I Want a Tube Amp

[Goatrope]

Fender superbassman . It has a nice fat sounding clean channel and a much brighter OD channel that you can blend to get a sound that you want. A bit more versatile than My SVT and still has that authority in the lows but not as mid grindy as the SVT

Came in to say the same.

When faced with this dilemma several years ago, I went with the Super Bassman 300.

A lot of versatility and sounds great through clean or colored cabs.

 

[Nighttrain1127]

I would agree the Peavey Alpha Bass is quiet a nice all tube amp for the price . Also I have had Traynor YBA 200 and YBA 300 and they were both great amps but a bit too clean really had to push them to get any breakup. The V4B is a nice amp too and the Fender T-100. The Mesa 400+ I could never get a tone I liked from it.

 

[Mastermold]

So my go-to is the SVT-CL. You can pair it with any cabs that suit your needs, but if you're looking for a more portable option that still pushes lots of air and has the look you described, you can grab two SVT 115 cabs and stack them. Not as tall as the 810 but still looks like you're rocking the lead!

 

[agedhorse]

I suggest taking your time and playing as many amps as you can get your hands on. People seem to break it down into tube VS solid state. If you do this you miss a lot of important nuance, because different models tend to have their own unique personality attributes. Ampeg SVTs and Hiwatt DR201s are both all-tube amps, but the sound and way they respond to your touch is drastically different. Even amps that can be dialed in to sound similar tend to have a range of tones that are a bit different from each other. Also not all tube amps are great for distortion.

Rather than lumping everything together into this idea of "tubey-goodness", you need to identify and explore the types of characteristics that make an amp sound "tubey" to you. The mix of characteristics you prefer are likely to be a bit different from the next person.

Also as far as distortion goes, most die-hard tube fans seem to prefer a pushed output section rather than preamp drive. When you push the output section the sound typically thickens up and the way the amp responds to your touch changes. It's sometimes described as a sensation like the amp is pushing back.

The problem is being tied to a pushed output section limits our ability to make volume adjustments. You have to push the amp into a certain power level and range of overload to get the desired level of saturation. Turn up or turn down very much, and you are out of the sweet tone zone.

One benefit of preamp drive is you can crank the gain to whatever level of saturation you want, and then adjust the amps master to get the desired volume. Sometimes it's cool to push both the preamp and output section right to the edge of distortion. IMHO, pushing multiple stages to the edge tends to produce a richer and more complex sound. But the two tube amps I own that I think produce the best distortion can't even produce preamp drive.

One final bit of advice: Don't underestimate the value of pedals. If you buy a tube amp for distortion, it's likely to be sort of a one trick pony. Pedals tend to allow you to create a wider variety of distortion sounds. Also if you have not already done so, I suggest fully exploring the range of the Drive control on your TH500.

Excellent post, worth reading a second time imo.

 

[Aussie Player]

Marshall's work very well with Marshall's

 

[eottjake]

Check out Ashdown--CTM 100,200,300. Have the aesthetics you want, gets dirty, plenty of headroom.

 

[Boneless]

As said previously, tube vs solid state isn't that much of a factor, in my opinion, especially on bass (relatively low gain compared to guitar, full on distortion would be a crunch on most guitar amps). The fact that tubes produces a better distortion is also an assertion that needs to be qualified. There are people who maintain that you can have perfectly adequate distortion, with a nice "tubey" feel, without using a single tube. Also, even on guitar, more than the overdriven device (tube, solid state, whatever) it is the filtering that makes most of the character, with the device mostly affecting the touch sensitivity, and even then... I designed and simulated my own bass/guitar amplifier, which I will get round to building eventually, one day... using a combination of opamps, FETs and different LEDs shunted to ground with a series resistor to provide asymmetrical soft clipping - you can even use bipolar transistors in a certain configuration to achieve an even more dynamic soft clipping, but if the sim is correct I still get a very progressive transition to distortion, so the idea that solid state devices cause abrupt distortion needs to be qualified as well.

In other words, it all depends on the design (how much feedback is employed in each amplifying stage, is it geared towards maximum quasi-linearity or for gradual breakup? Is it intended to be played into overdrive or is overdrive just slamming the amp very hard?). The Orange Terror Bass for example was a hybrid amp that was basically an overdrive machine, with breakup as early as 10 o'clock on the gain pot - by the way, I never liked it, I've always found it dark and muddy - while the Mesa Buster, 200W all-tube, is comparatively hi-fi.

Anyway, why don't you consider a Marshall JCM bass amp? Or a VBA400? They are actually very nice amps in my opinion.

 

[twinfallsbass]

No one has mentioned the Eden E300T. It's under 50lbs, uses 6x 6550 or KT88's. Individual tube biasing is one of it's best features. It gets plenty dirty if you want, looks and sounds great! They also can be had for around $600.

 

[Dave Leighton]

I suggest taking your time and playing as many amps as you can get your hands on. People seem to break it down into tube VS solid state. If you do this you miss a lot of important nuance, because different models tend to have their own unique personality attributes. Ampeg SVTs and Hiwatt DR201s are both all-tube amps, but the sound and way they respond to your touch is drastically different. Even amps that can be dialed in to sound similar tend to have a range of tones that are a bit different from each other. Also not all tube amps are great for distortion.

Rather than lumping everything together into this idea of "tubey-goodness", you need to identify and explore the types of characteristics that make an amp sound "tubey" to you. The mix of characteristics you prefer are likely to be a bit different from the next person.

Also as far as distortion goes, most die-hard tube fans seem to prefer a pushed output section rather than preamp drive. When you push the output section the sound typically thickens up and the way the amp responds to your touch changes. It's sometimes described as a sensation like the amp is pushing back.

The problem is being tied to a pushed output section limits our ability to make volume adjustments. You have to push the amp into a certain power level and range of overload to get the desired level of saturation. Turn up or turn down very much, and you are out of the sweet tone zone.

One benefit of preamp drive is you can crank the gain to whatever level of saturation you want, and then adjust the amps master to get the desired volume. Sometimes it's cool to push both the preamp and output section right to the edge of distortion. IMHO, pushing multiple stages to the edge tends to produce a richer and more complex sound. But the two tube amps I own that I think produce the best distortion can't even produce preamp drive.

One final bit of advice: Don't underestimate the value of pedals. If you buy a tube amp for distortion, it's likely to be sort of a one trick pony. Pedals tend to allow you to create a wider variety of distortion sounds. Also if you have not already done so, I suggest fully exploring the range of the Drive control on your TH500.

I was going to say something similar but would not have done near as well.

Grinding the front end is very different than pushing the back end. You really have to play around.

The Ashdown CTM series are very good at getting dirty...

 

[micguy]

Tube preamp, aesthetics, and light weight - buy an Ampeg PF-20T, and hide a class D amp behind the speakers to power them. Tube preamp, plenty of power, light weight, looks cool.

 

[Grinderman]

This one is full tube also, beautiful in a vintage way, you can ask for any color, knob style etc, handmade in Greece, 100 W and only 7.1 kg!!! The preamp section is very versatile. Not sure 100 W is enough for your needs, but maybe if you have a super good 212 with very high sensitivity?

Have fun, and tell us what you decide.

That's some strong f**ked up DIY espresso machine form-language going on there.

 

[conttador]

If you want a Tube Amp w a preamp section look no further than the Sadowsky SA200. The weight with this guy is manageable.

If you want a power amp to integrate w a tube preamp then I would recommend the Aguilar DB 728. Weight May be an issue with this guy.

There's only not one problem, these guys are no longer made so finding one of these may not be easy!

Good luck with your search!!!

 

[two fingers]

If money is no object, but weight is a constraint, the Mesa Prodigy or Strategy are the way to go.

 

[Phaidrus]

These two AMT drive/preamp pedals will give a you a saturated tube sound. The blue one, which is the one I have, is based on a Fender/Alembic amp while the orange one, which produces an even more saturated tone, is based on an Orange amp. They are well made and I'm happy with mine, which I use in front of a Little Mark Vintage head (has tube preamp) and the combo gives me a nice and thick sound on the verge of break up (with a dark Pbass with flats) but also a snappy sound (with a bright Pbass with nps rounds).

AMT Bricks A-Bass

AMT Bricks O-Bass

 

[mb94952]

Just get a preamp pedal like a Darkglass, or something. No need to get a new amp just to aquire a tone that's easily accessible in 2022.

 

[higain617]

Music Man HD-150. SS preamp but will get you there.

 

[Patrice B]

I suggest taking your time and playing as many amps as you can get your hands on. People seem to break it down into tube VS solid state. If you do this you miss a lot of important nuance, because different models tend to have their own unique personality attributes. Ads to produce a richer and more complex sound. But the two tube amps I own that I think produce the best distortion can't even produce preamp drive.

Ditto! All I have is tube amps here: Garnet, Traynor (5) and Ampeg (2). No one sounds like the other, obviously they aren't compared with the same cab so it had its impact too. Nevertheless, as examples:

- My YBA-1 and YVM-1, even being two EL34@40-45w, they don't sound the same. Same could be said for the difference between my V4 1974 and my new SVT-AV… Then, add your bass in the mix, the room, etc..

 

[Patrice B]

No one has mentioned the Eden E300T. It's under 50lbs, uses 6x 6550 or KT88's. Individual tube biasing is one of it's best features. It gets plenty dirty if you want, looks and sounds great! They also can be had for around $600.

View attachment 4744627

Was it the Eden take on the SVT? Interesting!

 

[twinfallsbass]

Was it the Eden take on the SVT? Interesting!

Hi. No, but they are great sounding amps. They were made in the Smarvo ( China ) factory with an Eden influenced preamp section. I love the fact that I can replace one output tube at a time and they don't have to be matched at all, the individual biasing pots take care of that. Not sure why these didn't sell like hotcakes.

 

[HJFree]

Sadowsky SA200 was the most amazing tube amp I have ever played through. Total regret that I sold it! The grind was a tad softer than the SVT's mentioned earlier.