whats with the solid state hate?

[treyhaislip]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

SS is great for lower volume playing.

So true! I love my tube amps but they are not exactly the most apartment friendly amp out there

 

[Securb]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

Skip the RX if you can. It's *okay*, but there are better Randalls out there. Try to get an RG.

+1 Preferably the "orange stripe" if you can hunt one down.

 

[dazedandconfused001]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

Skip the RX if you can. It's *okay*, but there are better Randalls out there. Try to get an RG.

i was arguing for a while between the RG1003H vs RX120RH but decided the rg had to mny bells and whistles and the rx had better reviews.

 

[dominus]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

i was arguing for a while between the RG1003H vs RX120RH but decided the rg had to mny bells and whistles and the rx had better reviews.

If that's the case, the reviews aren't comparing the RX to the RG, they're comparing the RX to a 10W combo.

 

[dazedandconfused001]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

If that's the case, the reviews aren't comparing the RX to the RG, they're comparing the RX to a 10W combo.

i also listend to a few demos from what i heard on those two specific models the rx beat the rg and at end of the day i dont need 3 channels i need 1 but having a overdrive channel dosnt hurt.

 

[Brandenburg]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

ill just leave this here.. i rarely get to play through her and she needs minor work done to her .. still my favorite amp.. i guess i was fortunate that this was the 1st big boy amp I bought after just 2 years of playing..

 

[dazedandconfused001]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

ok so still on the off topic of the randall amps i was watchin on, the demo prob may have been after close observation that the jackass had the volume on like 1. and i cant think of to many amps that sound good on one. and it was less 'oh look how this sounds' and more 'oh look how well i play'

 

[dominus]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

I had an RX Head. Sold it. I still have a pair of RG75 combos. (Got them *extremely* cheap too.)

You can always convert a combo into a head with some woodworking and wiring skills. (Or extend a combo into a 2x12 stack.)

The nice thing about solid state amps is that some of them *can* sound good with the volume at "1".

 

[dystrust]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

I had an RX Head. Sold it. I still have a pair of RG75 combos. (Got them *extremely* cheap too.)

You can always convert a combo into a head with some woodworking and wiring skills. (Or extend a combo into a 2x12 stack.)

The nice thing about solid state amps is that some of them *can* sound good with the volume at "1".

My Lead 12 sounds good with the volume on 1. It sounds great with the volume a bit higher tho...

 

[skyydogg01]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

Look, I've been playing Solid State my whole life except for 3 amps:

1. Fender Blues Junior (sold for a solid state)
2. Peavey Classic 30 (sold for a solid state)
3. Blackstar HT Studio 20 (currently have)

While I love the Blackstar, my wife made me realize something. I was playing the other day at the absolute lowest volume where the tone was right. She looks at me and said, "can you lower it a little?" Kinda hit me in the chest. I finally got this thing sounding great and she wants me to lower it. I just turned it off and plugged into my solid state practice amp.

Now, I'm highly contemplating getting a hybrid just so I can turn it down and still sound good (probably the Orange Micro Dark).

 

[symptom]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

Look, I've been playing Solid State my whole life except for 3 amps:

1. Fender Blues Junior (sold for a solid state)
2. Peavey Classic 30 (sold for a solid state)
3. Blackstar HT Studio 20 (currently have)

While I love the Blackstar, my wife made me realize something. I was playing the other day at the absolute lowest volume where the tone was right. She looks at me and said, "can you lower it a little?" Kinda hit me in the chest. I finally got this thing sounding great and she wants me to lower it. I just turned it off and plugged into my solid state practice amp.

Now, I'm highly contemplating getting a hybrid just so I can turn it down and still sound good (probably the Orange Micro Dark).

And what is your solid state practice amp?

 

[skyydogg01]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

And what is your solid state practice amp?

Ibanez GT10DX - came in a combo pack with a guitar. But it has a 6 inch speaker that sounds terrible.

 

[symptom]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

Ibanez GT10DX - came in a combo pack with a guitar. But it has a 6 inch speaker that sounds terrible.

Hmm. My only amp right now is a Vox Pathfinder 15r. Sometimes I really wanna get a tube amp, but it's impossible to use one in my current situation: small apartment, 1 year baby that sleeps at 8:30 pm...

 

[skyydogg01]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

Hmm. My only amp right now is a Vox Pathfinder 15r. Sometimes I really wanna get a tube amp, but it's impossible to use one in my current situation: small apartment, 1 year baby that sleeps at 8:30 pm...

Oh, I have every intention of adding a switching Jack to plug my 1x12 cab into my Ibanez amp. I had hooked it up to a 2x12 and it sounded really nice.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

Hmm. My only amp right now is a Vox Pathfinder 15r. Sometimes I really wanna get a tube amp, but it's impossible to use one in my current situation: small apartment, 1 year baby that sleeps at 8:30 pm...

Look for something with power reduction. I've got a Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister 18, an 18W mini head that can run at 18W, 5W, 1W, or no speaker output and a cabinet-emulated XLR direct out. The sound and feel of the amp is very different at each power setting, and the 1W really does give you a lot more saturation at lower volumes.

 

[Demanic]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

If you need to worry about volume, find an old Rockman and run it through headphones.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

 

[Brandenburg]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

i still say.. if volume is a concern.. PC modeller w/ headphones is the way to go.. it has some limitations but overall I think it works well

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

This thread is four pages long? This forum has gone way downhill.

"It's a [thread] about NOTHING!"

 

[Jackson Distortion]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

TL;dr: "A lot of solid state amps are flatter sounding and a bit muddy, kinda harsh and harmonics are not as awesome." But, for "fast tracking", "clean playing" "it is a winner...".

Being a fan of solid state amplifiers - the "bad" ones - I can get why a lot of players dislike them. Now, there are good solid state amps such as my Randall that has the tube sound and feel that most players like. It has the vibe (response) and tone (fat) that tube lovers crave. But, I don't like the "good" kind.

A lot of solid state amps are flatter-sounding and a bit muddy, kinda harsh and harmonics are not as awesome. When you drop the volume on your guitar to have less output, solid state can sound really flat, unless you use other methods to liven up the tone.

The "bad" kind of solid state amps work for me because they are very straightforward and don't funk-ify my playing with overly fat response. It tracks my playing exactly how I need it to. I play fast - clean and distorted - so the ultra-quick response it necessary. Also, it tends to have and 80's Metal and extreme Metal type of distortion. My playing style is very direct like those styles, so I'm not too fussed on the flavor of the distortion. With an added emphasis on huge bass and fast tracking for fast music, it is a winner for me.

My clean playing can be really country-fied but, heavy and dirty - so not really clean. It responds to my guitars controls really well and accepts finger-style guitar playing without altering the tone in an undesirable way.

Tube amps and really good FET-based solid state amps tend to work best for everything between Jazz and shreddy Thrash Metal. I just happen to be in the minority and can get the most mileage from run-of-the-mill solid state technology.

 

[Mincer]

Re: whats with the solid state hate?

I'd imagine in the 60s-80s there were way more SS haters than now, because you haven't heard bad until you plugged into a Roland JC120, Kustom, Crate, or Gorilla SS amp and turned the distortion on. It wasn't 'oh I just prefer the sound of tubes', it was 'these amps are actually completely unusable!' This left a pretty big impression on a generation of guitarists about SS amps. Technology changed, and music styles changed, and now it isn't as clear as before.