Heads Sitting On Speaker Cabinets, iPad Remotes, and Other Mental Gymnastics

László

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For the longest time, I have kept my amplifier heads and pedalboards near my studio's workstation area, and put the cabinets either in a recording booth (my old studio) or a nook at the far end of my current studio, or simply in the storage room of my studio, running long speaker cables wherever they needed to go. This practice allowed me to work the recording gear with the guitar on my lap, adjust amp and pedals from my workstation, but put the speaker cabinet where it sounded best, and out of the way of the rest of my workflow.

If you've seen Pete Thorn's review videos, you'll see that his amp heads are on nearby shelves, and he keeps his cabs either in the back of his room or in a closet. Same concept I've employed in my place.

I've also managed to convince myself, with a little advice from an amp designer I know, that it's better for the head in the long run not to sit on the cab and absorb the vibrations of the speakers. This makes sense.

On the other hand, the iPad my kids gave me for my birthday has changed my workflow. The Logic Remote app for it is so comprehensive, and so well done, that I can now sit near the cab, operate Logic's recording modes with the Remote, and not be tied to the workstation area. I can put the head on the cab, where it takes up the least studio space, put my pedalboard by both, hit "record" and go. I have to say that having everything in one place does feel pretty good. And the studio looks great for clients. Plus, no 30 foot cable runs from heads to cabs. No tripping over the pedalboard when I'm going back to adjust a mic for a singer, or record acoustic instruments.

So...the only thing holding me back from this arrangement is that I can't get the idea that I'm somehow contributing to the demise of my amps by sitting them on speaker cabinets out of my head. This, despite the obvious fact that if my amps last another ten years they might just outlive me, and we all have seen oodles of vintage amps that spent their lives on top of, or even inside, speaker cabinets, that are doing just fine 50 years later, thank you very much.

It is quite clear that the main reason for not putting heads on top of cabs is my own neurotic thinking. But maybe my neurotic thinking is actually the right thinking. What does the hive collective think?
 
Neurosis or not...what you think is best for you IS what's best for you.:cheers:So much of what we all love to pontificate about on this forum is based on our own personal opinions. I don't see "on top of the cab" or "not on top of the cab" as any different. Personally, I think it LOOKS COOLER on top of the cab.:top:
 
I love the look of the head on the cabinet, ever since that old Fender Showman. However, I think the amp is much less susceptible to impact in a separate (head) enclosure. At least unless you are really making the whole cabinet rock. (Let's NOT get into why a former GF liked to sit on that 1 x 15 cabinet when I played----NOT just to be near me!)

Now, INSIDE the same cabinet (as in a combo amp) IS more bothersome. Tube sellers (like Eurotubes) will flat out tell you that is a tube killer. And I think I have a case in point with a Swart AST, which DOES have a relatively small enclosure and DOES seem to suffer. However, putting those silicone rings on the tubes does seem to help.
 
You have just brought up a very interesting point with this topic. I've been lusting after a tube amp to replace my solid state, and debated with myself whether to go with a combo (which sounded great, btw) or the separate head and cab route. I opted for the latter and after reading django49's opinion, I am glad I did. And, not sure if it makes any difference, but I chose a 2x12 cab. Wonder if 2 speakers in a combo would contribute more shaking/vibration than a single. I'll leave that to anyone else who has experience in that area.

Thanks, guys. I now feel vindicated. ;)
 
You should turn it around and use it as a selling point.! There aren't any modeling programs that offer tube rattle, so it would be a way of authenticating your boutique prowess.

I also wouldn't personally be too worried about contributing to your amps demise. You're not really gonna hurt it for the next 10 years, and at this point I've started sneaking in regular garbage into my recycling bins.. so.. it's your prerogative.

Edit: Oh! I've been wanting to check out an iPad with that Logic remote app, I hope it doesn't run separate windows or else I'm buying one.
 
Do guitar heads get shaken to pieces? Nah. What happens to 'em over decades? They take damage from getting whacked into things, their caps dry out, and tubes wear out. That's about it. They'll outlive you even if you put them on your cabs. Really!
 
You guys are right about the room looking a lot cooler with the head on the cab. No doubt about that. I do worry a little, not so much about the tubes, as stuff like solder joints vibrating loose, etc. I dunno how this is all going to shake out (pun intended), I suppose it really isn't all that important in the long run.

Oh! I've been wanting to check out an iPad with that Logic remote app, I hope it doesn't run separate windows or else I'm buying one.

It's a great app, as far as I'm concerned. Here's a site with an explanation and some examples to give you an idea of what it can do, including using it for mixing, using it for tracking, using it for touch commands, and as a midi controller!

http://www.musicradar.com/us/news/tech/apple-logic-remote-ipad-controller-app-what-does-it-do-580192

Do guitar heads get shaken to pieces? Nah. What happens to 'em over decades? They take damage from getting whacked into things, their caps dry out, and tubes wear out. That's about it. They'll outlive you even if you put them on your cabs. Really!

Thanks Squid! I'm sure you're right. Except for the part of me that's very, very neurotic. That part is whispering "what if he's not right?" in my ear. LOL!!

Actually, it was Joe at Two-Rock who said that a head will live longer if it's not sitting on the cab, though he also said the combo amps are worse. The funny thing is that I've been using tube amps since 1965. I sat heads on cabs for eons. I was once so cool! So devil-may-care! And now...I have become this.

Though my Tremoverb combo did develop a few hiccups after 10 years as my main studio amp and another 5 or 6 gigging with my son.

But I have no idea why I'm suddenly this nervous old man who worries about things that will absolutely outlive me!!! You'd think I'd have become a cool old man not worried about anything. But, alas, no.
 
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You gotta warranty, a great dealer, you're on this forum... if your solder joints become loose on one-o-Doug's heads do you really think you're gonna have a problem getting it repaired?

Of course not, you're Lesteban!
 
Actually, it was Joe at Two-Rock who said that a head will live longer if it's not sitting on the cab, though he also said the combo amps are worse. The funny thing is that I've been using tube amps since 1965. I sat heads on cabs for eons. I was once so cool! So devil-may-care! And now...I have become this.

Well, looking at it from a mechanical-electrical point of view, electrical things do generally last longer if they are isolated from vibrations. So I think isolating the head from the cabinet will allow the head to function longer without failure.

However, one aspect that has been overlooked is actual timeframes involved. On the one hand, if the head will fail after 5 years when sitting on the cab, but fail after 10 or 15 years if isolated, then I would highly encourage isolation. On the other hand, if the head will fail after 50 years of sitting on a cab, but could last 150 years if isolated...well, maybe I'm not as concerned. And on the gripping hand, if the heads lasts 500 years on a cab but 1500 years isolated, then I really, really don't care...

So, lacking actual scientific studies, we need more anecdotes of unrelated data about Fender amps from the 1960s so we can make some sweeping generalizations that probably don't apply to modern amps made by PRS or Mesa/Boogie.

:biggrin:
 
Besides, you're gonna trade again in the next year or so, right? :wave:

Dick Dale has been rocking multiple dual showmans for so long. I'm sure there is something to the case of separating the heads and cabs, but if you aren't getting any rattle, I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Well guys, I took your advice and set up the rig in the little nook in my studio I used to just record cabs in. Sounds great, but I forgot one thing:

I can't tilt my cab back with the head sitting on top, as I like to do with an Isoacoustics stand! So yes, it looks great and is easy to operate, but this one issue remains. I know there are thingies you can bolt a head to a cab with, but I'm not doing that.

 
Hmm... I spy PRS barstools, need to get one or two of those myself.

My head gets put through the ringer every week - hauled up from my basement, into the car, 40 minute drive to rehearsal, practice on top of the 2x12 running at 9/10 on the MV, loaded hot into the cold car and left there while we grab a beer after, then home and into the basement. Forgive me for being blunt, but I think if my overseas made SE amp can take that, yours will be more than fine! However, I'm now questioning my own habits...
 
Hmm... I spy PRS barstools, need to get one or two of those myself.

They're pretty darn nice! Made in Chicago, not China. They actually hold up. I had a Fender stool at one point, made in China, and the whole seat sagged and wrinkled. These don't do that.

My head gets put through the ringer every week - hauled up from my basement, into the car, 40 minute drive to rehearsal, practice on top of the 2x12 running at 9/10 on the MV, loaded hot into the cold car and left there while we grab a beer after, then home and into the basement. Forgive me for being blunt, but I think if my overseas made SE amp can take that, yours will be more than fine! However, I'm now questioning my own habits...

Yup, you're so right. Yet the whole questioning thing is contagious, isn't it? ;)
 
Well guys, I took your advice and set up the rig in the little nook in my studio I used to just record cabs in. Sounds great, but I forgot one thing:

I can't tilt my cab back with the head sitting on top, as I like to do with an Isoacoustics stand! So yes, it looks great and is easy to operate, but this one issue remains. I know there are thingies you can bolt a head to a cab with, but I'm not doing that.


Well, duh - it seems to me the answer is pretty obvious. Get yourself one of those sex swings and mount it right above the cab and put the head in it. No shaking the cab. And you can tilt the cab back.

And when you throw the box away, the men on your street will look at you with an extra bit of admiration.
 
Well, since I have an HXDA 30 coming, what I've decided to do is have a heavy-duty wood cabinet made for the heads with an open back for cable access and the DG's fans. This will get both heads out of the way, and I'll just stick it near the cabs so I can tilt the cabs back as I'm accustomed to doing to get the sounds I want for recording.

It'll be on large casters so I can roll it where it needs to go, etc.
 
Uh, off topic a bit, eh boys...? When I set up my bass rig, due to space limitations at gigs, I put the head on top of my cabs, but I have a piece of restaurant skid mat, the stuff about 3/4 " thick with all the holes in it, between the two parts. I have read in a few different publications that the vibrations will mess with the head...especially bass thumps. Of course, I bought the mat at a supplier because they can really get stinky when used in bars and stuff.
 
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