Scottgman said:
I disagree. I think it's the marketing departments at the amp manufacturers who have woken up to the fact that this is another angle to market toob gear as tube gear. People who don't understand what we know about real tube amps think "hey it's got a tube in the power section... it must be good!"
It's the same marketing gimmick they used when the hybrids first started flooding the market. I've noticed the hype around hybrid amps has kind of died down. I guess after a few years of market saturation, people are finally realizing that the hybrids don't really sound that great.
And I guess I disagree with you to a certain extent.
When you say "hybrid", I think of the Musicman amps from the 70's with the solid state pre's and tube power sections. I'm guessing that you're actually referring to modeling amps.
And certainly amp manufacturers have hyped a 12AX7 being in the signal chain for years, but they've always put it in the preamp section. Heck, even those Tube Works amps hyped it. Those Johnson amps always talked about having a tube in the preamp section. Effects manufacturers talked about having a tube in their distortion pedals. Ok, fine. They still didn't sound "real". Line 6 hasn't ever put a tube in the signal path, and (to me) still sound like crap.
The Vox Valvetronix technology came about in 2001. When I first saw the ads, I didn't pay them much attention. They talked about having a tube in the power section and yadda-yadda-yadda, but I never bought into it just because I really thought it was just another modeling amp. Big deal.
Late last year, I was shopping for a Telecaster, and one of the amps I plugged into was a little
Vox VR15. Not a modeling amp, but it had the same Valve Reactor power section as the Valvetronix amps. It had this "real" feel about it that I'd never gotten with a Line 6 or Johnson (although I had gotten a similar feel with a Tech 21 Trademark 60). I was impressed. So much so, that when I bought my Telecaster, I bought a Vox VR30 amp along with it. I tracked a
clip using this little VR30 not long after I bought it.
After chatting with folks on the Fender Forum about the Vox VR and Valvetronix series amps and after playing through some of the bigger Valvetronix amps at Guitar Center, I really became interested in getting maybe one of
the AD30 or AD50VT's. Then I happened upon a used VR60VT used on Craigslist, and I got it for $290.00 with
the VC-4 foot controller.
It's a cool flippin' amp. I mean, they've thought out the amps enough to factor in rectifier sag in the Bassman model.
There is just something about having a tube in the power section that just makes it feel better dynamically. Pick lighter, and it cleans up, but attack it, and it just growls.
Will it replace my HIWATT or Twin or even
my Peavey Classic 50 410?
No.
Is it a usable tool?
Absolutely.
If I'm playing a show where only about 1% of the audience will even know I'm not playing a 100% tube amp...it's perfect. Or if I want to track a distorted guitar track without waking the neighbors, I can turn the attenuator down to 5 watts or 1 watt and still get power tube saturation.
Bottom line is that a tube in the power section is a much better idea than putting it in the preamp section.
I can't jump on the bandwagon that it's some sort of marketing tool when only 2 amp manufacturers (of which I know) are using this type of technology...especially when I'm not thinking it will somehow replace tube amps.
So anyways then I jumped to the BIG one, it sucked. But then I tried the RG75 and MAN! That thing is REALLY nice. It has so much punch and alot of gain if you want and nice built in effects. It sounds really good at low volumes and high volumes. Im happy with the sound but Im trying to decide on either that or one of the combos from line-6....so far Randall is on the lead. 