I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

[marty_the_westie]

I had a Fender Cyber Deluxe that I liked very much. But for some reason, I got the idea in my head that I had to go with a tube amp. I brought the Cyber to my local shop and traded it for a Hot Rod Deluxe. When I got it home and plugged in, I instantly knew that I might of made a mistake. First of all , it was too G.D. loud to get it to sound good. The clean was superb, but the overdrive was a completely different story. Even with my tube screamer, I could not get the tone I was looking for. Not to mention that anything above 3 made things inside the amp, probably the tubes, rattle and buzz. So after about a week, I brought the Hot Rod back and exchanged it for a brand new Blues Jr. Got it home and guess what, same exact thing; good cleans, not quite as good as the Hot Rod, but good, no good overdrive, and same rattling and buzzing in the amp. So after looking at just about every amp manufactures web site, I brought the Blues Jr. back and got my original Cyber Deluxe back. I plugged it in and guess what, it had the tone and volume that I really wanted. Maybe it's just me, but the Fender tube amps do not seem to work all that their cracked up to be. Their too freakin loud for home use, and I never heard one that does not have rattling inside them. I know you tube purests are whincing now, but I'll stick with my solid state and be happy instead of doing the status quo and being pissed. This is by no means a put down of players who use tubes, it's just my feelings.

 

[some_dude]

Re: I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

When it comes to lower volume type stuff, I feel that for the most part SS really does work better.

 

[marty_the_westie]

Re: I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

After re-reading my post, it sounds a bit harsh. It's not meant to be. I just think that solid state, especially something as good as a Cyber Deluxe or Cyber Twin, should get it's props, and not be dismissed because it's SS.

 

[proxy]

Re: I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

I notice your from Albany NY, what guitar store did you go to?

Anywho, I think it goes to show that SS amps have their place too and that the home application is pretty much where they are at.

 

[Stevo]

Re: I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

If you want to hear fender at its finest then you need to crank up an old blackface. You will never get that mojo from a solid state amp.. but you are right, for home use, a solid state amp is probably more practical.
If you get in a band, with a loud drummer, you might understand why people like quality tube amps. Cutting the band mix is a lot different than playing quietly on your own.
Cheers and rock on.

 

[TheProphet]

Re: I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

It's funny ... out of my amps the one that ordinary people think sounds the best is a cheap(ish) Solid State.

That still baffles me

 

[itbepopples]

Re: I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

the hot rod amps are just plain awful. cheap speakers,cheap tubes,cheap pcb,very one dimensional sound. id much rather have a cyber deluxe than that....i love fender tube amps but the hot rod deluxes/devilles are a joke. if u want a real fender tube amp get a Blackface deluxe reverb,super or twin. the HR are probobly the lamest excuse for a tube amp ive just about ever heard/seen.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

I don't know, all this modeling stuff is slowly getting to me. In a few years, if they have some new crazy technology, I may have to jump on it. I hate having to crank tube amps to get good tone and solid state sounds great at whisper volumes. If solid state amp companies can ever figure out how to capture the "feel" of a tube amp, they'll be in major business.

I don't see why tube amps are still more than 50w, you can get plenty of headroom from an amp with 50w if it's designed properly. Nobody in their right mind needs more than 50 tube watts. I shudder to think of being in front of a cranked Hiwatt or Marshall 100 watter, talk about ear damage.

I've had a lot of fun with Line 6's stuff at extremely easy volumes. I'll have to make it a habit of working on dialing in some usable distortion patches on the Vox Valvetronix next time I hit a store (don't recall really digging the overdrive tones, but I probably didn't try everything in the hour or so I had with it).

I dug some of the stuff on the Cyber Twin as well. Don't let others tell you they're bad amps . I may be in the minority (atleast I'm accompanied by itbepopples ), but I hated the Hot Rod Deluxe/Deville series everytime I plugged into them. They just don't exhibit the richness of tone that I usually get from their amps (and I mean old vintage stuff down to modern Blues Juniors... which I actually dig).

The only thing I'm scared of when it comes to some of this stuff nowadays is reliability. If there was a boutique manufacturer crunching out some high end modeling amps with great feel, components and build quality, I'd have jumped on that bandwagon by now.

 

[HamerPlyr]

Re: I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

I think that it all boils down to one thing- beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you dig your tone, that's what matters. Most everyone else will never know the difference.

 

[LesStrat]

Re: I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

Embrace the technology...become the technology...*shudder*

Okay, that was too trite.

I happen to like what modeling technology is doing these days. If all you play is your OWN music, then find a sound that is distinctly yours. IF you are playing covers/other peoples music, and playing a variety of styles, I don't see how you can do better than modeling amps (unless you have tens of thousands of $$$ worth of amps and a semi trailer to haul it in).

 

[Scott_F]

Re: I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

I've tried a lot of modeling amps, but the Vox is the one that actually "feels" like a real tube amp. Plus, the control layout scheme is something that makes sense and something you can just plug into and turn some dials and you're there.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

That's why I, a major tube amp snob, will never say a bad thing about modeling amps.
In the past, it was easy to bag on solid state amps, but not anymore. A quiet home is no place to be turning up a tube amp that only really sounds good cranked.
I've come to the conclusion that stages and rehearsal rooms are the only place for a loud tube amp, and there's no shame in using a more realistic amp in your house or apartment. Trust me, I've had a cop smash his billyclub through a garage door.
I've had downstairs neighbors bang the floor with a broom. I even had a cop slap me in the face when I told him "what, is Winchells donuts F'in closed or something???"

 

[Mike M.]

Re: I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

I've tried a lot of modeling amps, but the Vox is the one that actually "feels" like a real tube amp. Plus, the control layout scheme is something that makes sense and something you can just plug into and turn some dials and you're there.

I agree with you Scott about the Vox. I'm not saying anything against other modeling amps, but the new Vox 50 watt amp was the first modeling amp where I was able to get some good tones in a short amount of time. The Tweed 4x10 witha Tele was REAL nice!!

 

[sosomething]

Re: I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

I even had a cop slap me in the face when I told him "what, is Winchells donuts F'in closed or something???"

I hope that resulted in some kind of settlement from the city or at least a public apology from the police officer who slapped you.

But back to topic, I think SS amps definitely have their uses. I use a cheapo Digitech Genesis 3 modeler to record down to Adobe Audition when I'm writing for my band and save the 120 watts of all-tube terror for practice and shows. The modeler works great for home use - no speaker at all! I just keep it plugged into the input of my soundcard and brainstorm in the middle of the night - like right now.

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

It's nice to see that after years of technology phobia, that people are embracing amp modelling. I like nothing better than my Marshall at full tilt, but it's not always practical. I used to have a mid 70's Silverface Bassman 70 and 4x12. Could only ever use it in anger at larger gigs. At least with modelling amps you can get your tone at more realistic volumes. IMO I feel that tube amps really have to have the master cranked to get them singing, and that often makes your nose bleed!!! Vive la difference and if it sounds good it probably is good!

 

[theodie]

Re: I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

Its amazing how much SS amps have gotten better. I wonder, in a few years, will they maybe sound better than tubes? Or at least on par? Or if thats what everyone will be getting when the tube snobs realise they sound better.

 

[TheProphet]

Re: I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

It's funny ... in the past there was some considerable steps forward in guitar/bass designed solid state amps. Ampeg I believe still uses MOSFET, but the guitar amplifiers using the same technology fizzled out (despite a small few apparently saying it sounded pretty good). Over the past while outside of a few, most of the Solid State amps really haven't been designed as good as they could have been.

The only people trying to push that barrier are companies investing in Modelling technology and Tech 21.

I don't know if Solid State will sound as good as tubes (to those that prefer tubes to SS), but I think we have the capability to create the technology. But there's no real economic drive to take the time and build something that great when many out there will simply view it as an amp without tubes (basically a limited market)

 

[tone4days]

Re: I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

It's funny ... out of my amps the one that ordinary people think sounds the best is a cheap(ish) Solid State.

That still baffles me

+1 .. my little fender deluxe 90 gets rave reviews ... jammed just last night with some old friends who've owned / played expensive gear .. i played my $300 tokai tele clone (with $150 in SD pups/new pots) into this $250 ss amp and it sounded just fantastic at (loudish) basement volumes

helps cure my mesa boogie lust (for a while)

cheers
t4d

 

[FAT MIKE]

Re: I know you tube purests are going to cringe, but

i was noodling around on my tech 21 last night...everytime i play that thing a find a new tone that's sweet! (and at a very reasonable volume )