may sound newbie-ish, but

[drew_half_empty]

well, i don't use tube distortion i use stompboxes, and i like my amp to retain its tone at all volumes, and i like lots of headroom

so what exactly are the benefits of having a tube amp?

I have a feeling my next amp is gonna come down to a twin, bassman, or stage 160, and since i'm not using tube distortion & like headroom i'm not sure i see the benefit of having a tube amp, especially since i use stock tubes

 

[kmcguitars]

Re: may sound newbie-ish, but

Even w/t a stomp box into a clean tube amp, depending on the volume
you play at? Will send the tubes into cliping (i.e) tube distorion. its a
win-win situatetion Althought some might say you only get TRUE
tube Dist. by cranking a Non-master volume amp. tube play a big part
in the overall tone of any amp. Reguardless if you play clean or heavy.

 

[Imp]

Re: may sound newbie-ish, but

yeah, its in the pick dynamics for me - you play lightly, it cleans up. you play near the bridge, it gets more twang..

it depends on your style i guess, but i always play on the clean/OD threshold. i couldnt use an SS amp..

 

[rinse_master]

Re: may sound newbie-ish, but

Clean or dirty, most would agree that the tube amp has the dynamics and response to your playing, that'll bring out all the subtle nuances, even with the OD pedal.

 

[7th Hell]

Re: may sound newbie-ish, but

Dude-

Once you go TUBE you'll never go back! Back in the day, I've owned several different solid state amps- Peavey, GK, Fender... NOTHING compares to real tube tone. With tubes, you get a more rounded, dynamic sound. None of that compressed "instant" response that so many SS amps suffer from. There's a sweet roundness and swelling of picked notes and chords.

Yes- expect to pay more for maintenence on a tube amp (re-tubing, biasing, etc...), but it's well worth it.

 

[some_dude]

Re: may sound newbie-ish, but

I like SS amps for lower volume stuff, as they're pretty easy to control.

But for higher volumes (normal band level) I much prefer tubes. They just sound better.

Besides, SS amps when played loud eventually give you ear fatigue.

 

[Chi3f]

Re: may sound newbie-ish, but

I like SS amps for lower volume stuff, as they're pretty easy to control.

But for higher volumes (normal band level) I much prefer tubes. They just sound better.

Besides, SS amps when played loud eventually give you ear fatigue.

+1

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: may sound newbie-ish, but

oh i have a tube amp, i've just never owned a ss amp (besides a bass amp) so i was just wondering

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: may sound newbie-ish, but

Even if you compare the very best modeling/SS amps to a good tube amp, even matching the sound as close as possible, you'll notice that the tube amp has more girth to it's sound...more round and fat. More touch responsive under your fingers, with a bouncier feel. Almost like the difference between a highend stereo and another good stereo running in mono.

 

[B2D]

Re: may sound newbie-ish, but

To my ears, whether you use distortion of any type or not, tube amps have warmth, dimension, life, sparkle, depth, punch, drive, harmonics, and power that SS amps simply cannot replicate. Once i started playing a lot on a tube amps all the SS stuff that I thought sounded good before all seemed so one-dimensional, cold, and sterile.

 

[Mincer]

Re: may sound newbie-ish, but

all of the good observations of tubes are only true with power tube distortion, namely, a non master volume amp with high plate voltages- usually has to be lower powered to be in the same room with it. If you are using a master volume with a tube amp, you are just clipping the preamp tubes, which to me, sound worse than most SS amps.

In any case, don't worry about how an amp is made- use your ears first.