Tube Amp VS Solid state.
- Thread starter Alicia Willis
- Start date
I have never used a tube amp, so can't really compare. Having said that I don't recall not being able to get a good tone out of a solidstate amp and my Katana chugs with the best of them.
Tube amp for me, but what really makes a difference is the speaker. A good amp through a good speaker, with me in the same room, that's the pleasurable way to play. The same tube amps through my computer listening with headphones isn't half as luxurious.
That's kinda the fight for the ages. I have found qualities I seriously love in both, and I feel like a lot of the low-end GRUNT people praise tube amps for is EQ'd out in a mix.
Now, for the last few years, I have a solid state imitating tubes... So... What does that count as???
Now, for the last few years, I have a solid state imitating tubes... So... What does that count as???
I had a spider 2 to start. Half digital. Then I got a peavey vyp 2. That had a huge chug for rhythm but not a great lead sound to me. Then again I barely played with it. Now I have that same peavey along with the spider 5.
Here's a thought.. take your digital amp and run it into the tube. I wonder how its sound.
Here's a thought.. take your digital amp and run it into the tube. I wonder how its sound.
Thing is, as I often heard it's hard to use a Tube AMP in a one room / bedroom Situation. Im Sure you can get incredible Sounds Out of them, but I need great Sounds at Low volumes. Never used anything Else than my 0.5 Watts setting on my Boss Katana 100 to this Date 
Yeah it is true that tube amps want to be loud af, but they can have great cleans at low volume and there's always pedals. A lot of modern tube amps have built in low-power modes or attenuation, a master volume knob, and an effects loop where you can put a volume pedal for extra signal reduction before the power amp. In the old days it was not as common for tube amps to have all three of these features. I always go through a -20db attenuator at home.
What you really sacrifice at quieter volumes with tube amps is you don't have as much freedom in trying to find "that sound". You can sound good, you can even sound great, but you can't carelessly crank all the knobs in search of perfection. You get what the amp gives you.
What you really sacrifice at quieter volumes with tube amps is you don't have as much freedom in trying to find "that sound". You can sound good, you can even sound great, but you can't carelessly crank all the knobs in search of perfection. You get what the amp gives you.
Right, still hard having a minimalistic setup at home. And those tube amps are expensive (many at least). And then comes a cabinet and then a volume pedal? Then having a huge rack at home and not using it for it's whole potential seems like a waste of money. And many guitarists are mostly playing at home.
I would still love to own one, but the setting has to allow for it
Like @Firsty Lasty said, the true difference of the tone is in the speaker more than the amp. The speaker apparently has a massive importance in the sound of your guitar and makes the most part of your tone. I saw a great video about that, you should check it out!
The best of both worlds ?
Lol you’re a smart man Captain Ed !
I can see that. We have ours set up in our den it’s a fairly large room and it kind of echos a bit which I honeslty kind of love lol.Thing is, as I often heard it's hard to use a Tube AMP in a one room / bedroom Situation. Im Sure you can get incredible Sounds Out of them, but I need great Sounds at Low volumes. Never used anything Else than my 0.5 Watts setting on my Boss Katana 100 to this Date
Thanks for the feedback guys ! Like I said, we have both. I’ve played via the tube amp, the Katana, and even the bias fx thingy (yes it’s a thingy to me) hooked up vis my MacBook and speakers. Love the presets I can get via the MacBook setup, and love the cleaner tones in the katana....but something about the tube amp (Blackstar) just makes me happy lmao. Lol.
My peavey will be at the lowest setting and it still rattles the walls.Thing is, as I often heard it's hard to use a Tube AMP in a one room / bedroom Situation. Im Sure you can get incredible Sounds Out of them, but I need great Sounds at Low volumes. Never used anything Else than my 0.5 Watts setting on my Boss Katana 100 to this Date
Back in the olden days of "Solid State" it used to be no contest. Nowadays, you can go tubeless and get the same sound with a couple of nice pedals - which also solves your volume problems. I would go with a good "pedal friendly" amp and stay away from tubes.
Any pedals in particular we should splurge for ? We have a noise gate, tube screamer, big muff (I love grunge
) and a wah....I’m not coordinated enough for the wah
Thats great advice i have a peavy vypr and cant use pedals...i guess my next one will be a line6
Two of my fav pedals: TS & Big Muff. You can do a ton of damage with those two pedals. I'm old school so I love to throw some delay on my stuff. The nice thing about delay is that virtually every delay pedal does the same thing. If you want to splurge, you can go with an analog delay or a delay that mimics tape delay. Wampler has a great Tape Delay pedal. There are also lots of pedals out there that do multiple things - like the Strymon Mobius; chorus, flanger, Leslie, etc. Those are a ton of fun if you want to get some weird sounds or just thicken up the sound you already have. $$$Any pedals in particular we should splurge for ? We have a noise gate, tube screamer, big muff (I love grunge
You can quickly get stuck down the rabbit hole when it comes to pedals. I have about a hundred. lol
Thanks so much ! Gotta say, I love the fact that you love the big muff too !
also, it’s fun as hell to say...big muff....hehe... I’ve actually been thinking about a down tune pedal. I’ve seen mixed reviews on them. Ya know my fender can’t handle anything lower than a drop D
so I thought that could help.Similar threads
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