getuhgrip
Bring Back Transfat!
Tube vs Solid State IMHO
Reading thru Bruce's thread on Tone, I think sometimes we loose focus and unintentionaly enter sort of a word game.
Back in May I was looking to replace a Peavey Bandit for recording. I asked about the differences between tube and solidstate amps. Talk about a four alarm fire! On the whole it became a battlefield of Brand Loyalties so I just went with my gut and budget.
I bought two amps. Both Marshall based on reputation and price.
VSR265 and JCM602. I'm not gonna give a review of these amps, just a few thoughts on their design capabilities.
The VS265 has a tube pre with a solid state power amp. Whether ya like Boston style guitar work or not, this is where this amp stands out. Consistant thin distortion with clear highs out the wazoo with gobs of treble. Very accurate and unforgiving. Cleaned up, it gives a nice clean presence at low to mid volumes.
The 602 is all tube and instantly takes those thin highs and turns 'em into a thick, full bodied (I hate that expression) sound with a softly blended fuzz that the 265 just can't produce. Don't misinturpret "softly" for weak! On the clean side its tone is fat and in your face.
To me they both provide a very different tonal quality and fill a different role based on the type of music I'm playing or the sound I'm after. But the bottom line is one can't do what the other one can. Maybe I could have bought a "box" to get the same flexability of these two amps, but I like the idea of having a backup.
Anyway, two different tools for two different jobs. Kinda like Strats and Les Pauls.
Reading thru Bruce's thread on Tone, I think sometimes we loose focus and unintentionaly enter sort of a word game.
Back in May I was looking to replace a Peavey Bandit for recording. I asked about the differences between tube and solidstate amps. Talk about a four alarm fire! On the whole it became a battlefield of Brand Loyalties so I just went with my gut and budget.
I bought two amps. Both Marshall based on reputation and price.
VSR265 and JCM602. I'm not gonna give a review of these amps, just a few thoughts on their design capabilities.
The VS265 has a tube pre with a solid state power amp. Whether ya like Boston style guitar work or not, this is where this amp stands out. Consistant thin distortion with clear highs out the wazoo with gobs of treble. Very accurate and unforgiving. Cleaned up, it gives a nice clean presence at low to mid volumes.
The 602 is all tube and instantly takes those thin highs and turns 'em into a thick, full bodied (I hate that expression) sound with a softly blended fuzz that the 265 just can't produce. Don't misinturpret "softly" for weak! On the clean side its tone is fat and in your face.
To me they both provide a very different tonal quality and fill a different role based on the type of music I'm playing or the sound I'm after. But the bottom line is one can't do what the other one can. Maybe I could have bought a "box" to get the same flexability of these two amps, but I like the idea of having a backup.
Anyway, two different tools for two different jobs. Kinda like Strats and Les Pauls.
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