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Do you play Bass through a solid state or valve?

#41
Love tubes if I don't have to carry them or worry about reliability on the road. Give me SS and my Xotic BB pedal(or similar) in that case.
Though sometimes I do prefer SS sonically as well--that "tightness" and punch. I think the trusty 400RB is as classic an amp as an SVT.
In the studio, whatever works best for the tune.
 
#42
I like modularity : SS amp + compression + slight overdrive + a bit of EQ yields results close enough to a tube amp for me, at a fraction of the weight and the hassle, with all the adjustability offered by having separate units.
 
#44
Good to see a newer thread on this topic without any rude comments about it having been discussed ad nauseum.

I'm a SS Markbass player but have a little Ashdown 15 watt tube amp for messing around at home. Currently am debating whether to swap that Ashdown for the new Ampeg PF50t which is still smallish but has enough guts for my church gigs that have PA support. Or...maybe another SS amp.

I picked up a Noble tube preamp recently and use a tube compressor. Those enable me to add a little tube vibe to my SS rigs and both easily fit on a small pedal board or on top of my amp.
 
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#45
I like all. Currently I only have tube amps, just because I don't want to buy another amp right now, and we don't gig that much. If I was moving stuff all of the time I'd move to a class D amp, probably. Never really had an amp that was just awful, only ones I didn't know how to work correctly.
 
#46
Good solid state is far from compromised sounding. It just is a different flavor.

A few years back, I was in the audience at a festival in New Orleans where a SVT failed. The sound company replaced it with GK RB800. The bass sounded a little drier, but still sounded very good. After a song or two the difference was long lost.
 
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#47
Yeah, I don't think there is consensus.

I happen to only use a pair of old Traynor tube amps, interchangeably, for both guitar and bass. One is nominally a bass amp and the other a guitar amp. I can't really say that I like them so much because they are tube amps. I can only say I like the complete performance.

Otto
 
#48
FuzzFacetious said:
I have read a lot of STRONG opinions about how much valve amps rock and solid state amps suck on guitar forums, although I use a solid state for both and I like them, and if anyone thinks my amps suck, that's their problem :p

When it comes to bass players in general, is there a consensus among those who can afford top end/upper-middle tier gear, about all bass amps worthy of recognition being valve amps, or is it more of a personal preference thing, rather than a consensus?

Is your main amp tube or SS?
Click to expand...

SS. Mesa D800. The complete opposite of suck.
 
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#49
I play through a Fender Super Bassman. I went back to the 60's tube sound.

hkAGcvL.png
 
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#50
Kevin1960 said:
Rather, SS will it last as long as tubes? 100+ years and counting. Technology brought SS to replace tubes because it was cheaper to build transistors than tubes, not because it was "better" than tubes. Digital is here now to replace solid state not because it is better but because it is more convenient and cheaper to build. Design criteria dictates more of a push toward cheaper build designs to extract more profit. The bottom line unfortunately determines if a technology will be pushed into production from the large corporate producers. This is why smart people know this, and keep the smaller boutique builders in business because they desire QUALITY.
Click to expand...

The tubes don't last 100 years.

Do you count SS repair the same as tube replacement?

A failed component is a failed component.
 
#51
I like All Tube, Hybrid, and Solid State. IMO each offers something the other doesn't.

I use Solid State at this time. A Demeter tube preamp into a Crest CA9 is my main amp rig, so I guess it's a Hybrid, and I also have an Aguilar Tonehammer 500 head. I love both of these setups.

But I want to buy another all tube head. I'm undecided which tube head at this time, but I'm leaning towards a Verellen Meatsmoke head.

This is only my opinion, but I don't believe it's possible for a Hybrid (Tube Preamp/Solid State power) or a Solid State power section to fully duplicate the sound and feel of a cranked up All Tube power section, -at least I haven't found one yet that does.
 
#52
Hounddog409 said:
The tubes don't last 100 years.

Do you count SS repair the same as tube replacement?

A failed component is a failed component.
Click to expand...
1-Sorry, did not say tubes last 100 years, but have been around and in use since the early 1900's=about 100 years. Solid State was started in production in the 1950's, I think.
2-Kind of yes, and only because in tube replacement more needs to be done than just plugging it in. Bias adjustment, sometimes other components are out of spec. etc..
3-True. Failures also usually have multiple components failing before protection kicks in to save what is left, if any protection was worked into the design. These occur as fast as lighting striking.
 
#54
Kevin1960 said:
1-Sorry, did not say tubes last 100 years, but have been around and in use since the early 1900's=about 100 years. Solid State was started in production in the 1950's, I think.
2-Kind of yes, and only because in tube replacement more needs to be done than just plugging it in. Bias adjustment, sometimes other components are out of spec. etc..
3-True. Failures also usually have multiple components failing before protection kicks in to save what is left, if any protection was worked into the design. These occur as fast as lighting striking.
Click to expand...

Yeah, misread that one.......
 
#59
I've been playing nothing but tube amps for the past 4 years and really want to get into solid state. Nothing like bringing your expensive tube amp out to a gig and preferring the tone of another bass player's cheaper SS alternative over your own... :rollno: I think SS is a lot more "focused" sounding and that results in extra punch.
 

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