Does everyone arrive at tube amps, eventually?

[devastone]

I loved my tube amps, and have had many, Marshalls SLs, 800s, and 900s, Soldano HR50+ (favorite?), Mesa Single Rect and Mark V, and racks (Kasha Rockmod II preamp, best tone I ever had), but now, I run direct and don't have anywhere to use a real amp that moves that much air, so, I use a GT-1000 or a Tech 21 RK5 for pretty much everything. I have a power amp and 1-12 cab if I want to "feel" it, or I have some JBL FRFR cabs if I need to go that route.

Sure, I'd love to crank a tube amp again, but really don't have anywhere to do that.

[Matt_Herman]

I’ve been playing for almost 3 decades, and my favourite amp is my Quilter 101 Mini head.

(100% solid state, into a cab with a Weber speaker)


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[SirJackdeFuzz II]

Valve (tube) amps for me all the way.

My 1st ever guitar amp, after graduating from acoustic to electric (10 years on acoustic only) was a ****ty Marshall MG.
It was all i could afford at the time. I just felt that my pedals did not sound as good as they could through this SS amp.
Got a Blues Jr, eventually. The honey moon era did not last very long.

Got a bigger 50W Fender . . . and the skies opened above me. I saw the light.
Today, no profiler/modelling amp can give me what i feel in a well made valve amp.
ALL my amps are valve driven . . . but there are one or two SS amps that i would love to have . . . one day.

[IMENATOR]

We all love the tube amp sound but not the actual tube amp because of price/weight/reliability. The solid state amp sound of the old days was good enough for cleans and maybe some high gain metal but the in between were bad, but that can also be blamed to poor speakers and cabs as SS used to be targeted to lower price points I am just fine with my hybrid rig with tube preamp and SS power amp, it sounds good enough for me, it is a lightweight rig and no worries on power tubes failing on me, bonus feature it sounds great at low volume.

[alex1fly]

I think everyone does arrive at tube amps eventually, but not all of us stay there. I like my tube amps, but I have and am still considering going to something like an AMT preamp/EHX 44 Magnum setup.

This has been my journey. Learned guitar on solid state, spent several years with a couple tube amps, and for the last several years I've been back with solid state\modeling amps that give me the things I liked about the tube amps. Its a good education to use tube amps because they do have some magic in there the way they push back and interact with you as a player, but tech has come so far in emulating that feeling that you don't need a tube amp anymore to get that. My experience as a semi-pro tone enthusiast.

[misterwhizzy]

I think everyone does arrive at tube amps eventually, but not all of us stay there. I like my tube amps, but I have and am still considering going to something like an AMT preamp/EHX 44 Magnum setup.

[ArtieToo]

Well, really, the funny thing in my case is that no matter which amps I have or use, I tend to go for the same clean sound.

Ditto.

In my case, I think it's more because, more often than not, when I'm playing, I'm checking out a new pup or wiring scheme. I want to hear "it" rather than an effect.

[Aceman]

I was born again solid state with my Peavey Transtube. I don't think you end at tubes. Especially today. Hell - anymore you may go full modeller/computer. I see more posts by guys who don't run / haven't run tubes at all. Right now I have

100/50 Tube
18 Tube
15 Tube
100/25 Hybrid
60 SS
30 Modeler
10 Modeler
Multi FX modeller

I like them all, Hybrid & Modeller getting the most play now.

[Sirion]

We can probably all agree that more amps = a better life.


Well, really, the funny thing in my case is that no matter which amps I have or use, I tend to go for the same clean sound.

This is what I have found as well: for my own things, my basic sound tends to be however close I can get to my ADA MP-1 with the amp at hand.

[Mincer]

We can probably all agree that more amps = a better life.


Well, really, the funny thing in my case is that no matter which amps I have or use, I tend to go for the same clean sound.

[SoPhx]

I have tube amps back to 1954, SS amps, and hybrid amps. They all do different things and I use them where they fit best.

[Bogner]

It is important to have a well stocked sound arsenal. Each tool has it's place. The key is getting the most out of your tools and feeling comfortable with them to allow your skill to shine as freely as possible.

[UnderTheFlame83]

No, I prefer solid state Randall amps. Although I used to have an Ampeg from the late 80s that was tube that I loved. Don't remember the model but it was a 3 channel with reverb and chorus 2×10 combo.

[Mincer]

I tend to choose modelers for live playing and recording because of very practical reasons. They are light, full of effects, consistent in tone, versatile, and sound great at any volume level. I use my Boogie at rehearsal and for practice at home, but at 50 lbs or so, I ain't loading that to every gig. There is a 'sweet spot' where it sounds its best (it doesn't have a master volume), and that is too loud for most home use. It does sound good, but I still am not sure that it sounds much much better than other rigs I have. It is just another great sound.

[Dave Locher]

I sold my last tube amp in the late 1980s and since then have only played solid state, mainly one Randall RG I got around 1988 or so. I thought it was a tube anp when I bought it used, found out a couple days later it was ss, *did not care*, and have been rocking that sucker ever since. It still sounds like the day I bought it, when it literally made every guitar in the shop shake. No maintenance, no wear items. I have played through a dozen or so tube amps since then, mostly out of curiosity or convenience, and some of them I liked just fine but nothing ever makes me go "oh, I need this instead of what I have!" It just suits me.

I will be happy to try a modeler someday. Whatever sounds good is fine by me.