first stack, cab question

[browne497]

Im planning to buy my first half stack soon, and for my head i am most likely going to buy the peavey valveking. as for the cab, when i played the head at guitar center, it was a marshall mg4 cab and i thought it sounded pretty good, but then again i haven't much experience with stacks. i know the valveking line also has a cab, so my question is, has anyone tried either of these 2 cabs? if so, what did you think about them?

[jace2001]

I've not tried either of those, but have used a standard Marshall slant cab a bunch back in my "garage duo playing 4 power chord" days. The only time we got the police called on us for a noise complaint was when I was using a 60 watt 1x12 combo.

The Marshall MG4 cab has a power handling of 120W but weighs only 60lb. The Peavey XL for $50 more at GC handles 300W, but weighs around 90lb. Generally, heavier weight between those two at that price point will mean heavier construction that will probably survive longer.

From your other posts, you're looking at using this stuff to perform. A couple thoughts:
1 - Regular unloading, unloading, general use will put lots of wear & tear on your cabinet. You can save lots of $ by buying used stuff with pre-ripped Tolex. Both my now-worn-out Mesa .50 and my Marshall cab were former gig gear. They're beat up but were a good price. One of the reasons you see many pros using expensive gear isn't just because it looks good and has a big name; you often get what you pay for with respect to construction and quality of materials. Marshall 1960 cabs (new $800) can go for under $300 on craigslist, and I've just seen 3 different Peavey 5150/6505 cabinets in 3 states for around $250 each; I'd go with a used higher quality cab before getting new. Along the same lines, if you haven't picked up your head yet, consider this: People say it sounds like the 5150/6505. New, your Valveking is $600 plus tax and/or shipping. There is a used but solid 6505 head on evilbay right now for $650 shipped.

2- Do you have a way to transport a 4x12? I used to throw mine along with a 6-space rack and a couple guitars in an Acura Integra hatchback, but that's hard to do. I now have a pickup and it worked great... for hauling the 4x12 into storage.

3- Do you really need a 4x12 100-120W half stack? If you want it for the look or personal preference, that's fine. I used to have a Marshall half stack and got rid of the head in short order. If your band is using a PA, you'll get pretty far with just pushing even a 1x12 combo hard with a mic. The sound man will like you better, too. Plenty of great recordings have been made with little amps, BTW. If you need a bit more volume but don't want to haul that monster around, maybe a 2x12 60 watt rig would work (i.e. Peavey 6505/5150 or a Me$a Road$ter). 120 tube watts are very, very loud. An attenuator or power soak would be a great idea to tame that thing if you want power tube distortion at non-rocket ship volume. I'm running a Bad Cat "The Leash" attenuator and can bring my 60W Mesa down to bedroom levels and still get power tube clipping.

JMHO from an old radio guy that has done a bit of recording and live sound reinforcement.

Dang it, now I've about convinced myself to go buy that Peavey 5150 combo on craigslist that I turned down for its appearance.

[Lick-M]

For price and perfromance on all ends espicially metal ,, I always reccomend Ibanez TBX150H Tone Blaster Xtreme amps..for a first stack.. 2 chanel siplicity with balls to the wall distortion it is solid state but it has wonderful tone and balls out power...

For the highest grade amp head combo.. I got to give dibs to the Carvin V3, i just got one and good god... this thing is AMAZING.. the sound quality out of it is just wonderful and the flexibility of the 3 chanels and the fully intergrated EQ programable to each individual channel is cool.. The V3 is my new farvorite amp..

[bdickens]

Choose an amp with your ears and not your eyes. Unless you are playing fairly large venues a 100-watt anything, let alone a half-stack is just going to be too loud to do anything with.

[zslane]

Choose an amp with your ears and not your eyes. Unless you are playing fairly large venues a 100-watt anything, let alone a half-stack is just going to be too loud to do anything with.

Agreed.

A really awesome little rig is an Orange Tiny Terror, with a Tube Screamer up front, and a 2x12 cab with Celestion V30s. This would be more than adequate for small venue gigs.

[surfdog]

Mic'd up it would be ok for almost any size gig...

[browne497]

to zslane, i think any cab with v30's would sound just amazing. but the 2x12 orange cab you mentioned is just outside my price range. my cab price range is like 200-350. my current idea is if i get a 4x12, im looking towards the marshall mg4. or if i get a 2x12, i would like to get the blackstar ht 2x12 cab

[zslane]

Actually, I was only recommending the Orange Tiny Terror, not their 2x12 cab. Any 2x12 with V30s should suffice.

[surfdog]

Hmmm...well...it just hit me...

Is this for "live" playing..? 'cause I gotta tell ya...QUOTE: It pretty much DOES NOT matter. Period. End of discussion.

The point is: 99.999997% of the people listening live simply DO NOT care! If you're playing covers and it's more or less "there" then they're happy. If you're playin' "originals"...well...then who's to say what it's "supposed" to sound like..? And if the crowd is diggin' it what does it matter?

IOW, find a cabinet that sounds good to YOU and go for it. As bdickens stated: choose an amp with your EARS and not your eyes.

[zslane]

True.

But I also think we need to please ourselves, not just the audience. How we feel about our gear, and how we feel about how we sound to ourselves informs our performance, I believe.

[jpnyc]

99.999997% of the people listening live simply DO NOT care!

That’s very true. But they will notice if the playing stinks because the guitarist is distracted by the the sound of a bad amp echoing around him at jet-plane decibels.

[Danimal]

That’s very true. But they will notice if the playing stinks because the guitarist is distracted by the the sound of a bad amp echoing around him at jet-plane decibels.

How we feel about our gear, and how we feel about how we sound to ourselves informs our performance, I believe.

Both very excellent points and certainly ones that cannot be ignored.

To answer the question that was actually asked, I've never tried either of the cabinets you listed, but the Valveking cabinet looks to use better quality components and has casters, so it would at least on the surface get the nod. Try 'em both and see which sounds better.

[Jon Rambo]

The Tiny Terror and the Dual Terror are great little amps. Depending on where you're located you can get a used TT for around $350. I'd suggest checking one out.