Still feeling the love for tubes

[Gitslide]

I'm all tube . . . all the way. I just like to plug in to a good, small tube amp, run it wide open and use the volume control on the guitar, and my right hand attack to work from clean to dirty.

Sometimes I'm puzzled by folks who insist on tubes, but rely on solid state devices out front to get gain and distortion. But, if it sounds good and works for them, that's all that matters!

[murkat]

1973 Marshall JMP 50watt head, check.

1973 Marshall JMP 100watt head, check.

Soldano SP77 valve preamp, check.

1991 Marshall 9000 series 50watt stereo tube power amp, check.

Wigle 50/100 watt Purplexi Head, check.

Yeah, I am a tube/ valve guy

[JohnnyB]

I'm all tube . . . all the way. I just like to plug in to a good, small tube amp, run it wide open and use the volume control on the guitar, and my right hand attack to work from clean to dirty.

What I've found works pretty well is that you can use a simple little tube combo (such as a Champ or old Alamo or the like) and mic it into the PA or into a big 100w 2x12 SS amp and still get that small amp tube magic plus high volume. The close proximity mic into a powerful 2x12 restores the bottom end that's typically missing from little tube amps with 6" or 8" speakers.

Sometimes I'm puzzled by folks who insist on tubes, but rely on solid state devices out front to get gain and distortion. But, if it sounds good and works for them, that's all that matters!

What I've personally found is that a good tube amp with simple straight signal path (e.g., my 5-knob Top Hat) can withstand a fair number of pedals of all topologies in front before getting noticeable tone suck.

I can definitely use it with a reverb pedal, a Maxon OD-808 overdrive, and a tube-driven tremolo daisy-chained in front of the amp and get tonal versatility plus that big lush phat tube sound.

[Brooks]

after i get a new bike, i want another small tube amp.

the marshall class5 is sexy. that new little vox isn't, but i like the power scaling.

if the rush tribute actually comes together i'mo maybe try

a mesa 2xEL84 poweramp. i'll need a rack for the tarus pedal sound module anyways.

[Stevieconlon]

tubes for bass (SVT) and guitar (Marshall, Mesa & VHT)!

[harry65]

I'm all tube . . . all the way. I just like to plug in to a good, small tube amp, run it wide open and use the volume control on the guitar, and my right hand attack to work from clean to dirty.

Sometimes I'm puzzled by folks who insist on tubes, but rely on solid state devices out front to get gain and distortion. But, if it sounds good and works for them, that's all that matters!

+++++1

a nice little 15 - 20 watt tube combo running wide open is a thing of beauty , it's all i use anymore and can't ever see needing more , we play once a week outdoors in front of 1000 people , my little super champ xd with master on 8 is perfect , i did modify it with a new larger output tranny and now run 2x6l6's which takes it from 15 watts to about 20-22 watts , an eminence rajin cajun in the amp and a 20 year old boogie compact 1x12 with the original black shadow are my speakers (love the combo of one open back speaker and one closed back together) , happier than ever with my tone and just enough headroom to compete with a very loud drummer, B3 with leslie and crazy loud fiddle player....................

[Bass Guy Dave]

Single best tone I ever had was a modded Fender Bassman 50 head (McIntyre "Bluesmaker" mod)

into a 4x12 Straight cab with Vintage 30s and a P90 Special. (despite that, I've since managed to sell/turn both the guitar and amp, lol!)

I'll have to get that combo of git and amp going again someday -- it was just too good to not repeat.

Earsplitting, but jsut beyond pleasure to windmill an E chord and tremble.

Best hybrid guitar amp (tube pre /SS amp) I'd encountered was a Hughes and Kettner ATS120, but it really needed to be cranked, too.

Bass, I can take either. I got to play a time or two through a Magnavox SVT and matching 8x10 which was pretty cool. (also a Fender Bassman 50 and the original 2x15 cab which was quite impressive and cool for 50 watts.) I tend to like the SS Tace stuff a little better than the Tube Trace, although the tube's not bad--just preference.

I have a JCM900 50 watt Dual Reverb and 2x12 that hardly gets used right now with the young kids around, but it's pretty cool.

[gtone]

Nothin' but purest love for tubes, bruddas. SS amps sound so sterile and two dimensional, not to mention that they cause "ear fatigue" in short order. Viva vacuum tube-age!

[Ethan]

I'm with JohnnyB...I'm using a few pedals into a class A tube amp with 5 knobs, and a 2x12 cab and have never been happier with my sound

[diablo175]

I dunno. I'm on the fence. I like some of the tones I've created over the years with SS and SS/Tube hybrids. One o' my faves was with a stock green USA Diablo through a 100 watt Marshall Valvestate with a little digital delay. I'd guess that in the more erudite and refined realms of tone connoisseurs, I'm somewhat primitive. But I like what I like and that's how it's gonna be. Funny thing is I'm now going through an all-tube Mesa Dual Rectifier RoadStar...

[Hamer_SS_guy]

Well, I started on a tube amp (Fender Vibro Champ) in 1983, but then I didn't know the big difference between SS and tube amps. So I played only on SS amps from 1985-1992. But then I got a desire to have a tube amp again and bought a Marshall 30th Anniversary that I still use today. I also played on my Fender Princeton Chorus for a while and I still like to use it on several occasions. For bass I have been happy with the Trace Elliott 1x 15" 150W combo that I use for 9 years now but I bought an additional bass amp a few months ago, an Ampeg V-4B. For jam sessions I take the Trace, but for guitar I prefer taking a tube guitar amp. I bought a Gibson Chet Atkins two weeks ago which sounds nice on the Fender Prosonic but maybe would sound nicer on the Princeton Chorus.

[gwayne]

Bogner XTC and Mesa Mark-III. Tubes - always and forever.

[stormywaters]

Mesa Mark III. Tubes - always and forever.

Yep.

Heavy tube amps are the only way to go. My Boogie weighs at least 60 lbs, but it's totally worth it.

Fer sher.

[HSB0531]

Absolutely my favorite for guitar.

Not so much on the power side of a bass amp but,

I really like em in bass preamps.

[belikerick]

Savage Macht12 (6V6)

H&K Tube 20 (EL84)

H&k Tube 50 (El34)

[Disturber]

Marshall JTM50 combo from 1973

Marshall JMP 2104 combo from 1984

Fender Rivera Super champ 1982 (or so)

Fender Rivera Deluxe Reverb II 1984 (or so)

I love tubes. But then again, for clean there are some very nice solid state amps out there. Roland Jazzchorus for one, and I was very close to buying an old Yamaha solid state with 2x12 alnico speakers that had been a studio amp at the Swedish National Radio (eqiovalent to the BBC). That amp had a jazz tone to die for.

Modelling amps of any kind is something I really hate playing. But I must say that I have been fooled many times when these type of amps have been used in the mix. A good player can make them sound "real", and on record it is often pretty impossible to tell them apart from the real thing.

[edgar_allan_poe]

All tubes here and I play in a cover band.

Even when I was using the modeling stuff i still ran it into an old Mesa 2:90 with the EL34 section. The tube power section make all the difference in the world.

[GaryT]

I grew up with the tube amps. Have gone the tube route since the start of playing.

Wasn't untill maybe 05-06 I actually added a VOX into my repertoire of amps.

I can't say I haven't tried to like SS amps, I have. I've pretty much kept up with the Digital Modeling, Solid Dtate and hybrids as they evolved. Fact is I just couldn't get with any of them untill pretty much recently.

I tried a used 50-watt VOX by chance a few years back and wound up taking it with me. Surprizingly I have continued to use it. Its not hard to fool with a modeler or SS for a little bit. But to stick with one a few years? Now thats saying something as far as I'm concerned. Usually within a very short period I tire of them. A few Vox players have also told me they sound even better with a open cab instead of the sealed back combo as they are sold. I haven't tried it.

But I still revert to the Fenders when I really want to get a good feel for a guitar. I just trust the tube amp tone in my heart more? They just sound SOOoooooo GOOD!

I think recording direct with the Line 6 PODs has a good tone and without a doubt is usable. Much different than what they sound like to me with headphones on. In front of an amp they sound just terrible to me. But I do like the way they record. I like the Fender Deluxe model for recording.

Anyway be sound-safe, go with the TUBES!

[MCChris]

SS amps sound so sterile and two dimensional, not to mention that they cause "ear fatigue" in short order.

Perfectly stated.

[Frank]

Although I have Peavey SS that I have used a few times for a very few gigs where a straight clean tone was called for - my go-to rig is a '66 Deluxe Reverb with a Blues Jr for backup.

[anotherfreak]

I used a Tech21 Trademark 60 for years, and loved it!!!

But after picking out a Black Pearl 30, no more SS amp

[gorch]

There is nothing that compares to the warms of a tube driven tone. I love my recent acquisition a VOX AC-15 H1TV. The 59er circuit into the Celestion blue bulldog is an unbeatable combination. It punches like a boxer in the ring. Add a Brian May style treble booster on a single coil guitar and it growls. I am using the BSM BM-Q. Although, there are excellent SS amps around, SS just don't deliver this world of tone.

Still, I love the good old Rockman equipment. They deliver a warm sound either, but are far away from the attack tubes deliver. Recently, I send the Rockman tone from my XP100 directly into the blue bulldog but wasn't happy with the result.

I suppose we distinguish SS from digitals. The digital world is even different and to my ears sounds clinically sterile .