Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

Jackson Distortion

Jackson Distortion

New member
I was talkin' to a guy I know at the local music/computer shop and... I almost snapped today.

Before I go any further... (insert big sigh)... you must understand... I am.. not of this world. I am from a world full of transistors and diodes-- digital technologies. What you may call 'sterile', I call 'sweet future'.

I am talking about solid state.

What you men call an abomination, is what I, the sole believer of this tecnology, fight for.

When said 'guy I know' asked me if I played through a Marshall 2x12 combo... TUBE... I almost told him where to shove it. But, realizing he believes in a-- different (archaic) medium, I politely said, "No. No I haven't."

My intent here today, my braving what I'm sure will be a unanimous vote for my banning, is to express my opinon on what I feel should more rapidly accepted. Given the advancement in amplifier technology making everthing more compact (lighter for amps, huh, huh:) ) and overdrives and cleans comparable to the tecnology that inspired it, why are most (especially the young ones born much after the utilization of tube emulating tech) hating, yes hating, on solid state amplifiers?






(This has been a JD production. All proceeds will go in one ear out the other :).)
 
Re: Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

well, JD ... i'm with ya and i ain't ...

i'm with ya' as i am tube-free and lovin' it ... have been for my entire playing career (over 25 yrs) ... i like the 'tightness', consistency, lower weight, reliability, and lower cost of solid state gear ... not sure youre gonna find as much disagreement with your position on this forum nearly as much as with the disagreeable way you presented it ... folks on this board who were at UGD last year heard mr SWD himself tear the roof off the joint with a little line6 combo .... others have posted clips produced with ss gear that are massive sounding ... i spent a coupla hours with a rocktron prophesy and it had me wonderin' how i could swing one sooner rather than later ... frank gambale has been scorchin without tubes for well over a decade now ... booteek snobs have played that little crate powerblock and found it a perfect backup rig that they'd have no shame in using as their A rig if they ever had to ... solid state is hear to stay and, even though there is less to say about it than there is abotu tube gear, folks are pretty tolerant of good tone no matter how it is produced

but i ain't with ya on the need to be hatin' on tube gear .. i have played some tube gear that has just blown me away in it's tone quality and responsiveness ... i totally understand why some guys just go wild for it as their tonal centerpiece ... and given that i am at a stage of life where i can afford pricier luxuries / toys, it would'nt surprise me if my next amp was a tube amp ... it would definitely add something to my tonal pallet that i don't currently have ... clearly they have their place in the world

and as a technology-based professional, i have no doubt that the future will hold many wonderful tubeless tone machines ... which will be cool for everyone who judges with their ears instead of their eyes

cheers
t4d
 
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Re: Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

I go hybrid. Tubes are a pain in the butt and unless you have tons of money, don't sound good.
 
Re: Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

I beg to differ, Seraphim. I've had more issues with solid state and digital amps then I ever have with my tube amps, and they sound way better than any SS head. (and yes, I've played the Attax.)


That said, nothing sounds better than a cranked tube amp.
 
Re: Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

Tubes Rule, SS Drools. Hybrids sound better than SS, but are nothing compared to the almighty power tube. Were theres a good SS amp, theres a better Tube amp!
 
Re: Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

DeadSkinSlayer3 said:
That said, nothing sounds better than a cranked tube amp.
Click to expand...

+1 to that. I will say that I am impressed with Line 6 however. I own a Spyder II and I like it a lot, I'm playing through it 90% of the time when I'm practicing by myself anyway. I am however, a tube freak but I have lots of respect for the new solid state stuff coming out. Some of it sucks, don't get me wrong, but some of it doesn't. If it sounds good that's all that matters.
 
Re: Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

DeadSkinSlayer3 said:
That said, nothing sounds better than a cranked tube amp.
Click to expand...
Amen.

Calling tube technology (no Tenacious D pun intended) archaic is INCREDIBLY short sighted and ignorant. Find me a solid state device that sounds like my ADA MP-1.
 
Re: Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

I own both but when it comes to playing with the band, it's tubes. Gotta have 'em. At home or sitting around with my father-in-law on acoustic, I'll use my little SS amp.
 
Re: Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

JB_From_Hell said:
Amen.

Calling tube technology (no Tenacious D pun intended) archaic is INCREDIBLY short sighted and ignorant. Find me a solid state device that sounds like my ADA MP-1.
Click to expand...


Uh, them are hybrid premamps....


I'll give each their props. They both have their purposes.
 
Re: Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

nothing sounds better than a cranked tube amp.
Click to expand...
but,
nothing sounds worse than the cops knocking on my door because my cranked tube amp is rattling my neighbors dentures out of his head.

since I don't play live much anymore, my PODxt makes me quite happy.

Nick
 
Re: Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

Digital/solid state... good for practice and recording when you can't wake the neighbors

Tube... makes digital and solid state amps piss themselves
 
Re: Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

Can neighbors really hear cranked amps? I've yet to have the cops called on me.
 
Re: Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

Ive got a milkcrate for a house and the neighbors house is under 10 feet away.
plus,
peavey ultra 212 60w on top of an old crate 4x12.

neighbor only threatened to call the cops.
 
Re: Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

I don't care what the technology is as long as it sounds good. That said, I'm somewhat of an amalgamator. I use a stereo modeling preamp and a stereo tube poweramp. I can honestly say that I can get pretty much any tone at practice volumes and it sounds fantastic at bone crushing levels.

Full tube amps piss themselves. ;)
 
Re: Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

I use both.

My tube Sunn model T is a combination of all Four Horsemen...and I do not need a runway model Marshall/Fender/boutique amp to play my fiddle. I have seen a few guitar players look genuinely saddened in the face after I play a few chords (they realize I have simple stone age gear, and it crushes their guitar-mag-girly-gear). The tone is "complete", with zero reliability probs since 1982. And yes, my Sunn sounds tame without an overdrive pedal to "goose" the input.

I also love my Randall combo because I could never get that "modern sound" with the Sunn. The Randall brand crushes all other solid states IMHO. It is rather funny how a lot of the solid state gear I have used over the past 25+ years is more tempermental. Don't believe all the hype about S/S supreme reliability.

Its not about technology, or notes. Notes are for reading. Ears do not hear notes. The human animal has a great reservoir of brain power devoted to sound perception. TONES are what we hear! We HEAR/FEEL tones, not notes. If people on both ends of the spectrum keep this in mind, a greater understanding by the player/listener is sure to follow. :)
 
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Re: Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

different strokes and all that.

at the end of the day, most folks don't care if you hate tubes! leaves more for the rest of us!
 
Re: Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

i listen first, then turn it around and see how it is made. I have too many SS amps and tube amps that are just plain awful to have any kind of sweeping generalizations.
 
Re: Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

Most people here have heard me sing the praises of both tube amps and modeling amps. I'm pretty fanatical about amplifiers, and have owned or played hundreds of different ones.

Honestly, I'm excited about where amp technology is headed, just as much as I appreciate the vintage pieces that spearheaded everything. Digital/SS amps are light, cheap, infinitely versatile, and can sound great at lower levels. Another benefit is that you don't need a lot of peripheral gear to get what you're after. Also, they often have recording outs, headphones, and built in FX.

The downside - Using small inexpensive components, small cheap pots, feeble switches, lousy cabinetry, and IC chips makes the overall quality equal to a TV, Computer, or Radio. This means it's more likely to experience glitches, component failure, and a lifetime of 2-8 years. Don't forget that a unit like this will deteriorate when being shuffled gig to gig, and being pushed across bumpy parking lots. Instead of a burned fuse or tube, failure is likely to be anything on the cheap circuit board inside.

Tube amps will never ever be fully duplicated by SS because of the physical properties of a better circuit, higher wattage components, and more roadworthy construction. Tubes have superior sonic qualities to transistors because of the dynamic response, much higher current, and harmonic complexity......and this is something that translates as a fatter, room engulfing tone, with more warmth and touch sensitivity. It's also quieter at idle than SS amps. Put the best SS amp next to the best tube amp, and you'll see that the tube amp is bigger, warmer, and has more definition at high volume levels. The SS amp will be trying hard to keep up, and when you stop playing, there's a lot more hiss at equal gain settings. It may have decent definition, but the feel under the fingers isn't quite as good.

Downside of tube amps - They're expensive, require tube changes/maintenance, less versatile, and usually no headphone, recording out, or FX. Try using a tube amp at night in your home, and the tone diminishes as you turn it down to acceptable levels. Also, the gain tends to get grainier when the power tubes aren't interacting with the preamp tubes, which is part of the beauty of the tube tone.

Because these differences are a fact, not just an opinion, it causes me to put every type of amp into a category of usefulness. Modeling/SS amps are best for the player that wants a versatile rig that's useful at low/medium volumes. Tube amps are better for the player that wants a handful of tones that are exclusive to his/her style, and also for a gigging player that needs to have the volume and headroom to compete with a loud drummer. For this player, a 'do it all' modeling amp just doesn't cut it, because his ears are tuned to the dynamic range and touch responsiveness that only a tube circuit can provide. If you can't hear the difference, then you haven't played enough amps.
 
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Re: Wow. I have no respect for what is sacred.

DeadSkinSlayer3 said:
I beg to differ, Seraphim. I've had more issues with solid state and digital amps then I ever have with my tube amps, and they sound way better than any SS head. (and yes, I've played the Attax.)


That said, nothing sounds better than a cranked tube amp.
Click to expand...
Word. :)
 
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