
DrewPeterson7
Sage of the Order
Voted "mostly false." There are a handful of situations where solid state amps just happen to perform really well for a particular sound - the Roland Jazz Chorus is a jazz/clean-toned standby for a reason, when you want a perefectly clean and clear sound, and something about the solid state/speaker modeling thing works really well for Meshuggah and their Line6 Pod Pros.
However, my experience has been that by and large tube amps outperform solid state amps, which is especially true in a live environment when you can really get them moving some air.
Two caveats:
1.) This is really more true of tube power amps. I could see a solid state pre, dialed in right, running into a tube power amp with the tubes pushed a bit hanging just as well, since for me the poweramp compression (not saturation or "distortion," exactly, but the way that the amp compresses a bit when you hit it hard and smooths out overall) is really what makes a good tube amp.
2.) this is also probably because there are very few botique-quality solid state amps on the market. Most tube amps I'd take to a gig run for $1k+, whereas the number of solid state amps on the market in that price range (excluding modeling amps, which I have a whole other slew of issues with) is, well, miniscule.
Gotta agree on the reliability front, too - I've played tube amps for the better part of a decade now, and played solid state for a few years before that. I've had more issues with the solid state amps than with tube amps, even though I have 2-3x as much time logged on tube rigs. I'm not saying solid state amps are inherently LESS reliable than tube amps - I suspect it's just that the tube amps in question are higher end than the entry- to mid-level solid state amps - but certainly they're not more reliable either. Also, while we're on the subject, tubes are a LOT more servicable. I had a TSL-100 head back in college that got soaked in a couple pints of beer at a toga party gig. A new set of tubes, a new fuse, and $30 in labor cleaning the innards and I was back in business, while a solid state circuit most likely would have gotten fried and melted down.
However, my experience has been that by and large tube amps outperform solid state amps, which is especially true in a live environment when you can really get them moving some air.
Two caveats:
1.) This is really more true of tube power amps. I could see a solid state pre, dialed in right, running into a tube power amp with the tubes pushed a bit hanging just as well, since for me the poweramp compression (not saturation or "distortion," exactly, but the way that the amp compresses a bit when you hit it hard and smooths out overall) is really what makes a good tube amp.
2.) this is also probably because there are very few botique-quality solid state amps on the market. Most tube amps I'd take to a gig run for $1k+, whereas the number of solid state amps on the market in that price range (excluding modeling amps, which I have a whole other slew of issues with) is, well, miniscule.
Gotta agree on the reliability front, too - I've played tube amps for the better part of a decade now, and played solid state for a few years before that. I've had more issues with the solid state amps than with tube amps, even though I have 2-3x as much time logged on tube rigs. I'm not saying solid state amps are inherently LESS reliable than tube amps - I suspect it's just that the tube amps in question are higher end than the entry- to mid-level solid state amps - but certainly they're not more reliable either. Also, while we're on the subject, tubes are a LOT more servicable. I had a TSL-100 head back in college that got soaked in a couple pints of beer at a toga party gig. A new set of tubes, a new fuse, and $30 in labor cleaning the innards and I was back in business, while a solid state circuit most likely would have gotten fried and melted down.