4 x 12 vs handmade combo !!

Dingwall · Apr 11, 2011

For all the usual reasons I switched to a combo amp after about 3 gigs! I had rushed into a Marshall jcm800 but exchanged it for a vox ac30 and have since been using various combos. My current combo is an expensive corn ford hurricane that I bought new for £1299.

It's ok but I have never really achieved the tone I am looking for. I know this is a never ending quest but at the same time I have been playing long enough to be able to recognise whether it is in there or not.

Anyway to cut a long story short I recently went for my first ever audition and the studio had some Marshall 4x12 stacks. Well.......the sound was huge and juicy and, combined with some good pedals I have, just blew me away. It was big but not necessarily loud. I am now rethinking my live amp policy!

Maybe lower wattage amp head with 4x12 or at very least 2x12! I know it's more to carry but if you are really serious about tone is this not a worthwhile burden?

Anyone else had similar experience?

nicovlogg · Apr 11, 2011

I've got a little 15W Vox Night Train that I use with the 1x12 cab for practices. For live shows I've been playing through a 4x12 Marshall cab the last while. And yes - it does sound bigger. More than enough headroom with the added volume of the extra drivers for my purposes.

aja · Apr 11, 2011

How about a 2x12 designed to your needs? You could get someone to make you one with the required characteristics. Speaker choice is also a big decision and will affect the tone considerably (as much as your amp does)...

The size of the cabinet, speaker spacing, open/closed back all has an effect on the sound and you could use it to your advantage. I take it these 4x12's you like are closed back?

Have you looked at using speaker simulators? I know, not really analog or whatever, but they are getting pretty damn good these days.

Do you rely on the amp's built in distortion or do you mostly use pedals?

I am super envious of your Cornford by the way ?

Dingwall · Apr 11, 2011

aja wrote: How about a 2x12 designed to your needs? You could get someone to make you one with the required characteristics. Speaker choice is also a big decision and will affect the tone considerably (as much as your amp does)...

The size of the cabinet, speaker spacing, open/closed back all has an effect on the sound and you could use it to your advantage. I take it these 4x12's you like are closed back?

Have you looked at using speaker simulators? I know, not really analog or whatever, but they are getting pretty damn good these days.

Do you rely on the amp's built in distortion or do you mostly use pedals?

I am super envious of your Cornford by the way ?

Hey Aja. Yes I am always thinking thoughts to improve things one way or another. Unfortunately I don't actally gig enough to really get the most from my cornford. I have heard these amps sounding amazing but I guess the point of my post is that maybe I am searching for 'that tone in my head' in the wrong way, i.e. maybe I am looking for much more headroom and not necessarily hand wired boutique combo offerings!

The Cornford is a great amp and a very natural sounding amp. I have,however, more than once considered trading it in for a Blackstar Series One combo which might give me the headroom I am looking for but maybe I need to take nicovloggs route of smaller head and bigger cab!

Well I need to find a band first, last band ended in December! The irony of my post is that I didnt even make it at the audition, they chose the other guy!

I use pedals as I find I get more versatility. I sort of collect pedals so have some decent ones which have helped beef up my sound.