Tube or Solid State amp?

Shredd6 · **Posted:** Tue Aug 02, 2011 2:18 am

Not sure what's new out there for hybrids. I still have my Marshall 8100, the combo version would be a Marshall 8080. It's where the clean channel is solid state, distortion channel runs off of a 12ax7 preamp tube, no power tubes. I actually really like hybrids, my Marshall has been with me for a while now. Although you can't get any added power tube saturation in the distortion, you can get a really smooth, powerful distortion by carefully selecting certain NOS preamp tubes to drop in it (for example an RFT ecc83 or RCA 12ax7a long-plate).

almungo · **Joined:** Fri Dec 24, 2010 8:36 am **Posts:** 456

I have seen the Super Champ XD-any opinions on this amp? It seems about the right size and volume that i'm looking for.

I would also like to ask about tube life. How long do tubes last?, and how complicated and expensive is it to fix them?

Ceri · **Posted:** Tue Aug 02, 2011 4:08 am

teledeluxe72 wrote:

I have a budget of £350 (can go up) to buy a better amp than my Marshall MG15. I do not know whether to go solid state or tube, since size and weight are an issue-I can't have anything significantly bigger than my Marshall, and I need to be able to transport it.

Hi teledeluxe72: upgrade on an MG15? If Marshall flavours are your thing then I'm surprised nobody has yet mentioned their Class5 all valve amp. All watts are not created equal and you will find that the five watt Class5 easily matches the claimed 15 watt output of your MG - and sounds a hundred times better. I so strongly recommend you go and test drive one in a music shop and see what I mean.

I have a row of Marshalls including an MG15 and 100 at one end, a 100w Valvestate "hybrid" in the middle and a 100w Triple Super Lead at the top, so I'm in a position to make comparisons. I will never part with the TSL, but I'd happily give up all the others for my Class5: ideal for everything from bedroom practice to moderate sized gigs with the band. Mic it and you could play Wembley. And there's an extension cab too, if you find you need to move more air.

Regarding size, the combo is bigger than your MG15 but still very easily carried in one hand and comfortably popped in the back of a car.

Far as your budget is concerned; it sounds like you are in the UK? A bit of Googling will find you a Class5 new for £312. Spend a touch more and you can have one in a "custom" livery, like these from GAK in a choice of white, racing green or red, for a mere £339:

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/marshall-class- ... sive/28026

Though I suggest you don't buy online, simply because sending valve amps by couriers can be a bit iffy - they prefer not to be bumped around too much. These days it is hard to find a guitar shop in the UK that doesn't stock the Class5. Go and try one, why not?

Just to get your head in the right place, here's mine in green:

And here's Forum user nikininja's in white with RAF target (a special edition from GAK, I believe):

Finally, here's Joe launching the amp at Ronnie Scott's Club:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce1fiU31MFU

Sounds all right...

Cheers - C

brotherdave · **Posted:** Tue Aug 02, 2011 4:21 am

teledeluxe72 wrote:

...Someone mentioned hybrids-what are these and how do they work? What is the benefit to a hybrid/drawbacks?

A hybrid is a combination of a tube preamp and a solid state power amp.
Usually hybrid amps will have a single preamp tube which more often than not is a 12AX7. By cranking up the input stage you can get nicely saturated tube tones which the power amp then cleanly amplifies.

The advantages to a hybrid are lighter weight, lower purchase cost new and lower maintenance costs long term.

If you use a hybrid amp daily you can expect as little as one year on the pre-amp tube which is about what my son got in his Vox Valvetronics modeling hybrid which came stock with an Electro-Harmonix 12AX7. It just stopped working with no warning. He did use it about daily though. I was concerned that the amp had a more serious problem due to the sudden total failure of the amp to produce audio and based on my previous experience with tubes they usually get weaker or noisy but rarely just stop working completely with no warning. I was relieved when I changed the tube and it was like new.

As for changing the tube and how hard it is, on my son's Vox VT it was a real pain and took me about one hour as the tube is inside a cage inside the amp which required some dis-assembly of the combo, judicious use of scotch tape to grip the stock tube and wiggle it out. Other amps are not so difficult to swap tubes in as they want to highlight the tube being in there as a selling point, so they make it plainly visible and easily accessible. It is true that different tubes will sound different, even labeled the same! The original Electro-Harmonix tube sounded better to me than the replacement Sovtek I put in it so I bought him another Electro-Harmonix and he has it for a spare when the one in goes, and it is probably about time for another tube change.

All tube amps are better sounding of course, but they are more costly initially and way heavier. Also re-tubing an all tube amp will cost far more than the cost of a single 12AX7. Since guitar amps are about the only technology left using vacuum tubes, they are somewhat scarce and far more pricey than 40 years ago.

For professional gigging an all tube amp is of course the way to go. But for the casual player a hybrid gives you some tube tone, while a hybrid modeling amp takes it a step further yielding preset tones that allow you to get even more variety from your amp.

There is an excellent concise explanation of various amp options here and it makes good reading before deciding what to try and what to buy: http://www.sweetwater.com/shop/guitars/guitar-amps/buying-guide.php

Rebelsoul · **Posted:** Tue Aug 02, 2011 5:03 am

Man Ceri,that's a cool picture,I love green and really like all those toys!

Ceri · **Posted:** Tue Aug 02, 2011 5:28 am

Rebelsoul wrote:

Man Ceri,that's a cool picture,I love green and really like all those toys!

Cheers - C

63supro · **Joined:** Tue Aug 07, 2007 2:19 pm **Posts:** 8827

teledeluxe72 wrote:

I have heard that attenuators wear out the tubes very quickly? is this true?

Yes they do. The same will happen if you constantly crank your amp at full volume. True Attenuators are always placed between the amp and speaker. People who run attenuators generally are looking for power tube saturation which you'll get by cranking the amp pretty high. It can also be hard on the transformers and other components.

To the OP. It's entirely up to you. Tube amps require more servicing than SS amps, which is something you may want to think about. If you gig, you'll need to carry a spare set of tubes and fuses or at least a backup amp just in case a tube fails.

Sound wise, I prefer a tube amp, but I've been using tube amps for over 40 years. My current rig is an Egnater 20 with two 112 cabs. The Blues jr, and Pro Jr are 15 small 15 watt amps that if you decide to gig may be a bit short on headroom and volume. Both those amps sound seriously boxy to me. People always seem to be modding the Blues Jr to make it sound better.

There are some good sounding SS amps out there. Remember a 20 watt tube amp will sound much louder than a 20 watt Solid State amp. My 20 watt Rebel can blow the doors off my friends 75 Watt Line 6 amp. A 15 watt SS amp wouldn't be a good choice for gigging.