Anyone actually prefer SS to tubes?

Bill Llewellyn · Post by **Bill Llewellyn** » 25 May 2000 8:52 pm

Gee, b0b's thread on the Mesa 50/50 sure has a lotta people singin' the praises of vacuum tubes -- in the amp, preamp, or both.

Does anybody here actually prefer solid state, or do people sometimes default to it not for the sound but because its usually lighter and more maintenance free (watt for watt) than the tubers?

(This reminds me of the steam versus diesel locomotive camps from decades ago [before me]....)

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Bill * MSA Classic U12 * email * homepage[This message was edited by Bill Llewellyn on 25 May 2000 at 09:57 PM.]

Bob Metzger · Post by **Bob Metzger** » 26 May 2000 12:47 am

The vast majority of steel players play solid state amps. There are two operative words here: VAST and PEAVEY. Of course, I'm not saying that they should, just that they do.

Bob

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 26 May 2000 2:16 am

I play SS and see no reason to go back to tubes, both as a musician and as an ex amp tech. At one time, in the early years of transistors the amps were garbage, however, technology improved and the amps that have been produced in the last 20 years or so have kept pace with technology and are a different breed.

Another reason is the actual tubes. You cannot get good tubes anymore and the ones you can buy are way over priced. I go way back with tubes (I started in electronics in 1955 and got my ham radio license in 1961) and the RCA tubes were always the cadillac of the class. When I did amp repair I would only use RCA tubes, unless an amp had a specialty tube that was only made by one manufacturer.

The one drawback with solid state is the amps are cleaner and it will show up your playing deficiencies a lot more than a tube amp will.

One last thing is the "tube myth". When I was doing amp repair in Nashville I always heard I have to have a tube amp but we had a solid state amp in the store that guys would try out (and didn't know it was solid state) and everyone would comment on how great the amp was.....

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 26 May 2000 6:37 am

The one drawback with solid state is the amps are cleaner and it will show up your playing deficiencies a lot more than a tube amp will.

So, Jack. Is that why my playing sucks???

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Carter D10 8p/10k
Richard Sinkler BS, www.sinkler.com

Greg Derksen · Post by **Greg Derksen** » 26 May 2000 6:43 am

As much as a tube fanatic as I am, for a clean "Nasville" tone, SS amps get the job
done, I find the volumn pedal reacts more
consistant on SS amps, so the tone is similar
throughout the travel of the pedal. Also as
Jack mentioned , very clean tones.
Having said that, what we here most out of
Nashville is a tube preAmp going through a
SS Power Amp into some clean speakers.
I think one of the problems , is we Steelers
try Twins, Classic 50's, that type of thing
and these amps speakers are voice for 6 string electrics. I think we need to mix it
up a bit, clean speakers, tube power, SS
pre amps, or another way, until we find our
tone. There is probably a ton of possibilities to blow our time & money on!

Greg

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 26 May 2000 8:41 am

I prefer solid state amps, but I haven't tried many of the popular tube amps mentioned here on the Forum.

Rich Paton · Post by **Rich Paton** » 26 May 2000 1:02 pm

I've always preferred tube amps for electric guitar, but the first time I heard my friend's PSG through two Nashville 400's in a
~very~ big hall, I knew immediately that this was "the thing" for PSG tone & clarity.