tube or solid state?

[guitarjitsumaster]

As soon as I get some decent mikes "income tax time ". Ill make some clips.

 

[Firebeard]

Man, their salesmen are idiots...

I can't say enough about how stupid GC is. With my Charvel model 2/3a problem. The dude looked like Billy West, bug eyes and all! I was looking into the Line 6 Spider II HD75 because I currently have a Crate G600xl with as much tone as my dog's farts. And they told me they sell alot of those so theres a huge new shipment coming in...of 2! Since I'll never gig I just want a small cheap amp that sounds better than my Crate and for $250 the Spider II HD75 seems to fit right in between bills. As far as tube/solid go, personal opinion always beats other's! Play by ear drag two heads side by side and check them out. Just don't do it at GC because we've all figured out they're idiots.

 

[tongueofcolicab]

while guitar center has a bigger variety of instruments, i think my local samash has the best customer support/best working guys there. recently i've been going more and more there just to chill around and try new equipment and they've been nothing but cool about it. they practically know me by now there.

i can never forget the asshole at GC who refused to let me try out shit at the store with my seven string. urgh

 

[thepunisher]

wouldnt let ya try out because of seven string?

thats fucking stupid

 

[tongueofcolicab]

wouldnt let ya try out because of seven string?

thats fucking stupid

nah just bringing any of my equipment to try out new stuff at the store. they wanted me to use the shit there. less paperwork? assholes.

 

[Chunkosaurus]

Johnson Millennium 250 Head by digitech
http://johnson-amp.com/jm250.htm

 

[zimbloth]

Im shocked so many people on here prefer SS over tubes, especially those with otherwise high-end gear. I've never run into a person who actually PREFERRED the sound of a solid state amp over a good tube amp. I guess you learn something new everyday. I can't think of any established bands who don't record/tour with tube amps, other than Pantera back in the day but even that was debatable. The only one I can think of was Meshuggah back in the day, but compare their tone on Chaosphere (Mesa tube amps) with their old stuff...eeek!

I guess if you just want to play at bedroom levels and/or don't have a lot of money, then I understand. Or if you just haven't been exposed to a good tube amp before (IMO a lot of newer Marshalls/Mesas you find at retail stores are junk). The problem with trying them out at places like GC is you cant even play them loud enough to hear how they really sound. Not to mention they usually are setup bad with crappy tubes, horrific speaker cables, crappy guitars with dually bad instrument cables, etc.

To each their own! I respect if people dig SS, sound is subjective I suppose.

 

[Donnie]

Well, I've had tube amps from Soldano, Marshall, Peavey, Mesa, Rocktron and I just prefer my current setup of either a Line 6 Vetta 2x12 combo with the matching ext. cab or my PodXT Live>Carvin DCM600>Line 6 4x12. And it's not because it's cheaper for me. A Vetta isn't the cheapest amp in the world. Also, I like to tweak tones and with this stuff, I can mess around with different sounds for a lifetime. On the other end of the spectrum, I'd love to have my Soldano Hotrod 50XL + Soldano 4x12 cab back. 1 Channel. Just plug and play.
Also I'll add that I'm gigging fairly regularly now and the sound of my Vetta usually brings in compliments on my tone. Mostly from tube players that have never heard one before.

 

[guitarjitsumaster]

I like tubes also so dont get me wrong but my SS warhead has a lower register precision, agressiveness and clarity that just cant be found in a tube amp. When I hit that low B its tighter than a bad pair of 80's spandex. Its just something that can not be had from a tube amp. Most people have just not heard a proper SS amp. Most SS manufacturers are just trying to emulate tube and never realise the true sonic potential of an unashamed SS amp. So most of the tube nazis have never heard a real SS.

I do prefer tubes when im in more of a prog mood but if Im playing metal nothing can take the place of my warhead. There are some tube amps I could live with like the uberschall or some of the "heavily" modified marshalls ive heard.

 

[zimbloth]

Well yea SS are a little tighter, but you can still get a crazy tight sound from the right tube amp - for metal. I mean I guarantee if you name some of your favorite bands and their tones, more than likely theyre getting those sounds from a tube amp.

Some tube amps granted have sloppy low ends, but often that can be corrected by using different pre-amp tubes which are tighter, or adjusting the amp a certain way. For example, one tube amp I have is a Peavey and it has a 3 way switch on it that lets you choose from "loose, mid and tight", on tight its extremely articulate and tight, like a solid state but you still get that organic 3-dimensional sound you can only get from tubes.

Although, I will concede that for extreme versatility, some of those modeling amps can't be beat, personally I just look for one perfect tone and just use that 95% of the time.

 

[telecaster90]

I have a Line6 Modeling amp, so SS for me. But I love the tone from my dad's Carvin MTS.

 

[Donnie]

As much as I love solid state, I will probably end up with one of those new Hughes & Kettner Switchblades this year.

 

[Gurj]

I like both. I love the tone from my Peavey XXX, but when I want to go heavier, I have an evil setting on my GNX2 or get out the Randall Cyclone head

 

[zimbloth]

I can't imagine going heavier than the Triple XXX assuming it has good tubes in it and uses the 'tight' setting. That's one of my favorite amps. Plus it sounds cool on the new Nevermore album.

 

[Gurj]

The XXX is my favourite amp, but I can't get a Dimebag type tone out of it. That's when the GNX2 or the Randall Cyclone come in handy

 

[guitarjitsumaster]

The XXX is my favourite amp, but I can't get a Dimebag type tone out of it. That's when the GNX2 or the Randall Cyclone come in handy

Exactly

I love the triple XXX. It is pretty tight but the agressiveness of its distortion cant quite measure up to the Warhead. That and it doesnt have the cabs with 2x15 with crossover. Probably my dream tone would be both of them together but since I had to choose. It was the warhead all the way. Goind SS also has the benefit of being more reliable. Cuz it really sucks when your at an ouside show and a drop of rain hits a hot tube and cracks it Or your dumb roadie moves the amp while its hot and cracks a tube

 

[zimbloth]

Eh. I hate solid states. It's debatable Dimebag even used solid state amps to record. It sounds like he did for a while, but if you compare the tone on Reinventing the Steel or The Great Southern Trendkill to their older work, they sound like tube amps. I think his tone when he used those SS amps was highly overrated. His superb technique is what made it sound good IMO.

If you want your Triple XXX to sound exponentially better, try putting some JJ tubes in there. Most tubes made these days aren't very good, JJ's are one of the few exceptions. Also use it with a good cab made of birch like a Mesa Recto 4x12 or a Carvin Legacy 4x12. I don't like the Sheffield speakers in the Peavey cabs.

As for reliability, I can't argue there, that's definitely an advantage of SS. I guess high maitenance and occasional headaches is the price you pay for great tube tone

 

[Gurj]

I've got my amp set to the "tight" setting and tubes are stock. But i've never been able to get a Dimebag growl out of it.
But will try some JJ's down the road and have been thinking about trying the head with different cabs.

 

[guitarjitsumaster]

When I was using the triple it had GT's. So I think it was good to go. I like SS and tube. Its just that tube just wont get the clarity I need with fast precise rythems in the lower register. I know you can get close with a tube amp but you usually have to mod them and use outboard gear to get the same tightness and turn them up to ear bleed level to get the sweet spot. I would rather have a simpler rig. Bass players have known for a long time that your just not going to get the tightest and most accurate bass punch and response with tubes. Its not until recently that guitar players have been dipping down into their range and noticing the pronounced difference that bass players have been knowing about for a long time now. . I know ill never convince the tube nazis but I know ive convinced every open mind whose into metal with my warhead.

I will admit that Randall is the only company that makes SS's that are worth anything. A good sounding SS is a very young invention and still rare. Most ss amps in the beginning and still today are built to either be cheapies for the kid guitarists or tube emulators. So of course this equates to alot of bad SS amps being made out there. One day because of the experimentation with hybrids this will change I believe.

Honestly I think the future of amps are in hybrid's with SS and tube pre's. I know a lot of famous guys who were doing SS like anthrax and disturbed are going that way.

 

[7stringninja]

So far.....I prefer tube, but I think there is a BIG reason that alot of people overlook.


For years, tube amps have been standard (with a few exceptions - Dimebag Darrell). Because of this, amplifier developers spend most of their time and money, developing tube amps. With very little time or effort dedicated to solid-state development.

If Mesa Boogie spent the next year working on a top-notch solid state amp, I can almost gaurantee it would be NICE!!! Just my $.02