Rocker 30 Combo or Head?

[Beexter]

Decisions, decisions.......I've decided I want a Rocker.

Are there any issues with the tubes being mounted horizontally in the combo vs vertical in the head? Just wondered if this is likely to affect reliability.

I quite fancy a head but a combo might give me some added flexibility. I already have an oversize 1x12 cab and the combo would sit on top of that nicely, giving me the option of running two 12 inch speakers at once if I wanted to. Could sound big!

Just want to know if the horizontal tubes in the combo are an issue in terms of either reliability or rattle.

[0000]

Is your cab 16 ohms however, to be able to connect up as a second speaker on the Rocker combo?

And no, there's no issue with tubes being mounted upside-down really. Tons of amps have been built this way for several decades. Some people do say that the tubes in a combo being mounted by the speakers vibrations causes them to wear faster, compared to being isolated inside a head.

[Ronnie Robinson]

No issues at all. I gigged the combo for over 5 years no problems whatsoever.

Having said that your Rockers going to be at least 5 years old (maybe 6), I'd prioritise the condition and if it's been serviced / had new valves over whether combo or head.

[Beexter]

Is your cab 16 ohms however, to be able to connect up as a second speaker on the Rocker combo?

And no, there's no issue with tubes being mounted upside-down really. Tons of amps have been built this way for several decades. Some people do say that the tubes in a combo being mounted by the speakers vibrations causes them to wear faster, compared to being isolated inside a head.

It's 8 ohm at the moment but I would change the speaker to 16 ohm to use it as an extension. My other amp head can run either a 16 ohm or 8 ohm speaker so I could still use it as a standalone cab.

The reason I asked about the valves in a Rocker Combo is that I think they mount horizontally, not upside down. I know lots of combos run them upside down but I'm not aware of many that run them horizontally. I know the AC30 does but that's only the preamp tubes, not the power tubes.

[a.hun]

As Beexter was sating the valves in the R.30C aren't mounted upside down but horizontally - pointing forwards towards the speaker cone. No real problems with EL34s in that position no.

Combos can be a little harder on valves as they are getting more vibrations direct from the speaker. Valves may well tend to go microphonic slightly quicker, though I've had no such problems with my R.30C. More an issue with some combos than others. (My PV. C.30 is bad that way, but I still love it anyway!)

The other (positive!) side of the coin is that combos can actually sound a bit richer harmonically than identical isolated heads because of the extra vibrations. But then most people don't isolate them anyway!
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Yeah you definitely want a 16 ohm extension cab to impedance match correctly.


Andy.

[Mystic38]

Just to toss into your thought process, the combo (open back cab) does sound really quite different than the head + closed back cab.. those extra mids are probably a benefit when gigging tho

[misterfolkertsma]

For me, PERSONALLY, if I could have chosen between a combo or head again (in black!) I would have gone for the head instead of the combo I have now. That little bit of extra flexibility in choosing cabs and being a bit more portable would have been nice. But in no way am I dissapointed by my combo. For home-use it's brilliant. It's just on stage where I'd rather have had the head-version. Maybe I'll get the head in the future anyway... but I want it in black.

[Boy_Narf]

I have both. The combo sounds magical. There is something about the tone that I just don't get from the head with my PPC212 or PPC412. I say get the combo. You can always unhook the internal speaker and plug into two cabs if you want.