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have the D's toppled the SVT's?

#141
It's interesting the debate SS vs Tube. According to John Atchley at GuitarNuts.com it's the tube power section that imparts most (not all) of the characteristics associated w/ tube amps. As DSP has gotten better, it's getting harder to tell the difference, IMO, IME. And of course the listening public mostly have tin ears.
Still given what John says, it surprises me that we don't see more tube power amps running w/ SS preamps and ultralight neo-loaded cabs.
I can see this working with GB's Fearful Headcase (CD and 6" mid) and a 3015LF (or whatever the current high performance drivers are) on bottom. Stick the tubes in a box (or couple of boxes to break up the load in) and stack it on top of the 15" and throw the headcase on top. BOOM.
 
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#142
Genz Benz.jpg
I see plenty of heavier used amps for sale at reasonable prices... some in practically new condition. I wonder if class D amps have added inventory to the market for used amps. People buy a class D and then later decide to unload their lead sled because the Class D amp sounds so good and is so easy to load.
 
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#145
Jeff Bonny said:
Class D amps will kill tube amps when they are able to create the complex overtones and response to touch that only a tube amp can do right now. Maybe it's coming but I'm 56 and doubt I'll live to see it happen.
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A good point brought up here and one that I think gets overlooked a lot of the time in these conversations. When I play a tube amp, the feel and response of the amp appeal to my senses as much as the tone does. I feel an interactive connection to a tube amp I don't get from most modern SS amps. For me, the amp becomes an extension of the instrument itself. In much the same way that I can create variations on my tone by just altering my technique, a tube amp allows me to interact with the amp in a much more dynamic way. The notes spatially feel more three dimensional and the response to my touch feels more dynamic. While some people like to put this affection for these amps down to nostalgia, there are plenty of us who find these very tangible attributes that brings us closer to the type of interaction we like to get from our amps.

As always, I'm just stating my opinion and personal preference. Not trying to argue the science here. If people feel they get this from their class whatever amps, then that's fine and dandy as well.
 
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#149
mmbongo said:
When did you last buy a 100+ pound amp though? You can just scroll through the first page of the amp forum here and I'll bet you'll find at least 5 posts of somebody buying a new class D amp. I've bought 3 myself in the last 8 months. Last time I bought an amp over 15 lbs. was 12 years ago.

I'd say the market has definitely changed.
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April 15, 2016. It is my newest to me bass amp.
 
#152
quickfix said:
No. It's not even close.

Fast cars just got way better than those $#it boxes from the 60's and 70's. I know. I drove many of what was then the best. A 1967-70 Mustang is a crap handling, slow old buggy compared to a modern Mustang. Unlike fast cars, however, tube amps did not improve in the same manner, and are doomed to be left behind. They already have been.
Still, I'd love to have a yellow '70 Boss 429, and as I said before, a Traynor YBA-3.

No. It's more like saying the old pump organ and ice box have been supplanted by the modern keyboard and refrigerator.
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Nope.
 
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#154
R Baer said:
A good point brought up here and one that I think gets overlooked a lot of the time in these conversations. When I play a tube amp, the feel and response of the amp appeal to my senses as much as the tone does. I feel an interactive connection to a tube amp I don't get from most modern SS amps. For me, the amp becomes an extension of the instrument itself. In much the same way that I can create variations on my tone by just altering my technique, a tube amp allows me to interact with the amp in a much more dynamic way. The notes spatially feel more three dimensional and the response to my touch feels more dynamic. While some people like to put this affection for these amp down to nostalgia, there are plenty of us who find these very tangible attributes that brings us closer to the type of interaction we like to get from our amps.

As always, I'm just stating my opinion and personal preference. Not trying to argue the science here. If people feel they get this from their class whatever amps, then that's fine and dandy as well.
Click to expand...

Exactly.

And for the last 30 years we've been told with each new innovation and product that we have finally arrived. Funny how we keep arriving but never get there, isn't it?
 
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#155
I agree with R Baer and Jeff Bonny. As a D-owner myself (and a damned fine one at that - Demeter) I love the speed and weightlessness of the Ds, but if I were physically still able to lug around the Aguilar DB359, I would. Then again I could always keep the Agi at home and lug the Demeter... Well darn it, I feel GAS a brewerin' again!
 
#156
Some variation of the all-tube 300 watt Ampeg head and either an Ampeg 810 or 610 was my go-to rig for hundreds of gigs. As the solid state technologies continued to advance, it became harder and harder for me to justify schlepping the unwieldy Ampeg beast when I knew that there were great sounding options at less than half the weight. Ultimately, I settled on a GK 1001RB-ii / 412 Neo rig that's much easier on the back and still gives me great tone and volume.
 
#157
Solid state amps keep getting lighter, smaller, and cheaper, but do they really sound better once you get past the "I can't believe I'm gigging with a head that fits in a laptop bag!!?" factor? I'm not really convinced they do, which makes me think they'll hit a point of diminishing returns once they get so small/light/cheap that it's not really worth making them any smaller/lighter/cheaper.

And then what? They're still not going to sound and feel like tube amps. For some bassists (and in some situations), no amount of convenience will make up for that. And SVTs will remain un-toppled.
 
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#158
My thinking is roughly that a pair of kt88/6550 can put out 100 watts, a pair of el34 80 watts, 6l6 50 watts. The output transformer needs larger amount of iron to pass the lower frequencies. In 1966, 100 watts of bass was probably just right for your surf/pop/folk band. Today, my impression is that most of us want at least 400 watts at our disposal, and a 5 string can put out a c note at maybe 32 cycles, lower than the 40 cycles of low E--so even bigger iron core would be needed. and that tube stuff gets pretty large and expensive for that sort of power. For me, class d for bass is a no-brainer, though I would not consider solid state for a guitar amp. To each their own...
 

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