No glow no go!? What say you?

[shredaholic]

Re: No glow no go!? What say you?

Solid state amps would be great if they were a bit more responsive to playing and had more presence. Maybe that's just a feature of the lack of investment into SS amps?

 

[joelap]

Re: No glow no go!? What say you?

Sounds like a cool project! Keep us informed with the progress if you choose to pursue this idea! What school are you attending anyway?

I go to the University of Hartford in West Hartford, CT.

Alec, I'll keep in mind our suggestion to include transients.

And if I do go through with the project, I'll record multiple clips of multiple styles and different players as well. I'll post them each in their own thread for a shootout of in which clip, which amp sounded best. After about a week of deliberations and debates, I'll close the poles and the threads, and reveal the winners in a single thread.

 

[aleclee]

Re: No glow no go!? What say you?

Aren't tubes more likely to go down though!

That's true in that tubes fail. OTOH, if a tube amp fails at a rehearsal/gig/session, replacing the faulty tube and perhaps a fuse gets you right back up. Other than the fuse, there aren't a lot of user-serviceable parts in a SS amp so when one goes down, you're likely to be without an amp for a while as a tech works on it. When my GK fried its output transistors, it took a while to get repaired.

Best to have a backup SS to save your butt?

I quite agree that having a backup is a good idea but why would you say that a SS backup is preferable to a tube backup?

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: No glow no go!? What say you?

I quite agree that having a backup is a good idea but why would you say that a SS backup is preferable to a tube backup?

Because a SS amp is smaller and lighter???

That being said, out of the 20 or so years of playing, the only times I've ever brought a backup amp are when I was supplying a backline for a show. THAT being said, the only amps that have ever failed on me were SS amps...

 

[Osensei]

Re: No glow no go!? What say you?

I quite agree that having a backup is a good idea but why would you say that a SS backup is preferable to a tube backup?

I just see a tube amp as a more fragile beast. In case that one should fail during a performance having a SS backup would decrease the unlikely possiblity of a multiple failure. I know it's silly! But I guess I'm just supersticeous like that! :laugh2:

I saw the Fender CyberTwin with the motorized knobs!!!:chairfall I would be afraid to use something like that! It might break a blower belt or start dropping cylinders or something! :chairfall

 

[flank]

Re: No glow no go!? What say you?

i actually like solid state cleans alot. They seem more balanced and compressed, which can be a good thing for a clean tone. In a tube amp, even if the sound is "clean", i still feel like there is a little hair in the sound, whether it be those extra harmonics or whatever occurs when a tube is driven. It seems in solid state cleans that the sound is truly clean clean clean. I love the Roland Jc120 cleans, for example.

when it comes to overdrive, or particularly fuzz, i think a tube amp definately excels. It has a certain response that a SS will not recreate.

but in the end, its whatever floats your boat. Ive liked alot of the solid state amps ive played. I'm definately not a tube snob

 

[casblah]

Re: No glow no go!? What say you?

Tubes Are Good Food.

 

[Magnotta]

Re: No glow no go!? What say you?

want to know which one you like better? Have a friend record a few things(different styles, distorted/clean, etc) using a SS amp, and a tube amp, and then listen to the clips in random order. Pick out the tones you like best, and then go see which of those were SS and which were tube. Chances are you'll find you liked the tube tone better for certain applications, the SS for other applications, or that you completely like one over the other, or that your ears can't hear a difference whatsoever.

 

[fakiekid]

Re: No glow no go!? What say you?

tubes generate more harmonics, whereas solidstate doesn't.

thts my thought! but like wht was said before its what sounds good to you not if it has or hasnt.

 

[some_dude]

Re: No glow no go!? What say you?

Because a SS amp is smaller and lighter???

I've talked to a few people who carry a Crate PowerBlock as a backup. Not the greatest amp, but if worse comes to worse it'll atleast make your guitar sound like a guitar, which is better than nothing.

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: No glow no go!? What say you?

Aren't tubes more likely to go down though! Best to have a backup SS to save your butt?

No, why not have another tube amp as a backup rather than going with something that is as radically different?

Tube amps aren't nearly as fragile as alot of folks would like you to believe. I saw my Champ 12 take a 4 foot drop onto concrete a half hour before a gig. The amp worked fine; just made sure the tubes were in securely.

*shrugs*

 

[lastwinj]

Re: No glow no go!? What say you?

i love tubes. but whatever gets the job done.