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All-tube amp advantages?

#202
sugarsand said:
You might want to look into a used Sunn Model "T." For sure it will be point to point wiring without circuit board, obviously the circuit board is where all problems are in the newer tube amps. Fender bought Sunn that's how you get the new fender amp.
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No Sunn technology in Fender amps. Back when Fender bought Sunn, the newly released 300 Pro that was sold sold under both badges was a brand new design, designed by none other than Bill Hughes who earlier designed Ampeg's SVT.
 
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#203
Tubes and sound are a funny thing. I have said repeatedly that I prefer tubes in small guitar amps, because I think those little 5 watt boxes sound great. However, one of the best sounding guitar amps I have heard was a solid state Peavey practice amp that a guitarist I play with used for quite a while. There's solid state, and then there's solid state. Same with tubes. Sometimes tubes sound great. Sometimes, not so great.
 
#206
Martin Beer said:
This is why the phrase "all tube" in the way it is usually used is essentially a marketing phrase with little meaning. There's nothing wrong with using solid state parts and tube stages together to get the tone shaping and feature set required, so why the need to describe it as something it isn't? Nobody is saying that the presence of silicon somehow negates the effect of the tube stages, and there are some functions where there would be no sonic advantage in using a tube.
I have recently built a DIY preamp with a 6sl7 valve, passive tone stack and high-voltage FET stage as the output buffer, so I've nothing against the concept, I'm just not going to attach the phrase 'all tube' to it. Why not call it what it is?
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Words have meaning, ad-speak not so much. Same as it ever was.

How about posting a build thread on your preamp Martin?
 
#207
Passinwind said:
Words have meaning, ad-speak not so much. Same as it ever was.

How about posting a build thread on your preamp Martin?
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The preamp build was a modification on an old Dynacord Eminent II hybrid amp rather than a standalone unit, so I guess I should put some pictures in the big Dynacord thread that's on here somewhere. I took out two of the four solid state input channels and built a simple B15n type preamp in the space left. Then I found that it was a little short of the output level needed and wasn't well suited to the input impedance of the power amp, and the added FET stage seemed about the simplest way to match them up. The resulting amp sounds very good, much like you would expect a B15n preamp in front of a cleaner, more powerful output stage to sound.
I might revisit the idea as a standalone unit some time in future.
 
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#208
Hambone 70 said:
I'm glad to read that "lower reliability" isn't necessarily an issue. I'm still planning on keeping a small class-D backup, just in case...
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Good idea, Hambone. I had to send back my Mesa Prodigy for a non-tube defect (actually, I drove there; it's only about 30 miles from where I live) and use the Carvin B1500 while waiting for it. I've had two all-tube amps and both have needed repair. But, the one that needed the most repair (70's "Nomad") sounds the best. If you're using a tube amp on a gig, always have a back-up.
 
#209
JimmyM said:
Considering that I've seen plenty of hybrid amps with pretty deluxe EQing functions, I'd have to disagree.
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I agree about the tube output stage providing the goods. I have a Peavey Vintage 6x10 guitar amp that has been re-worked for bass (speaker change, different caps, etc.) that has a solid state pre-amp and tube output stage. It sounds great; all tubey and complex. I would use it more if it didn't weigh as much as a trunk with a body in it.
I agree with Mr Foxen, that is.
 
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#210
JimmyM said:
The vast majority of bassists just want a simple EQ that sounds good and enables them to find a small but decent variety of sounds without hassle. Hell, look how many bass players leave their knobs at noon on every amp they ever play.
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Me! Just about never use amp's basic EQ. But I also appreciate having more complex EQ IF needed.
 
#211
I've been using a Genz Streamliiner 900 for the last 4 years. Tube front end, SS back end. Love it! never going anywhere.
Last week I bought an old MusicMan HD 150 and brought it to my gig Saturday night. THis is the opposite, SS Front End and a Tube power section.
All I can say right now is there is something to the tubes in the power section. I dont know how to describe the difference, there was just more to my tone
thru the same cab (Genz 212t) than there was with my normal rig. Notes just had more grunt to them and more to the notes, richer I guess.
One of these days I'll have to get an amp with a tube pre and power section but I really dug what I was getting out of this!

And oh yeah, I was only running it at the half power setting on the amp at 75 watts and not the full 150. Plenty of power to keep up with my loud ass drummer!

One more thing, this is a relative light weight at only 40lbs. Very easy to deal with from a lugging gear standpoint.
 
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#212
Sooo......... V4B or 100T?

On paper, they look quite similar. I imagine they're probably not. Unfortunately, there aren't any music stores here that stock them. So I rely on the awesome experience and advice of TBers!

It's basic P-bass classic rock, 60s/70s pop, etc I'm playing. Nothing that requires massive distortion levels, but a small amount of 'dirt' would be nice, without relying on a pedal. I do like the ability to turn the 100T down to 25W for practice & smaller venues, but that's not a deal-breaker. Probably paired with an Ampeg or Fender 1x15 or 2x10 cab.
 
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#213
Hambone 70 said:
Sooo......... V4B or 100T?

On paper, they look quite similar. I imagine they're probably not. Unfortunately, there aren't any music stores here that stock them. So I rely on the awesome experience and advice of TBers!

It's basic P-bass classic rock, 60s/70s pop, etc. I'm playing. Nothing that requires massive distortion levels, but a small amount of 'dirt' would be nice, without relying on a pedal. I do like the ability to turn the 100T down to 25W for practice & smaller venues, but that's not a deal-breaker. Probably paired with an Ampeg or Fender 1x15 or 2x10 cab.
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V4B would be my vote.
Full Disclosure: I don't have any personal experience with the 100T (so take with a slight grain of salt) but from the clips I've heard, the dirt channel sounds more like a pedal distortion to me and I've never heard it eq'ed well enough where I felt it was as comparable to the V4B in the "oomph" department. The Bassman 300 however would be a different story.

As a V4B owner, I can speak to the power and tone of the amp and it is my favorite of 3 tube amps, FWIW.
 
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#214
I had the same debate between 100T and V4b. The feature set is attractive on the 100T and the simplicity is great with the V4b. I could be happy with either but ended up with the V4b.

I regulate clean headroom vs overdrive by the size of the cabinet I bring out.
 
#215
Hambone 70 said:
Sooo......... V4B or 100T?

On paper, they look quite similar. I imagine they're probably not. Unfortunately, there aren't any music stores here that stock them. So I rely on the awesome experience and advice of TBers!

It's basic P-bass classic rock, 60s/70s pop, etc I'm playing. Nothing that requires massive distortion levels, but a small amount of 'dirt' would be nice, without relying on a pedal. I do like the ability to turn the 100T down to 25W for practice & smaller venues, but that's not a deal-breaker. Probably paired with an Ampeg or Fender 1x15 or 2x10 cab.
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Once I decided I wanted a tube amp, I couldn't find much in my local stores either. So I watched a whole bunch of YouTube videos. Ampeg and Fender have very different tones. You may find one more to your liking (I liked the Fender tone-stack better). You really need an Ampeg to really get that classic "Ampeg sound"...but I liked that the Fender has 2 channels, more tonal options. For classic rock P-Bass, either one would sound great. I wound up going with the SB300 and couldn't be happier.
 
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