Is There A Future For Tube Amps?

[FFTT]

On a budget for locations inside EU, its tough to beat the new Weber Mywatt 200.
You could also go to a Ceriatone Marshall Super Bass 100 or their 100 watt Heywhat clone.

I talked with Nik at Ceriatone last week discussing possible bass amp options.
He thinks he can do a hand wired Sunn 200S for under the price of a V4b R/I

My Sunn 200s was just strong enough to hold its own in small venues.

Today with IEM's it would have been even more versatile.

 

[rodl2005]

That's because rodl2005 and Tim1 are hoarding all the great tube amps in that part of the world.

Sssshhhhh darn you. Just when I'm thinking I need a Orange AD200B to make it 100,200 & 300w tube amps.

Curses! Fouled again! Double Drat!

 

[Quilbert]

I think if anything bass tube amps are becoming more and more popular. My only problem with tube amps is that the technology doesn't seem to be moving on since the 1960s. SVTs still weigh 80lbs, contain way too many tubes and requires too much maintenance. Whoever thinks of a way of making transformers lighter, smaller and more efficient and tubes with a higher plate dissipation (like the KT-150s only better) will make an absolute killing.

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

You just need a really accurate 3D printer that can do Mullards, RCA, Telefunken, Sylvania

That would introduce a new category: the plastic tube sound. Somehow doesn't sound very romantic.

 

[FFTT]

Why knows what the future could bring. One printer head for plastics, one for glass-silicon, one for metal parts.

 

[corinpills]

The funny thing about these threads is that nobody ever convinces anybody to think differently no matter how much they "prove" their point. I will say this, though: I am pretty much a tube guy, that is the sound that really moves me, and I really don't believe any hybrid amp sounds and responds like a tube amp. BUT I do believe that some of those amps sound good. I think bass is a really nice sounding instrument in general. And I do believe that some people really do prefer that sound and aren't just fooling themselves. And I do own a small Class D head that I will sometimes use on gigs where it doesn't matter as much. In fact, I bet most of the big tube enthusiasts actually own multiple bass amps for different gigs and probably not all of them are tube amps.

 

[higain617]

I see more tube bass amps these days on stages than I have in probably any other time in history.

No kidding. It seems like everyone is using a tube amp now.

 

[lfmn16]

The funny thing about these threads is that nobody ever convinces anybody to think differently no matter how much they "prove" their point. I will say this, though: I am pretty much a tube guy, that is the sound that really moves me, and I really don't believe any hybrid amp sounds and responds like a tube amp. BUT I do believe that some of those amps sound good. I think bass is a really nice sounding instrument in general. And I do believe that some people really do prefer that sound and aren't just fooling themselves. And I do own a small Class D head that I will sometimes use on gigs where it doesn't matter as much. In fact, I bet most of the big tube enthusiasts actually own multiple bass amps for different gigs and probably not all of them are tube amps.

Part of the problem is that some people get upset when you say that nothing sounds like a tube amp. It doesn't mean the other amps can't sound good, they just don't sound the same.

 

[P-oddz]

I think the bigger question could be "is there a future for reliable, decently priced, and great sounding tubes"?

Looking for a new quad of 6550 power tubes for an AD200 is proving to be quite an expensive pain in the A. It's either vintage and too expensive or cheap and shoddy. I love my all tube tone above any solid state or hybrid I've played, but it definitely comes at a price. And after having to replace power tubes again within a year of wear, it makes me want to consider more feasible options for gigs.

 

[Gaolee]

Part of the problem is that some people get upset when you say that nothing sounds like a tube amp. It doesn't mean the other amps can't sound good, they just don't sound the same.

Not all solid state equipment sounds the same. Different tube amps sound different. The main thing is to find an amp or combination of amp and cabinet that fits what you do, sounds good to you, and works with whatever you put through it. Whether or not it uses tubes to get the sound isn't all that important.

If that's not dogmatic enough for a proper TB post, then to heck with tubes. Tubes are for people who are stuck in 1940 and need to move on to the Atomic Age! Phwew! Things were getting reasonable all of a sudden. Can't have that.

 

[waltdogg]

Tubes are for people who are stuck in 1940 and need to move on to the Atomic Age!

But what about tubes that can withstand nuclear blasts!

 

[Gaolee]

But what about tubes that can withstand nuclear blasts!

I might have to reconsider if those are available.

 

[Mystic Michael]

In my current band I use an SVT head and cabinet. Super heavy, but it sounds like no other. The hybrids can sound great but they will never sound like a tube amp.

And - believe it or not - there are actually those players who not only prefer to avoid the heavy weight of tube amps, they...wait for it...actually prefer the tone, the feel and the performance of a solid-state or hybrid amp head! I know, right?

Your SVT rig may very well sound like no other. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it sounds better for the needs of any other bassist.

MM

 

[Mystic Michael]

I have noticed, both in myself and others that I am seeing less and less Tube amps around and particularly in stores.

Q. Is there a future for tube amps?

A. This very same question has been posed and answered - repeatedly - for at least the past 45 years; ever since solid-state amps first entered the market, and first began to compete with tube amps for popularity. The fact that 1) tube amps still exist, 2) tube amps are still being used widely, and 3) new models of tube amps are still being produced and marketed - successfully (i.e. the Mesa Strategy & Mesa Prodigy, etc.) - makes the answer to this question identical to the answer given to it each time the question has been posed previously:

The answer is "yes".

MM

 

[waltdogg]

And - believe it or not - there are actually those players who not only prefer to avoid the heavy weight of tube amps, they...wait for it...actually prefer the tone, the feel and the performance of a solid-state or hybrid amp head! I know, right?

Your SVT rig may very well sound like no other. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it sounds better for the needs of any other bassist.

MM

This. For real. An SVT totally does it for me, but *I* don't sound any different to my ears through my 400RB. I don't mind shlepping my guitar heads, because I know I'd be hard pressed to find an equivalent or better tone in a smaller/lighter package. But if I don't need to lift an 80lb. head by myself up on top of my 8x10, I'm not going to. That being said, if I'm going to have assistance from my band mates, friends/roadies or venue crew then I will totally roll out with a big tube head when it's available to me. I just know that I can't do the lift. My right shoulder would never forgive me.

 

[lfmn16]

And - believe it or not - there are actually those players who not only prefer to avoid the heavy weight of tube amps, they...wait for it...actually prefer the tone, the feel and the performance of a solid-state or hybrid amp head! I know, right?

Your SVT rig may very well sound like no other. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it sounds better for the needs of any other bassist.

MM

Maybe you could point to where I said it sounds better. Oh, wait, I didnt.

What was it I said?

Part of the problem is that some people get upset when you say that nothing sounds like a tube amp. It doesn't mean the other amps can't sound good, they just don't sound the same.

Thanks for proving my point!