I was blind but now I see....

[Lazarus1140]

Re: I was blind but now I see....

I used tube amps when I was young because that was what was available. It had nothing to do with good versus bad. At some point I bought a solid state head and after over twenty years of using solid state amps I finally bought another tube amp. I thought I had died and gone to tone/touch response heaven. Although the technology has surely advanced I have no desire to go back to solid state. I'm not snobbish about it. It's almost as if I don't want to risk hearing something that I might prefer over tubes. Let's call it a reluctance to change.

[MetalManiac]

Re: I was blind but now I see....

Upgrade to a Bandit.

[80's_Metal]

Re: I was blind but now I see....

It's just music after all..... and you can make music out of a solid state amp.

no kiddn....

[saladin]

Re: I was blind but now I see....

I've sold off my tube amps long ago and have been more then happy with my Lab Series L2 head. 100 watts of warm super clean headroom, light weight and no tubes to blow up in the middle of a set. I get all my dirt from a couple of Lovepedals....I couldn't be happier!!!

[frankfalbo]

Re: I was blind but now I see....

Lab series are amazing for SS. I have a bunch of tube preamps that I use, including Mesa, Hughes & Kettner, ADA, (& if you count the Twin Tube Blue) but I've always kept the Rocktron ProGap Preamp too. It's SS and there's just something about it. I always prefer tube power though.

[d1dsj]

Re: I was blind but now I see....

Funnily enough I have 3 tube amps but I really like to use my Crate PowerBlock with my Crunchbox for drive sounds. As Jolly says, if it sounds good to the user who gives a crap!

[lareplus]

Re: I was blind but now I see....

I prefer SS amps. I have played through a lot of amps and I have found that Vox Pathfinders, Cube amps, an old Peavey Express and of course the Moog Lab amps are perfect for getting the strong clean sound that works for me.

Now an old Fender tube amp, such as a Bandmaster or a Super Reverb, those be fine amps and I also have a love for the Vox AC series amps.

But what I mostly want is a clean that takes pedals well and doesn't break my back or my budget. It's solid state for me.

[richard parker]

Re: I was blind but now I see....

For playing around at home I LOVE the sound of my Microcube. Nothing could convince me that I'd be better off with a 1 watt tube amp. For gigs it's got to be tubes. Horses for courses.

[Quencho092]

Re: I was blind but now I see....

I agree to last 3 posts.

For serious clean guitarists, look into getting bass heads and small multi-efx/reverb unit. I found that bass heads are cheaper and more powerful per $$$ than guitar oriented gear for some reason, with 300 bucks you can blow any other 300 dollar guitar amp out with minimal effort. Go to a car audio shop, get a 1x12 cab with a powerful responsive speaker, get a bass amp, DONE......