Do you consider yourself a...

[Mark Olson]

Do you consider yourself a Tube amp Expert? This is a follow up to my last poll. It seems everyone has a strong opinion on the sound, etc. of tube amps regardless of the extent of their gigging experience, and I'm just curious where everyone would gauge themselves.

I do not consider myself an expert, that's not why I'm posting these polls. I just play the things. I know how they sound, but that's about it.

Once again this is not a VS. thread, so leave your commentary out. I'm also not trying to rate the value of anyone's commentary, a poll is not the method I'd use to do that. I'm just curious what kind of response this poll will get compared to the results of my other poll, that's why I'm posting it.

I will proactively add a carrots option so some tool doesn't have to do it, but don't think for a second voting carrots means we don't know you're only voting carrots because you're embarassed to admit you have no experience to back up your strong opinions. Carrots are for losers.

[Selta]

I know just enough tube amp theory to get in and poke around with them and such. I know enough EE stuff to do a lot of troubleshooting, safety, etc. I've built a few kit tube amps. I still don't know enough to design a pre or power section.

[BagelBruin]

When I plug my bass into one, it makes sounds!

If you are looking for someone who really knows his stuff. Contact Don Jones!
Here's his website.

Jones Amplifiers

Funny guy!

Based around Charlotte, NC, for you locals! Guy can fix anything! He will repair something if you send it to him.

[Bassmec]

I have been a factory trained Marshall engineer since 1973.
So I should know a little something by now.

PS. I could tell you my top secret MZ number but then I would have to kill you.

[Selta]

I still don't get the point of these threads, either.

[BurningSkies]

Originally Posted by Ray Salamon

I still don't get the point of these threads, either.

To continually create polls that have choices that most TB'ers fall in-between?

[Selta]

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

To continually create polls that have choices that most TB'ers fall in-between?

I think that someone is just on a holier-than-thou spree and feels the need to flex their superior muscles about how much they know about t00bz.

[GrowlerBox]

Originally Posted by Ray Salamon

I think that someone is just on a holier-than-thou spree and feels the need to flex their superior muscles about how much they know about t00bz.

I don't get it either, although the OP says he doesn't consider himself an expert. I'm not sure what the grounds of comparison between the two polls might be -- frankly, it's a coin toss with respect to which is the more useless.

[lpdeluxe]

I've owned and gigged with one of the Holy Grails of bassdom, a 1963 Ampeg B15N; one of the, shall we way, lesser deities, a Hartke HA2500 + Transporter 2x10 and 1x15 cabs; a modern take on immortality, the Mesa/Boogie Walkabout Scout 1x15; an all-solid -state B100R, and my new, damn-it's-light Genz-Benz Shuttle 3.0 with 2 10T cabs. Know what? It ain't the arrow, it's the Indian. I personally don't care whether I'm playing through all-tube, some-tube or no-tube. If I'm not delivering the goods, the amp don't matter. Granted, the B15N and the WAS did the job, tone-wise, but -- at the age of 69 (next month) -- try carrying one up a flight of stairs. I LOVE the M/B, but I can get the dancers' butts shaking just as hard with the G-B, so here we go 'round the mulberry bush.

[fdeck]

You left out an option: "I understand tube electronics well enough to evaluate the credibility of many claims made about tube sound, but I no longer care enough about it to participate in discussions."

I finally played through an SVT. It was a giant rack mounted thing on top of an 8x10 speaker.

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by Mark Olson

Carrots are for losers.

MM

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by Mark Olson

Do you consider yourself a Tube amp Expert? This is a follow up to my last poll. It seems everyone has a strong opinion on the sound, etc. of tube amps....

I do not consider myself an expert, that's not why I'm posting these polls. I just play the things. I know how they sound, but that's about it.

Once again this is not a VS. thread, so leave your commentary out. I'm also not trying to rate the value of anyone's commentary, a poll is not the method I'd use to do that.

(Snip)Carrots are for losers.

A great contribution to the forum...a poll with comments discouraged. I do have a strong opinion...it's that tube amps are too heavy to carry around. If I don't want to tote one, how it sounds doesn't matter.

Pointless polls are also for losers.

[chadds]

Can we agree & then go home?

1) the SVT is the best amp there ever was and will ever be, even if you don't think so.
2) tubes are better than solid state, even if you don't think so.
3) wood doesn't affect the tone of your wait (!) wood bass, even if you think so.
4) even if you've been playing for a week or 50 years, you don't know what you like or what you hear.

[bassist4dalord]

I voted carrots because, honestly, all I know how to do with them is plug in a bass and play through it. Actually, come to think of it, I've never gigged through one- only played on in GC.

Of course, I've never played a venue that would require anything as powerful as the epitome of tube amps (SVT), so I'm just fine with SS.


One of these days...

[JimmyM]

olson's on a "you suck/i'm great" kick lately. that's basically what's going on here. but he's just doing what most bass players do, only he's way more bold about it. i don't see many bass players who don't have superiority complexes about their gear and look down on others who don't think like they do. i must admit to being one of them at one time, until two things happened:

1. i realized that i actually like some bass players who use different gear than i like

2. i realized how douchey it was to be one of those insecure superiority complex types

[anderbass]

Originally Posted by Mark Olson

I'm just curious where everyone would gauge themselves.

I know how they sound, but that's about it.

I gauge myself as owning enough different tube amps to know there is no one "tube amp sound".

Until you've done a side by side comparison of an SVT and a Mesa Buster with a live band, you have no freakin idea how completely polar-opposite the tone and feel of 2 different all-tube amps can be.

[lowphatbass]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

1. i realized that i actually like some bass players who use different gear than i like

+1

When you get right down to it playing bass is a lot like moving dirt.

[vin*tone]

Since when does someone need to be an expert to justify having strong opinions on anything?

[nysbob]

Originally Posted by lowphatbass

+1

When you get right down to it playing bass is a lot like moving dirt.

Excellent analogy.

[Bassmec]

Originally Posted by vin*tone

Since when does someone need to be an expert to justify having strong opinions on anything?

Yup! Never worried them folks from fucushima power plant
any. They had a strong opinion that the cooling system would be fine with diesel electric gen sets as backup.