Differences Between Valve & Solid State Amps - Does It Really Matter? Which Sounds Better?
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- Опубликовано: 28 июл 2024
- It's valve amplifiers vs solid-state amplifiers in Dagan's comparison guide. Can Dagan finally settle the long-winded argument between tube amps and transistor amps? Probably not, but you'll still learn about the differences here.
In this video, Dagan explains the key differences between valve/tube amplifiers and solid-state amps. We get some nice sound examples and discuss the pros and cons of each style of amplifier.
0:00 Intro to valve vs solid-state amps
0:42 Amplifier categories/variants
1:02 Preamp & Power amps explained
1:25 Tube amps are the same as valve amps
1:40 Types of Tubes used in valve amps
2:33 Solid-state amps pre amp/power amp transistors explained
History of valve amps
4:50 Digital amplifiers explained
5:22 Valve amps explained & sounds
6:40 Downsides of tube amps
8:29 Benefits of tube amps
10:00 Fender Bluesbreaker Sounds
10:12 What Dagan loves about valve amps
10:27 Marshall SC20C Studio amp sounds
10:57 Handwired Vox AC30 vs Line 6 Spider (yep, we did that)
11:24 Hitting chords on a Tube amp / Bassbreaker 007
12:11 Solid State amps explained & sounds ft Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb Combo Amplifier
13:32 Benefits of solid-state amps
13:57 Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb demo
14:36 Main differences between valve amps & solid-state amps
15:50 Price difference
16:32 Mustang GTX50
16:53 Outro & final thoughts to valve vs solid state
Shop a full range of guitar amplifiers over at PMT Online today: bit.ly/33BPPID
If you're wondering what the main differences between a valve amp and solid-state amp, start here. You'll get an unbiased (wheeeeey, valve amp joke) opinion on which amp might be right for certain players and the benefits of each. We also get a few sound examples of each style of amp and even discuss the price differences.
Throughout most of the video Dagan is playing The Blackstar HT stage bundle:
Blackstar HT Stage 100 MkII Valve Guitar Amplifier Head: bit.ly/38tv1Y8
Blackstar HT Venue HTV-412A MkII Angled Guitar Speaker Cabinet: bit.ly/38Gl0XN
Bundle DEAL! Blackstar HT Stage 100 MkII Valve Amp Head and HTV-212 MkII Speaker Cab Bundle: bit.ly/3eHShma
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I had a Peavey 6505 and that amp was a beast. I couldn't even have it barely at 1 without it being so loud I thought it was going to blow the windows of my house out. It was ridiculous but in the best way. I wasn't able to use it to it's full potential, I ended up selling it because I hit hard times but the guy I sold it to was in a touring band. I'm glad it's getting used and being cranked up!
Andertons has made a video showing how to use a Two Notes attenuator to play big valve amps at home without getting evicted. It creates a dummy load speaker which allows the valves to play at max volume, but quietly.
I got me one of them fuckers and it sounds so good XD sorry for your loss but buddy go grab ya another try guitar center they will ship them to you under 100 XD
What I found interesting and funny is that Rock and other types of modern music happened by accident. An un-powered guitar in the days before amplification could not be heard next to a horn section or jazz combo -- so they used early amps in the 3 to 7 watt range. The power had to get bigger, though, because if you turn the amp up too high, it would get all distorted, which no one wanted. So at some point, amps get up in the 20 to 80 watt range and everyone is happy.
But some people couldn't afford the high powered amps that didn't distort as much, so bars and nightclubs had a lot of musicians who had no choice but to turn their amps up. Over time, they realized that the distorted sound everyone hated *actually* sounds great. So then you wind up with people who take the big amps and find that they'll distort just as much as the small ones, but you need a huge hall or stadium to put them in because an 80 watt amp in a small room will turn your ears and brain to jelly.
Early rockers played LOUD because that's the only way they could get their high-powered equipment to distort how they wanted, squealing, screaming, crying, compressed gooey goodness. Now, you have people who take a 50-year-old brain-meltingly powerful amp... and hook it up to a load box to get the sound back down to where you can stand next to it at full power and not go deaf.
Josh Scott of JHS pedals has a couple of videos about this.
Lots of solutions came to life out of necessity which then became the desired sound. Same applies to many mixing and sound engineering tricks like brooklyn / sidechain compression, multiband compression solutions, distortions just like with guitars and so on. Very interesting. Now we have too many options for everything and thus lack that sort of creativity (more often than not).
I think about that often too and how it’s so interesting. Another side of it is to think how those early electric players pre guitar distortion would use todays tech to amplify a guitar, with our powerful transistor and digital PA systems and preamps, Versus a dying tube powered guitar amp. It would probably be crystal clean, very hi-fi/full frequency range, and even more interesting considering modulation effects. Interesting how so many “imperfections” made the music we love and call “perfect”.
I always imagine Dagan bringing his guitars one-by-one in the store to show it off. I love it.
@Adrian B says the guy calling people tools on the internet lol
After starting on a Fender Mustang GT40 a year ago. I just got myself a Blackstar HT-20R, after testing a few different amps. Absolutely love it! You can switch it to 2W for practicing at home but also crank it up in the 20W mode and entertain the neighborhood. And it sounds amazing in both modes. Sure the Fender has more effects to play around but for me it doesn't sound as good as the Blackstar.
One of my favorite tones, that I inevitably tried to mimic as a young ambitious guitarist, blossomed from a solid state amp. Ty Tabor from Kings X used the solid State Lab Series L5. Along with his Fender Elite Strat, this amp gave Ty his unique midrange sound that broke up in a natural sounding way. He currently uses Orange Crush solid state amps to get his beautiful sound.
Blues god BB King also used an L5 & he has one of the most recognizable tones around.
Thanks for the great vid! 🤘🏼
Thanks for this info. I always thought that Ty had a killer tone but never looked into what he was using, as I'm a bass player. I assumed it was a tube stack. My mind is now blown.
Dimebag Darrel used solid state Krank and Randall amps too.
B B King used the L5.
@@kiillabytezWhenever King's X is mentioned, I too think of Pantera and their friendship with them. But the Krank amps he used were actually tube amps. I remember watching some footage of Dime visiting their offices and doing a demo. He remarked something to the effect of "Damn, I never thought a tube amp would work for me, but Krank's somehow made it happen." Then they promptly went out of business.
I own solid state amps, hybrid amps & tube amps. And they are all great, there are some solid state amps out there you cannot tell the difference in a blind test. Heck, you might not realize this but the beloved Vox AC10 - half the preamp section is mosfet transistors, replacing one of the 12AX7 preamp tubes that ordinarily would have been there
After playing a fender tonemaster I believe that solid state amps are going to get better as technology progresses but in my heart a valve amp is still hard to beat
I found if you’re playing for people they don’t care and don’t even know the difference,you sound good or you don’t,solid state or tube is irrelevant to a audience
Probably because the guitar player is hearing it every night and wants to hear himself the best he or she can. And why not sound as good as you can for the show?
True that, only guitar fanatics will point it out
But how many guitarists play live
I cant play worth a shit if it sounds bad. It matters.
@@Ab.gs3 however many want to
Just bought the EVH LBX II 15-watt lunchbox and 30-watt single 12" cab. Wow! 15 watts sounds like 50. Got the EVH Bumblebee as well. Buying pedals tomorrow. I'm 66 and retired. Just play at the house. What a game changer the internet turned out to be. The gear info you guys put out is invaluable when it comes to deciding what to buy. As a side note, if Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean), had a brother, you would have been perfect for the part.
I'm here because I installed my new tube preamp (Aiyima A3 pro) yesterday. Feeding it to an Onkyo receiver. I can't settle the debate of solid state versus tube, but I can tell you that the tube preamp improves the sound. The preamp reveals more details and tames any distorted bass. imo.
For some vocals, tube preamp restores emotional sub harmonics stripped by solid state amp.
This YT video is the best one I've heard regarding solid state versus tubes because you are an actual musician.
Awesome video, man!!! Objective and informative, thanks!!! Cheers.
I run 2 tube amps in stereo and love them, one is a Carvin X50B with 4x12 cab and a Marshall jcm800 4010 combo. Both 50 watt tube amps and sound amazing together. Just my preference, I've been playing this setup since 2006. I've had the Carvin around 1994ish. I have a Marshall Zakk Wylde micro stack that I just use for lower volume practice and it's great for what it is, however I still prefer my tube amps. I just haven't found or heard a solid state that catches my fancy yet is all.
Now on to what actually caught my attention about this video, that sexy Kramer!
Looks like a great match for my original Kramer Nightswan I still own since 1990, love the old Kramer series. Although I wonder if the one in the video is a reissue of the Stage master?
Love these videos, cheers!
I played a Line6 Spider IV, then a Marshall MG series, I now have a EVH 2x12 combo and would not trade it for the world. I love the sound on the blue channel. Also, I find (personally) that the 6L6 are brighter than the EL34.
I had a Marshall 900 head that rarely sounded great to me, even after a service. Sold it and bought a Tech21 Trademark 60 solid state which sounded great every single gig, and it was very light and easy to carry.
Well unfortunately to get the 900 to sound good u gotta put it on 11 lol. But who wants to be in the same room lol
Fantastic review !!
Serious LOVE your honesty! Blessings to you!
Valve amplifiers will always have a special place in my heart.
First time I turned one on nothing happened for a couple of seconds, but then the amp finally came alive and as I turned it up I could feel the tone in all of my body as well as the guitar.
Tube amplifiers will give you THAT sound and a once in a lifetime experience, but it's undoubtedly cheaper, more reliable and much more practical to go with a digital amp modeller like the line 6 Helix in a live situation. It's not like the audience can hear a difference anyways
It's ok to have sentimental attachment, but if you're going to make assertions about the sound and feel, you should be able to back that up by telling them apart in a blind test.
@@RijuChatterjee Okay let's do a blind test in the RUclips comment section! I'll go first!... 😖😖😖
I remember when solid state came out and we were thrilled. No more waiting for the amp to warm up, no more running to the local hardware store when a tube burnt out, with all of the tubes, to run them on the tube tester then back home to put the tubes back in. Then it was wash, rinse, repeat over and over. As I play mostly with a clean tone, I don't need a tube amp so I can get the amp to distort. Back in the late 1960s I got to play bass a few times through a Vox Super Beatle. I loved it. I am mainly a guitar player and I don't remember what kind of amp I had. It was probably Sears Silvertone or a Kent??? In the early 70s I played through an Ovation Cat. Now I have a 15 watt Fender practice amp and a Peavey Solo Series Special 120 watt amp that I picked up at a yard sale in 1987 for $40.00.
I still play bass through 70's Peavey & acoustic stacks, rack preamps & Crown Microtech/Macrotech Power amps with them. wouldn't change 'em for anything....Blows 100w Marshalls off the stage if I want.
So can you really recognize is it solid state, modeller,pedal or tube amp in the room? Maybe..Gigs or in the mix, probably not.
Please do a video on how to play a big valve amp in your bedroom using something like the Two Notes. It's now possible to enjoy a powerful valve amp in your mother's attic without blowing the roof off. They are brilliant, but fiddly as hell to set up. I didn't realise guitar leads are different to speaker cables. Switching on a valve amp, warming it up, setting all the knobs right, determining the right 4/8/16 ohms resistance for the attenuator - help!
'valves" are not what make the amps heavy, its the giant transformers!
Exactly! LOL
"it's not the gun that killed him, Officer. It was the bullet."
yep, I have an 80s Fender SS amp with an output transformer and it weighs as much as a lot of tube amps.
MARSHALL, ROLL OUT
Exactly, "tubes" are! :D
Digging the magnetic guitar pick holder on the horn.
I had a solid state valvestate 20 for years and it sounded good.
25 years later I bought a valvestate 100V which has a valve in the power amp.
I then bought a cheap 20 amp Marshall Origin head.
I've got a 2x12 Harley Benton vintage celestion cab.
That amp is a complete game changer.
It has a built in attenuation circuit and I play it most at 0.5 watts.
It is crazy loud even at that and plenty loud enough for playing at home.
I still use a line 6 pod HD 300 but with it on FX only.
I now use some external pedals as well. I love the Rat and the MXR Phase.
Just using the expression pedal on the hd300 you can go for clean to crazy boost. You don't get that with a solid state amp.
Volume on the guitar is the same.
Luv and Peace.
I use the Blackstar HT5rMk2 in 0.5w mode for home practice and recording. I think if I was gigging again I’d buy the Fender Tonemaster Twin reverb. I used to own a Marshall JCM800 50w 2x12 combo. It was sooooo heavy! If I was in a covers band I’d probably get the Katana 100w 2x12. Really depends on your needs. I love valve amps but solid state and modellers are so good now it’s hard to justify the back pain! Even my little Blackstar is heavy!
I actually had a hybdrid combo amp, it was really good but when i discovered the Boss Katana witch is digital i was just blown away by the great tone of it. I also have a Randall RG 1003 head witch is a solid state, its great for metal, i sometimes boost it with a metalzone pedal.
@@pentatonicpaddy i only got the 50w but that is quiet loud...i already have a 100w head and cab i dont think it is nessesary to have 2 100w amps. Im livin in a small apartment. The guy on the musicstore said that the 50w is great for homeuse and also performances...so i can gig with it when the gigs starts again.
This video helped me alot👍thankyou
brilliant stuff 🔥
Small note on digital - Digital amps still have either a solid state or valve power amp attached.
Digital just means it uses binary to process information on the sound. So, essentially, you have a computer processing your guitar signal to replicate solid state or valve components. Whilst the digital section of the amp might respond to the volume control, this would be lowering the volume and/or simulating the volume lowering response of "real" components. No matter what you do digitally, you can't increase the volume of a signal.
A lot of people think the "D" referred to in a class D Power Amp stands for digital - this isn't actually true, the classes of power amps are just listed alphabetically (so class A through to H existing with an extra hybrid of A and B - class AB; it's worth noting guitar amplifiers are usually Class A, AB or Class D, but not exclusively).
Class D power sections are inherently solid state and are usually used because they are extremely transparent - if your digital amp is already replicating the tonal character of a specific power amp, you want the ACTUAL power amp to be as transparent as possible. Hence, class D power sections tend to go with digital amps.
Solid State and digital are extremely similar in a lot of ways, but solid state generally has has no computing sections. It's also worth noting though, that in the late 90's and early 2000s A LOT of amps (both solid state and valve) started incorporating digital processing in the signal path - often referred to as DSP (digital signal processing) - at the time. This was usually on-board digital effects. You still see this in the Marshall MG series I think, but it's also there in the Line 6 Spider Valve and DT series, and was in the chronicaly under-rated Ashdown Fallen Angel amp as well. Most solid state amps now are just straight-ahead amps with no frills (Orange's Crush series for example) and the on-board effects tend to sit in the realm of digital amps.
Really cool video. I'm always interested in people's take on different kinds of amps!
Edit: Weird how you decide not to talk abotu digital amps but then only have digital amps in the video, aside from mentioning the Jazz Chorus - Line 6 Spider ia digital and the Fender Tonemaster and Mustang are both digital. Solid state use analogue circuits and electronics to process the pre-amp part of the signal - it is never converted into digital information, with the exception of any on-board effects.
I like all good sounding amps.
FYI Roland also has a JC22 and JC40.
I still have my trusty old solid state H||H IC100S. Great amp and it's still going, although I now have a MK1 Blackstar HT Stage 100 and a Marshall Code 100 Combo.
Shame you didn't work on the weekends 🤣, came all the way from The Netherlands visited the store but you weren't there 😅. Wanted to have some tips on my Hughes and Kettner switchblade 50 combo! :) nice set up upstrairs!! 🤘🤘
Ah sorry dude! Next time 🤘
I previously owned a Fender Champion (Solid State/Transistor), but have since purchased both a VOX AD100VT (Hybrid, 12AX7 (ECC83) in the pre-amp) and a Blackstar ID:260 TVP (Digital with 6 Valve/Tube responses) And I have to say that while the Fender Champion is a fantastic amp which takes pedals gloriously, the VOX and Blackstar amps blow it out of the water in terms of power, sound and tone-shaping
About the Tone Master? Yeah, they are awesome! I'd like to have one or two (wet / dry / wet anyone?) as well. And hey, Boss / Roland is of course doing great with their Tube Logic technology. The Katana's, Blues Cubes and Nextones. Although personally I'd wish there was a Katana Nextone. Prefarably Artist with the Waza speaker. Maybe next year... Oh. And Katana (primary) clean = JC Clean.
the valves have a place, but you are right... just not needed anymore... too expensive, heavy, too loud for most places, no one fixes them anymore, but my God they are still so beautiful. I have 26 amps now, but the Marshall stack gets to be in my living room.
I remember one gig I had where I was playing a 100w solid state half stack and the other guitarist was playing a 15w tube combo and we jammed a bit before being micd, his guitar filled the stage, and I could barely hear what I was playing, the sound guy said our volume was even from his location, but I’ll never forget how good that little combo sounded on stage
I think this is just a mind thing because I can never hear myself on stage compared to my other guitarists but we both use solid state amps
I haven't used an Amp in years for gigging. My Modeling floor unit does the trick perfectly each time.
Play what makes you...play more. Doesn't matter. I've got a 15w tube amp, a little Roland Cube and an old 1x8 Peavey combo I got as a gift for my first amp when I first started playing. They all sound good in their own way.
What's your experience with a Marshall MG 50GFX Amp? Worth it, or not? How does it compare to a valve Marshall sound? I'm looking at solid state, I like the sparkly clean sound, but I want to switch a channel and get classic Marshall drive.
I find the difference at high volumes and especially high volume leads. The tone has more clarity with tubes.
I got a Fender X-2 Superchamp FSR a hybrid of tube and solid state. It sounds amazing tbh and Iam comparing this to my solid state Fender Mustang LT25 which sounds trash compared to my new amp. The clarity and tone is second to none and loud as hell !
I owned a mesa boogie f100 and never could run it loud enough to get that sound I loved - have a boss katana now and it sounds great. I did love the fact that I had real tubes and spring reverb
I know what you are talking about with that Katana.
I get superb tone with relatively low volume and it does even better at higher volumes...It responds like a tube amp in many ways but I like the tone of it better (using the panel only and plugged straight in) than anything I've tried in 37 years of playing.
Valve amps weigth alot because transformers (lots of iron and copper), not the tubes themselves :) but nice video!
I use an Ashton GA100 1x12 solid state. Super cheap but sounds great, has an effects loop and cab outputs. 2 channels, 2 EQ sections and All The Gain!
Dagan you're great man!!, I have to buy a new amo but i m not sure between vox av30 vox vtx40 e line6 spiderV. Sugges
tions?
I Love Tube amps and SS amps BOTH, I've been playing for over 55 years and can playany styleof Music. I do LOVE Valve/Tube amps the most ❤
I'm trying to decide which tube amp I want BUT, I sure would like to have that Kramer to go with it. \m/
I have a Mesa 50 Caliber+ combo (6L6 version), made in USA in the late 1980s. And I have a Fender Princeton Chorus, made in Mexico in the late 1990s. They both sound fantastic! The Mesa, being a tube amp, does have a more 'organic' sound but it more high maintenance and picky about pedals. The Fender, being solid state, is waaaaay more reliable and the cleans are glorious. The Fender definitely takes my pedal board better than the Mesa. The Mesa stays in the house and gets fired up once in a while. The Fender is in the garage and is my daily driver.
Remember back in the day when there were such things as gigging musicians?
I love my boss katanas they're brilliant
Not a fan of the katana it’s a lot of faff to get them dialled in. Plenty of solid state/ digital options out there it’s all good.
I’ve got the Blackstar ID60 TVP which I personally prefer but admit I’ve not tried the second generation Katana which people do say is an improvement on the first!
@@sid35gb No, its not. There's a LOT of great tones available from the panel controls alone. You don't need to go into tone studio to get good tones dialed in.
@@etherealessence I’ll have to disagree with you on that one. The top panel presets aren’t good enough for the music I play. Definitely need to go into tone studio to get the effects to sound how I want them, something I could do on the fly with a pedal. I’ve only got a 50 so presence control is only available in tone studio which I prefer to use over high tone eq.
It’s also a bit dead under the fingers unless you gun the channel volume and control the loudness with the master volume.
@@sid35gb Just because you can't get the sounds you need out of it, doesn't mean the amp requires going into the tone studio to get a good tone. You might not be able to get what you want out of the panel, but the vast majority of people will.
Man thank you thats all I wanted to hear. Ive played Tube amps and Ive played Solid state. I recently had a Small 5watt Tube amp that I is now broken ... so I went back to my Marshall solid state Head started to play and thats when I though wait what was the difference again. But now that you just said it. It feels different. I have the feeling that I have to play harder on the Solid state than on the Tube amp does that make sense ?
Just wanted to point out that transistors are also valves - you apply a small signal to the input terminal, you control a large flow of current at the output terminal. There are differences in how faithfully the output signal matches the input (triodes have an asymmetrical quality that introduces a lot of even harmonics that we love in electric guitar tone), but ve have vays of making transistors act a lot more like triodes. The underlying technology doesn't really matter.
Most solid state amplifiers rely on operational amplifiers (analog computers) for amplification; while they're built from transistor or triode valves, they don't contribute to tone; they just perform a multiplication function on the input signal. Other ways of introducing distortion are used here, usually diodes (essentially electrical check valves).
Please do review on this kramer
I hope youre in good health. Whats your favorite guitar?(s) do a video on it sometime. Maybe one for metal one for classic rock and one for blues/jazz or something
The question is'nt only, which one is the best sound ?!... The question is : which one is the most appropriated to step out the mix when you play in a band. That's why I prefer tubes although I also have an very good transistor combo (H&G Attax 100). But valve amp' do the job better in this important question. A french musician. Thanks for the vidéo 🎸😎
I have a vox vt80+ and Im súper happy
Just to clarify, in the beginning of the video when he was talking about "digital" amps, he was putting them outside the classification of tubes or solid state. Digital, or Class D amps, are definitely solid state. They use a transistor to amplify the sound just like a Class A or AB amp does. How they implement the use of the transistor is different, but its just as solid state as a non class D amp. Also, its somewhat of a mistake to call them digital amps. The sound you hear from a class D amp is never digital. It stays analog from input to output.
He is right about one thing. Value amps are f-ing heavy. My 2x12 value combo amp back in the 80's was a backbraker and never sounded good on low volume. So, in short, just DI into a quality PA system and let the sound guy worry about shaping your tone for the room.
Does that guitar have super jumbo frets on just the earliest 5 frets??
Pretty sure the blackstar ht series is “hybrid” but I have one and they have some tube coloration and digital processing in the tone
Anybody know what model Kramer that is with the scalloped frets?
It began life as a late-era (late 1987-1989) Kramer Pacer Custom II, and has since been heavily modified.
I have 2 old, late 70s, Yamaha G series solid states....bought used for near nothing......incredible clean amp and pedal platform
That little Bassbreaker 007 sounded the best of the lot.
I own a VOX VTX 20 great amp till I busted the the USB it has the pre-amp tube it still works but no access to the tone room, but I find with modelling amps it can be a pain in the ass to scroll or search for tone, I just want to plug the guitar in a wee adjustments on the tone control off to the races, and one feature that I wish Vox VTX series was USB to the PC for recording, VOX made a mistake without having that feature, but the Holy Grail for home users like myself is finding that amp that sounds amazing but will not get you evicted, even my 20 watt VOX is too loud , the amp that i am interested in is the Blackstar HT-1R Mk11, from what I heard is a great home valve amp, and it can record
Of note:
- A lot of modern "all-valve" amplifiers do have a solid state element to them - Blackstar, for example, tends to add a little solid-state element to the pre-amplifier to get close to an "amplifier with an overdrive pedal in front" sound.
- Modeling amplifiers especially tend to be bedroom amplifiers by design. They're mostly dialed in to have slightly more bass response than normal and less midrange, which sounds accurate to the amplifier being emulated when you're playing alone but tends to punch through a lot less once you add a bass player and a drummer.
- The smaller you go with amplifiers, the more features you tend to lose - which, especially in the case of valve amplifiers, can put things in a slightly awkward position. For example, in certain valve amplifier series the biggest version has master-volume while the next step down doesn't - which would make the biggest version actually better for bedroom usage, despite common sense dictating the opposite. It's also fairly common to lose easy access to multiple effects in modeling amplifiers, or to only have one tone-control on especially small models.
Man your playing is awesome!
Have some tube amps Marshall, Orange, Fender and Vox but solid state just does it for me.
Excellent stuff! If you've ever lugged a 100 watt Marshall head and 4+12 cab,2 guitars, pedalboard bag with cables and extras,spare clothes and towel,vinyl backdrop,some lights and strobes! Upstairs to the dog n duck backroom ,and out again to the car which you can't get closer than 5mins away due to park restrictions at 1oclock in morning, then let me know if you still love valve amps!😂😂
That’s why I go with a Fender Pro Junior and a mic to the PA if needed!
When I was young,...I didn't care about any of that one bit ...Stuff like that didn't even cross my mind as being work or lugging something.
But It matters today...
And I have found a more satisfying tone in recent years with less than half the gear that I was using in the 80s - 90s
@@stricknine8623 Yeah, in the 80s, I had a Peavey VTM120 with an oversized 4x12 for my dirty sound, and a Marshall combo for the clean/slight breakup sound with about 8 pedals and a couple of rack units. Wouldn't go back to that again. The Peavey head was about 40% heavier than my buddy's Marshall head.
@@Scott__C
Well I'll be damn,...The first gig amp that I owned was the Peavey VTM 120.
Back in 1986 I believe.
@@stricknine8623 I think I got mine in early 87. It was heavy then, but a cool amp.
what kramer is that?????? I want one
What kind of Kramer is that its nice
My old 1987 Pacer Custom 2 🤘
I am fortunate to have both tube and solid state and I will always have both. They are both great and serve a purpose. We are all very lucky to be living in a time when we can choose one type or both and the technology is so advanced that most people wouldn’t know the difference what they are hearing.
Back in 1993, I test drove a solid state Carlsbro guitar amp in our school's music room - 45 minutes later, the session gave me an Exedrin sized headache even though I was playing clean tones and relatively low volume. Makes me wonder why back in 1989 I can play a 6L6 output tube / output valve equipped 1965 Fender Twin for 8 hours straight at louder than average volume without the headaches. BTW, the only solid state guitar amp that does it for me are those Gibson Lab Series amps used by BB King and Kings X guitarist Ty Tabor.
Love that Kramer! What's the story on it?
I think they've started manufacturing/selling them recently.
A few years ago one of your 'competiors', with a rather large RUclips following, did a blind test between a Kemper & a number of valve amps that it was modeling.
When very experienced players concluded that they couldn't tell the difference in both sound & feel that was the moment, for me, that I realised that technology has moved on to such an extent that blind loyalty to valve amps was, in itself, a form of snobbery....
Buy what you like the sound of, that is the most practical, for the uses that you are going to put it to...
And let's be honest nowadays a live audience is not going to tell the difference, sonically, between Valve vs Solid State.
I think at this point its more about feel than sound. It feels different to play a tube amp than a solid state so you play different.
@@Otis-Isom
It is impossible to "feel" an amplifier.
The term "feel" when used metaphorically in regard to something that ONLY produces sound,....then of course you ARE talking about sound.
Just like when a song has a certain "feel",....that "feel" all comes from what you are hearing.
@@stricknine8623 the "feel" comes from the connection between your guitar playing and the audio response of the amp. it is much more than sound alone hence the reason valva amps are still made and sold
@@bigballstouchem1560
I've been playing for 37 years and playing club gigs for 21 years. I've played almost every kind of tube amp available and played through a multitude of solid state amps.
The sound/tone from an amp cannot be literally felt...Emotionally or metaphorically ? Yes, the term works. The response of the amp to pick attack or volume control is part of the tonal character.
But if you insist that an amplifier has a "feel" to it in the way that people commonly describe guitars as having the right feel, I think is absurd.
But the conjecture belongs to you,..so you can tell it as you please.
@@powertothebauer296
"Feel and hear" ?
NO,...I can HEAR my amp.
And I haven't once indicated otherwise.
I only "feel" my amp when I touch it.
I you want to use the term "feel" as a metaphor for the emotions you may feel from the tone it produces, then that is realistic.
But some are wanting to separate sound from feel. That is absurd unless you are talking about a guitar.
The response from the amp to pick attack, ect is not a "feel" its an audible tone/sound.
audience members will not give af what type of amp you have. those tone masters are the way to go
got a fender gt200 that gives me all the tone i can deal with.
Would a valve amp be louder than a solid state If its the same wattage?
Yes, by a lot!.........Tubes don't even Work, up until 3/4 volume........Solid state will be OUT of steam by then, period.
Feckin’ love Blackstar TVP amps!
Got myself a 260 combo a fee years back and now I’m waiting for the Silver Line 100W top and 2x12 speaker to arrive next week...!
P.S.
Never owned a tube amp.
I’ve owned both but could never get a valve amp to sound how I wanted at sensible volume!
Back in the late 80’s early 90’s I used an Award Session “ sessionette 75 watt combo, guys in other bands who played Marshall and Vox would come up at gigs and ask WTF is that! And couldn’t believe the sound this tiny box produced!
Own the Blackstar ID60 TVP now, fantastic amp, but still have 2 old Session amps that need a bit of attention!
@@ces69 That’s the thing with valve amps... need attention. Don’t want that. Ready, steady, rock is my philosophy.🤘
@@mattiaswellhag3358 The “Session” are not valve amps, they were early mosfet technology combos fitted with Celestion’s that sounded really valve like!
Players like Eric Clapton, Dave Stewart, Mike Rutherford were said to have used them!
Keep meaning to take them in for a service but you know how it is! 😊
As long as the amp is not garbage, it doesn't matter, at gig levels. You'll coax a good sound out. Also, regardless of the amp type, most guitarists achieve different (i.e. "better") sounds using solid state pedals.
Might be a stupid question but solid state just as loud as tube amps? Looking for something loud enough to play in a pub without a sound system
A 100 watt ss amp should be enough
A 100watt ss amp with a 2x12 cab you’ll be loud enough and 2x12 cabs sound nicer a 4x12 is even nicer but probably overkill for a pub gig.
What kind of Kramer is that?
a totally bitchin' one
Hand wired all tube amplifiers just have mojo though. I do occasionally gig with a hybrid Orange Micro dark though. Cool video
Yes
Well.....Brian May did use the Deacy solid state amp on many recordings and for years no one knew or cared, it just sounded good. That's all that matters.
Exactly ! And yet so many people fail to give solid-state due credit. I find it so annoying ! 😡
Love the Kramer. Awesome guitars.
I have a Fender Princeton Chorus from the 90s and absolutely love it! Great solid state amp 🎸
until you go Max volume with ANY Overdrive and it breaks up like ALL solid states do........
For the vast amount of gigs, that the vast amount guitarists end up playing, solid state is fine
I mean modelers are pretty great these days, but as a side effect you can find also sorts of awesome tube heads for dirt cheap on the used marker. I just got a modded Peavy Triple X head that sounds amazing for $400. Also tube amps respond to your playing in a way modelers and hybrids just don't,and it just makes them way more fun to play.
@@kidthorazine You need to try some of the better modern ones!
@@ces69 Ive used a Kemper quite a bit and I have Positive Grid Bias Amp and Bias Effects and a Spark practice amp, its all great stuff with a lot of applications, but nothing I've tried is quite there. I do use modeling and IRs pretty extensively for recording though.
Of course, but for studio and home studio use, although solid state can be great, valve amps are greater overall in most scenarios, also why can’t somebody just enjoy a tube amp even if they don’t ever do a gig in their life?
The amp market targets guitar players for tube amps, guitarists that aren’t in a band or don’t do live work probs make up like 99% of the sales when it comes to the tube amps market for good reason.
I feel like solid state amps are generally more middletone driven, while the tube amps have greater, fuller highs and basses... I guess in the end it really comes down to what genre you're playing
The fact we invented the language should allow the world to know, that we are right. 🇬🇧
Simply.....to each his own.....if you like it, play it
The valve in the Valvestates acted as a diode. It was just there as a gimmick. I had the VS100R combo and pulled the valve out. It made no difference to the sound if it was in or out of the preamp.
Now that's wierd! Ola Englund used a Valvestate head to replicate Chuck Schuldiner's Symbolic tone but something wasn't quite right. He changed the 20 years old valve and the tone improved significantly. Maybe it affects only higher gain tones...
There's this belief that valve amps get hot quicker - sometimes very hot - whilst solid state ones don't. Therefore, valve amps break down easier. How long extended play can one use a valve amp safely without it breaking down due to overheating?
read up on Westinghouse
It is not that the valves are particularly heavy although they are heavier than transistors. Above all they need an output transformer for the whole power that weighs a lot!
Solid state for me. I usually get all my breakup from pedals anyhow. Well.. My Crate gt212 channel 3 is my lead tone.
Im a sucker for SS as well. Me and my buds drink, smoke get all ffff"ed up. Beers get spilled. Shit falls over. Works like a champ. Always digged crates, kinda want a gx130c but I'll never get rid of my mode four 😆
@@DSchea Peavey Bandit and Crate GT212 Make for a Hell of a loud stereo rig. Fuzz Face and Humbucker I can doom to squeal. Tube makes no sense to me.
NOOBS........you know Nothing!
I own Crate gtx15 and it sounds pretty lame. played through bigger Crates in clubs and they never sounded good. so to me you sound like you've never tried anything better
@@ilyalead4blade897 fair assumption but not true. I gotta say I've heard many great rigs being a stagehand since early 2000's just find diminishing returns chasing amps for tones when the signal is mostly pedals. My Peavey Bandit Silverstripe and Crate GT212 together do all that I need well enough. Would I like a Matchless? Sure but the Peavey and Epiphone Junior can be left on stage without worries and I think perhaps you haven't tried that.
How true is the belief that valvies are louder than solids of the same watts?
Tubes are Much louder, the sound doesn't break up, it's Just getting started at 3/4 volume, and will be PURE quality tone.............solid state WILL break up around 1/2 to 3/4 volume if you're using overdrive and sound like total shit, period!! Go to ANY rock gig that isn't using "PA systems" to boost their sound........they will be using Tube amps.....Tubes are like a High RPM Sport Bike, it needs a Ton of Volume to really warm up the engine and make full power.......
Where is Marshall in all of this better sounding solid state stuff??
In the UK, Tubes is that guy from Soccer AM
Or those things you ride in London.
A good amp is a good amp be it valve,ssd or modeling
Headrush Pedalboard Amp and FX Modeling Processor
For a second, I thought you were Russel Brand!
Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb is a digital modelling amp, not a solid state one. It's just modelling one amp and not a bunch of amps and effects.