# Making enough noise.



## Oddkid (Sep 25, 2012)

At home, i play through a JCM900 Combo amp. I've been wondering if that will be enough of an amp to gig with. Every time i go to see live bands, they always seem to use head and cab half stacks or full stacks. I've never once seen someone gig a combo.

What's the deal?


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## Leuchty (Sep 25, 2012)

Stacks look cooler.

Backline could be supplied.

In the end, a 50-100 watt combo will be PLENTY to gig with.


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## Oddkid (Sep 25, 2012)

CYBERSYN said:


> Stacks look cooler.
> 
> Backline could be supplied.
> 
> In the end, a 50-100 watt combo will be PLENTY to gig with.



I had thought it was just an image thing. I had been considering buying an uber budget valved half stack ie

White Horse 60W Tube Guitar Amp +4x8 Cab at Gear4Music.com

I like my marshall though, if its good enough i'm not going to bother replacing it.


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## 7stringsofdoom (Sep 27, 2012)

If you like the tone provided by your Marshall, then go for it. I played a gig with a 30w Peavey Vypyr about 2 weeks ago. Most venues mic up your amp, so I wouldn't worry about it.


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## Oddkid (Sep 27, 2012)

Cheers for the advice!

It makes a nice change going on a forum and not getting a load of shit off some elitist jerk off when you ask for help. This is the friendliest forum i've ever signed up for.


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## sage (Sep 27, 2012)

+1 on your combo being loud enough for gigs. Hell, I've played shows without a big PA system with a 30 watt tube combo and the amp was loud enough to be heard throughout the room. If anything, look into getting a 1x12 extension cab if your combo is the 1x12 version. It really fills things out. If you've got a 2x12 combo already, don't worry about it at all. 

+1 also on this being a great forum. Seems like all the douche nozzles get ban hammered.


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## Leuchty (Sep 27, 2012)

The other thing is, slant cabs give better on stage projection.

This can be solved by tilting your combo back a little so its pointing at your head.


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## iRaiseTheDead (Sep 27, 2012)

80% of the shows we played, we were mic'd. So size really doesn't matter in this case. The real reason people want stacks is for the whole "professional look"


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## Oddkid (Sep 28, 2012)

I did look for a 1x12 extension and found one for £50, then never bought it (idiot) I reckon i'll keep my eye out. 

Tilting it back eh? That sounds easy enough to do, amp stands cost barely anything.

Again, cheers for the fill in!


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## Oddkid (Sep 28, 2012)

Marshall cab model 1931A , 1x12 , 75w | eBay


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## DarkWolfXV (Sep 29, 2012)

You can play gigs with combo no problem, but half/whole stacks look cooler, you can always hook up combo to a cab(at least my 6505+ combo can).


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## Tyler (Sep 29, 2012)

^ exactly as said above. You could try that if you want but you should be totally set with your Marshall, especially since you are already comfortable with the tone.

And if it turns out you don't enjoy it with only a combo, well hey; its a learning experience.


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## thraxil (Sep 30, 2012)

Do spend some time with your combo actually running at gig volumes though. The tone will be different at high volume and you'll probably want to dial it in a little differently.


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## Sinborn (Sep 30, 2012)

any tube amp of at least 30-40 clean watts and a 2-12" is enough. guitarists are infamous for bringing more than enough. IMO you hurt your live sound with too many speakers, unless you aren't getting miced up.


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## JStraitiff (Sep 30, 2012)

Im literally going to start gigging with a Pod HD500 direct into the mixer. Evidently you dont even need a cabinet at all XD. But in actuality stacks become more and more irrelevant the larger venues you play because at some point you're not going to be able to provide enough power with your own gear to cover the place and get a good mix. The main reason people use 4x12's in arenas is to shape their tone before it goes into the PA.

So if you like the tone you are getting out of your JCM or even your roland micro cube, mic the amp and roll with it. If you are playing a show without a PA, you are better off investing the money you would in guitar cabs in a personal PA for those smaller gigs.


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## Oddkid (Sep 30, 2012)

Well said, my old old old band had its own PA. To be honest i'm going to be happy playing support slots at my local metal club so i doubt i'll need my own PA.

I do need to try running my amp at gig levels, i don't think i've ever pushed it up past 12 o clock since i've had it.


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## Necris (Sep 30, 2012)

After having played shows using stacks and then switching to combos I can say I would never use a stack for live shows. 95% of the time you're mic'd up anyway so all you're doing bringing a full or half stack is giving yourself more shit to tear down after your set. The only time I wasn't mic'd the venue was small enough that it actually sounded better for me to turn my amp down anyway.

If you're worried about sound projection, tilt your combo back a bit.

If you're worried about how it looks on stage find something more important to worry about.


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## robare99 (Oct 8, 2012)

I use a head and a 212 cab. 


Basically a combo. Mic'd every time.


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## Oddkid (Oct 8, 2012)

Yeah sticking with the combo and looking at bonding with my Dad by building a 1x12" extension ourselves. Two birds with one stone.


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