Head and an 800W Markbass Cabinet. The head is listed at €1129 and I suppose my first question is - what does it do to justify being so expensive? Is versatility a factor?

My next question would be which is better, combo or head + cabinet (hopefully I'm not asking an apples v oranges question here )

68 lost souls

The way I always look at it is a head and cab is more versitile, if you dont like the speaker setup you can change it easily so swap between say a 4x10 and a 1x15 etc. or even between celestion and jensons or others.

The other advantage of a head and cab is that they are lighter on their own so for transporting it is easier.

Saying that I have pretty muc always ended up with combos because of price.

There are more factors then this but those are the main factors I see in it usually.

Welease

68 lost souls wrote: »

The way I always look at it is a head and cab is more versitile, if you dont like the speaker setup you can change it easily so swap between say a 4x10 and a 1x15 etc. or even between celestion and jensons or others.

The other advantage of a head and cab is that they are lighter on their own so for transporting it is easier.

Saying that I have pretty muc always ended up with combos because of price.

There are more factors then this but those are the main factors I see in it usually.

Agreed on the versatility....

Funnily enough though, I always ended up with heads because of the price Once you have the cabs you want (2x12 & 4x8 in my case) its a lot cheaper to purchase new heads each time that to purchase combos.

novarock

Head and cab for definite. I dont bring my cab to every gig because its not always feasible. But my Eden head fits in my school bag, and Ive played every gig with it since i got it.

At least then you are garaunteed your tone!

Malice

Thanks for the responses so far but no one has answered my first question - What does the head do to make it so expensive? It doesn't make sense to me that a 450W combo amp is €979 but a 500W head is €1129. The head is going to need to be plugged into a cabinet to make any noise pushing the price far beyond the combo amp. Is versatility really worth that much?

novarock

sorry - i misread...

The head is listed as €666? the creative combo of the head with two cabs is listed as 1129..

Malice

novarock wrote: »

sorry - i misread...

The head is listed as €666? the creative combo of the head with two cabs is listed as 1129..

No, you didn't misread, I did Somehow I managed to read the first price on the linked page which is indeed the overall price of a bundle rather than the head by itself.

So, to try and rescue the thread before I get ridiculed, if I buy a head rated at 500W and a cabinet rated at 800W, does that mean the cabinet will only ever output 800W? Or, to put it another way, what is the relationship between the wattage of the head and the wattage of the cabinet?

68 lost souls

The wattage of the head is the power that it can OUTPUT and the wattage of the cab is what the speaker can HANDLE. You want the cab wattage to be greater then the head output so you dont blow it. You also want to match the ohm rating.

novarock

that head is good for 500W/4ohm, 300W/8ohm.

To me the ideal usage would be one 500W 4 ohm cab,

if you used one 8 ohm cab it would only be able to draw 300 watts, if you used two 8 ohm cabs, the amp would connect them in parallel, allowing the full 500 watts to be split evenly to each cab at 4 ohms each.

In summary. if you want one cab, get a 4 ohm. If you want two cabs, get two 8 ohms.. all rated to 500W

Malice

Thanks guys, that is some great information so far. One more question: In terms of wattage, what should I be looking for in equipment suitable for small/medium sized venues? Would the MarkBass head and one of the 800W cabinets be enough?
I know a lot of the time stuff goes through the PA but I'd rather not lash out on gear only to have to lash out again to bring it to a suitable gigging level.

novarock

im using a 300 watt Eden head into a 400 watt ampeg. Not many venues that you would need a bigger sound. If I was lucky enough to play a larger venue, I would rent a power amp, another 4 ohm cab, and use my head as a pre...

Its all taken care of....

68 lost souls

I use a 300 Watt Ashdown 2x10, feel like I could do with a 1 x 15 as well some times, the rule of thumb I stick to is double your guitar players amp. WIth bass however there is a tradition for people to go bigger and bigger as the bass can be eaten up by heavy furnishings in a room. I generaly look for a bass amp with a good DI on it to go straight to a desk if needed for larger venues.

Malice

Thanks for the replies again. I reckon what I'm looking at should be fine so. Now I just have to wait to get paid .