EL-84s vs. 6L6s - Express 5:50 vs TA-30

[twally]

Have you tried a 5:25 yet? It has the same preamp as the 5:50, so it should sound the same, althouth I haven't played the 5:50. I would at least give it a try. It is about 10 lbs lighter.

My 5:25 w/12" speaker gets more play time than my LSS.

JMHO,

TW

 

[MBJunkie]

I know this is an old thread, but I just wanted to clarify about my "man up" comment. I didn't intend for it to be anything other than helpful. As previously mentioned, I feel that the 5:50 112 combo is one of the lightest combo amps that Mesa offers. The op mentioned that he loved his tone using this amp.

Certainly, a head with cab is a viable option to reduce the weight of each component making them easier to transport, but only if the plan is to use a 112 cab (which may very well have been the plan). However, many guitar players using a head prefer playing through a 212 or even 412 cab. Sure the 5:50 head weighs less than the combo, but even a 212 Mesa Cab alone will likely weigh more than the 5:50 112 combo.

Additionally, the cab choice can make a big difference in the tone (better or worse) than the tone that the op has already stated as being one that he loves out of his combo.

BTW.....I am no spring chicken either! :wink:

 

[pusher]

Being the op, I appreciate the comments, very helpful. I actually have had to 'man up' lately, as my playing schedule has ramped up. But my back does pay the price sometimes.

The plan now is to have Mather's Cabs make me a head cabinet, and pair that with a single 12 cab. You hit the nail on the head when you talked about tone. I've heard that the tone improves with a separate speaker cab, but my guess is that it has to be the right one. There are lots of them on EBay; some are slanted, extra large, compact, etc. I'm thinking that a speaker needs a little room to breathe, as well as being open back.

Anyway, Mather gave me a quote, and it's not too bad, if you mount it up yourself. I know that the two will weigh more together than the combo, but I'll be lifting less weight each time. But I'm sure I'll be adding an extra trip to the car.

Like I said, these are all good problems to have. I'm not complaining.

Best to you.

pusher

 

[MBJunkie]

Great, and I am glad that my reply was of some help to you.

As long as the cab size/type/design and speaker selection is similar to your combo...it will likely result in a very similar tone/feel, and give your back some relief! :mrgreen:

Another benefit of a head/cab isn't so much that it sounds different (assuming similar cab/speaker to your combo as mentioned above), but that the tubes in a head are not subjected to nearly the same amount of vibrations (compared to a combo version) because the head and cab are separate units.

Best of luck, and I hope all ends up for the better!