tube pedal vs. tube-pre ss amps

[K-T]

how well do tube pedals like EHX's tube EQ and pedals like it and out-board tube preamps stand up to the tube-pre in ss amps

[pulse]

Originally Posted by K-T

how well do tube pedals like EHX's tube EQ and pedals like it and out-board tube preamps stand up to the tube-pre in ss amps

they are dope cos you can always keep a good external one for later when you change amps

[Tomass]

Depends on the factors. For starters a Tube pedal cannot bring a input signal to the right level for a power amp, where as a Tube preamp will. Also a Tube Preamp will be more powerful in terms of tone control and should last a lot longer than a pedal. And last if you sell your amp, you dont need to sell the Preamp anyway, meaning you can always use it.

[bongomania]

Not so many generalities there, Tomass! For example, the SIB Fatdrive and the Retrospec Juicebaox and Squeezebox are tube pedals that bring the signal up to line level, and can drive a power amp. It's true that most tube pedals aren't designed that way, but that's different than saying they "cannot". Similarly, there are rackmount tube preamps where their EQ is known to not provide all that much tonal control (I think the Alembic and one of the Demeter models, also the Summit TD-100), whereas it is a simple matter to add an EQ pedal in series with a tube gain pedal. Which is pretty much the same thing as having a tube gain stage and a solid state EQ in a hybrid head.

Here's the "real deal": not all tube devices are designed well. A lot of them, in both pedal and rack/head format, are just a decoration, or just a distortion stage, or just a source of noise, or are just plain not designed in a proper way to get good tone. Additionally, even a tube device that's designed well can be designed for different goals- tubes can be ultra hi-fi, or they can be utterly dirty and gritty, and everything in between. Again, these statements are true regardless of pedal vs. rack.

IMO, there are tube pedals which sound fantastic and ones which suck, and the same again is true of the tube stage in a hybrid head. Some are great, some are marketing gimmicks. You just have to read the reviews from piece to piece (and try them yourself) to know what's what.

[Swift713]

I tried out an Ashdown (I believe) head with a selectable tube section in it's pre and thought the tube made it sound thin and cheap compared to bypassed. Most of the tube pedals I've been able to try were much better, EH 2ube (awesome transparent flexible), Seymore Duncan Twin Tube(very nice), even Damage Control Womanizer (which I didn't much like).

[bassman251]

Then agian there are some solid state pedals that can drive a power amp also, like a Sansamp.

[improvpwnd]

Originally Posted by bongomania

Here's the "real deal": not all tube devices are designed well. A lot of them, in both pedal and rack/head format, are just a decoration, or just a distortion stage, or just a source of noise, or are just plain not designed in a proper way to get good tone. Additionally, even a tube device that's designed well can be designed for different goals- tubes can be ultra hi-fi, or they can be utterly dirty and gritty, and everything in between. Again, these statements are true regardless of pedal vs. rack.

That is the real answer--it is not whether you get pedal or rack, it is the quality of the product. As always, words of wisdom from Bongo will take you a long way.

[Tomass]

Oops my bad, Bongo
Coming from a hick town limits my knowledge of such pedals, LOL