i see alot of people saying to buy tube amps or they say they are gonna buy an amp and it's gonna be a tube amp. I've always had solidstates. Many years ago my dad had a tube amp and it seemed that it was alot of maintenance cost of tubes for the trouble of it all, but then agin that was a very long time ago.
so my question is this, why such a love for tubes? whats the big difference between solid and tubes? which is better in your opinion?
My thing is i play hard rock and metal mostly, but i do play some softer stuff but not very often. I'm going looking for a new aamp this weekend. i will try both out. but do you think solidstate is better for what i play or is the tubes better??
thanks
Tim 8)
well, first off,tubes are much more reliable nowadays, $30 tubes can last you a couple years depending on how much you play and how much you take care of them(standby switch)
and tube amps may seem more expensive because a 30w all tube amp might cost $600 for the high end ones, but it's because tubes allow more power and volume to be expressed from a lower watt amp.
if you play lots of rock, tubes are definetely worth the time to investigate, the gain and overdrive is inarguably more agressive and powerful than solid-states, but a POD or a less costly V-Amp may be the way to go if you're looking for dynamic overdrives.
have fun, and if you're looking for a moderately priced mid-sized tube amp, try Peavey, Fender, and MesaBoogie($$$) they're the big dogs
I don't follow my dreams, I just ask em' where they're going and catch up with them later.
-Mitch Hedburg
Did you see that!
I don't know to much about amps. But id say for metal, tube isnt the way to go, as far as I understand. New solidstate amps get amazing DISTORTION...Tube amps really get overdrive. I think distortion is better for hard rock and metal.
Try and find out what your favorite bands are playing. You might not be able to afford their exact set-up, but you could get a lower end model from the same company. Marshall, Mesa Boogie, Peavey (5150 series and XXX), and Crate are companies I find a lot of Metal bands using. Good Luck!
It is a small world for metal fanatics. I welcome you fellow musicians, especially the metalheads!
Tough question. I myself have a Behringer V-amp2 (digital modeling unit), and a Behringer GMX212 (solidstate anologue modeling amp). They are more then worth their price, but a proper tube amp still sounds more convincing, although it is far less versatile. However, in my humble opinion, the more expensive digital amps are just as great sounding, and much, much more versatile, then tube amps.
In short, if you have a few specific sounds in mind, a tube amp might serve you better. If you play multiple styles, or can afford the top modeling units, modeling is a valid option. Don't ignore either tube or digital amps, try them both in the store. Don't forget that digital amps can be tweaked much more then tube amps, and you might need some time to get a proper sound of it.
So why do so many people go to 'buy a real tube amp' without ever having tried one before? The answer is simple: humans are conservative copycats. If I'm going for Hendrix, I need a Marshall tube amp, a Hendrix signature strat and a Roger Mayer FuzzFace. Just look at all the 'I want to sound like slash, what gear do I need?' questions. While there is nothing wrong with being a copycat, one could wonder if going for your own sound might not be more worthwhile.
Proper digital amps have only existed for a very, very short time, and slowly more and more bands are using them. But this does mean that all our old heroes used tube amps, which is again why we all want that 'raging tube stack' or 'slightly overdrive fender combo'.
So in short: tubes are not superior to digital amps. They are different. Just make sure you end up with the amp that serves your needs.
I do not have a tube amp, but would not rule one out. I have a solid state modeling amp and I am just tired of the poor quality of the sound. I can get decent sounds from it, but not great. Admittedly, it is about 4 or 5 years old, although well taken care of. The quality of what it out there may have changed alot since then. I have a tube preamp that I run thru my Marshall solid state and that is a great sounding setup. When I run the tube preamp thru the solid state modeling amp, it sounds like crap. Basically, I am tired of the bad sound I get thru my solid state amp that has effects. Maybe it is the modeling thing with effects that makes the bad sound. I am thinking of just keeping it more simple. the more simple the set up, the easier it will be to transport it from place to place or vevue to venue. EEEHHHeh?
It is a small world for metal fanatics. I welcome you fellow musicians, especially the metalheads!
Thanks all, here is what i went and got a marshall mg30dfx (30 watt) it is a nice amp. I was wanting to use something at home for proper practice, even though tone was really important. I have been playing around wi it for about 2 hours. i played with it in the store to by the way before i bought it.
Here is a link to the model i got with all it's features. I think this will serve the purpose for which i need it for.
http://www.marshallamps.com/images/products/mg/mg30dfx.html
And while i was there......i ended up taking this baby home with me too. can a guitarist every have enough guitars?? LOL
Can a guitarist ever have enough guitars?? LOL
The answer is simply, no.
aka Izabella
