So here's the thing- I travel too much. WAY too much.
It's pretty much the only thing that keeps my GAS at bay- I don't want to accumulate more than I can carry! But, I want a tube sound. All my friends seem to have decent tube amps, and they're fun! A lot more fun than the digital overdrive I'm using. But they're also really HEAVY and bulky. So I'm looking for a way to get tube sound that's portable...
Ideas?
I've looked at some pre-amp pedals that use tubes- hard to find around here, though. A friend of a friend has a Mesa Boogie V1-Bottle rocket for sale...not much else to be had in town.
Or...any other way to sound like tubes without having to carry anything big around?
Best,
Justin
PS- What I really love is that warm, almost clean sound that you get somewhere in the middle of most tube amps- almost clean if you stroke it, breaks up if you hit it hard. Can I get that with a pedal?
How 'bout a Z.Vex amp? 1 watt, all tube :)
Playing guitar and never playing for others is like studying medicine and never working in a clinic.
Hmmmm, maybe it's the late hour (well past my bedtime), but I'm not quite understanding
what's going on here....
What are you going to be plugging the pedal into?
A small amp? A PC?
I feel that I'm missing something....?
If you are already lugging around a small amp, why not buy a small tube amp.
The Fender Champ 600 is popular around here with ones who own one.
If you've got the cash though, Fender has a RI '57 Tweed Champ amp - goes for around $999.00 (U.S.)
You can hear demos of it on Utube.
From what I've heard on there, it sounds pretty darn good.
For a hundred less, you can get a Valvetrain 205:
http://www.music123.com/ValveTrain-205-5W-1x8-Tube-Guitar-Combo-Amp-483554-i1432767.Music123
And here's VT's site, complete with demos:
http://www.valvetrainamps.com/videos.htm
*be sure to check out the bigger amps too, they sound pretty good!
Or you can go on ebay an look for a cream tolex late 50's Gibson GA-5 Skylark amp.
Much cheaper than a vintage Tweed Champ (or maybe even a RI! lol).
As far as pedals with tubes in them go, I don't know if they will make a SS amp sound and 'perform'
like a tube amp, exactly.... But I think a cool one to look into might be the Zendrive 2 (no affiliation.... I swear!)
http://guitarforworship.wordpress.com/2009/01/10/zendrive-1-vs-zendrive-2-and-the-mosferatu/
http://www.hermidaaudio.com/products.html
Thing is, most of the demos I found were running thru tube amps.
And that seems to be the prevailing wisdom.... Tube OD thru a tube amp = better tone.
Tube OD thru a SS amp = muddy tone
I don'know.... If I'm off track here, lemme know (%
Good luck,
Ken
"The man who has begun to live more seriously within
begins to live more simply without"
-Ernest Hemingway
"A genuine individual is an outright nuisance in a factory"
-Orson Welles
Hi again-
Sorry if I was unclear- I'd currently run any pedal I bought through a small(ish) SS amp. But I won't be lugging the amp with me when I next change countries. (To Asia, early next year.) The fundamental thing is that SS amps are, frequently, cheap enough that I can abandon the one I have here, and get another one upon arrival. TUbe amps, even little ones, aren't usually cheap enough to do that.
And even small tube amps are pretty well too heavy to travel internationally with. A friend of mine just got an estimate to ship his ValveJr as excess baggage, and it was going to cost him $150. ABout what the amp is worth.
So...I don't know if portable tube sound is really possible...but I'm working on it!
Best,
Ande
Here's real tube effects for audiophiles: http://www.effectrode.com/ , http://www.guyatone.com/Flip.php , and a more common, yet marvelous Maxon!!! http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Maxon-ROD881-Real-Tube-OverdriveDistortion-Guitar-Pedals?sku=155083&src ="3WFRWXX&ZYXSEM=0&CAWELAID=26018907" Have a ton of fun choosing! :D
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
