Mark V combo or head/cab best choice for lower volumes

[Enchilada Jones]

I'm looking to buy the Mark V, (my first Boogie! ) and due to where I'll be using it most of the time I'm going to be forced to play relatively low volumes during a lot of those times.
So which to buy? The combo or a head with a cab, and if it is the head which cab/speaker? Open back or closed?
The over sized Thiele cab looks interesting but I have no experience with a ported cab...will that type of cab work against me considering the volume restrictions I face? I imagine the bass frequencies are what will get me in trouble first if I crank things up late at night. Will the Thiele deliver bass at lower volumes better than a regular closed back or open back cab and without becoming a floor shaking subwoofer?

The type of music will be varied more clean and crunch than the heavy stuff, rarely get into the palm muting rhythms...more classic rock and fusion type sounds than anything else.
Thanks!

 

[bcdon]

I have a Mark V combo and extension cab and it sounds great at low volumes. I'm sure you could
get the head and a cab and it would be the same. I like the combo better but I don't have to move
it up and down stairs on a regular basis.

BTW, I play a lot in Mark IV/extreme and love palm-muting and haven't had a complaint from any
neighbor (I'm on the top floor too). Of course, if you open it up, you'll get some complaints but it
might just be worth it!

 

[screamingdaisy]

I don't think that open vs closed back really makes a big difference in terms of volume so much as it does in terms of tone. I like open back more for cleans and open crunch chording, and I prefer closed back more for thumpy, palm muted chords.

In fact, I find the Mark V is capable of such good low volume tones that I don't think it really matters what cab you use, even a 4x12 can easily be used for low volume playing... and if too much bass is an issue, switching to 10w mode thins the amp out enough that the extreme low end is no longer an issue.

I have the widebody Thiele and I consider it a bit of a compromise. It's a great sounding cab and it's huge sounding for a 1x12, but I don't think it sounds as good for hard rock or metal as a closed back 2x12. I also feel that the Thiele needs a bit of volume before the port starts working correctly, whereas a closed back 2x12 gives up some thump right away.

Lately my 4x12 has been my 'bedroom' cab while my Thiele is my practice cab and my 2x12 has been my gig cab. I've become much lazier than I used to be.

 

[babow2]

Frankly, I think the issue isn't what cabinet or combo/head- as the amp is the same power either way. It is speaker efficiency. The higher efficiency a speaker, the more "volume" you will get at the same setting. So, that sort of means that at a given setting, a less efficient cabinet and speaker will be quieter than a highly efficient speaker/cab at the exact same setting. Theile cabs, especially with a high efficiency EVM-12L, would possibly be the worst choice as that is a highly efficient speaker cab combination.

You might consider a head and then find an inefficient cabinet design and a low efficiency speaker for the bedroom use. I would also consider an attenuator like a THD Hot Plate or a Dr. Z Brake or the one by Weber.

 

[screamingdaisy]

You might consider a head and then find an inefficient cabinet design and a low efficiency speaker for the bedroom use. I would also consider an attenuator like a THD Hot Plate or a Dr. Z Brake or the one by Weber.

The Mark V doesn't really require any of that. It does low volume really well on it's own and doesn't need to be driven hard to obtain a usable tone.

 

[Enchilada Jones]

Thanks guys!
I have a Celestion G12-T75 and a vintage 30, both 16 ohms that are just sitting unused at the moment...I could put them in parallel into a 2x12 to make it 8 ohms but how would they sound? Is that a good combination of speakers to be able to get the most from a Mark V?
I'm thinking the head costs about $150 less than the combo but a good unloaded 2x12 will cost at least that...so unless that combination of speakers is a good one it really isn't saving me anything.

I have a soft pine 2x12 closed back (kind of a Fender type cab) I could put them in but it's a slant type, kind of thin from front to back. I sure don't want to handicap my first Boogie with a sub standard cab set up.
What do you think of that option?
Thanks again!

 

[YellowJacket]

I demo'd a Mark V and the 10watt option allows for great tones even at bedroom levels. It sounds cranked when it is almost off which is truly amazing. If $$$s and space is no issue, I'd suggest a cab for low volume playing (a 2 x 12 with celestion Greenbacks or a Greenback and a g12H 30 for a 50watt cab. Keep in mind this is so you get good response and more speaker motion at lower volumes) and another cab for gigging. Either a 2 x 12 or a 4 x 12 with a mixture of v30s and c90s is good. v30s + G12T 75 is good. V30s + G12H 30s is good, but I'd only recommend that in a 4 x 12.

Other speaker options. I'd highly recommend looking into Warehouse Guitar speakers. They cost less than Celestions and sound fantastic. The Reaper 50watt is my personal favourite. It has a very even response with great controlled cone crunch and very crystalline defined highs. Stinking amazing!