Can you hear the difference between a tube amp and a hybrid?

soggycrow · **Joined:** Mon Oct 06, 2008 10:57 am **Posts:** 602

In blind listening tests most guitarists, even if very experienced, can't even tell the difference between tube amps and solid state, although they'll swear they can. This is especially true once you start throwing in stomp boxes.

Guitarist will play through two different amps, knowing which is the tube amp, and pick the tube amp. They've heard that tube amps are better. So they must be.

Incidentally I have one of each. The Blues Jr. is a tube amp. The SWR California Blonde is clean solid state. But with the right pedals it screams just fine.

alwaysstrat · **Posted:** Mon Feb 16, 2009 8:28 am

soggycrow wrote:

In blind listening tests most guitarists, even if very experienced, can't even tell the difference between tube amps and solid state, although they'll swear they can. This is especially true once you start throwing in stomp boxes.

Guitarist will play through two different amps, knowing which is the tube amp, and pick the tube amp. They've heard that tube amps are better. So they must be.

Incidentally I have one of each. The Blues Jr. is a tube amp. The SWR California Blonde is clean solid state. But with the right pedals it screams just fine.

very well put. uless you know for shure
its a tube amp and todays tech you would not
know the differnce most the time

alwaysstrat · **Posted:** Mon Feb 16, 2009 8:36 am

i would also like to say i
use a CRATE GT1200 full stack
a long side tube marshalls and
you can not tell the differnce. i have
had other guitarist say great sounding CRATE
until i tell them its not tube power and then they
change there minds. a great amp is a great amp
in my opinion wether its tube or none tube.

Troublecall · **Posted:** Mon Feb 16, 2009 9:29 am

nikininja wrote:

Troublecall wrote:

All I know is that I really like my SuperChampXD. I know that everything runs through the DSP, but with the tube preamp and tube power section it has a very nice tube sound and feel.

Best of both worlds...

When you set it on the champ simulation and max everything except effects do you hear sag? i do with the vibrochamp and just a/b'd it against the watkins that does have valve rectification. Theres not much in it.
Oh i hate el84s. Give me el34s or kt66s anyday of the week.

I do not know - I have not tried it with everything but effects maxed out. But I will and report back.
My simulations do not list one as a "Champ" simulation - which one are you referring to?

nikininja · **Posted:** Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:00 am

on the vibrochamp its the 1st setting labeled tweed champ.

Troublecall · **Posted:** Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:14 am

nikininja wrote:

on the vibrochamp its the 1st setting labeled tweed champ.

OK. On my Superchamp that would be the 1st setting on the 2nd channel (the "voice" channel).
I will try it tonight and report back...
I will also try it on my clean channel.

Pete55 · **Joined:** Tue Nov 11, 2008 10:03 am **Posts:** 214

I havn't heard that nice, soft spongy tone with scooped mids coming out of any solid state rig, pedals or not. And I've tried very hard for 40 years now. And yes, solid state has been around for that long!

The guys I respect most are the session players. They're very precise. Most of them have some rack mount gear, but when it comes to recording and getting pure tone, most of them have a tube amp they turn to. Maybe not even a very big one. Brent Mason likes an old Fender Deluxe. Mike Landau from Los Angeles turns to old Fenders or a Dumble in the studio. Larry Carlton uses a Dumble exclusively, and Dann Huff likes an older model Matchless. Walter Becker from Steely Dan likes Tophat or a Bogner.

Mark Knopfler likes all kinds of amps...all of them tube. Sultans of Swing was a 1963 Vibrolux. Today he uses Bob Reinhardt amps, which are basically JTM-45 Marshall's. One of his fave recording amps lately is a 1958 Vox AC-15. Clapton gets it done with 1957 Narrow Panel Tweed Custom Shop Twins. Layla was recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami in 1970 using a 1964 Fender Champ cranked up.

These guys are peerless. They can afford what they like. They can play the best of what they HEAR. I'm betting that they can hear. You might say they can't, but I'm saying they can. They use tube amps to record, tube amps live. John Mayer's Two Rock is NOT a solid State amp, and he does not buy up or collect rack mount gear...he's busy buying Alexander Dumble ampfliers. A Trainwreck amp that Ken Fisher made is valuable and sounds amazing to anyone. A Crate??? Hmmm.

I'll put dollars down that these guys know the difference. If I can tell the difference, so can they...maybe more so. I do, and have owned solid state amps ,and good ones at that. But I've never smoked enough weed or crack to not be able to tell the difference. Apparently neither has Knopfler.

alwaysstrat · **Posted:** Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:44 am

Pete55 wrote:

I havn't heard that nice, soft spongy tone with scooped mids coming out of any solid state rig, pedals or not. And I've tried very hard for 40 years now. And yes, solid state has been around for that long!

The guys I respect most are the session players. They're very precise. Most of them have some rack mount gear, but when it comes to recording and getting pure tone, most of them have a tube amp they turn to. Maybe not even a very big one. Brent Mason likes an old Fender Deluxe. Mike Landau from Los Angeles turns to old Fenders or a Dumble in the studio. Larry Carlton uses a Dumble exclusively, and Dann Huff likes an older model Matchless. Walter Becker from Steely Dan likes Tophat or a Bogner.

Mark Knopfler likes all kinds of amps...all of them tube. Sultans of Swing was a 1963 Vibrolux. Today he uses Bob Reinhardt amps, which are basically JTM-45 Marshall's. One of his fave recording amps lately is a 1958 Vox AC-15. Clapton gets it done with 1957 Narrow Panel Tweed Custom Shop Twins. Layla was recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami in 1970 using a 1964 Fender Champ cranked up.

These guys are peerless. They can afford what they like. They can play the best of what they HEAR. I'm betting that they can hear. You might say they can't, but I'm saying they can. They use tube amps to record, tube amps live. John Mayer's Two Rock is NOT a solid State amp, and he does not buy up or collect rack mount gear...he's busy buying Alexander Dumble ampfliers. A trainwreck amp that Ken Fisher made is valuable and sounds amazing to anyone. A Crate??? Hmmm.

I'll put dollars down that these guys know the difference. If I can tell the difference, so can they...maybe more so. I do, and have owned solid state amps ,and good ones at that. But I've never smoked enough weed or crack to not be able to tell the difference. Apparently neither has Knopfler.

well everyone has a opinion.
my opinion stays the same there are
great none tube power amps out there
one of them is the CRATE GT1200H and
some of the marshall MG amps are also
very good or guitarist like slash and a few
others wouldnt use them at all BUT! they do.
todays amp tech is simply brilliant!

fhopkins · **Posted:** Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:51 am

Pete55 wrote:

I havn't heard that nice, soft spongy tone with scooped mids coming out of any solid state rig, pedals or not. And I've tried very hard for 40 years now. And yes, solid state has been around for that long!

The guys I respect most are the session players. They're very precise. Most of them have some rack mount gear, but when it comes to recording and getting pure tone, most of them have a tube amp they turn to. Maybe not even a very big one. Brent Mason likes an old Fender Deluxe. Mike Landau from Los Angeles turns to old Fenders or a Dumble in the studio. Larry Carlton uses a Dumble exclusively, and Dann Huff likes an older model Matchless. Walter Becker from Steely Dan likes Tophat or a Bogner.

Mark Knopfler likes all kinds of amps...all of them tube. Sultans of Swing was a 1963 Vibrolux. Today he uses Bob Reinhardt amps, which are basically JTM-45 Marshall's. One of his fave recording amps lately is a 1958 Vox AC-15. Clapton gets it done with 1957 Narrow Panel Tweed Custom Shop Twins. Layla was recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami in 1970 using a 1964 Fender Champ cranked up.

These guys are peerless. They can afford what they like. They can play the best of what they HEAR. I'm betting that they can hear. You might say they can't, but I'm saying they can. They use tube amps to record, tube amps live. John Mayer's Two Rock is NOT a solid State amp, and he does not buy up or collect rack mount gear...he's busy buying Alexander Dumble ampfliers. A Trainwreck amp that Ken Fisher made is valuable and sounds amazing to anyone. A Crate??? Hmmm.

I'll put dollars down that these guys know the difference. If I can tell the difference, so can they...maybe more so. I do, and have owned solid state amps ,and good ones at that. But I've never smoked enough weed or crack to not be able to tell the difference. Apparently neither has Knopfler.

Good post Pete55!

Pete55 · **Joined:** Tue Nov 11, 2008 10:03 am **Posts:** 214

Actually amp technologies today are brilliant. Better than ever...let's agree on that.

Let's also agree than Leo Fender, Bill Jennings ( Vox) and Jim Marshall's technologies were not so good.

How do they still sound so good, and are so preferred by so many really, really good players and studio cats? If this is a quiz, please submit the correct answer, because there is a correct answer.

alwaysstrat · **Posted:** Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:55 am

fhopkins wrote:

Pete55 wrote:

I havn't heard that nice, soft spongy tone with scooped mids coming out of any solid state rig, pedals or not. And I've tried very hard for 40 years now. And yes, solid state has been around for that long!

The guys I respect most are the session players. They're very precise. Most of them have some rack mount gear, but when it comes to recording and getting pure tone, most of them have a tube amp they turn to. Maybe not even a very big one. Brent Mason likes an old Fender Deluxe. Mike Landau from Los Angeles turns to old Fenders or a Dumble in the studio. Larry Carlton uses a Dumble exclusively, and Dann Huff likes an older model Matchless. Walter Becker from Steely Dan likes Tophat or a Bogner.

Mark Knopfler likes all kinds of amps...all of them tube. Sultans of Swing was a 1963 Vibrolux. Today he uses Bob Reinhardt amps, which are basically JTM-45 Marshall's. One of his fave recording amps lately is a 1958 Vox AC-15. Clapton gets it done with 1957 Narrow Panel Tweed Custom Shop Twins. Layla was recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami in 1970 using a 1964 Fender Champ cranked up.

These guys are peerless. They can afford what they like. They can play the best of what they HEAR. I'm betting that they can hear. You might say they can't, but I'm saying they can. They use tube amps to record, tube amps live. John Mayer's Two Rock is NOT a solid State amp, and he does not buy up or collect rack mount gear...he's busy buying Alexander Dumble ampfliers. A Trainwreck amp that Ken Fisher made is valuable and sounds amazing to anyone. A Crate??? Hmmm.

I'll put dollars down that these guys know the difference. If I can tell the difference, so can they...maybe more so. I do, and have owned solid state amps ,and good ones at that. But I've never smoked enough weed or crack to not be able to tell the difference. Apparently neither has Knopfler.

Good post Pete55!

dont run away fhopkins. you realy think this is
a post of facts or opinions? i would say that this
is someones opinion.

fhopkins · **Posted:** Mon Feb 16, 2009 11:00 am

I would say that most of the post here are opinions. Some of them contain some facts. If you dispute his facts on who plays what then tell him. Have a good one alwaysstrat!

alwaysstrat · **Posted:** Mon Feb 16, 2009 11:02 am

fhopkins wrote:

I would say that most of the post here are opinions. Some of them contain some facts. If you dispute his facts on who plays what then tell him. Have a good one alwaysstrat!

you have a good one to fhopkins

nikininja · **Posted:** Mon Feb 16, 2009 11:02 am

no one knows how sultans of swing was recorded. Knopfler at the time used a blackface fender and a roland jc120 (solidstate) and a strat copy. He thought it was a 62 until rudy pensa set him straight.

On the whole though its a fact that players of notoriously good tone who dont have money limitations use valve amps. I cant see how that is just an opinion.

alwaysstrat · **Posted:** Mon Feb 16, 2009 11:06 am

nikininja wrote:

no one knows how sultans of swing was recorded. Knopfler at the time used a blackface fender and a roland jc120 (solidstate) and a strat copy. He thought it was a 62 until rudy pensa set him straight.

On the whole though its a fact that players of notoriously good tone who dont have money limitations use valve amps. I cant see how that is just an opinion.

i have money nik and i just dont use valve amps
i like verity if i come across a great none tube amp
i'll by it and use it. i could care less if it had tubes or not.
if it sounds great i'll use it. as always nik great post

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