Re: Your favorite cheap high gain tube amp
Holy veal (that was auro-correct, but I think it was funny so I'm leaving it) did people jump on what I said. Eek.
yea, I would have lost interest early had it not been for Red coming in.
Transistors are the more able-bodied version of a tube; they actually operate within the specifications they're assigned to. They do the same thing, only they can do it under much less operating voltage. The functional operations of a tube preamp can be replicated to a VERY close degree by transistors and an engineer tweaking some passive components, then that can be replicated from parts from Radio Shack.
Maybe it's the plate voltages being 4.5v instead of 150v. It allows for more gray areas of tonality and harmonic content. That, of course, can be calculated and added in. More chances to be inaccurate.
Now I can see wanting tube rectifiers and tube power stages...wait, no I can't. Tube rectification is a matter of passive resistors replacing the sag and slow compression that a tube makes that can be done with 9v voltages. A power tube's power curve has been well mapped and can also be replicated by either a set of EQs and boosts at particular volume onset, or by taking a smaller tube with similar properties that can run on low voltage, sending a signal through it and then boosting that signal via efficient chip amps. Quilter's a clever guy and has made a solid state amp with these precepts. I understand the Blackstar ID series has pretty much encapsulated this idea too.
So you can continue to assume that nobody can replicate a 12ax7 at max because it's a mystical, magical journey of sound and mind into metaltude. You're wrong, end of story. If you haven't found your good example, you have been looking at the packaging before you listen.
OP: that Diavolo is actually pretty cheap. Just the little one, or a bigger one? It sounded bretty gud
