power amp saturation

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Kingofpain678

Kingofpain678

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What's up guys? :D

I was reading some page on the interwebs that was saying that power amp saturation gives a guitar tone depth and character but I'm pretty sure that only applies to tube power amps, but maybe I'm wrong.

So is there any point in cranking a solid state power amp?
 
Well....


Certainly, you will never get the kind of complexity and beauty out of a solid state amp. However, cabinet involvement, speaker breakup, and just the motion of the air, are also a big part of the sound, and you will not get those without having a fair bit of volume.

But as for power amp saturation, no, silicon doesn't distort at all the same.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
However, cabinet involvement, speaker breakup, and just the motion of the air, are also a big part of the sound, and you will not get those without having a fair bit of volume.
Click to expand...

Definitely. It's not as pronounced as the difference in tone between a JCM800's power section just barely moving air, and the same amp melting down, but what happens to the speakers is certainly a factor.

Also, keep in mind for some sounds you really don't WANT a lot of poweramp saturation. You listen to some pretty heavy, low-tuned stuff, and while a power amp that's compressing a bit probably isn't a bad thing in that context, full-on saturation isn't really that desirable for low tuned riffing. The low end tends to distort earlier than the high end, so you lose some low end clarity and punch as the power amp breaks up.

Lead sounds or slightly broken clean sounds, totally different story. :)
 
when tubed power amps distort .... they tend to emphasize the even ordered harmonics which are generally pleasing to the ear which is why tubed gear is still popular for audiophile type stereos.
But SS amps tend to have all the harmonics including the odd-order harmonics which sound bad to most ears.
 
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