f series question

[BoogieDown]

I'm homing on on the mesa I'm gonna buy, and the f-series seems to be the best choice for me. I have a question about buying the head vs. the combo. Would I come out better one way or the other? I know that with the head, I could play around with different cabs, but with the combo, I could just buy an extension cab (same with the head), and that I could convert the combo to a head if I just needed it that bad. Is there something I'm missing in my reasoning that there's no particular benefit to buying the head as opposed to the cabinet (given that I don't already have a cabinet, let alone one that i'm particularly in love with.)

 

[alongcameandroo]

I used an f-50 combo through various cabs for years and always preferred the sound.

I found it handy being able to just take the combo to practise or the studio and then being able to use cabs with it live.

I only recently moved on to a roadster head though as I needed the 4 channels.

The F series are a great range of amps though, I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.

 

[ashjn]

I have the head, but would get the combo personally. It shouldn't be THAT much heavier, (which is usually a big downside with combos) and it is easier to grab and go and add an extension cabinet when needed

 

[alongcameandroo]

yeah totally, the f-50 wasn't too bad at all weight-wise.

 

[Charlie]

Yeah the head/combo choice is a tough one. I definitely prefer the sound of a cabinet but a combo is way easier to haul around. I went to jam with a guitarist and bassist last night - just a low volume jam and I had to bring my head and 4x10 cab because I don't have a combo right now. SUCH a pain in the ***. It's nice to be able to stuff a couple of pedals and some cables in the back of a combo and make one trip from the car. Guitar in one hand, combo in the other.

Problem with a combo is even if you get an extension cab most of the time you will probably succumb to laziness and leave the cab at home. At least that's what happens with me.
You can always get the combo, save up for the cab and then save up for a head later on. It's nice to have both options.

The F-series is a sweet amp everybody that has one seems really happy with it.

 

[mikeyp]

I have the combo. Sometimes I wish I had the head. Most times I'm glad I have the combo though. I do put it on a 212 cab which I dont really need because the F-50 combo is plenty loud on its own. And I really like the stock speaker. If you like playing around with cabs maybe the head is for you but you can always unplug the combo speaker.

 

[plumptone]

+1 on the prior comments. I have the combo - and I'm glad I do. It's light enought to be easily trasportable, and actually sounds pretty **** good since it's the wide body format. Can get a good solid low end if that's what you need. But you also have the option go adding extensions if you need more oomph. If you just had the head, you'd always be toting along at least one extra cab.

I'd go with the combo and add on if you feel you need to.

 

[SeasonOfPain]

That's a tough one. When I got my Mark IV, I got the combo for the reasons mentioned above, and it is nice to have an all-in-one unit sometimes... but 90% of the time I prefer to play it through my Recto 2x12 or 4x12 cabs.

When I got my F-50, I got the head version. I don't know offhand how much the F-50 combo weighs, but the Mark IV combo seems almost as heavy as my 2x12 cab to carry, and I like that I can leave my 4x12 cab at our practice space, and just cart my F-50 head back and forth, using my cab 2x12 at home.

If you do get the combo, see if you can get it with casters! That helps a lot when moving my Mark IV combo around.

 

[Russ]

That Mark IV certainly is a boat anchor as a combo especially with an EVM-12L. I recently migrated my chassis back into the head cabinet because even with the casters I would rather just carry the head around and just make two trips to get the cabinet after moving the head.