Guitar Tube
 |
 |
VOX TONELAB ST TUBE GUITAR EFFECT PEDAL NEW DEALER |  |
 |
US $199.99 | 22d 8h 31m |
 |
iZotope Trash Guitar Amp Distortion Tube Preamp Effects Plugin Software LICENSE | |
|
US $179.95 | 16d 4h 9m |
 |
PreSonus Blue Tube DP 2 Channel Mic/Guitar/Bass Preamp | |
|
US $229.95 | 12d 6h 3m |
 |
Blackheart BH100H Hothead Tube Guitar Amp head Amplifier | |
|
US $899.99 | 5d 4h 51m |
 |
Studio Devil Virtual Guitar Amp II Tube NATIVE LICENSE | |
|
US $69.00 | 8d 6h 52m |
 |
Softube Vintage Amp Room Guitar Plugin Tube TDM LICENSE | |
|
US $449.99 | 1d 16h 2m |
| Powered by phpBay Pro |
Guitar Tube
What's sounds better, a tube guitar amp or a transistor amp?
There us a lot of debate about this around me lately, i just wanted to hear some other opinions. is it the clean tone, the distortion and overdrive? maybe even tell me what brand of tube you recommend in a 12ax7 or a 6v6. (if you don't understand the last part, i just have a lot of time on my hands.)LOL
I've heard some great sounding solid state amps (Roland JC-120), and I heard some tube amps that sound like you plugged your guitar into a wood chipper.
It really comes down to what style of music you want to play, and what sounds good to you. I'd say that 80% of the guitarists (semi pro and pro level) play tube amps (and conversely, probably 80% of bass players use solid state).
And yes, while the majority of guitarists use tubes, there are a few notable exeptions:
B.B. King - his favorite amp for the past few decades is an old Gibson L-5 solid state.
Ty Tabor (King's X) - He had what I consider his best tones on the first 3 albums. He was very secretive about his rig. It finally came out that he used a preamp out of a Gibson amp, throug his effects, and then to a PA amp. Solid state all the way.
The Edge (U2) - Uses a multiple amp set up, and usually has a Roland JC-120 and a small solid state Randall amp in the mix.
The other thing to consider...there will be maintainance costs associated with a tube amp. They do wear out after a while and must be replaced. How often depends on how often and how loud you play.
You didn't mention anything about what I consider the third type of amp, and that's the digital modeling amp. It's not tube, but it's not a linear amp either. The signal gets digitized, and the tone and distortion is derived in software. And I know that most tube purists will tell you that they wouldn't touch one of these amps if you gave it to them. But, I'll share this and then shut up about that debate.
Kendrick Amplifiers is a small boutique amp manufacturer and repair/mod company north of Austin. It's owned by a guy named Gerald Weber. Gerald builts some really amazing (and expensive) amps, and can fix anything out there that glows. More than once, he's sat 10 feet from me at a club gig while I'm playing a Line 6 Vetta, and more than once he's shaken his head and stated he didn't know how they did it but he would swear there's a tube in that amp somewhere. I think part of it is Gerald is being nice, but when I hear that amp on playback, I have to shake my head a little as well.
The bottom line is that you need to go out, plug in, and listen to as many amps as you can. Don't get too hung up on what's behind the panel. It you like what you hear, and it's in your budget, then you're good.
For tube types, I'm really liking the tubes that Electro-Harmonix is selling these days. I haven't tried their 6V6, but their preamp tubes are very good.
Good luck.
Greetings from Austin, TX
Ken
|
|
VOX TONELAB ST TUBE GUITAR EFFECT PEDAL NEW DEALER | |
|
US $199.99 | 22d 8h 31m |
|
iZotope Trash Guitar Amp Distortion Tube Preamp Effects Plugin Software LICENSE | |
|
US $179.95 | 16d 4h 9m |
|
PreSonus Blue Tube DP 2 Channel Mic/Guitar/Bass Preamp | |
|
US $229.95 | 12d 6h 3m |
|
Blackheart BH100H Hothead Tube Guitar Amp head Amplifier | |
|
US $899.99 | 5d 4h 51m |
|
Studio Devil Virtual Guitar Amp II Tube NATIVE LICENSE | |
|
US $69.00 | 8d 6h 52m |
|
Softube Vintage Amp Room Guitar Plugin Tube TDM LICENSE | |
|
US $449.99 | 1d 16h 2m |
| Powered by phpBay Pro |
| Account limit of 2112 requests per hour exceeded. |
No Woman No Cry - Bob Marley - acoustic cover - Igor Presnyakov
What's the difference between tube watts and solid state watts in a guitar amp?
I know that a tube amp with 10 or 15 watts can drive a cabinet that is rated for a minimum wattage of much higher than that of the amplifier. But solid state can't necessarily do this. What is the difference between tube and solid state watt amps, and how big of a cabinet can a small 15 watt amp drive?
A watt is a watt is a watt...period. Here's the formula for calculating power:
P = E * I
where:
P = power in watts
E = EMF in volts
I = Current in Amperes
There's no variable for "tube" or "solid state".
Now most folks will agree that when you turn a tube amp up it will sound louder than a solid state amp of the same wattage. This has to do with how a tube handles a signal vs a transistor when they get to the limit of their operating range. A transistor will clip the signal abruptly, and most folks don't percieve that as a "good" sound.
A tube on the other hand will start compressing the signal as you increase it's drive level. By doing that, the average levels of the signal are higher, and we percieve that as louder.
It's basically the same thing that radio stations do to their audio (and now mastering engineers) to make the signal stand out.
Now, the question of "how big of a cabinet...". Well, I suppose you could hook up a cabinet that's rated for 1000 watts to your amp, and al long as the impedances are matched it would make noise. And that's true of tube or solid state (again...a watt is a watt).
Don't get too hung up on wattage numbers on speaker cabinets. What really impacts how loud a speaker system can get is it's efficiency. In other words, how well does it turn electrical energy into acoustic energy.
Very high wattage speakers are usually pretty ineffecient compared to lower wattage ones. So, it's entirely possible to hook your amp up to a cabinet rated for 50 watts, and it's louder than the 1000 watt cabinet.
You usually see the "minimum recommended wattage" spec on high fidelity speakers (because they trade efficiency for accuracy). I don't believe I've ever seen that on a guitar cabinet.
As long as you're not mismatching impedances, feel free to experiment.
Good luck.
Greetings from Austin, TX
Ken
Tags: amp, diy, electronics, guitar, guitar tube, guitar tube amp, guitar tube amp kits, guitar tube preamp, guitar tuner, music
Posted on February 27th, 2011 at 6:45 am
Bogner Alchemist Tube Guitar Amplifier
pics.drumza.com/pic/Bogner-Alchemist-Tube-Guitar-Amplifier-Head.html