Who says SS sucks

[JeffB]

Why oh why!? cannot Marshall make SS amps that sound like THIS anymore?


I found this clip online....

It's a little Lead 12...the combo...

what the hell are they thinking with the MG's and Valvestate stuff?

Time to hit ebay... back in the 80's, I had the micro stack, and a 50 watt combo and they both plain rocked..much nicer than most SS/Modelers of today...

 

[Grandor]

Re: Who says SS sucks

Some SS stuff simply rocks.
Most SS stuff simply is ****

 

[JeffB]

Re: Who says SS sucks

Some SS stuff simply rocks.
Most SS stuff simply is ****

Agreed...wish I could find a SS amp that is the former for my new place.

I'm gonna start looking around ebay for one of these. My MESA is jes too loud to use 99% of the time.

 

[some_dude]

Re: Who says SS sucks

Some SS stuff simply rocks.
Most SS stuff simply is ****

I tend to agree.

But, I think it's mostly because;

1) entry level SS stuff tends to be made both cheaply and underpowered, and

2) people buy SS practice amps and try to gig them.


I think now that amp companies are making more amps with decently sized power sections (300w+)* you'll start to see an improvement in SS amp tone as these amps compete with one another for sales.

* Keep in mind that you don't want to overdrive a SS power amp....so you want maximum clean headroom and an amp that's capable of much more output than you'll ever use.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Who says SS sucks

I tend to agree.


* Keep in mind that you don't want to overdrive a SS power amp....so you want maximum clean headroom and an amp that's capable of much more output than you'll ever use.

Oh..absolutely. But I was thinking more along the lines of the sound simply lacking good voicing/warmth. Marshall's MG series for example sounds nothing like the old 5xxx series or the Lead 12s. It's not nearly as warm and is buzzier..could be a few other things like build quality (england vs. korea or what have you, and quality of parts used) and speakers...but the voicing is still not anywhere close.

Well, I guess I better not hold my breath for a MOSFET Lead 100x reissue, huh?

 

[Thames]

Re: Who says SS sucks

An echo/delay can make any amp great!

 

[Thames]

Re: Who says SS sucks

I agree that the clip sounds great, very late 70/early 80, VH sounding.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Who says SS sucks

yeah..effects help, LOL..but the basic tone is there.

It's a LP studio straight in...delay/reverb added after the fact.

recorded with a walkman and mic according to the guy who posted it HERE

 

[Closed Eye]

Re: Who says SS sucks

That sounds pretty cool. I'll be checking on ebay!

Although I still stand behind Marshall MG's. I think they're great.

 

[Breogan]

Re: Who says SS sucks

I have a Fender Princeton 112 (60 watts) and it's crap compared to my ENGL 50.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Who says SS sucks

I honestly like a good solid state amp. I really wish I still had my old Roland Jazz Chorus.

What is the exchange rate, like a 300 watt SS is similar to 100 watt tube?

 

[bloodswords]

Re: Who says SS sucks

i'm an SS fan- i own the Peavey XXL which IMO is killer...

have you checked out Marshall's new mini stack (MG15 MSII)? i bought it because it sounds impressive with the default cab (10" speakers).

 

[some_dude]

Re: Who says SS sucks

What is the exchange rate, like a 300 watt SS is similar to 100 watt tube?

Not really.

The thing is, a watt is a watt. Where the difference is that you max out a 100w tube amp and it'll still sound good.....you could easily be outputting over 140w+ (wattage is rated as peak output before distortion, and tube amps are quite often pushed far beyond that).

On the other hand, solid state sounds like ass when distorted, so you don't want to get anywhere near it's peak output. So, if you want to output 100w, you're going to want an amp that'll put out more than 100w. So, even though the solid state guy's running 300w, he might only be getting 100-150w out of it....which'll let him compete with the tube amp guy.

Lastly, just like there's a difference between cheap and quality tube amps, the same is true with solid state. Cheap amps are usually overrated in terms of wattage, and allow for more clipping in the signal at the rating they give than a quality company. Quality amplifiers will have much lower distortion content at the ratings they give, which means that although they may be rated lower than a cheap amp, they can frequently be driven harder without distortion than the cheap amp.

That turned into a bit of a ramble.....

 

[Stringmachine]

Re: Who says SS sucks

I just bougth a Marshall Micro stack for my son, and it is a killer for home use. Not that good clean, but who buys a Marshall for clean, eh? By the way, my son is 5 yeas old, and don't play.

 

[kevlar3000]

Re: Who says SS sucks

Pretty buzzy clip, it is ok but not world changing.... I just traded my 78 Marshall Master Lead combo for an old Gibson Atlas head that makes the SS sound like a transistor radio. There are some decent sounding SS amps out there ( I like that little vox through a cab) and I know Billy Gibbons even recorded with the lead 12, but the one I had ended up being more of a novelty than a piece I would really want to use. Mine has the same scratchy gain this clip does.

 

[gtg10k]

Re: Who says SS sucks

that lead 12 just kills. is it worth picking up on ebay for around 200-250$? the clip sounds unbelievable but im not sure if its a 2000$ guitar playing into it and a bunch of effects, making it sound good. Would it be better than going for a new trademark 10?

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Who says SS sucks

I proudly use an Attax 80 1x12 combo @home, wasn´t me

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Who says SS sucks

what about a good ol poly tone? Those things get amazing clean loud tones for pro's? Anybody use them with distortion pedals?

 

[Gamera]

Re: Who says SS sucks

That turned into a bit of a ramble.....

Actually your post is quite good and represents all the factual content of this thread. The rest is just opinion.

Not that there's anything wrong with opinions.

Actually this post has turned into a bit of a ramble...

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Who says SS sucks

Recycler (The ZZ Top record) was recorded 100% with a Lead 12 Combo with the speaker leeds cut and then run to a G1230 (I belive) simply laying on it's magnet struture facing up with a SM57 hanging over it!