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Do you play Bass through a solid state or valve?

#121
I think tubes/valves are definitely the way to go for guitar - with the possible exception of the old Acoustic 150 head or the Roland Jazz Chorus combo.

For bass I think it's less a matter of being definitely preferable and more a matter of ones personal preference. There are some very good sounding SS bass amps. I can't really say I feel the way about guitar amps.

Speaking purely for myself, I prefer seeing and hearing some "glass" in my bass head. That's what I cut my teeth on and grew up with, so that's the sound that always seems most right to my ears. But since it's not always practical in terms of weight and money when it comes to stage volume levels, a good SS amp also works for me if I need major wattage.
 
#125
I have both. I won't use the tube amp for practice or rehearsals. I also won't use it if it's a generator gig or I know the electrics are wonky where we are playing. Since neither of my bands rehearses and most of our gigs indoors or out are not powered by generators , the tubes are growling about 95% of the time these days. To me , they just sound a bit better than anything else and I haven't reached a point in my life yet where I'm willing to sacrifice sound for convenience.
 
#126
adbass said:
There's no consensus.

Countless threads on the subject, and frankly no one cares what amp you play.

This is not even a discussion, just random commentary.
Click to expand...

People actually do care more than you might expect. But they only have two categories rather than 100 different categories like musicians have when it comes to judging amps. Their two categories are "your amp sounds good" and "your amp sounds bad."
 
#127
All tube Ampeg PF-20T (15 lbs) (if required, into a Crest Prolite 2.0 DSP (11 lbs)) into (1 or 2) (47 lb) Neo 410s if required. Otherwise, PF-20T to FOH

Love the light ampeg overdrive!

No heavy ancient gear for me!
 
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#128
I'm a total tube snob for guitar amps and a total SS snob for bass. I don't like overdrive/distortion and all. I love tons of headroom (my current setup is 2400 watts) and crystal clear tone. I can carry it with one hand, too. :)
 
#134
I like both . Loved a Sansamp RPM / Crown K2 power amp and not overly saturated it sounded huge PHATT and awesome , very warm good stuff . I switched over to a hybrid Mesa Big Block 750 . Tube front , SS output . Works and sounds excellent . Switched because I play /prog /rock and metal . The Sansamp was great clean but sounded very sizzly for slightly distorted . I like the cleaner channel slightly over driven on the Mesa . Sounds great to me . I don't worry too much about weight , glad I don't have to lift drums and cymbals .
 
#135
I have always liked the tone of solid state bass amps much better than tube amps. Since the 70s even when they were a newer idea. With all of the improvements over the years, you still can't beat the live tone of a Fender Rumble 200 or an Ampeg B100R in a small to medium sized club. These days it is all Rumble for me.
 
#136
I love the warm natural sound of tubes. Were I rich and didn't have to schlep my own gear around, that is what I would play.
However, cost and weight have made them something I can no longer consider. I currently have the best sounding SS I've ever had to use. It is the Rumble series. I use the the 500 combo with a 2x10 extension cab. It gives me the closest sound to tubes that I've ever had from SS. Being Class D, the weight is minimal and the cost is very reasonable. I was initially suspicious because of the low price because usually something that is that much less than the competitors lacks quality. I compared equivalent Ampeg and Markbass offerings and chose the Fender on sound.
 
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#137
I prefer to run my bass through a valve, with a valve you can control how open it is, but a solid state is always solid which doesn't let the mojo in your tone come out. So always play through an open valve, not a closed one.
 
#138
For me it's not about the money. It's just always been practicality. Historically I just wanted the robust bullet proof reliability of a gk 800rb. And I used 400rb for smaller venues when u wanted he sound of pushing it harder.

Now I can get that sound other ways. Typically play through house amplification. So I get the sound I want out of a di pedal. I just use a small gk mb and cab for stage monitor level. No need for lugging around big valve systems.
 
#139
adbass said:
There's no consensus.

Countless threads on the subject, and frankly no one cares what amp you play.

This is not even a discussion, just random commentary.
Click to expand...
Very true, but the one commonality in it all is unlike the "normal people" around us, we are passionate about what we play and how we sound. Even if frequently most of our audience is too drunk to care.
 
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#140
For me, Solid State. Why? Much lighter. Less expensive. Less bulky. In the real world, no listener or paying venue hears or cares at all about the difference between vacuum tubes or SS. It is me who has to move it, store it and pay for it initially. Why would I not give myself these advantages?
 

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