Combos or heads?

[Keven]

on an entirely different topic, i know some of you guys work in/own music stores like me. we're looking to stock in some cheaper tube heads for the kid on a budget, and of course, you can imagine we've stopped on Bugera. they seem good enough for the price and have enough ''brootalz' value to appeal to the younger 16-20 year old rock/metallers we have as our regulars

but i was wondering, as customers/shopkeepers. combos or heads? we do sell quite a bit of combos and not many heads, but our heads are mostly higher grade like bogner , hughes and kettner, traynor, and some peaveys. combos are usually roland cubes and some peavey valve kings, of course, i can't ask you guys to guess what my customers would want, but we were planning on stocking 2 heads and a 4x12 cab. but do you think it would be wise to go one head, one combo and one cab? we don't want to order many many items because we're testing the waters, and we definitely aren't a huge store so big investments are always carefully thought and planned ;)

thanks for your input!

[jibidy]

I think combos are getting more popular. Heads and combos appear to be a thing of the past because they are sooo loud and people just mic up their amps now.

Small 5 watters seem to be doing well to for bedroom guitarists I think. I have a HT5 but I would like to try out some more like the Hayden mofo or the Cornford harlequin (or maybe even the marshall class 5)

I think people are buying up to 50 watts nowadays because it can be tamed but still be used for big gigs. 100 Watts is almost unusable in many situations. Well playing at home at least.

Also easy recording is popular  i reckon.

[Jonny]

If you had less combos and more heads maybe they'd go for more heads? But then if they look at a combo, obviously the size comes into mind but to me looking at a combo throws me into the whole "would a head version sound better? I could get more speakers, etc."

I generally go for heads cause, well.. I can afford to plus there are some funky heads like the Tiny Terror and stuff.

[gwEm]

Heads look more b00talz if thats what you're going for.

Good idea to get 50w max though, i like the idea of one combo, one head and one cab - it will show the range well.

Perhaps combos are getting more popular indeed..

[indysmith]

Hurrah for combos! Stacks are for overcompensation. Combos are elegant and awesome.

[Bob Johnson]

I've just spent the weekend on the mixing desk at a Bank Holiday music fest and the trend is definitely towards the 50 to 65 watt combo. PA systems are so good and so cheap these days that every one seems to want to go for mic'ing up the back line and doing it all from the desk. It makes a lot of sense; indoors you can get something approaching a studio mix, live, so who needs a big backline where the mix is down to how well the the lead guitarist's ego feels on the day?

[Lew]

I'm firmly in the head and cab department  8)

[Plexi Ken]

Hurrah for combos! Stacks are for overcompensation. Combos are elegant and awesome.

+1 I've always been a combo fan... but then again, I an much older (and less Metal) that your target audience

[James C]

Small head and 2x12

[FELINEGUITARS]

You need to have a head and cab as the centre of the display but keep more combos in

The half stack has the wow factor but the combo has many advantages such as transportability and price.
Kids will ogle the stack and buy the combo- especially if they make the same noise

Some rich kid will then buy the stack, and use it at home!

[Keven]

You need to have a head and cab as the centre of the display but keep more combos in

The half stack has the wow factor but the combo has many advantages such as transportability and price.
Kids will ogle the stack and buy the combo- especially if they make the same noise

Some rich kid will then buy the stack, and use it at home!

that's exactly the way i see it. stacks are for wow factor. combos are for selling. stacks are like the expensive newspaper ad but more permanent and with a possible profit coming from it ;)

just like out jay turser double neck guitar. we got it at bargain price, but it's more as a decoration than anything, but it plays pretty fine for 700 canuck bucks :D

[murraymurray]

I prefer head and cab for portability, when playing lots of shows out of town means you just have to take your head, car would be getting pretty full if we had to take 2 combos rather than 2 heads anywhere.
but also as said it has the definate wow factor, and if most of your market is youngish dudes then thats what they really want. Whats the difference in prices between a 2x12 combo compared with a head and 4x12? I have no idea since ive never shopped for combos

[TheIronBeast]

I prefer using combos, even for gigging. If it's a relatively big gig I'll sometimes use two combos, usually a Fender twin for cleans and a Marshall JCM2000 combo for overdrive. Most of the time I just use the Fender twin and an overdrive pedal though.

I find it a lot easier for transporting and I can get the sound I want from them so there's no need for me to have a half stack or whatever.

[38thBeatle]

Combo for me because that is what I have. Though I do find it more than adequate cos we are never really loud.

[Twinfan]

I use both styles, but I agree on the one stack/one combo idea for the shop.

Combos do seem to be popular at the minute.