tube or solid state?

[angryman]

HAHAHAHAHA IT'S NOT AN ARGUMENT IS A DISCUSSION! HAHAHAHAHA

 

[Donnie]

Looks like an argument to me.
It's just the same shit over and over and over...

 

[distressed_romeo]

It is one of the never-ending arguements that seems to come up whenever a bunch of guitarists get together...can't we all agree to disagree?

 

[zimbloth]

It's great to disagree and to have varying opinions, but when people just say things that are flat out untrue thats TRULY a waste of time and contributes nothing to a coherant discussion.

 

[Toshiro]

 

[LordOVchaoS]

you ever owned a 5150 mkI per chance? If so what valves did you use in which position?

Nope, never had a 5150. Sorry.

 

[LordOVchaoS]

Peavey XXX's are switchable, but if you goto EuroTubes.com, Bob explains that newer XXX's have some problems using his EL34 variant, you should read that info I don't remember what it was exactly but its good info for any Triple XXX user.

It has nothing to do with EL34s, it's JJ E34Ls that cause the problem. Different tube altogether but it will work in place of E34Ls in most allplcations, just not XXX's and JSX's.

 

[Elysian]

3) Tube amps don't get "broken in", where on earth do you get this stuff from? Sometimes BRAND NEW tubes can be broken in after a few hours, beyond that the amp is going to sound EXACTLY THE SAME right up until the tubes wear out which is 1-2 years. They sound go from sounding like crap from amazing or vice versa? They dont 'sometimes warm up and deliver kickass tone and sometimes sound weak unless you're pissing on the pre-amp tubes while you're playing.

tube amps can sound different from day to day, even a change in the weather can make them sound different. happened a lot at band practice with my other guitarist, sometimes his amp would sound decent, other times itd sound horrible. a tube amp will never sound "exactly the same" all the time, they are not very concise, not very exacting.

 

[darren]

The other guitarist in my band just bought a solid state GBX amplifier. These were made by a small Canadian company back in the '70s. A rehearsal studio where we used to play had one, and when Steve plugged his Epiphone SG and old Boss multi-effect box into it, the sound was incredible and totally unique.

To me, there's no "good" or "bad"... just varying shades of "different". I love finding unique tones and voices that fit the songs, which is why i choose the modeling approach, and try all kinds of different guitars in the mix (this is why i just bought a Danelectro).

I do run my modeler through a tube power amp, but it's a subjective thing. I like the warm, glassy sound of tubes. But a good solid-state amp is also a great thing. As long as you have enough headroom, they're transparent, powerful and maintenance-free. Tubes do tend to add "colour" to the sound, and do require more TLC over time.

 

[Elysian]

adding color to the sound is exactly why i bought a solid state power amp. something i did not want, because i know how my vamp sounds when i record it, and i wanted that sound live, even with a real cab i still get the exact sound i want.

 

[Drew]

tube amps can sound different from day to day, even a change in the weather can make them sound different. happened a lot at band practice with my other guitarist, sometimes his amp would sound decent, other times itd sound horrible. a tube amp will never sound "exactly the same" all the time, they are not very concise, not very exacting.

First off, I think you meant "consistant," not "concise," which means quick and to the point.

While it's true that tube amps do vary slightly from day to day, the extent to which they vary (provided we're talking about a modern, well-made amp) is INCREDIBLY slight. There are some days when I turn on my Nomad, and it just sounds ungodly good. There are others when I turn it on, and it merely sounds excellent. I've never turned on an amp and had it sound "bad," only to come back another day and have it sound much better.

And honestly, I'm not sure how much of that is 1.) psychological, some sort of a "placebo effect" where I just haven't played in a little while, or my ears are fatigued, or what, and 2.) how much of that is due to the impact of the tone of my fingers varying day to day, pronounced by the fact my amp is incredibly tonally responsibe to my playing touch (argually more so than a digital rig where, no matter how you look at it, it's undeniable a certian amount of data is being lost due to sampling rates). I can actually hear the difference in tone through my rig between when my fingers are really cold (and thus the calluses are stiffer, which translates to a brighter finger tone) and when they're warmer.

So, I think arguing "tubes suck because some days they sound better than others" is kinda like arguing "Southern California sucks because some days it's 67 and others it's 69." Honestly, that sort of a difference is just splitting hairs, and if you want to hate Southern California and that's all you can find to hate it for, then that sort of speaks volumes for your credibility and expertise on the subject. I'm not saying it's not ok to hate SoCal, to extend the metaphor, I'm just saying if you do make sure you're not making excuses for yourself, you know?

 

[Elysian]

First off, I think you meant "consistant," not "concise," which means quick and to the point.

While it's true that tube amps do vary slightly from day to day, the extent to which they vary (provided we're talking about a modern, well-made amp) is INCREDIBLY slight. There are some days when I turn on my Nomad, and it just sounds ungodly good. There are others when I turn it on, and it merely sounds excellent. I've never turned on an amp and had it sound "bad," only to come back another day and have it sound much better.

And honestly, I'm not sure how much of that is 1.) psychological, some sort of a "placebo effect" where I just haven't played in a little while, or my ears are fatigued, or what, and 2.) how much of that is due to the impact of the tone of my fingers varying day to day, pronounced by the fact my amp is incredibly tonally responsibe to my playing touch (argually more so than a digital rig where, no matter how you look at it, it's undeniable a certian amount of data is being lost due to sampling rates). I can actually hear the difference in tone through my rig between when my fingers are really cold (and thus the calluses are stiffer, which translates to a brighter finger tone) and when they're warmer.

So, I think arguing "tubes suck because some days they sound better than others" is kinda like arguing "Southern California sucks because some days it's 67 and others it's 69." Honestly, that sort of a difference is just splitting hairs, and if you want to hate Southern California and that's all you can find to hate it for, then that sort of speaks volumes for your credibility and expertise on the subject. I'm not saying it's not ok to hate SoCal, to extend the metaphor, I'm just saying if you do make sure you're not making excuses for yourself, you know?

i think it might be more of a YMMV thing then, as the difference with his jcm800 was usually really really noticeable. my blue voodoo especially had its off days when the tubes were dying, but after i replaced them and rebiased them it was alright, the difference usually wasn't so huge, but i hardly got through the break in period before i sold it and adopted my vamp pro rig full time.

 

[LordOVchaoS]

A lot of it has to do with the consistency of the electricity. My house is OLD and the wiring sucks ass so there are some days my amp sounds like ass and others it just blows my head off. I've experimented. If I turn everything else off in my house except maybe my computer and one light bulb my amp sounds quite a bit better than if I have all kinds of shit running at the same time.

In new houses it's not much of an issue unless your electric company sucks or the guy that wired your house is an idiot.

 

[Elysian]

A lot of it has to do with the consistency of the electricity. My house is OLD and the wiring sucks ass so there are some days my amp sounds like ass and others it just blows my head off. I've experimented. If I turn everything else off in my house except maybe my computer and one light bulb my amp sounds quite a bit better than if I have all kinds of shit running at the same time.

In new houses it's not much of an issue unless your electric company sucks or the guy that wired your house is an idiot.

buy a power conditioner

 

[LordOVchaoS]

buy a power conditioner

Heh, someday. Tax return coming soon!

 

[darren]

I just ordered a matched set of replacement tubes from Eurotubes for my Peavey Classic 50/50. I was surprised that they were actually pretty reasonably priced, considering there's 16 tubes involved.

 

[Leon]

There are some days when I turn on my Nomad, and it just sounds ungodly good. There are others when I turn it on, and it merely sounds excellent.

that's good stuff

[action=Leon]will never sell his Mesa Nomad.[/action]

 

[Metal Ken]

i hated the mp-1 i tried on my other guitarists jcm800 last year... sounded like complete ass, and its bad when i can't even program a useable tone into it... i could squeeze a useable tone out of a pignose and a digitech death metal crapo distortion.

I On the otherhand found it to be quite usuable. With a sonic maximizer in my rack, it slays. SUPREME thrash tone. Its got more of an hotrodded marshall type vibe as opposed to a mesa sound, though you can mod them to get a mesa sound. i gotta get the EQ in my rack, but once i do im sure i'll be totally satisfied.. that and when i get a 4x12 cabinet. 2x15 just doesnt cut it...

 

[LordOVchaoS]

I On the otherhand found it to be quite usuable. With a sonic maximizer in my rack, it slays. SUPREME thrash tone. Its got more of an hotrodded marshall type vibe as opposed to a mesa sound, though you can mod them to get a mesa sound. i gotta get the EQ in my rack, but once i do im sure i'll be totally satisfied.. that and when i get a 4x12 cabinet. 2x15 just doesnt cut it...

2X15 =

I'm trying to find something to spend a portion of my tax return on and I think an MP-1 with the 3 tube mod is the winner so far. I just wanted somebody who is as metal as yourself to confirm that it is a good preamp. I know lots of 80's metal guys who dig it but haven't heard much about how well it does death metal. You and I share a very similar music taste so I'll take your word for it.

 

[Elysian]

imo you should go with a digitech gsp 2101 with dual s disc. owns the mp1 in every possible way, quite possibly one of the most tweakable units on the planet.