Do tube amps really sound better than solid state?

[tonwins11]

i own a jc120 and have tried the kustom defender 5watter,  i would pick the roland any day,

i really dont know what the selling point of the defender 5 watter, cleans were not decent sounding, the head was plug through a used blackstar 8 cab, i returned the unit to musicgoround the next day..i was at some point into lower wattage amps around the 5-15 watt, i tried all i could find and blackstar / e-wave / bugera at those times had amps that deliver good cleans

exactly..let your ears be the judge of tone, not your eyes...

Right. I remembered when it was my first time to actually plug into a 4x12 with a Fender head. I forgot the exact model. We were recording a metal song that time and I was having hard time making my tone heavy even using it with a pedal. I ended up plugging into a beaten up Roland cube 60 and man, it was good.

This sums up then that at both worlds, extremes do also exist.

[firemodel55]

Right. I remembered when it was my first time to actually plug into a 4x12 with a Fender head. I forgot the exact model. We were recording a metal song that time and I was having hard time making my tone heavy even using it with a pedal. I ended up plugging into a beaten up Roland cube 60 and man, it was good.

This sums up then that at both worlds, extremes do also exist.

I think you should have plugged into a Marshall instead of a Fender if you wanted metal....

[Rmansh]

I think you should have plugged into a Marshall instead of a Fender if you wanted metal....

aha .
how are you doing alex?

[firemodel55]

if my options are..

this tube amp



and this solid state

and this all tube 100 watter head:



I would pick my Super 100 over the roland and the Kustom.  The Roland lifeless cleans cannot  in any way compete with Cleans of the Super 100 which are big, dynamic, round and pleasing to the ear.  And of course, the Bruno's overdrive just blows away the roland's anemic overdrive.  On the other hand, the Kustom still looks like a better looking piece of decor than the JC120 though.

[cayle]

Not the best vid, but you get the point. 

[tonwins11]

I think you should have plugged into a Marshall instead of a Fender if you wanted metal....

That was the only head in the studio that was plugged into a 4x12 and I was before my philmusic era. 

Noobidity. 

[jm the mute]

the question is do tube amps really SOUND better than solid state....hindi kung ano mas madaling dalhin, mas mura.....HMPFT

[dtmateo]

the question is do tube amps really SOUND better than solid state....hindi kung ano mas madaling dalhin, mas mura.....HMPFT

And the response is, it's a matter of preference. Not all tube amps sound good and in a lot of cases solid state may sound better. So if they are indistinguishable in terms of sound then practicality obviously becomes a factor ... a much bigger factor than sound because honestly, very few guitarists can make a good amp sound good.

[bryanarzaga]

and this all tube 100 watter head:



I would pick my Super 100 over the roland and the Kustom.  The Roland lifeless cleans cannot  in any way compete with Cleans of the Super 100 which are big, dynamic, round and pleasing to the ear.  And of course, the Bruno's overdrive just blows away the roland's anemic overdrive.  On the other hand, the Kustom still looks like a better looking piece of decor than the JC120 though.

is it even a fair comparison between a bruno and the roland? probably not.

[fretzburner]

Walang katapusan itong debate na ito, just name your favorite/idol guitarist with good guitar tone using tube amps vs solidstate amps kung alin mas marami.Dapat may song example for each guitarist para mapakinggan natin good tone ba talaga.

[DiMarzSiao™]

Walang katapusan itong debate na ito, just name your favorite/idol guitarist with good guitar tone using tube amps vs solidstate amps kung alin mas marami.Dapat may song example for each guitarist para mapakinggan natin good tone ba talaga.

preference pa rin ang common denominator nyan.

[fretzburner]

At least malalaman nating yung reasons bakit pinu push ng user yung tube amp or solidstate amp.Maliwanagan tayu bakit patay na patay sya for example ng solidstate kaya pala idol nya si dimebag,robert fripp,etc. or tube amp dahil idol nya si vh,etc. So yan ang preference kung anu trip nya na music or guitarist.

[dtmateo]

Walang katapusan itong debate na ito, just name your favorite/idol guitarist with good guitar tone using tube amps vs solidstate amps kung alin mas marami.Dapat may song example for each guitarist para mapakinggan natin good tone ba talaga.

Does not make any sense because now you are listening to the preferences of the artists plus the fact that the sound was a product of a STUDIO RECORDING which may have gone through digital processing.

And this leads to even more ambiguity between analog tube sound and digital modeling. A lot of albums now are recorded digitally which kinda negates the perceived advantages of an all analog tube sound. It's like shooting negative film then scanning so you can post in facebook. Big duh?!

[jm the mute]

Kung papipiliin ka ng amp na ibibigay sayo ng libre. Example: vox ac30 or roland jc120? Ano pipiliin mo?

[teleleng]

Kung papipiliin ka ng amp na ibibigay sayo ng libre. Example: vox ac30 or roland jc120? Ano pipiliin mo?

Hmmmm, this is hard....If it is the original 60's AC30 top boost, I would pick that one without me blinking over the Roland...I don't care if the Roland sounds better cause the Vox is expensive.....

[teleleng]

I think many of us here would be frustrated if an actual blind test was done...Imagine many of us here choosing a Roland Chorus over a 3000 dollar Matchlesss...

[iceblink-luck]

i prefer tube amps, it sounds warm

[firemodel55]

is it even a fair comparison between a bruno and the roland? probably not.

Its still tube versus solid state right?  Heh Heh

[firemodel55]

aha .
how are you doing alex?

Another PET scan next month... Nakaka kaba.

[bryanarzaga]

Its still tube versus solid state right?  Heh Heh

well played..

[analog.matt]

depende talaga sa exposure ng tao.  we are limited by our minds and experience.

i guess the simplest way to do it, is choose an amp that is within your budget and make sure it sounds better than your current amp. if you need to borrow from friends to make sure it is indeed a good amp then do so. mass produced amps are like pedals, imho, they do not sound a like pag pinagtabi tabi mo ang same model/unit.

a friend of mine put together a handful of deluxe reverbs (modern) and they didn't sound alike. only one stood out.

of course a good amp will depend on how good the guitar is.

[treblinkalovescene]

I think many of us here would be frustrated if an actual blind test was done...Imagine many of us here choosing a Roland Chorus over a 3000 dollar Matchlesss...

I'd ask Mike himself from Matchless to make me an amp that suits my playing and the guitar I use so only the best aspects of my playing and overall sound shine through.

[kevsvalderrama]

well tube-amp para sa akin, dahil sa warm tone, ung natural overdrive at ung response..
Pero ok din ung mga modeling solid state.. halos nagagaya na nila ung feel ng tube amps..

[ganjie]

I also have a friend with a beat up solid state yamaha combo who believes that both my cornell and bruno (the best sounding guitar amp he has ever heard according to him) sound superior to the yamaha.

well, as with everything there will always be something better BUT if it works, it works!

cornell, fender, bruno, marshall, matchless, etc.. it'll all have it's compromises and strongpoints and depending on the player/listener's preferences/mileage it WILL be the best sounding amp during the time that it's the best sounding amp up until this same player hears or gets to play through something else that would make the same impression.

so still on the Threadstarter's question, it all depends on what your looking for and what your current tone preferences are. 

i still prefer tube amps in the 15-30watt range for their ease of use and breakup tone.

but given anyday that there's only a good solid state available, i wouldn't mind playing through it.

it's not the gear, it's the music! 

[firemodel55]

well, as with everything there will always be something better BUT if it works, it works!

(it works if it does not sound bad enough to drive your audience away. Unfortunately there is a minimum standard that your equipment has to meet.)

cornell, fender, bruno, marshall, matchless, etc.. it'll all have it's compromises and strongpoints and depending on the player/listener's preferences/mileage it WILL be the best sounding amp during the time that it's the best sounding amp up until this same player hears or gets to play through something else that would make the same impression. (I think there is just one compromise and only one strongpoint and that is the feel and sound of the amp. Preferences is a flimsy excuse to justfy the current budget.  As you mentioned, the music is the factor that counts. And music does not choose weight or portability, aesthetics, color, etc. But it does choose tubes. )

so still on the Threadstarter's question, it all depends on what your looking for and what your current tone preferences are. 

i still prefer tube amps in the 15-30watt range for their ease of use and breakup tone.

(I would not call a 33 watt AC30, which I have, easy to use and break up.  Its loud.  So was the George Lynch 30 watt Trainwreck plugged into a circa 1968 Marshall 4x12 cabinet that I tried.  These are both non-master volume amps powered by EL84s that I would not even recommend for club use due to their loudness.)

but given anyday that there's only a good solid state available, i wouldn't mind playing through it.

it's not the gear, it's the music!