Tubes rule - 'cause you'll never duplicate the smell of a tube amp pushed to the brink. And it sounds better too.

I like the sound of a solid state '80's thrash metal' distortion - that chuggy 'scooped' Metallica/Slayer distortion. I don't know if you can get that kind of harsh sound from tubes.

But I play through a nice little tube amp becuase it suits the music I want to play I guess. Zom mentioned 'waiting' - I like this too, it appeals to me that I need to wait for a bit. I tune up, faff about a bit, get a cup of tea or a beer think about what I'm going to do. I could do the same with a solid state amp. But having to wait is nice.

...and you know the vibe and all that too.

Absurd that a maintenance friendly (low maintenance), light weight, reliable technology has not replaced tubes? Yes.

Absurd that they are still in use because nothing quite sounds like them (yet)? No.

B_M_L wrote:I like the sound of a solid state '80's thrash metal' distortion - that chuggy 'scooped' Metallica/Slayer distortion. I don't know if you can get that kind of harsh sound from tubes.

Both Metallica and Slayer got their sound from Marshall JCM800 amplifiers. All-tube. The only solid-state at play was Hetfield's clean sound, which came from a Roland Jazz Chorus.

So to answee your question, yes, you can get the 80's metal sound with tubes. Easiest way is to plug a guitar directly into a JCM800 and turn it up all the way. That's all you need to do.

scott wrote:Both Metallica and Slayer got their sound from Marshall JCM800 amplifiers. All-tube. The only solid-state at play was Hetfield's clean sound, which came from a Roland Jazz Chorus.

I'm gunna come clean here. I played the hell out of a Roland Jazz. Not a bad amp at all.

i think it's absurd that we use transistors at all in audio. screw convenience. btw anyone got a telefunken tube 4 track that they're not using? or a hammond novachord synth?

Tubes will never be replaced by solid state. Never ever ever.

And thank little babe Christy for that.

Oh and I've said this before and I'll say it again, the Mesa Boogie Mark IV tube amp is the best amp still in production today. Sell your solid states and witness the strength of handmade audio knowledge.

Great thread.

I've had an interesting year in terms of my guitar gear. I bought a Dr Z mazerati amp head (hand made, all tube, very very expensive) which I fell in love with. I bought a lovely cab with a great speaker in it, and it all sounded amazing. Then I found a Crate Powerblock (150w, solid state, tiny amp head) being sold off for 50 quid (approx $100) and bought it, thinking it would be a useful as a little practise amp, as the Dr Z was far too loud to play at home.

I took the Crate Powerblock to a rehearsal, and to my amazement it sounded 90% as good as the Dr Z when cranked. And it's about a tenth of the weight. And it never needs new tubes. And it's a lot more flexible in terms of inputs and outputs. And it's much less likely to break down mid set. And I don't have to treat it with kid gloves. And it's halved the value of my gear, so theft isn't such a worry. So I found myself using the Crate more and more, and I recently sold my Dr Z because it was an expensive room decoration.

In the end for me, the advantages of a solid state amp far outweighed the (slightly!) better sound of a tube amp. Most of my tone comes from pedals anyway. I think solid state amps get a bad press because they tend to be cluttered with far too many controls and amp sims, and all sorts of unecessary crap. I'm surprised the powerblock was discontinued, because it was a real step forward in terms of amps. It's simple, convenient and effective.

monkeybob wrote:In the end for me, the advantages of a solid state amp far outweighed the (slightly!) better sound of a tube amp. Most of my tone comes from pedals anyway. I think solid state amps get a bad press because they tend to be cluttered with far too many controls and amp sims, and all sorts of unecessary crap. I'm surprised the powerblock was discontinued, because it was a real step forward in terms of amps. It's simple, convenient and effective.

the powerblock, while good sounding and more conveniant, is cheapo made in comparison and will eventually become defective and unrepairable. I've had similar stuff and the pots and switches are all cheap and become noisy and scratchy real fast. Look inside and you know the story. On the other hand an amp like the Dr.Z is easily repairable and of much higher quality. Has the benefit of the tube glow and smell and will still be good 20+ years from now.

thebugman wrote:the powerblock, while good sounding and more conveniant, is cheapo made in comparison and will eventually become defective and unrepairable. I've had similar stuff and the pots and switches are all cheap and become noisy and scratchy real fast. Look inside and you know the story. On the other hand an amp like the Dr.Z is easily repairable and of much higher quality. Has the benefit of the tube glow and smell and will still be good 20+ years from now.

I'm sure you're right, but when it goes I'll try and get hold of another powerblock. For the price of a Dr Z head I could buy 20 powerblocks (at least at the discount price I got it)! And of course there's the $100 or so you need to shell out for new tubes every year or two. Some people enjoy fiddling about with valves and maintaining their amps, I simply want to get on with playing. Tube glow is lovely, sure, but I could buy a lava lamp if I wanted a light show!

My hope is that a company releases something like the powerblock, with the same features but with better build quality. I'd happily pay good money for that. It's a huge gap in the market and someone will catch on one day.