SOLID STATE Vs. TUBE
HailHailVitalogy
Posts: 5,132
all i know is that tube is a lot louder than solid state...but whatelse? thanks
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That's all i have to say that question.
but why
i mean the only half stack ive ever played was a crate and that was a solid state
but i mean the difference in price is a lot...i just want to know the difference because i dont know too much about amps, i know about guitars though
every now and then? as in every 2 or 3 years? or every 2 or 3 months?
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=42/g=guitar/s=amps/search/detail/base_pid/483174/
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=42/g=guitar/s=amps/search/detail/base_pid/481356/
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=42/g=guitar/s=amps/search/detail/base_pid/487797/
preamp tubes around ever 2 years
power tubes around every year
You do not have to worry about there being a tube shortage. Most of the amps not a days getting made, are built with the common and produced tube. My good friend has an old Gibson Minuteman, this has some un common tube, that I can't think of in its number right now. He buys as many of these as he can find all the time, to have them, and keep that running as long as he can (and the amp tone is well worth it). But you won't find this type of situation in most amps created in the last 25-30 years.
People bad mouth tube amps due to the maintenance involved, and that tubes are "a weak link". Well sure tubes need a little more care when traveling with them, and tubes need replaced. You always want to warm them up before playing. Then cool them down before moving them. And you have a chance of tubes failing prematurely (yes its possible they can fail as soon as you put a brand new on in, thats life, I've only seen it happen once, but that was years ago). But I've seen a lot of problems with some solid state amps too. Boards getting shorted out etc... So I think its not that big of a deal as the solid state boys claim.
Tube amps can cost a lot, but there are still a lot of good deals on good tube amp combos for under $500.
But in all its all about the tone.
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Solid-state amps...
Pros: Reliable. Light-weight. Easier to fix, usually. Tone is pretty much the same, no matter how loud, so you can play a half-stack in your bedroom at reasonable volumes. Typically brighter sound, which is great in amps like the Roland Jazz Chorus. Higher wattage ratings make the ladies wet.
Cons: That brightness can be described as "harsh." Tendency to add on ridiculous effects and DSP-like stuff that ultimately sounds like crap.
Tube amps...
Pros: GREAT FUCKING TONE. Warmth, compression, sustain, overdrive... nothing can match true tube tone. Tube power amps are just fucking great. Even though wattage ratings are lower, they have about 80% more wattage than their rating, once you push it into overdrive/distortion.
Cons: Requires maintenance. And said maintenance can be fatal if you don't know what you're doing. Need to replace tubes (like mentioned above, power tubes once a year, preamp tubes every other year, if played regularly but not abused, give or take). Weighs a freaking ton. And can crap out on you in the middle of a gig.
My experience: tubes are warm and alive, solid sounds nice but dead.
Where a solid state's tone, how cool it can be (my fender deluxe 85 HAS cool tone), it will stay monotonous. Play with a pick, use you fingers or a saw, play harder, slower, faster, softer the sound will not vary all that much. It will not react to your playing.
A tube amp on the other hand will speak to you, it will go into a dialogue with you. Change your picking and it will react to it in a vibrant and distinctive way. Play harder, it will come out stronger. Play soft and go for a sudden strong bend, it will whisper and suddenly howl at you out of nowhere.
Tubes communicate the details, the feeling you put in your playing, while a solid state doesn't. That's what makes me stick with tubes now. Haven't touched my solid since I have the champ.
sorry i know nothing about amps...i know about guitars alot though, haha
i like the peavy one a lot...its a tube and its 600$, not bad...but the only problem is that it doesnt have a "real" gain knob...it just has 3 gain options...you will see if you click zoom in on picture
yet the overdrive doesnt bother me because i have my distortion pedal
i also like the line 6 spider II...for the price and watch the MPEG video its awsome
you have been misinformed, a watt is a watt is a watt.
the way tube amps are rated is the reason most people percieve more output.
most guitar players prefer tubes because of the way they react to our playing, they are expressive just like us, they distort when pushed, they clip, they squeeze the sound and provide a soft compression giving us asymetric clipping and providing even order (pleasant) harmonics. That's why we love them.
Now as to which is better, to each his own. Most people nowdays have some semblence of both, Jazz guys love solid state, because clean is clean no matter what volume you get to as long as you use a stiff enough speaker.
Depending on your needs you may actually prefer a hybrid amp (tube pre) solid state power, because many manufacturers are incorporating modelling technology in this manner. If you want a great deal of sounds out of 1 amplifier, this is a solid way to get it.
Many of us here love, the old kind of one trick ponys (but it's one hell of a trick) and we sandwich what we can to get clean and distorted sounds out of that box by using various different preamps.
Now, the uber wealthy pros, may use 2, 3 and 4 or more different amps at one time to get their desired sound by layering them toegther or using one amp for cleans and another for their distortion levels.
Essentially every amp has it's own sonic texture depending on the tube or transistors involved and the speakers with their voice coils and magnets and the wood that constructs the cabinet. All of this incorporate into tone. Many players fail to do their homework, and thier tone suffers. An amp purchase has a tremendous effect on your tone and should not be taken lightly, you must try them and learn them to find out what is pleasing to your own ear and why.
This is the reason many of us here seem to have amp specs, tubes, chips and circuits burned into our brains. Every trip to the shop or a website is homework.
for more info on tubes and circuits try http://www.londonpower.com
im gonna put a Marshall AVT Slanted Cab to it
of those 4 I'd go with the Spider
i didnt see this mention but one thing to get away from having to play tube amps loud is buying a hot plate. i know a person that has one of these and he plays his tube at all hours.
old music: http://www.myspace.com/slowloader
yes the overdrive sucks on my solid state combo amp i have now...but u know what, i never use it, i have my Boss DS-2 Distortion pedal so my amp is always on clean
I say that if you're happy with your current sound/tone, no reason to go looking. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But if you wanna see what else is out there, or are getting tired of what your current rig can do, maybe check out some stuff, and include a few appropriate tube amps.
Just a side-note: I've heard horrible things about the Peavey XXX and XXL amp series. I haven't played any myself, but a good friend had some experience with them, and said they were terribly constructed and didn't sound very good to him. I'm not saying you shouldn't buy one, I'm just saying look closely.
ok thanks, i just dont like how the XXL doesnt have a gain knob and its "gain" is 3 sounds