Amp Head Question
keeper5479
Posts: 2
I feel stupid asking this...but What is the difference between a "solid state" head and a "tube/hybrid" head? What is the difference in the sound, quality, etc.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Thanks in advance for any help!
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Ok, to qualify this I'm pretty sure you are not talking about an all tube head which is different still.
Ok Solid State vs. Tube/Hybrid head.
The difference is simple yet quite different in terms of character.
Solid State, literally means, Transistor preamp and transistor power amp. Transistors were developed in the 50's as a more reliable much smaller replacement for tubes. Tubes are obviously rather unwieldy and unsuitable for the demanding applications like Car Stereos and or military applications although Tubes with the mark JAN (Joint Army Navy) were constructed for military use.
Guitarists and amplification are decidedly different. We are shooting for tone > than reliability for the most part, everyone want's a well built amp but for the most part guitarists are looking for a sound. Well, tubes have this amazing sag characteristic because of the way they amplify sound, also they distort the sound a bit when overdriven. The first time this distorted sound made it on an album was the Who's Anyway, Anywhere, Anyhow. Since then we've all been addicted to overdriven tube sounds. Tubes create a sound that is warm and smooth that is "in many people's opinion" not available from a transistor.
Transistor+'s above reliability involve clarity with volume they don't distort like tubes do, the resist it and when they do the sound is much different and to my ear less pleasing. If I could afford the $8000 price tag, my home theater system would be all tube. I actually prefer the warm smooth sound of the old technology although I appreciate the quality and cold sonic precision of a good low THD digital amp too.
Ok, so there is this war going on for the last we'll say 40 years or so between The Tube Amp in it's pure form and the transistor amp. 90% of guitar players or so prefer the sound of tubes so manufacturers have been trying for years to come up with the perfect cheaper transistor answer to the glory of sound that is given by the tube. Enter, the Hybrid.
The greatest cost and heat in tube amps besides the internals obviously is the power section. Companies substitute the tube power section for a transistor power section then instead of trying to manipulate transistors (you may have heard things like Tubestate or Valvetone or Transtube technology) they actually incorporate a preamp section voiced with usually a 12AX7(ECC83 for the Brits) tube.
This marriage gives the guitar player the smooth breakup in the preamp section and the cooler reliability of transistors in the power section. Because so many people like preamp distortion (often refered to as the front end) this is a happy thing, it also leaves space open for digital modelling amps, in essense using a computer to "model" the sound of a particular amp and then voicing it using the tube to make it sound more like the tube amps they are attempting to model. Ok so why dosen't everyone jump on board with Hybrid technology? It seems silly not to right the best of both worlds?
Well, not exactly. Another large camp of guitar players actually prefer power tube clipping or overdrive and guitar players are fickle we love seeing little glowing glass bulbs in our amplifiers so the resistance to "modelling" technology is large in many cases although a lot of guys are loving that stuff in the studio because of the flexibility and it's getting a lot better.
One option for you that is different than both solid state or tube hybrid is made by Atomic Amps. It is a complete tube amp power and preamp however there is a large hole in the top where the preamp should be. Inserted into this hole is a Line6 PodXT or your favorite little modelling preamp. I haven't tried it, but if you really want a lot of different great sounding amps, this should be a good option that is probably the pinnicle of tube/digital or hybrid design.
Many people find after they use those that they really only like one to 4 sounds they use all the time and the amps they intend to model are so much better sounding that they just save up and buy them.
Well, that's all I have to say for now, I hope I answered your question.
Mainly the difference is that tube/hybrid's have a tube in the preamp and solid states do not. The tube gives the preamp a different smoother and warmer character.
I have a Fender Roc Pro hybrid amp, with a solid-state power amp, and a solid-state preamp in the clean channel. It has one tube, a 12AX7, in the overdrive channel. I love it to death... it's not the best sounding amp out there, but it's pretty damn reliable.