Do tube amps really sound better than solid state?

[analog.matt]

What?! You guys are tube this tube that, SS sucks and everything in between. At least show that you can play.

bro, maliit lang ang philmusic. marami dito nag gigig talaga professionally. some from famous local bands.

[maxi_musikero]

What?! You guys are tube this tube that, SS sucks and everything in between. At least show that you can play.

try backreading.

[TagaRetiro]

I just hope half of these tube snobs can strum a chord

[techbp]

What?! You guys are tube this tube that, SS sucks and everything in between. At least show that you can play.

I can play! We can play! D-A-G-A, Line to Heaven... dali lang naman  ..and take note, playing that chord progression using my 100-watt TUBE AMP! Sarap! 

[ael_israel]

What?! You guys are tube this tube that, SS sucks and everything in between. At least show that you can play.

baka kainin mo ang sinasabi mo,, lot a guys play really good..... with TUBE AMP of course cos accept it dude Tubes are way better than SS.. truth hurts man! 

[robertshanepascual]

I just hope half of these tube snobs can strum a chord

Nasan na ba si Senyor Bethoben para matapos na?

Sorry i can't help it. 

#mema #epal lang ako, break time.

[jacobsarinas]

Previously, it was a healthy discussion. Now, it's turning out to a soon to be locked unhealthy thread. As before, nauuwi ang 'di pagkakasunduan sa isang 'general truth and commonly accepted fact' sa pagalingan nalang sa pag-play at pag-strum ng chords? UNPROFESSIONAL.

[aHeartThatNeverFade]

Honestly, I'm very noob at tube amps, also noob at skills. Hahaha. Pero eto ang verdict ko between a peavey bandit 112 (SS), Fender Deluxe Reverb 112 (SS), and a Goldea AT-30 (tube. SORRY ETO PA LANG NA-TRY KO ACTUALLY.  )

bandit and fdr are superb in clean sound. Wala ako masasabi sa kanila. Telecaster and Strat? Yummy. Add some modulations and heaven na. Pedal friendly. Ok naman and happy using an od (fd2) or dist (SH). volume is at level 4 max ONLY. Bakit? Kasi beyond that level, it sounds CRAP! hahaha. Ewan ko pero tunog lata na siya. Tipong basag talaga. Araw-araw kong hinanap magandang mix ng EQ at high volume but sorry me.

Then when I got my feet on Elegees cradle, he has this Goldea AT-30 with Celestion speaker. Tried it with my tele with SD Lil 59 bridge using SH. Verdict? That amp is so sweet! Yes Goldea lang yung. Cheap tube amp but the feel is soooooooo different than SS. Bilog, warm, ganda ng dynamics, etc. And kahit anong lakas ng amp, ang linis talaga. Buong-buo. Tipong nakakaiyak. 

IMHO, mahal ang tube amp because of design, durability, and the feel that you can get. It's not really the hype kung bakit marami gumagamit. Kung yung Goldea maganda na tumunog, what more pag ibang high end amps pa di ba? I really respect your opinions pero yung experience ko, maganda talaga kung tube amp ang gamit (regardless of what brand you want to use).

[maxi_musikero]

Previously, it was a healthy discussion. Now, it's turning out to a soon to be locked unhealthy thread. As before, nauuwi ang 'di pagkakasunduan sa isang 'general truth and commonly accepted fact' sa pagalingan nalang sa pag-play at pag-strum ng chords? UNPROFESSIONAL.

this statement started it all:

I would buy a tube amp if it was worth it. I would buy any amp if it was worth it. Tube amps are inherently expensive due largely to their owners.

[royc]

There is no such thing. Those who buy SS are just trying to be practical.

Not really. There are affordable tube amps just like there are expensive solid state amps and hybrids. With ss amps, a new tone requires an amp replacement. With tube amps, all you need to replace are the tubes and transformers.

[TagaRetiro]

What?! You guys are tube this tube that, SS sucks and everything in between. At least show that you can play.

The only negative comment I saw about SS amps from the thread is from Vhunter who said that transtube is a joke. Recent comments were made only in response to your "Line6 beating a Rectifier" statement.

[dtmateo]

So you speak in behalf of the SS lovers now?

Well you'd have to be crazy to say that SS is superior to every tube amp

[dtmateo]

baka kainin mo ang sinasabi mo,, lot a guys play really good..... with TUBE AMP of course cos accept it dude Tubes are way better than SS.. truth hurts man! 

I'm sure there are those who can play though not every one of them. The noisiest are usually those who can't.

[royc]

Then when I got my feet on Elegees cradle, he has this Goldea AT-30 with Celestion speaker. Tried it with my tele with SD Lil 59 bridge using SH. Verdict? That amp is so sweet! Yes Goldea lang yung. Cheap tube amp but the feel is soooooooo different than SS. Bilog, warm, ganda ng dynamics, etc. And kahit anong lakas ng amp, ang linis talaga. Buong-buo. Tipong nakakaiyak. 

IMHO, mahal ang tube amp because of design, durability, and the feel that you can get. It's not really the hype kung bakit marami gumagamit. Kung yung Goldea maganda na tumunog, what more pag ibang high end amps pa di ba? I really respect your opinions pero yung experience ko, maganda talaga kung tube amp ang gamit (regardless of what brand you want to use).

Not all tubes are priced the same. The chinese tubes probably used in goldea are less expensive as well as the transformers used. The higher end tubes are more expensive and supposedly has better tone. But you do hear the difference in tone on tube amps vs ss, unless you convince yourself otherwise.

[joel_marcelo]

most of us are hoping that you can do better than your My Sharona joke of a video.

#ouch

[royc]

I'm sure there are those who can play though not every one of them. The noisiest are usually those who can't.

Judging by the number of comments here it appears you are among the noisiest. I strongly suggest avoiding assumptions that most of those who are against your opinion cannot play well, unless you are confident that you are better than them.

The thread is about the qualities of tube amps vs solid state amps. It is not about guitar skills.

[aHeartThatNeverFade]

Not all tubes are priced the same. The chinese tubes probably used in goldea are less expensive as well as the transformers used. The higher end tubes are more expensive and supposedly has better tone. But you do hear the difference in tone on tube amps vs ss, unless you convince yourself otherwise.

Yeah. Totally hear the difference. And as a musician, kahit mahal kung makukuha mo naman yung feel and tone na gusto mo, money will not be an issue. Sacrificing your bread is inevitable. KUDOS SA MGA LAGING OT SA WORK PARA MAKABILI NG TUBE AMPS. hahahahaha 

[mikebled]

Judging by the number of comments here it appears you are among the noisiest. I strongly suggest avoiding assumptions that most of those who are against your opinion cannot play well, unless you are confident that you are better than them.

The thread is about the qualities of tube amps vs solid state amps. It is not about guitar skills.

Well said, sir royc.

[markcasq]

digital for me! 

@dtmateo - if you always bring the topic of skill vs. gear, you're in for an argument.  Suggest you don't bring it up in a way that puts down other people. 
Check #9 here, it's a sticky, read it:  http://talk.philmusic.com/index.php?topic=196448.0

Also, the word "practical" is relative.  No one will win if you argue what is practical. 

[ganjie]

before this thread gets locked, let's mellow down...

in defense of the line6 spider, there's this venue we play in from time to time with that amp. for a few months a few guitar players (myself included) purposedly blasted through that amp to the point where the amp cut out intermittently not because it sounded good but to actually get the amp to break down and die! (hoping it gets replaced with something better as we were tired of bringing our amps everytime we played....).

after a few months of that, we gave up... the beat up LINE 6 SPIDER, lived!!! hahahahahhahaha

BTT:

a few more things that i love about tube amps are:

1. As you turn it up, the tone gets better.
2. not too scary of running it at peak levels.. It's durable...
3. dynamics, you can drive it and play clean by just changing the way you hit the strings... (i think this is what really sets it apart from solid state)...

that said, mabuhay and line 6 spider!! 

[aHeartThatNeverFade]

Also, the word "practical" is relative.  No one will win if you argue what is practical.

I agree. What if I'll spend 100k for a tube amp and not getting that 200k worth of a boutique amp? And for me that's "practical"? Could you say that I spent too much because of "hype" or "practicality"? Eh kung sa mayaman ako. Hahahaha 

[markcasq]

I agree. What if I'll spend 100k for a tube amp and not getting that 200k worth of a boutique amp? And for me that's "practical"? Could you say that I spent too much because of "hype" or "practicality"? Eh kung sa mayaman ako. Hahahaha 

You got it sir!  Sino ba naman hindi gustong maging praktikal?  Tapos yung iba they judge other people based on their definition of practical.    Tapos if people don't fit their definition of practical, sasabihin "they cannot even strumm a chord"?  Respect is the key!


ACTUALLY, LAHAT MAGANDA!  AND THIS THREAD PROBABLY MIGHT NOT GO ANYWHERE BECAUSE NO ONE PERSON HAS TRIED ALL THE TUBE AMPS AND ALL THE SOLID STATE AMP IN THE WORLD TO MAKE AN INDESPUTABLE CONCLUSION.  And even if someone tried it all, everything is still relative.

Mag JOYO DC-15 na lang kayo!  electric, acoustic, drums, kaya   

[aHeartThatNeverFade]

Niyahaha. Tama sir mark.

Anyway, walang katapusang discussion to unless someone would actually test a tube and SS amp side to side and siyempre andun tayo mismo dahil mas ma-appreciate natin than video demo lang.

[ael_israel]

You got it sir!  Sino ba naman hindi gustong maging praktikal?  Tapos yung iba they judge other people based on their definition of practical.    Tapos if people don't fit their definition of practical, sasabihin "they cannot even strumm a chord"?  Respect is the key!


ACTUALLY, LAHAT MAGANDA!  AND THIS THREAD PROBABLY MIGHT NOT GO ANYWHERE BECAUSE NO ONE PERSON HAS TRIED ALL THE TUBE AMPS AND ALL THE SOLID STATE AMP IN THE WORLD TO MAKE AN INDESPUTABLE CONCLUSION.  And even if someone tried it all, everything is still relative.

Mag JOYO DC-15 na lang kayo!  electric, acoustic, drums, kaya   

and the joyo dc-15 gives you energy like you've never experienced before!! it will also help you in your exercise! trust me it really does! 

[techbp]

You got it sir!  Sino ba naman hindi gustong maging praktikal?  Tapos yung iba they judge other people based on their definition of practical.    Tapos if people don't fit their definition of practical, sasabihin "they cannot even strumm a chord"?  Respect is the key!


ACTUALLY, LAHAT MAGANDA!  AND THIS THREAD PROBABLY MIGHT NOT GO ANYWHERE BECAUSE NO ONE PERSON HAS TRIED ALL THE TUBE AMPS AND ALL THE SOLID STATE AMP IN THE WORLD TO MAKE AN INDESPUTABLE CONCLUSION.  And even if someone tried it all, everything is still relative.

Mag JOYO DC-15 na lang kayo!  electric, acoustic, drums, kaya  

Hahahaha! Nice! Watched Ael's demo with this amp... very interesting bed room amp!