It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 5:23 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 17 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Go to page 1, 2  Next
Author Message
Post subject: Tube and solid amps
Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:30 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2008 9:19 pm
Posts: 2
Location: Vancouver
I was woundering, what is the main doffrence between a tube and a solid amp?


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject:
Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 12:58 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:19 pm
Posts: 20
There are lots of differences. But for me to sum it up,tube amps sound much better and capture the characteristics of your playing and instrument much better.


Last edited by 10-15-14 on Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:21 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2007 7:22 pm
Posts: 8
Location: Watertown, NY
In my experience both have good and bad points, but luckily, many amp manufacturers seem to be leaning towards integrating the two. Hopefully this trend continues and we'll be able to get the best of both worlds in one amp.

I have found tube amps to be more responsive to my playing and have a fuller, more musical tone than solid state amps. I have also found them to be more "tempramental", responding adversely to different temperatures, humidity levels, time of the month...

Solid state amps, on the other hand, tend to be more "stable", more "controllable", but tend to lack "warmth" and responsiveness.

Of course, there are exceptions to both statements, but these seem to always be cost prohibitive and/or hard to find.

My personal favorite and current amp of choice is my cybertwin SE.

_________________
Play to live, live to play!


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 1:23 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2007 11:00 am
Posts: 42
Location: Virginia Beach
Solid state amps are good for VERY limited applications. In almost every case they suck. You can use one for Jazz. John Fogerty famously used solid state amps when he played with Creedence and he has been quoted as saying he was the only person to ever get a good tone out of one. In 99% of guitar applications they are lifeless brittle sounding amps.

Having a good tube amp is a neccessary part of being a guitar player. The harmonics that are produced by the tubes are what adds the complexity and sweetness to a guitars tone. Without that you will sound lame and unconvincing. If you are a totally amazing guitar player (you would know the difference between SS and Tubes if so) you could make any old pile of junk sound useable.

Get a good tube amp. If you can't afford it yet then save your money and wait. You'll regret it later if you don't.

_________________
06 Amer Dlx Ash Strat
Warren Haynes Les Paul R8
1980 Guild D-25
Hagstrom Viking Deluxe
07 Mesa Boogie Lonestar Classic
05 Acoustasonic SFX II


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:09 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 2:19 pm
Posts: 8827
The only amp I have that is temperamental is solid state and is my GDEC. The parameters jump all over the place when you turn the big dial.

I've been using tube amps for over forty years, and none have been temperamental. They do need to be serviced once in a while or the tubes may need replacing but that's about it. You just don't drive your car without changing the oil right?

The big difference is not only tone, but a fifty watt tube amp is considerably louder than a fifty watt solid state amp. That's why even Line 6 is jumping on the tube bandwagon. The tone is far more complex and superior than solid state. Unless you play a lot of metal, I'd go with a good tube amp.

if you go on Youtube, Fender has a demo of a Deluxe 5e3 reissue. Check it out and you'll see what I'm talking about.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:52 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:27 pm
Posts: 1151
Location: In.
Tube amps usually sound better and warmer. Tube amps also need periodic maintenance, such as replacement tubes. Carting them around alot can cause more frequent tube breakdowns, where as solid state amps are less tempermental. The better sound and feel is worth the added maintenance.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 7:34 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 2:19 pm
Posts: 8827
Unless you cart your tube amp around in the back of a pickup truck, transporting them is rarely a problem unless you drop it. In the 30 years of carting my Twin around, I've never had a tube failure on a gig. I could just be lucky I don't know. But I gigged and rehearsed 5 or 6 days a week. I never had to bring out the backup. Weather, humidity, time of the month never seemed to make a difference. If tube amps were that temperamental, no one would bother with them. I've had a lot over the years. A Vibrolux Reverb, Champs, Bandmaster, Deluxe Reverbs, a Twin, an Orange Amp and a Sunn. I only had lost a Filter cap on the Vibrolux. Tube amps seriously rule. I'll use them as long as they make them.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 7:52 pm
Offline
Amateur
Amateur
User avatar

Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2008 2:23 pm
Posts: 101
Location: Southeast US
Mc Fuzzie,

I posted this in the amp section of the forum a while ago. It's a slightly more technical explanation of the differences:

In regard to the tonal aspects of SS vs. Tube amps, a good keyboardist friend of mine who is also an electrical engineer, told me a long time ago that the differences lie in the characteristics of tubes and transistors. Tubes, being voltage controlled devices (Like Field Effect Transistors, or FETs) produce even order harmonics when overdriven into distortion due to an in-phase input and output (voltage to voltage). Bipolar Junction Transistors or BJTs, being current controlled devices, produce odd order harmonics when distorted due to the 90 degree phase difference between current (input) and voltage (output).

Most SS power amp final stages (hooked to your speaker(s) ) are BJTs, but could also be power FETs. AFAIK, most tube distortion comes from the signal level in the preamp, before it gets to the power amp (unless you are overdriving the output stage which can happen as you crank the amp up). A good example would be listening to your favorite tube powered guitar solo on your home or car stereo. There's a very good chance that your song is going through a Solid State amp into the speakers (the same for PA monitors and mains).

I have a preamp from my friend that came from a Moog Lab Series L5 guitar amp, similar to what BB King uses, and its all SS, but has a special analog chip that produces the even harmonics. We built it into a head unit with a 60W monolithic SS power amp and it sounds fine to me. I'd love to get hands on an L5! Hopefully this info didn't bore anyone too much, and gives you all an idea about the "nuts and bolts' about the debate.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 1:03 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2007 1:51 pm
Posts: 335
Location: Hampshire, England
Solid state amps are pretty turd-worthy, but the advantage is you can use headphones with them and put the volume RRRRRIIIIGHHHHT down on them. You don't have to worry about bashing them when you carry them either cos they are cheaper and don't have fragile valves/tubes.

_________________
"It was right from the start" - John Mayer

I'm just happy to be a Guitar player!
I can't imagine what life would be like without it.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 8:42 am
Offline
Roadie
Roadie
User avatar

Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 12:40 pm
Posts: 201
Location: Portugal Cove, Newfoundland
i have a fender FM212R solid state amp which i love. my friend has an old fender tube amp and he keeps breaking the tubes. dimebag used a solidstate randell amp and he has amazing pitch harmonics. it it wasnt for my amp i would get a peavey bandit 112 solid state


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 12:03 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:10 am
Posts: 15
I never played through a tube amp until I got a HR Deluxe about 8 months ago. My delay in going tube was always cost. It's been a learning experience; you have to develop a tone instead of just turning the amp on.

Solid state is great to learn on, and probably good in certain applications. I've seen a lot of cover bands use solid state and basically dial in a tone without a huge rig or a lot of adjustment between songs.

That said, if you play rock, country or blues the tube amp sound is unmatched.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 1:33 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Mon Nov 05, 2007 7:15 pm
Posts: 645
Location: I don't even know that!
Once you play a tube amp you will never go back. Especially with vintage fenders, just that slight overdrive you can get almost sends a chill down my spine.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 3:19 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:48 pm
Posts: 336
Location: Houston
Interesting discussion since it perpetuates most of the myths/urban legends about SS v tubes. The fact of the matter is that several blind studies were done recently comparing the clean sound of tube and ss heads played through identical cabs. When people weren't told whether it was tube or ss most people preferred the ss sound over the tube sound, and when asked to identify whether tube or ss most people reversed what they actually were. The story changes for mild distortion (bluesey) tones where most people think tubes sound better. For metal type distortion, the preference shifts back to the ss heads. I'll see if I can find the web links to the studies and post them when I do.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:03 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2008 1:51 pm
Posts: 2503
Location: Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA
Hello McFuzzie,

I've got both, each one has it's own personality.

Cheers.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:22 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:26 am
Posts: 10
Location: B.C. -CANADA-
thirstypirate wrote:
Solid state amps are good for VERY limited applications. In almost every case they suck. You can use one for Jazz. John Fogerty famously used solid state amps when he played with Creedence and he has been quoted as saying he was the only person to ever get a good tone out of one. In 99% of guitar applications they are lifeless brittle sounding amps.

Having a good tube amp is a neccessary part of being a guitar player. The harmonics that are produced by the tubes are what adds the complexity and sweetness to a guitars tone. Without that you will sound lame and unconvincing. If you are a totally amazing guitar player (you would know the difference between SS and Tubes if so) you could make any old pile of junk sound useable.

Get a good tube amp. If you can't afford it yet then save your money and wait. You'll regret it later if you don't.


True about JF and his Cornford etc. It all depends on the type of SS Amp you use. You just gotta look for one. They the manufacturers can make a Solid State amp that would kick any tube in town if they wanted to. But they wont. That's why there is only so few of them around which are keepers. I for one have relied heavily on a particular Solid State amp which i bought new in the early 90's, and this puppy can ran with the pack there and back. But they're discontinued now. You gotta have at least 1-2 SS in your heard just for pure sound treatment. :wink: SS is only here for price conscience buyers. But there is still a lot of great sounding SS out there that can easily emulate the tube sound with or without DSP period.

Peace!!


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 17 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Go to page 1, 2  Next

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: