ollie99
New member
can anyone suggest a nice tube amp? I want to play metal/rock and some clean stuff now and then. Preferably around £300, £400 max but tell me if that is too low.
Thanks
Thanks
guitarplayr82
Well-known member
I think £400 will be a good amount in the used market. Are you searching for a combo or a head? And when you say you want to play clean, what volume levels are you planning on playing clean at? Are you gigging or playing with a band much?
ollie99
New member
woah, well I don't really know about tube amps, just that I need one to get the sound I want. What part of it actually has the tubes?
guitarplayr82
Well-known member
Here, let me fill you in a bit about tube amps:
In a tube amp there's two different stages that contain tubes (aside from any rectifier, reverb, tremolo, etc. tubes - don't worry about those for now). The two stages are the preamp stage and the power stage. Both stages contain a certain number of tubes that will color your tone and contribute to the sound of the amp (in a good way). Preamp tubes are smaller in size than power tubes (that's good to know for future reference).
Distortion in a tube amp can be created a few different ways. The first way is via diode clipping - this is generally not considered a very good sounding way to get distortion from a tube amp. I'd avoid amps with diode clipping unless you have tested the amp and really like the sound. A more common way to get distortion is by overdriving the preamp section (the preamp tubes). This is how most Mesa and Marshall amps get their distortion - it's all coming from the preamp. A third way to get distortion in a tube amp is from the power tubes. This is different from preamp tube distortion because the amount of distortion is dependent upon how loud the amp is due to the positioning of the power tubes in the circuit. This leads me to wattage...
Wattage in a tube amp is different from wattage in a solid-stage amp. In a solid-state amp you will be able to achieve perfectly crystal clean tones at full volume. In a tube amp, however, the amount of volume you can have on your clean tone before the amp starts breaking up and distorting is dependent on the amp's wattage. If you want to have crystal clean tones without any sort of breakup at live band volumes, you're probably looking at an amp with at least 50 watts of power (depending on how efficient your speaker setup is).
As you can see, there are a LOT of variables in a tube amp, haha. Lots of things depend on other things which is why it is important to do your proper research on the amps you are looking at and make sure you can try them out in a store before you buy them.
Also, to clarify between a combo and a head: a combo is when the amp is all self-contained. The electronics and tubes are in the same box as the speaker(s). Like this: http://cdn1.gbase.com/usercontent/gear/1605023/p1_u1nejyar5_so.jpg
A head and cab setup is when the electronics/tubes are in their own box and the speaker(s) are in another box. Like this: http://www.marshallhalfstack.com/images/JTM45-TV.jpg
Or this: http://vault66.org/stuff/amps/imgz/plexi2.jpg
In a tube amp there's two different stages that contain tubes (aside from any rectifier, reverb, tremolo, etc. tubes - don't worry about those for now). The two stages are the preamp stage and the power stage. Both stages contain a certain number of tubes that will color your tone and contribute to the sound of the amp (in a good way). Preamp tubes are smaller in size than power tubes (that's good to know for future reference).
Distortion in a tube amp can be created a few different ways. The first way is via diode clipping - this is generally not considered a very good sounding way to get distortion from a tube amp. I'd avoid amps with diode clipping unless you have tested the amp and really like the sound. A more common way to get distortion is by overdriving the preamp section (the preamp tubes). This is how most Mesa and Marshall amps get their distortion - it's all coming from the preamp. A third way to get distortion in a tube amp is from the power tubes. This is different from preamp tube distortion because the amount of distortion is dependent upon how loud the amp is due to the positioning of the power tubes in the circuit. This leads me to wattage...
Wattage in a tube amp is different from wattage in a solid-stage amp. In a solid-state amp you will be able to achieve perfectly crystal clean tones at full volume. In a tube amp, however, the amount of volume you can have on your clean tone before the amp starts breaking up and distorting is dependent on the amp's wattage. If you want to have crystal clean tones without any sort of breakup at live band volumes, you're probably looking at an amp with at least 50 watts of power (depending on how efficient your speaker setup is).
As you can see, there are a LOT of variables in a tube amp, haha. Lots of things depend on other things which is why it is important to do your proper research on the amps you are looking at and make sure you can try them out in a store before you buy them.
Also, to clarify between a combo and a head: a combo is when the amp is all self-contained. The electronics and tubes are in the same box as the speaker(s). Like this: http://cdn1.gbase.com/usercontent/gear/1605023/p1_u1nejyar5_so.jpg
A head and cab setup is when the electronics/tubes are in their own box and the speaker(s) are in another box. Like this: http://www.marshallhalfstack.com/images/JTM45-TV.jpg
Or this: http://vault66.org/stuff/amps/imgz/plexi2.jpg
ollie99
New member
thanks a lot, well I guess I'll just save up and go to a proper shop and try it out 
guitarplayr82
Well-known member
Yeah, I'd definitely say don't rush it. I recently started shopping for a new tube amp and I spend two months trying out amps, bought a couple, returned them because they weren't quite right. It's a big purchase and you want to make sure you do it right.
ollie99
New member
yeah, I think I'd have to sell my current amp and use that money plus other money of my own and put it towards a christmas present.
guitarplayr82
Well-known member
It would be worth it. In the meantime try to learn as much as you can about tube amps and the different options out there.
ollie99
New member
Yeah I will, I'm sure my guitar teacher can come in handy as well thanks a lot
thanks a lot
guitarplayr82
Well-known member
Sure thing.
ollie99
New member
I was just thinking, do you think that, to save money, I could get just a head and connect that to the speaker in my marshall? How will that affect the sound?
Btw, my amp is a marshall mg50fx
Btw, my amp is a marshall mg50fx
Last edited:
guitarplayr82
Well-known member
Sure you could do that. The only downsides I see are the fact that you'll have to carry two amps around whenever you play outside of your studio (the head and the MG50FX) and that the speaker in the MG50FX might be subpar.
ollie99
New member
hmmm, well I could always ask about that when trying out different amps