What is a combo??

[pingvuiini]

Hi everyone!

I am a bass player who recently sold some gear on eBay for my former guitar player who has moved out of state to get married. One of the items was a Mesa Boogie 2x12 Rectifier cabinet:


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...1305&ssPageName=STRK:MERFB:IID#ht_2679wt_1139


During the auction, I get a question from a guy in Florida who happened to call this cabinet a combo amp. In my reply to him I told him that the cabinet was not a combo, but a 2x12 cabinet. He replies back insisting it IS a combo amp. I replied back to him with the following link from Guitar Center as an example that a combo amp has the speakers and amp built into the cabinet as one unit:


http://www.guitarcenter.com/Marshal...2x12-Tube-Guitar-Combo-Amp-501125-i1569072.gc


The guy replies and gets kind of abusive, saying he's been playing guitar since I was in diapers, etc. etc. He writes:

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I have been playing guitars and amps longer than your mother refused to change your diapers, I know all the ins and outs of amplifier set-up, some . . . . you only think you wished you knew about, F=U and do not send another email, . . . . or I will report you to ebay - STOP - CEASE and Disist NOW ! You have no info that is needed nor is it wanted
O=K, will let you in on some schooling from Roadies I used to tell how I wanted my equipt set-up; Single Cab = 1 speaker, combo cab = 2
speaker, tri Cab = 3 speakers, quad cab = 4 speakers, NO AMPLIFIERS IN ANY CABINET, that is all I will teach today.
What you refer to is know as a Combo Amp. <--(He's referring to the Mesa 2x12 Rectifier cabinet in the auction here).
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

So I am here to comb the wisdom of this board. Question: Can a 2x12 cabinet like the one in the auction (with no amplifier built in) be considered a combo amp under any circumstances?? Please post any information here. I have been playing bass for a few decades now and I thought I knew what a combo amp was (I am playing through a Mark Bass 2x10 combo now), but this guy seems so insistent that I am beginning to wonder. The auction is long over and this guy didn't buy it (nor would I have sold it to him), but he emails back and just won't let go. I wanted to get it from the horse's mouth so to speak. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Don]

It sounds like he's trying to say that a 2 x 12 cab is also know as a "combo cab". I've never heard it called that but it looks like there's a misunderstanding and he's not exactly a level headed guy.

 

[calvin1]

combo cab is 2 speakers. combo amp is 2 speakers plus amp built in. cal

 

[pingvuiini]

Hi cal

combo cab is 2 speakers. combo amp is 2 speakers plus amp built in. cal

Thanks! I stand corrected.

 

[boogieman60]

I've been playing for 50 years...NEVER heard of a cab with 2 speakers called a combo. ALWAYS refered to an amp with speaker combination, hence combo. seems like some circles develoup their own lingo and expect the rest of us to adapt...go on line an order a combo...see what you get :lol:

 

[pingvuiini]

Hi boogieman60

I've been playing for 50 years...NEVER heard of a cab with 2 speakers called a combo. ALWAYS refered to an amp with speaker combination, hence combo. seems like some circles develoup their own lingo and expect the rest of us to adapt...go on line an order a combo...see what you get :lol:

Yes, that's what I was thinking. Just like how they call candy 'lollies' in Australia or policeman 'bobbies' in England, Floridians may have their own local dialect and I will give this guy the benefit of that doubt. But you are also correct that if you order a combo online or in a store, you will probably get a built in amp along with it.

Thanks for your input!

 

[calvin1]

i have been playing for 50yrs. also if i went too the store and asked to see a combo amp they would show me an amp with 2 speakers in it . but i have been too a store and asked to see a combo cab with 2 speakers and they just showed me a cab with 2 speakers.everyone will have a different opinion. thanks cal. Most stores you go in and ask too see a combo amp, they will show you an amp with 2 speakers not a cab with 2 speakers. cal.

 

[Don]

Might be a regional thing.

 

[cheameup]

since when does combo mean 2 ? I have never heard it called that . he seems like a dick

 

[cscotto]

Am I reading his reply to you wrong, or is he contradicting himself? When he lists his instructions to roadies, he says combo cab = two speakers. Later, in the last line, he calls two speakers no amp "combo amp."

I live in Tampa Floria, and I just bought a pair of Avatar 2x12 cabs from Guitar Center. They were not advertised as "combo cabs" nor "combo amps"

And even if there was a misunderstanding over the "correct" term to use, why be such a dick about it?

 

[rocker43]

Stay far away from him ---- BITTER BITTER BITTER -- I would not want to be the buyer of anything he is selling. I call a 2x12 cab a 2x12 cab or a cab, I call a 2x12 combo that includes the amp a 2x12 combo. Maybe I am right, maybe he is right but whatever the case, the guy is rude and needs more meds.

 

[pingvuiini]

Stay far away from him ---- BITTER BITTER BITTER -- I would not want to be the buyer of anything he is selling. I call a 2x12 cab a 2x12 cab or a cab, I call a 2x12 combo that includes the amp a 2x12 combo. Maybe I am right, maybe he is right but whatever the case, the guy is rude and needs more meds.

Yeah. You should see his previous emails! In his first email he asked for the dimensions of the cabinet. I sent him the following link:

http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Guitar Cabinets/RECTOcabs/Recto2x12H-LG.htm

The link takes you right to the manufacturers website with the dimensions in inches and metric. How easy could that be to take two seconds to click on a link and find the info straight from the manufacturer?? His reply:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sir,
As you have eloquently answered my question [a simple question at that] all it would take is a tape measure and a couple minutes of your time, I Have no time to bid on your combo, if you even have it, sounds doubtful to me that your auction is even in your possesion.
THANK YOU for your all so very valuable time, so much so you cannot even measure your item up for auction,
I would not bid on it with a big stick, ty ... Kirk
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


So thats when it all starts (you notice that is where he called the cabinet a combo). He's sent a couple more emails since the last one but I've marked them as spam. I've spent waaaaaaay too much time and effort trying to straighten this guy out and now I realize its a lost cause and I'm over it.

Thanks to everyone for their replies!

 

[volatileNoise]

what a wally, good luck to him! :lol:

 

[mastora]

I still don't get this guy...you either want it, or you don't. You both know what it is, so what difference does it make what he calls it? I totally agree with the other posts...definatly more meds, and definatly spam his a$$.

 

[YellowJacket]

Well, looks like I misread the first post.

Single cab, combo cab, tri-cab, and quad cab? =-/

Where I come from they call them 1 x 12, 2 x 12, 3 x 12, and 4 x 12. I've never heard of a 3 x 12, seems weird.

Anyway, the guy is full of himself. No worries.

 

[mikey383]

That dude's a tool.

Combo = amp with built in speaker, could be one, could be two, could be four or more.

Head = Amp without built-in speakers.

Cab = speaker cabinet without a built in amp.

Never heard them called anything else.

 

[pingvuiini]

I still don't get this guy...you either want it, or you don't. You both know what it is, so what difference does it make what he calls it?

It's true that I might have made a mountain out of a molehill, splitting hairs, regional semantic differences, etc. When it comes to posting things on eBay, I am very meticulous about having a correct item description so that any potential buyer knows exactly what he's getting (including descriptions and photos of any defects, damage, modifications, etc). That way nobody can say that I failed to specify such things or misidentified the item and want to dispute the transaction. So when this guy tells me I'm selling a 2x12 combo when I believe I am not, I felt I had to set him straight. In the end I felt my definition of a combo was correct, and I seem to have the ads on GuitarCenter.com, the posts here and even the Mesa Boogie website backing me up. Not that it mattered any since I blocked him from bidding on the item anyways.

Thanks again to everyone for their time and input! ^D

 

[cscotto]

I still don't get this guy...you either want it, or you don't. You both know what it is, so what difference does it make what he calls it?

It's true that I might have made a mountain out of a molehill, splitting hairs, regional semantic differences, etc. When it comes to posting things on eBay, I am very meticulous about having a correct item description so that any potential buyer knows exactly what he's getting (including descriptions and photos of any defects, damage, modifications, etc). That way nobody can say that I failed to specify such things or misidentified the item and want to dispute the transaction. So when this guy tells me I'm selling a 2x12 combo when I believe I am not, I felt I had to set him straight. In the end I felt my definition of a combo was correct, and I seem to have the ads on GuitarCenter.com, the posts here and even the Mesa Boogie website backing me up. Not that it mattered any since I blocked him from bidding on the item anyways.

Thanks again to everyone for their time and input! ^D

You are not making a mountain out of a mole hill. I have had people try and get money back by claiming the item was not as described. I have 100% feedback, so I know I am not trying to scam anyone. I think some people try this as a scam, like putting a fly in your food at a restaurant to get the meal for free.

 

[ifailedshapes]

Combo does not mean 2. Bi means 2, tri means 3, quad means 4, et cetera. It's common in the UK to call a 4x12" cab a "quad box." If you go to a music store and ask to see a combo amp, they may show you a 1x10", 2x10", 1x12", 2x12", or 4x10" combo amp, again combo meaning head and cabinet are one piece. Do not let some hot head steer you away from logic. If anything, report him to eBay for badgering you with abusive language (and poor spelling and nonexistent grammar!)

 

[MrMarkIII]

A combo is when you get rice and beans along with that chimichanga, dood.
Everybody knows that! :lol: