Bang for Buck - Amps or Speakers

[Gas Hed]

I’ve done my amp exploration over the years but have never dabbled with speakers or cabinets. Am I missing anything? I am learning that the answer is likely yes. But wondering which path has best bang for buck…experimenting with one amp and various speaker/cab combinations or one cab with various amp combinations?

 

[HeavyCream]

Well you have to find the right kind of amp first. If you’ve found an amp that works for you, and has the kind of cleans, breakup/distortion and volume that works for you, but maybe you’d like it to be a little different, speakers swaps can be very rewarding. It won’t completely change the amp into something else but speakers do make a huge difference. If you’re in a situation where you can’t really afford the amp you really want, I’m actually for spending a few bucks on a proper speaker. $150 or so can really improve the tone. The cabinet can make a big difference too but can get expensive. Unless you already have a really killer amp, I’d probably just stick with a decent budget cab. There are some good cabs for reasonable prices if the cab you have is junk.

 

[ColonelForbin]

4x12 cabs is what you've been missing. Not practical; not likely you want to move them a lot.
But what a sound...

 

[doc]

I'd say there is more variation going from one amp type to another than one speaker to another - in other words, if you're going from a 5150 dirty channel to a Fender Twin thats a pretty big change. Having said that the speaker is the voice of the amp, so if you're staying with one type of amp and using variations of that type (say from a Fender Twin to a Bassman) you'd get more variation going from a JBL to a Celestion, so if you're staying with one type of amp changing speakers gives more variability.