Tube or Power Amps?

jameshetfieldkirkhammet

jameshetfieldkirkhammet

New member
Hi guys,

I'm a noob so need your help on this. I'm planning to upgrade my amp, currently a Laney LG20R.

I'm thinking of tube amps but heard they are expensive and hard to maintain.

Eyeing a Marshall MG15 Microstack. Any1 knows the price? Or should I just get a tube amp. If so, which 1?

Thanks!:confused:
 
tube amps are very very very costly
even for 5 wattage
if u wan ur amp to stay at home onli den
i tink a solidstate amp shuld be ok
 
you know what? tube amps are the ONLY choice. I would rather have a shit guitar and great amp, than shit amp and great guitar. Not saying ur guitar is lacking, but amp is very important.

Valve may be more expensive than SS, but you can get something for a reasonable price 5W, that will crank hard and sound great. You may need to change tubes etc after a while, but it will be an amp that you will want to keep. With SS it may be cheaper, but after a year or less you will want to change your whole amp. When I first started playing I used to change amps all the time, now Ive got tube amps and never look back.

If you are into laney lc30 is great(though may be a bit out of ur budget) or lc15 is good also. I have a TT20 which cranks hard also. Also check out blackheart etc they are cheap, havent tried one though.
 
bluesmonkey said:
you know what? tube amps are the ONLY choice. I would rather have a shit guitar and great amp, than shit amp and great guitar. Not saying ur guitar is lacking, but amp is very important.

Valve may be more expensive than SS, but you can get something for a reasonable price 5W, that will crank hard and sound great. You may need to change tubes etc after a while, but it will be an amp that you will want to keep. With SS it may be cheaper, but after a year or less you will want to change your whole amp. When I first started playing I used to change amps all the time, now Ive got tube amps and never look back.

If you are into laney lc30 is great(though may be a bit out of ur budget) or lc15 is good also. I have a TT20 which cranks hard also. Also check out blackheart etc they are cheap, havent tried one though.
Click to expand...

+1:)

hard to maintain? defnately no..just remember to use power switch / standby switch correctly..
 
Tube vs. Solid State

Why get a tube amp when you cannot hear the difference. Based on today's high technology, SS amps sounds pretty close to tube amp sound. I suggest you get a better SS amp. I am currently using a XXL212 on stage. Most people came and asked me if it was a tube amp. It's not. I would suggest you ignore what you have heard about tube amps. Upgrade your playing instead.


jameshetfieldkirkhammet said:
Hi guys,

I'm a noob so need your help on this. I'm planning to upgrade my amp, currently a Laney LG20R.

I'm thinking of tube amps but heard they are expensive and hard to maintain.

Eyeing a Marshall MG15 Microstack. Any1 knows the price? Or should I just get a tube amp. If so, which 1?

Thanks!:confused:
Click to expand...
 
XXL is quite ex. you can get something lower wattage, all tube, and crank it harder-all the way to max if you wish. Id know what Id be choosing.
 
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SS will never sound like a full valve. Even hybrid, unfortunately. And if you cant tell the difference you probably should stick with the SS.

Valves make you a better player. Picking strength, varying the breakup, wish someone had told me earlier.
 
backagain said:
Why get a tube amp when you cannot hear the difference. Based on today's high technology, SS amps sounds pretty close to tube amp sound. I suggest you get a better SS amp. I am currently using a XXL212 on stage. Most people came and asked me if it was a tube amp. It's not. I would suggest you ignore what you have heard about tube amps. Upgrade your playing instead.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say that's entirely accurate... There is still a difference when playing tube amps compared to modelled amps on a solid state. It breathes differently. Then again, after playing some tube amps, not all are really happening. There are some duds...

Again, I'm not saying which is better or worse. I've seen and heard some solid state amps which are totally awesome. (the microstack for one...) and some tube amps which are totally killer. Both have their applications, and I think I'm sort of a mind that SS amps give better built-in distortion (as in, more saturated), while tube amps give a beautifully sweet OD tone when driven.

But I concur with your point on improving the player...:mrgreen: +1000!!!!
 
backagain said:
Why get a tube amp when you cannot hear the difference. Based on today's high technology, SS amps sounds pretty close to tube amp sound. I suggest you get a better SS amp. I am currently using a XXL212 on stage. Most people came and asked me if it was a tube amp. It's not. I would suggest you ignore what you have heard about tube amps. Upgrade your playing instead.
Click to expand...

tube amps reverence has its place. people tend to over-hype the differences often because they hear better tone from the tube units & advocate this widely (sometimes the differences are marginal...). in terms of drive, the SS technology today are on par with the tubes. however, when it comes to clean tones, the tube counterparts have more bells & whistles in store. no offence to the individual above- i'm a fim believer in the XXL, here's mine:

s540withstack.jpg
 
jameshetfieldkirkhammet said:
Hi guys,

I'm a noob so need your help on this. I'm planning to upgrade my amp, currently a Laney LG20R.

I'm thinking of tube amps but heard they are expensive and hard to maintain.

Eyeing a Marshall MG15 Microstack. Any1 knows the price? Or should I just get a tube amp. If so, which 1?

Thanks!:confused:
Click to expand...

i think its 395 , my dad got me the zakk wylde one for christmas but refused to tell me the price
 
about the 15 watt mini stacks , they sound pretty darn awesome , much better than my other marshalls , e.g the mg30's and 50's . sorry to hijack this post , but are the marshall jvm's tube amps?
 
wow.. thanks for replying so fast guys. haha.

I guess i COULD work my ass off, starve and save till i get money to get tube amps. But is it worth it? (I've got other things I want to buy too. Iphone etc.. Hehe...:mrgreen:)

So the wattage of the amp determines the loudness it can go? does it determine the sound quality?

Cause to me, i dunt need it to be loud, most of the time i play in the wee hours of the night (2am, 3am) so I can't blast it. Or i use my headphones.

I just need it to sound good.

DILEMMA DILEMMA!! urgh. :(
 
it's not about the tubes, it's about the tone- tube or otherwise, if it's good, it's good. i never do away with my SS amps even if there are tube ones in the fold.
 
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