Heads and cabs plus an amp recommendation

[MulliganChebichev]

Hi I'm Shawn, and I'm amp stupid. I have a couple of questions:

1) So I know what amp heads and cabs are, but I really don't know what they do.
I'm guessing the head is the all tone, the cab is all muscle, am I right?

2) I'm playing through a 15w practice amp right now, in the next school year I'll be off to college and want a larger amp thats plenty loud, but is also clear on low volumes. I want an amp thats good for alt/pop punk/indie? Anything out there? Preferably for cheap?

Thanks

[JohnnyCrash]

A head is the actual amplifier. A "cab" is a speaker cabinet. The amp (head) needs a speaker (cab) to make sound.

Your 15w practice amp is a "combo." It has the amp/head built into the cab/speaker.

If any of this is insulting, I really don't mean it to be... sometimes covering the basics means going WAY basic - not sure where you wanted me to start :)

You can find LOUD combo amps too. They're easier to carry around as well. I like heads+cabs so I can mix and match my heads with different speakers/cabs... but I need to build myself a combo so I can just "grab and go" for rehearsals and stuff.

If you want a halfstack (a head with a 4x12" cab) there are some cheap/budget ALL TUBE heads available. The Crate V33H (30 watts), Palomino V32H (30 watts), Peavey Windsor head (120 watts), Peavey ValveKing 100 head (100 watts), and Peavey Classic 30 Head (30 watts) are about $400-$550 - new - so maybe finding one used would even be cheaper.

Some of those amps mentioned have footswitchable Reverb and Clean/Dirty channels. The Windsor is a basic Marshall JCM800 style hard rock amp w/ no Reverb.

30 watts can be plenty for most gigs - especially when plugged into big cabs (like a 4x12").

I'd avoid some of the cheaper cabs (Behringers, Ibanez, etc). The speakers tend so sound crappy and the durability/construction means they won't last long. Some of the cheaper ones start at $300.

You might also consider Avatar speaker cabs. They're pretty durable, inexpensive, and come loaded with GOOD speakers as standard options. I'd go with a 2x12" since 4x12"s can be a pain to carry/wheel around and 2x12"s is plenty loud... or go with a bigger wattage combo amp, so it's all in one.

[MulliganChebichev]

Mmm ok, and no its not insulting, now, saying "You plug in a cable to your guitar which goes to the A M P, which is the black box..." that would be a bit insulting. :p

Thanks, I guess I'll try as much as I can, but I'll keep some emphasis on said halfstacks.

[JimiBryant]

+1 re: Avatar cabinets, they are great performers at very reasonable prices.

[sprokett]

I picked up a used genz benz 2x12 cab about a year ago. I really like its design. it will handle 150 watts. being a ported cabinet it has plenty of bottom end. it is plenty loud for most situations. No chance to test the theory yet, but am thinking it could hang with a lot of 4x12 open back or even 3/4 back cabinets. Was using it with a Peavey valveking 100 head. I had plenty of headroom and it responds well to pedals. I hope that helps. Half Stack vs Combo... I prefer the half stack for portability. Two lighter pieces vs one heavier one.