# What's with all the TUBE lovers?!!!



## Swee_tone (Mar 23, 2009)

LOL

Ok, dont post here often, but just had to go the other side of the coin from the "What's with all the SS lovers" post...

Personally of all the years I have been playing, I have had several tube amps... Gibson Skylark / Gibson GA5 / Valvetrain/ 2 Epi tube amps / Garnet / Blues jr./ Peavey Valveking / Bugera V5 / Grant Cobra/ Traynor YCV ... i,m sure there's more...

I've also owned SS and hybrid amps... Super Champ XD/ Valvetronix / Tech 21 Trademark 60 and 10 / Laney LX / Vox Pathfinder 15R / Kustom 12 Guage/ Fender Frontman 25R / Roland Cube 30- and 40XL / and I know there is others...

Anyways , they all had their good and bad points, but I have to say that in my discoveries, I dont need a tube amp anymore. Of the above list I am the most recommending to the Roland Cube 40XL and Vox Pathfinder as quality amps with the sounds. The only noticeable thing was the "feel" as the guitar was instantly there, if that makes sense .

Last month I bought a new Mustang 3 - version 2 from Fender , and am blown away by how good they are making these new amps sound. No, they dont have wooden cabs, aren't PTP wiring, all the quality things that you can keep for your grandchildren, but it does have a 5 year warranty!

The other thing I love, is that I dont have to haul my pedal board around any more, it's all there. I'm 45 years old now, .. I want simple, and good sounding. The sag/ bias/ blend control can get me as close to tube feel/ soumd as I have heard yet in a digital amp, it's crazy good! 

With the Fuse software, you can really get in there using your computer, and it's so simple to do, I've had multi effects units that were way more difficult to operate!

I'm also interested in the Vypyr VIP, but not sure what that will bring...

Anyhow, this is a post in hopes of praising the SS / digital / modern advancing of the guitar amp-- with the hopes of seeing those of you join in with your findings on them!
Tell us how you love your SS/ digital amp!

Have a great day!


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## bluzfish (Mar 12, 2011)

I say go for it if you've found your sound and want to advance it. It's all part of the adventure as far as I'm concerned. Certainly SS is more reliable in gigging situations. I remember Frank Marino swore off tubes on at least one Mahogany Rush tour after amp failures got to him.

It's funny you should post because I was fooling around with some of my gear combinations today and discovered my SS ZT lunch box turns into a loud as hell breaking loose monster when I plug in my Epi cab with a Cannabis Rex. One tone, one gain, one volume control, 200 watts and the sound is killer with both my ES 330 and Epi Dot with P-Rails. This is my new go-to jamming amp now I'm sure. 9 lbs + 25 lbs + great sound is a no brainer to me.

You never know where that elusive great setup will come from.


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## FrankyNoTone (Feb 27, 2012)

Ya I see those Amish? folks go about in their horse drawn carriages sometimes. Funniest thing is to see them eat at the KFC and talking on their cell phones. Tube lovers are almost as entertaining


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

The current state of solid state guitar amps is amazing. Sure, there are some pieces of crap out there, but some are extremely good sounding, reliable, and versatile. For bang for the buck, it's hard to beat the Traynor DG30 to my ears, and I've been using Quarterhorse regularly at home into a 2x10, and the Fender Mustang I tried was very good. There's an Ibanez (of all things, I generally dislike their amps) amp called the Wholetone which sports a 15" speaker and has a lovely jazz tone, though it doesn't do the distorted tones very well. 

For sheer power and the tone I prefer I'm not about to give up my tube amps, but when the time comes to retire I doubt I'll keep them.

Peace, Mooh.


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

Ahhh, look. I love my tube amps. (Have 4 now.) 
But I went to a jam with new people the other week, took my big ol' Yamaha B-100 212. (Japanese SS Twin copy)
Didn't miss a beat.
I mean, It's all about what you want to do for when & where.
The H&K Tubemeister is great for late night & recording, but something I'd worry about lugging around all over.
The Yammy can roll around & take a beating, still performs like a trooper.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

i've done s.s. i've done hybrid, i've done tube. they all have their good points and not so good points. i did have a cube @ 1 time, and they are very cool little amps, especially if you're rocking the living room. being a living room superstar myself, i say we are living in a sort of golden era right now. there are a hell of alot of choices aimed our way, in every category i mentioned above. think about what was available back in say....1980. these days, you almost gotta _try_ to by a crappy amp. and really it's the same with guitars. there are so many choices out there for the hobby player, it's tough _not_ to get a decent guitar. being savvy still pays big dividends, but even a complete neophyte has a fair chance of walking out of the guitar store with a playable rig that will allow/encourage them to learn and continue. i use tubes today but i have no beef against the others.


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## Shark (Jun 10, 2010)

I haven't played a SS amp that sounded and felt as nice to me as the tube amps, but I'm sure they are getting there. Perhaps they've already gotten there and I haven't played those ones yet. I did own a Pathfinder. The latest modellers, like the Kemper, are amazing.

I also like tube amps for their simplicity and their more . . . organic vibe. I like that I can look through the grill and see the tubes glow and know that is what is powering my sound. I like that I somewhat understand the nature of how it works. I also prefer guitars where I can see the wood, rather than ones that have opaque finishes. I also drive a manual shift car. I'm just one of those guys.


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

I've got a few tube amps that I vastly prefer to any modeling software, or multi FX units I've ever used. they're easy to use, too...just turn them on, and you get great tone 

I don't have anything against multi FX units though...if they work for you, that's all that matters

funny story: a friend of mine has a POS looking old Crate SS amp from the '70's, it really is ugly...but IMO it sounds pretty good. He recently spent a ton of $$ on the newest Roland multiFX unit, hooked into is Mac, with all the virtual amp software etc 

so we're jamming, messing around with everything...there were 100's of sounds on there but IMO they were all "meh" so I plugged into the POS Crate...and was getting some good sounds. my friend runs in from the other room and says "woah!! that sounds awesome!! what patch are you using??" lol he couldn't believe I was using his old crappy amp, that he had stored in the garage for years

I have another SS amp I use for practice, that sounds great...not as great as a cranked tube amp, but still good. it was good enough for Billy Gibbons too, apparently


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## Intrepid (Oct 9, 2008)

You may have a point on the SS amps. I've been running tubes for so long I really haven't had the opportunity to try out any of the new SS offerings. Perhaps I should.


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## Keefer (Feb 15, 2011)

I love my tube amps for the warmth. In my humble opinion, nothing beats the sound of saturated tubes. On the other side of the coin, SS amps bring more clarity and lightning fast response, which is why I run both at the same time when recording in the studio. This may sound odd and sacrilegious to some, but I took an old Peavey TNT100 Bass combo, pulled the 15" speaker out, made a new speaker plate and loaded in 2 10's, wired them for a 4 Ohm load and then run that amp along with either the JCM 800 or the Peavey Classic 30 via splitter.


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## Mr Yerp (Feb 24, 2006)

I've used a few SS over the years, including a 4x10 Lab Series L7. Killer amp, BB King used Lab Series for a long time.
Some friends and I were using Dean Markley K150(if memory serves) 1x12 combos for a while as they sounded decent, and were very light. 
The power of tubes was clearly demonstrated (to me anyways) when at a gig my friend ran 2 of the Markleys, and I used my old Traynor Guitarmate equipped with a Lead 80 12".
There was no way that the Markleys could compete tonally or volume-wise it seemed. That magical midrange chewiness couldn't be had from the SS.
I'm curious and openminded about the new stuff though.


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

I wish more people thought like you. Then I wouldn't have to pay so damn much money for good NOS tubes to support my tube amp habit! Sheesh, c'mon you young guys - leave the tube amps for us crusty old geezers. Go buy yourselves SS and hybrid amps, modeling amps/software and the like. Nothing to see here with these ancient tube amps, so move along why dontcha? 

j/k, of course - all in fun...


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## bluzfish (Mar 12, 2011)

gtone said:


> j/k, of course - all in fun...


Always......


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I've been saying it for years--there are good tube amps and bad ones & there are good SS amps and bad ones.

The early SS amps were apparently quite bad, and that kind of killed things for some people.

A lot of people just keep hearing that SS is no good and tubes are the be all & end all, so they just repeat that without actually looking into it--some do, but I've encountered a number of people who haven't.

I like and have used both.


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## Swee_tone (Mar 23, 2009)

gtone said:


> I wish more people thought like you. Then I wouldn't have to pay so damn much money for good NOS tubes to support my tube amp habit! Sheesh, c'mon you young guys - leave the tube amps for us crusty old geezers. Go buy yourselves SS and hybrid amps, modeling amps/software and the like. Nothing to see here with these ancient tube amps, so move along why dontcha?
> 
> j/k, of course - all in fun...


lol 

I was reading recently over at the TDPRI where a guy spent $600 for 4 vintage tubes and it cost him $1000 to re- tube his amp! Yikes!

I personally love the sound of a nice tube amp, but new technology has really opened my eyes lately.

Over at the FDP and other forums the Fender Mustang is gaining favour. Another SS amp that is being well received is the Quilter amps. I believe they are available in Canada now as well.

I would love to try them out, although they are a bit steep in cost, ( starting at the $1000 CDN range by the time you pay duty/ taxes) from what they say it's all quality componants used.

Here's a link to the new Aviator series... http://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/products/aviator


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I'm starting to realize that I sound like me regardless of whether I'm using a modeler or an amp.

I gigged and recorded with modelers (Vox Tonelabs) for several years, without any guitar cabs at all, straight to the snake.

That was fine. I got my sound. These days I'm back to tube amps and a pedalboard, not necessarily because this sounds better, but because like most guitar players, I'm never satisfied.

Anyway, I'm happy with my tone these days.


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## the-patient (May 19, 2009)

Milkman said:


> I'm starting to realize that I sound like me regardless of whether I'm using a modeler or an amp.
> 
> I gigged and recorded with modelers (Vox Tonelabs) for several years, without any guitar cabs at all, straight to the snake.
> 
> ...


I agree that I sound like me regardless of what I'm playing through, but at the end of the day I still find a tube amp more fun to play through, which is still important to me on some level. I love the act of building and maintaining my pedalboard. 

The other thing for me is the simplicity of the whole thing. I was an Axe-FX user for a long time, and while it was amazing in the studio, if I used more than one patch and had to reduce high end in a really bright sounding I would have to go through everything, turn down that setting and it would be a total pain in the ass. 

All I have to do now is turn down the old cut knob. Easy peasy. I can be happy either way though however


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

the-patient said:


> I agree that I sound like me regardless of what I'm playing through, but at the end of the day I still find a tube amp more fun to play through, which is still important to me on some level. I love the act of building and maintaining my pedalboard.
> 
> The other thing for me is the simplicity of the whole thing. I was an Axe-FX user for a long time, and while it was amazing in the studio, if I used more than one patch and had to reduce high end in a really bright sounding I would have to go through everything, turn down that setting and it would be a total pain in the ass.
> 
> All I have to do now is turn down the old cut knob. Easy peasy. I can be happy either way though however



"Cut knob"......


Dr Z?


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

another thing to keep in mind is that until you're pushin the tubes, they ain't really doing anything special. most times, when you're rockin the living room, it wouldn't matter what type you use. there aren't that many tube amps out there yet that will give you the real sweetness at living room volumes. every one i've played so far is a compromise. some more so than others. even as one of the terriblest players on this board, i know i can make tones come out of a cube 30x that are (at living room volumes) as sweet as anything that ever came out of...well, any tube or hybrid amp i ever played in the house. at low volumes, the organic-ness of the tube amp makes my strat's B&E strings sound super weak. pick squeals can never quite reach the zak wylde levels.
not always a desirable trait to have almost no sustain that you can actually hear. the cube don't care if it's a whisper or a scream. you can get all the gain and distortion you wish. how important is awesomely sweet tone when you're just jammin along to led zepplin 2 played through your docked phone?


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## TWRC (Apr 22, 2011)

I can see the next thread subject line: "What's with all the Amp Modeller lovers?"


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## -ST- (Feb 2, 2008)

TWRC said:


> I can see the next thread subject line: "What's with all the Amp Modeller lovers?"


or you could try this poll

Iron & Bottles -or- Silicon -or- Hybrid


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## TWRC (Apr 22, 2011)

HAHA, that's awesome! Totally voted!



-ST- said:


> or you could try this poll
> 
> Iron & Bottles -or- Silicon -or- Hybrid


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## the-patient (May 19, 2009)

Milkman said:


> "Cut knob"......
> 
> 
> Dr Z?


You know it! Maz 38 NR! 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

the-patient said:


> You know it! Maz 38 NR!
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4


Mine's an SR. Great amp.


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## the-patient (May 19, 2009)

What kind of guitars are those? Also love how you have your handle painted on your road case!



Milkman said:


> Mine's an SR. Great amp.


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