Am I the only one that doesn't like tube distortion?

[Low_fidelity2100]

Re: Am I the only one that doesn't like tube distortion?

Disliking tube distortion leads to bad quality sound, bad quality sound leads to hip hop and hip hop leads you to the dark side.... modelling amps

Assumeing that Dislikeing tube distortion leads to Bad quality sound, Proves ignorance and close mindedness, on your part.

It doesn't lead to hiphop. Haha. Not in my case at least.
And If I remember correctly, Aerosmith Once did a song with Run Dmc. And I'm sure Joe perry uses Tube amps with tube generated distortion. So following the logical progession of your arguement, Wouldn't that Prove that Tube Distortion leads to Hip Hop?
I mean I can't think of one "rap metal" band that doesn't use tube amps, Mostly Mesa, and Marshall amps actully. And I'm pretty sure The Roots (a hiphop group that actully play instruments), Uses Tube amps too. And I'm Fairly possitive that Most of the Sampled Guitar sounds In nearly any Hiphop song were originally recorded with Tube amps/distortion.
All this Just goes to Prove even Further that Either..
A) Tube amps and Tube distortion Lead to Hip hop.
or
B) Neither Tube Nor Pedal Distortion leads to hip hop.

Thus this "Not likeing tube distortion leads to Hip hop" arguement has Been Proven irrelivant, and we can now move on with our lives.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Am I the only one that doesn't like tube distortion?

If you say you don't like tube overdrive, you really mean you haven't played the right tube amp that satisfies what kind of overdrive you're looking for

I understand your point to a certain degree and I'm not going to bash it. You get large amps like these 100w Marshall monstrosities that peak at 180w and people are throwing $40 DS-1s in front of it, doesn't make much sense, does it?

If you've honestly listened to some good tube amps that are rated for whatever application you're using them for, then there is something seriously wrong if they're thin or fuzzy. The punch, sustain and thickness of a good cranked tube amp is something that is a beautiful thing. The key is that if you get a good tube amp, you won't need a pedal to goose the frontend. I've always hated that method, but a lot of people really like it and can make it work for them.

Solid state amps sound great turned down. Solid state absolutely hates being clipped. Solid state is good if you want an instant response, a "faster" feel with a super tight lowend. For the blues, classic rock crowd, most prefer the natural sag of tube amplifiers. Solid state doesn't seem to cut through the band mix as well as tube amplifiers, but there are always ways around it if you want it bad enough.

It's apples and oranges, some will prefer the feel of solid state and others (like myself) will prefer the vibe of tube amps. Nobody's wrong or right, but they both have their pros and cons.

 

[shreder75]

Re: Am I the only one that doesn't like tube distortion?

Seriously? am I the only the one?

I buy amps based on the clean sounds. I almost always end up useing a big muff, or ds-1 anyways. I just don't like tube distortion. Preamp distortion sounds fizzy and lame, and power amp distortion normally sounds flabby and like mushy crap to me.

I know someone will tell me why My opinion is wrong. haha. But still, am I the only one that buys tube amps for the clean sound? and doesn't care about the dirty sound?

sounds to me like you've always had the wrong tube amps =)

 

[gripweed]

Re: Am I the only one that doesn't like tube distortion?

If you look at my sig, you'll see that I have tube amps, a SS amp, and a digital modeling amp. Ain't nothin' wrong with any of them. I love the tones I get from all of them. They all get the job done. A good amp is a good amp no matter how it is made. I tend to prefer tube tone. And yes, I do use pedal for a little more push (esp. with the tube amps I use which tend to be lower gain.)

The tone we're all used to (esp. the distorted sounds) comes from a tube amp being pushed to or near it's limits. That is the sound we're used to, and that is why so many players crave that sound. If players had started with SS amps, maybe that would be the sound we would crave.

In the end what matters is does it work for you? If tone is really in the hands, then it doesn't make much difference what you use.

 

[loudriver23]

Re: Am I the only one that doesn't like tube distortion?

In the end what matters is does it work for you? If tone is really in the hands, then it doesn't make much difference what you use.

This comes close to my opinion. I do believe a great deal comes from your hands, but your gear cannot be overlooked as it too greatly influence not only your tone but how you feel towards playing.
That said, you have over 200 posts, so i'm assuming you've been around this forum for a little while. In my mind the question you posted is kind of like going to a Nascar event and asking,

"Am I the only one who things F1 drivers are more skilled, I mean, just going straight then left then straight again where's the challenge?"
And being surprised at getting some snippy responses.

Bottom line.... It certainly seems like you are in a severe minority with your opinions on PowerTube Distortion. That's not to say your opinion is wrong, because TONE is SOOOOOO subjective there are no WRONG opinions. Only what does or does not blow your skirt up.
Good luck

 

[Gr8Scott]

Re: Am I the only one that doesn't like tube distortion?

yeah, tube amps do indeed rock. I don't think anyone denys that. Although I'm starting to think some people think I'm a tube hater. But I'm not. I just don't like tube distortion.

what distortion pedals have you tried? 5 isn't really that many ya know.

No attitude here. Just trying to figger you out. I'm an OCD puzzle solving type of person who lives to dissect puzzles like yourself until I know what makes you tick. Aka, I'm trying to understand your viewpoint better. If you don't like tubes, that's ok with me. I love both tubes and transistors for my tone. I use the transistors up front (at times) to gain a broader pallete of sounds to dip my clumsy/deformed brush into. I think primarily that a lot of the responses (mine included) were cases of folks trying to gain a better understanding of what you were saying. You interpreted curiosity as attitude. You can't expect folks to ignore you when you state something that odd. It's like yelling "I sniff my own buttcrack!" in a crowded room and interpreting the stares you receive as "attitude".

On certain amps, I prefer the transistorized distortion pedals I have to the natural tube clipping distortion the amp has. It's all a matter of whether the amp has good natural tone or not. This means that in certain circumstances, I totally agree with you.

That being said, there are several circumstances where I like the sound of both tube and transister distortion together (this is often where i find my personal holy grain tone) and I also like the natural tube distortion of several amps all by themselves. For me it depends on the amp.

 

[Low_fidelity2100]

Re: Am I the only one that doesn't like tube distortion?

No attitude here. Just trying to figger you out. I'm an OCD puzzle solving type of person who lives to dissect puzzles like yourself until I know what makes you tick. Aka, I'm trying to understand your viewpoint better. If you don't like tubes, that's ok with me. I love both tubes and transistors for my tone. I use the transistors up front (at times) to gain a broader pallete of sounds to dip my clumsy/deformed brush into. I think primarily that a lot of the responses (mine included) were cases of folks trying to gain a better understanding of what you were saying. You interpreted curiosity as attitude. You can't expect folks to ignore you when you state something that odd. It's like yelling "I sniff my own buttcrack!" in a crowded room and interpreting the stares you receive as "attitude".

On certain amps, I prefer the transistorized distortion pedals I have to the natural tube clipping distortion the amp has. It's all a matter of whether the amp has good natural tone or not. This means that in certain circumstances, I totally agree with you.

That being said, there are several circumstances where I like the sound of both tube and transister distortion together (this is often where i find my personal holy grain tone) and I also like the natural tube distortion of several amps all by themselves. For me it depends on the amp.

Yeah, I suppouse your right. I shouldn't have been surprised if a few people got snippy with me. I mean the majority of people have Not, Its just the few posts that were snotty were surpriseing, considering everyone here is Normally really nice. Just came a little unexpected.

 

[Low_fidelity2100]

Re: Am I the only one that doesn't like tube distortion?

If you say you don't like tube overdrive, you really mean you haven't played the right tube amp that satisfies what kind of overdrive you're looking for

I understand your point to a certain degree and I'm not going to bash it. You get large amps like these 100w Marshall monstrosities that peak at 180w and people are throwing $40 DS-1s in front of it, doesn't make much sense, does it?

If you've honestly listened to some good tube amps that are rated for whatever application you're using them for, then there is something seriously wrong if they're thin or fuzzy. The punch, sustain and thickness of a good cranked tube amp is something that is a beautiful thing. The key is that if you get a good tube amp, you won't need a pedal to goose the frontend. I've always hated that method, but a lot of people really like it and can make it work for them.

Yeah, the Idea of someone spending a Bunch of money on a marshall and then sending a ds-1 into the frontend, does seem a little stupid. And perhaps your right in thinking I haven't found the "right" tube amp yet, as far as dirty sounds go.
But, The thing is when I try out a new amp, I'm most concerned with the Clean sound. I won't deny that there are Some tube amps that Have great distortion (I actully Like The marshall dsl heads, and 5150 heads). But every amp That I like the distortion of, I hate the cleans of.
So To me, The sound of a clean tube amp, is far more important than how it sounds dirty. If it sounds great Clean, I can always run a pedal into it to get a good Dirty sound. But If it sounds great dirty, and the cleans suck. Theres no pedal thats gonna make the Cleans Not suck, ya know?

I mean If anyone wants to suggest Some amps they think I should try out, Feel free. Maybe you guys are right, maybe I'm just not playing the "right" amp for me. But So far I've never played a single amp that sounded great Clean, and Dirty.
But your suggestions are welcome.

 

[shreder75]

Re: Am I the only one that doesn't like tube distortion?

there's always the splawn quick rod no distortion pedal needed!

 

[loudriver23]

Re: Am I the only one that doesn't like tube distortion?

So To me, The sound of a clean tube amp, is far more important than how it sounds dirty. If it sounds great Clean, I can always run a pedal into it to get a good Dirty sound. But If it sounds great dirty, and the cleans suck. Theres no pedal thats gonna make the Cleans Not suck, ya know?

I'm with you there..
If I don't have the cleans I need it doesn't matter what the drive channels are doing.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Am I the only one that doesn't like tube distortion?

There is nothing wrong, or abnormal even, with using a solid state circuit to clip a tube amp. Some of the most legendary guitar tones in history were made that way.

 

[H8Red442]

Re: Am I the only one that doesn't like tube distortion?

The thing is when I try out a new amp, I'm most concerned with the Clean sound. I won't deny that there are Some tube amps that Have great distortion (I actully Like The marshall dsl heads, and 5150 heads). But every amp That I like the distortion of, I hate the cleans of.
So To me, The sound of a clean tube amp, is far more important than how it sounds dirty.

Just wanted to point out this is absolutely not what you were saying when you started this thread. I totally agree that my clean tones of my mesa Dual Recto sound ok at best and leave much to be desired. But I can't get that dirty sound out of much else. (Save the reccomendations for Krank, Peavey and Randall please) Ya gotta take the good with the bad. If your cleans are more important than dirty, cool. Even when I had my Marshall that sounded muddy to me it sounded clearer than my Crate that I had. This phenomenon of sticking a stomp box in front of a $2500 tube amp seems ridiculous to me as well. For my cleans I play with the EQ a lot and use my neck pickup to smooth things out. I think to have a nice pretty clean sound the dirty has to sound a bit bouncier than I prefer. That said I'm not totally unhappy with my clean sound. It works. But I LOVE LOVE LOVE my dirty sound.

 

[B2D]

Re: Am I the only one that doesn't like tube distortion?

My two cents.... not having read ALL of the previous threads:

1. Either you haven't found a tube amp that nails the sound you're hearing in your head right out of the box...

2. The sound you want is a combination of amp + pedals + maybe even a little EQ...

3. The sound you want can be gleaned faster and easier from a modeling amp like a Line 6 Vetta.

Just out of curiosity, what kind of sound are you going for? Can you name some tones off of records that you really like?

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Am I the only one that doesn't like tube distortion?

How about getting a Hiwatt??
Got some very very nice sounds all on its own, I use that amp as my reference for everything, I test my pedals on it, if it likes them...they pass if they suck on it...they die.
Same with guitars, and getting the right amp speaker combination is about just as crucial.
The right combination is the sollution to about everything, speakers are the voice of the amps.