Laney Cub 15 Head

dogload

I've been using my Laney Cub 15 Head for the past few weeks in band practice and really like the sound I'm getting out of it through a 2x12 cab. Trouble is that it's running almost at maximum volume, which is fine for the room in which we practice (an empty club function room) but I doubt it would be enough for a proper gig (assuming that there would be people there!).
So, is there a louder 'equivalent' - sound-wise? It must be a head- I can't be arsed with humping ludicrously heavy combos these days!

I don't use the pre-amp as an overdrive (the pre-amp gain on the Cub is as low as I can possiblty get without losing the sound altogether!) as I use pedals for dirt and like a mainly-clean amp as I like my mods and delays going into the front of the amp. 

Tuscan777

Mic it up?

timmysoft

From what I understand, isn't the cub basically an EL84 JCM800?

Lez325

Mic the thing- make use of the PA- simples

EricTheWeary

IIRC the Cub head is two el84s and the Lionheart 20 is four el84s so they have a vague relationship. Big jump in price (and the head is nearly as heavy as the 1x12 combo I think).

Two Cub heads (and accompanying cabs)?  

If not strictly valve -  my second mention this week for the Matrix VB800 which would keep things simple,  British voiced and lightweight. Or similar money for the Yamaha thr 100 -  people seem to like these,  not quite as simple as the Cub but light. 

Fender Bassbreaker heads are el84 as well I think ; don't know if their 15 would be significantly louder so there's then their 45.

ThePrettyDamned

I think it's based on a jcm800 but with a smaller power section. 

So something that's vaguely like a jcm800 would do the trick I'd imagine. 

ThePrettyDamned

What speakers are in the cab? Swapping them for more efficient ones may do what you need anyway. 

Teetonetal

ThePrettyDamned said:

What speakers are in the cab? Swapping them for more efficient ones may do what you need anyway. 

Yup the speakers in the stock cab are the rubbish celestion rocket 50. I replaced my combo version with a Celestion V and the difference was huge, both in volume and sound quality.

dogload

The speakers are Peaveys (I think they're Black Widows - it's the cab from a late 70's/early 80's Peavey combo) - not the actual Cub cab. 

I have no idea why I didn't think of the mic'ing option! A bit of a logic bypass there I think.

I didn't realise that they were based on Marshalls - just assumed they were Vox-y, like the VC range, for some reason. That's a bit annoying actually, as I've always said I'm not a Marshall fan! 

I did think the Lionheart might be an option but they do seem to cost a lot more.

To be honest, the only reason I started using this amp 'outside' was coz my Selmer was out of action for a while and I took the Laney as a stop-gap... well, I suppose if I want trouser-flapping goodness it'll be back to the Selmer! I'll think about running the two amps when I can afford to pay a roadie!

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

Beexter

The cheapest option would be to mic up through the PA or use something like the Palmer PDI09.

I had one of these heads running through a 1x12 cab fitted with an Eminence Wizard speaker which is very efficient (about 103db sensitivity according to Eminence - whatever, it's 'kin loud!) and still didn't have enough headroom to run it clean at gigging volume. I also had the master volume flat out and brought up the gain control as much as I could but still wasn't quite there. And running the master at max means you have nothing in reserve, so boosting for solo's is not an option. Unless you want more drive and compression.

If you only need overdriven tones, then yep, no problem achieving gigging volume. If you want cleans or any degreee of flexibiity, you'll need a mic, DI or a bigger amp.

Having said that, there's a Fryette Power Station in the classifieds which would do the job.......

BigMonka

If you're feeling flush, and particularly love the sound of the Laney, then there's Bad Cat Unleash which is a combined "re-amplifier and attenuator combo": http://www.badcatamps.com/unleash-v2/