switch from clean to dirty

[smcgov]

so I've been playing for 30 years now...I'm in a rut and I'm bored. I had a GK800rb for a long time, and then moved onto a navigator/crest and then a demeter/crest.

I find myself being suddenly smitten by tube amps or big fat bass sound instead of my usual clean and pristine mojo. I'm very curious how many of you have made this switch and if you stayed there or switched back? I played an SVT for the first time this week in a guitar center and walked out w/ a boner. If I'm used to hearing every single nuance of every note, will I be freaked out by a fat tone?

[bassgod0dmw]

Originally Posted by smcgov

I played an SVT for the first time this week in a guitar center and walked out w/ a boner.

If I'm used to hearing every single nuance of every note, will I be freaked out by a fat tone?

IMO, no. Depending on the bass, your EQ, and how you play they can still be very articulate.

[JimmyM]

SVT's are the most articulate amps I ever played and I've played plenty of solid state amps, including pretty much every larger GK amp made. Turn it up really loud and it distorts and gets "inarticulate" for lack of a better word, but below that point, and it's the least compressed sounding and probably the cleanest sound I've ever heard in an amp. Others are free to disagree but that's how I feel. So I think it's the best of both worlds.

[digitalmoney]

I always had SS heads combos in the past.
My last a Marshall 3520. I still have it. Which tries to sound like a tube amp.
I have a Les Paul Studio guitar which I bought in 1995
with a Studio Caliber 1X12 Mesa Boogie amp 20 watt tube
Always kept up with my SS bass heads.
So last fall I pick up a Mesa 400+ on local CL $800
I had picked up an Ampeg 410 hlf a little while earlier and was happy to upgrade
from a Hartke transporter.
But damn that head is awesome the growl
I crank the pre so it sounds fuzzy
and lately I've even been opting for a pick!