Hybrid vs Tube

DB 751 is a hybrid I believe. Bery tubey..

Regards
Mark

 

I can get pretty close to the feel with my Mesa Titan. Some people say the BB750 is even closer.

 

Mesa WD-800
Ampeg SVT 7 Pro

 

In my experience, no. But it's more about feel/response, not sound. In other words, something only I will notice. The audience will certainly not know the difference. But still, it's tube only for me. Anything else I've tried just feels too fast and stiff for me. But then I seem to be in the VERY small minority that actually love bass amps with tube rectifiers. I love a bit of sag when I dig in!!!

 

In my experience, the closest ones have had MOSFET power sections. MOSFET seem to "act more like tubes" than other solid state amps I have tried.

My favorite two BY FAR have been the SVT 6 Pro and the Mesa Walkabout.

That being said, I'm with @S.F.Sorrow in that none of them really "get there" for me. But all of them get close enough for your audience.

How about some clarification?

Is weight your main concern, or cost?

In other words, if you are after "that sound", what's keeping you from just getting a tube amp and being done with it?

 

Aguilar DB 751. Very close.

 

Mesa Boogie mpulse 600 does that. It has 2 12ax7 in the preamp and mosfets for power. Cousin of the aforementioned titan and bb750. Aguilar db also does that. Eden wt does NOT. Very surgical, pristine sound not gooey tubey goody at all.

 

Mesa WD-800 oozes tubey deliciousness. It would do just fine in a Pepsi Challenge with a good all-tube amp and weighs just 7 lb.

 

I have a GK MB Fusion 800 and although it's not as "tubey" as an Ampeg SVT-CL it sounds like a solid state with tube properties. Very dynamic, very responsive and has that warm tube sound.

Honestly the best amp I've ever played, I find them to be HIGHLY underrated.

 

I have no experience in actual tube amps. I think my SM400 has a tubed preamp. I'm just here to try and grab any knowledge that floats around in this thread. I'm having an issue of no GAS lately. And maybe an old timey tube amp will get the monitary juices flowing

 

You never know most times how the audience is hearing ... once in a most unlikely club setting two guys approached the the stage as we were ending a tune, one looked at the other and said “that’s what bass is supposed to sound like” I was shocked ... I was using a 68 Sunn 200s with the matching cab!

 

I love my tube Ampeg, but am considering something lighter. I have wondered how a hybrid might work for me. Have seen the Orange Terror 500, and Fender 500(?), in the catalogs, but haven't had an opportunity to try myself.

 

I used to have a Gallien-Krueger Fusion 550. That was a hybrid head with a tube preamp and solid state power amp. It had that more modern "rip paper off walls" tone that I love GK for, but with that additional big-booty, blossoming, syrupy-ness of tubes. I loved it, personally, but others looking for a more vintagey tone foundation may not dig it as much.

I sold my GK Fusion 550 in favor of a more compact solid-state head, but that GK was a tone monster.

 

The Handbox R400 is very tubey. 3 x 12AX7 preamp into MOSFET power stage. Lots of clean headroom as well.

 

+1 for the MPulse. One of my favorite heads of all time.

 

Mesa titan and ampeg svt 7 pro.
I compared my titan against a svt from 1969. Both were extremely close in terms of tone. If I would be given the opportunity to another titan of an svt, I would take the Titan. 1200 watts, way lighter than an svt and way more possilities.
And every time I play my svt 7 I feel like it's very close to the Titan too. Actually I can dial the same tone from both.
And I have to say the SvT 7 is one hell of an awesome amp! One of the best I ever owned. Perfect in many ways.

However, if someone can describe me what the tubey tone is, I'm all aware.

 

Is this an actual or rhetorical question?

This topic has been literally beaten to death. If you can’t do a simple search and find hours of reading pleasure, then you aren’t half trying. Weekly popcorn munch; but, it’s getting a little old.

I’ve used most amps out there on the gig over the past 49 years. For a long time, it was exclusively tube amps. There is so much more to making an amp great than whether or not it has tubes.

If you play original punk music and want tube power section distortion as part of your “sound,” then no, solid state amplification does not do that.

Played clean, most agree the SVT has “heft,” whatever that exactly means. But, my experience has been that any of the high quality tube pre’s, Alembic or Demeter etc, running into a quality solid state power amp will easily produce a similarly forceful clean bass tonality. The details of the preamp design actually do matter.

To cut to the chase, this is my “big rig,” which I would happily put next to an SVT on any backline, with the caveat that I wouldn’t be overdriving the power section on the SVT for my needs. Different strokes &YMMV.