Do tube amps really sound better than solid state?

[Al Nico Five]

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!

mismo to! pero para sa gear head the sad reality is that it's actually the other way around:

it's not the music, it's the gear that matters.

[firemodel55]

mismo to! pero para sa gear head the sad reality is that it's actually the other way around:

it's not the music, it's the gear that matters.

that is such a cliche... na saan ang so called music na pinagmamalaki ng lahat?  Just because one pieces up a song from notes and chords does NOT mean its music.

[maxi_musikero]

i didn't get this because it's solid state. all tube amps can beat this simple solid state.

 

[CeL1916]

May panget bang tube amp? Hindi pinakapanget na tube amp ha, pero yung talagang panget hindi mo papangaraping gamitin, kase base sa mg reviews madalas you cant go wrong with a "tube amp" parang lahat tolerable, tama ba?

So baka yun ang sagot, pwedeng not all tube amps are better than SS amp, pero all tube amps are consistent?

[TagaRetiro]

May panget bang tube amp? Hindi pinakapanget na tube amp ha, pero yung talagang panget hindi mo papangaraping gamitin, kase base sa mg reviews madalas you cant go wrong with a "tube amp" parang lahat tolerable, tama ba?

So baka yun ang sagot, pwedeng not all tube amps are better than SS amp, pero all tube amps are consistent?

Parang may nakita na kong thread dati tungkol sa mga pangit na tube amp.

I think to this thread needs some kind of benchmark or standard on how they can conclude which one would be better. What are the characteristics of a good amp (whether it's tube or not)? Maybe we can go from there

[dtmateo]

Isn't it because tube amps didn't sound right that they made solid state amps in the first place. But then just like new technologies that needed to grow, people thought that SS was crap and the stigma persisted even to the present.

[ryechua]

Isn't it because tube amps didn't sound right that they made solid state amps in the first place.

i believe it was due to the cost benefits of transistors - cheaper and easier to mass produce plus they are smaller

[firemodel55]

Isn't it because tube amps didn't sound right that they made solid state amps in the first place. But then just like new technologies that needed to grow, people thought that SS was crap and the stigma persisted even to the present.

Dont get me wrong... solid state has uses in high fidelity.  In fact, solid state amps can be more expensive than tube amps but the level of quality is really at high at around anything from P300k and up for a mono block solid state amp.

But for guitar, tubes are the way to go unlike in high fidelity where there is a preference.

[firemodel55]

Parang may nakita na kong thread dati tungkol sa mga pangit na tube amp.

I think to this thread needs some kind of benchmark or standard on how they can conclude which one would be better. What are the characteristics of a good amp (whether it's tube or not)? Maybe we can go from there

I think you can start off with the known and recognized vintage tube amps by fender, marshall, hiwatt, matamp/orange and others as the standard or benchmark.  Universally, a majority of guitarists who are successful are using these old vintage tube amps.  Kaya ka lang naman naghahanap ng standard dahil sa lahat na cheap na solid state amps na benta dito sa Pinas.  Otherwise, in other countries with income; walang question sa standard or benchmark.

[TagaRetiro]

Kaya ka lang naman naghahanap ng standard dahil sa lahat na cheap na solid state amps na benta dito sa Pinas. 

My bad man, wasn't able to properly word what I want to say. What I meant was factors that make a great amp.

[firemodel55]

My bad man, wasn't able to properly word what I want to say. What I meant was factors that make a great amp.

I did not mean that you had low standards.  I am just saying that thats why we are looking for what factors make a great amp is because of the crap guitar amps that local stores offer here.

[IncX]

i've always been cheap with guitar gear ... and i have always played on cheap solid state amps on bars and rehearsal studios.

then i got myself a cheap Fender Hotrod Deluxe - i know its expensive, but still, i think this one falls in the "budget tube amp" category, and wow!!! my dirt pedals sounded alive! they breathe and react to my playing

oh i have to say that i only use the clean channel of the amp, cause i am a pedal head, and i do not want my investment to go to waste. i did try the dirt channel though, and i find it pretty generic,  not as terrible as cheap solid state distortion or cheap pedal distortion, theres really just nothing special with it.

that alone has convinced me that tube amps are better at the price point i am playing in ...

however, i do admit, i am curious what a tube amp with useable dirt channel would sound like ... im thinking of getting a mesa boogie dual rectifier combo in the future. i will only spend on combos ... half stacks are just too impractical for the gigs i play.

[kingthomas]

i've always been cheap with guitar gear ... and i have always played on cheap solid state amps on bars and rehearsal studios.

then i got myself a cheap Fender Hotrod Deluxe - i know its expensive, but still, i think this one falls in the "budget tube amp" category, and wow!!! my dirt pedals sounded alive! they breathe and react to my playing

oh i have to say that i only use the clean channel of the amp, cause i am a pedal head, and i do not want my investment to go to waste. i did try the dirt channel though, and i find it pretty generic,  not as terrible as cheap solid state distortion or cheap pedal distortion, theres really just nothing special with it.

that alone has convinced me that tube amps are better at the price point i am playing in ...

however, i do admit, i am curious what a tube amp with useable dirt channel would sound like ... im thinking of getting a mesa boogie dual rectifier combo in the future. i will only spend on combos ... half stacks are just too impractical for the gigs i play.

dual rectifier combos weigh around 80 - 100 pounds. yun yung pinaka-abundant used amp for sale sa Guitar Center website mukang rectoverb hanap niyo kung gusto niyo talaga ng rectifier combo. they weigh around 60-70 pounds i think. still heavy, but that's better than 100 pounds 

[iceblink-luck]

i've always been cheap with guitar gear ... and i have always played on cheap solid state amps on bars and rehearsal studios.

then i got myself a cheap Fender Hotrod Deluxe - i know its expensive, but still, i think this one falls in the "budget tube amp" category, and wow!!! my dirt pedals sounded alive! they breathe and react to my playing

oh i have to say that i only use the clean channel of the amp, cause i am a pedal head, and i do not want my investment to go to waste. i did try the dirt channel though, and i find it pretty generic,  not as terrible as cheap solid state distortion or cheap pedal distortion, theres really just nothing special with it.

that alone has convinced me that tube amps are better at the price point i am playing in ...

however, i do admit, i am curious what a tube amp with useable dirt channel would sound like ... im thinking of getting a mesa boogie dual rectifier combo in the future. i will only spend on combos ... half stacks are just too impractical for the gigs i play.

i can relate to that just got also a deluxe hot rod. its my first tube amp combo, really please me .. i can appreciate the sound of a ds1 and other dirt pedals

[IncX]

dual rectifier combos weigh around 80 - 100 pounds. yun yung pinaka-abundant used amp for sale sa Guitar Center website mukang rectoverb hanap niyo kung gusto niyo talaga ng rectifier combo. they weigh around 60-70 pounds i think. still heavy, but that's better than 100 pounds 

WTF 100 lbs?!?! damn... i am sticking to my fender hotrod deluxe forever!

[kingthomas]

WTF 100 lbs?!?! damn... i am sticking to my fender hotrod deluxe forever!

really heavy but a mesa boogie's distortion is like no other. you can get a head version na lang i guess.  even the 1x12 Mark V combo alone weighs around 70-80 pounds din.  backbreakers talaga mga mesa boogie combos that's why they all come with wheels.  but the heads are more manageable at around 40 pounds. 

i'd like a mesa boogie head myself (a used mark IV is all I can afford), GAS goal ko yun for 2014.   

[treblinkalovescene]

How does everyone feel about amps like the Kemper or the AMT Stonehead?

[vhunter]

Just play a few and youll feel the difference.

Im of the opinion that a good majority of tube amps sound ad feel better than the SS counterparts. There are some great SS amps / preamps out there but theres still nothing like a tube amp at its sweet spot. Its really not the same. Its almost like eating brown rice vs white rice. Brown rice gets the job done ... but man when you have your kare kare or bulalo with white rice... iba parin yung white rice.

Lol

[magtataho7]

depends on the application...lol

[freemansj]

Just play a few and youll feel the difference.

Im of the opinion that a good majority of tube amps sound ad feel better than the SS counterparts. There are some great SS amps / preamps out there but theres still nothing like a tube amp at its sweet spot. Its really not the same. Its almost like eating brown rice vs white rice. Brown rice gets the job done ... but man when you have your kare kare or bulalo with white rice... iba parin yung white rice.

Lol

Ginutom ako dito ah...   

[maxi_musikero]

Just play a few and youll feel the difference.

Im of the opinion that a good majority of tube amps sound ad feel better than the SS counterparts. There are some great SS amps / preamps out there but theres still nothing like a tube amp at its sweet spot. Its really not the same. Its almost like eating brown rice vs white rice. Brown rice gets the job done ... but man when you have your kare kare or bulalo with white rice... iba parin yung white rice.

Lol

best association i've read so far. 

[DiMarzSiao™]

Just play a few and youll feel the difference.

Im of the opinion that a good majority of tube amps sound ad feel better than the SS counterparts. There are some great SS amps / preamps out there but theres still nothing like a tube amp at its sweet spot. Its really not the same. Its almost like eating brown rice vs white rice. Brown rice gets the job done ... but man when you have your kare kare or bulalo with white rice... iba parin yung white rice.

Lol

best association i've read so far. 

Yep! way better than the Hotdog analogy.

[nickson]

NO WAY. The hotdog analogy will always be a better if not the best way to evaluate gear.

[DiMarzSiao™]

NO WAY. The hotdog analogy will always be a better if not the best way to evaluate gear.

k

[Autoplay2009]

k

Panalo! 

BTT: Soon I'd be getting my very first tube amp. Once I got to experience playing and tweaking it myself, then I think I can tell if they really sound better than a SS. Though para sakin ngayon, talagang mas maganda ang tube 'in general' than SS 'in general'.