Is There A Future For Tube Amps?

[groucho]

Since my days working a store in the early 80's when a lot of the first "tube sound" stuff hit big (MOSFET, hybrid amps, etc)
till now tubes have not gone away. Some years it seems they are on the upswing. It will always run in cycles. There's no denying
the convenience cost and weight advantages of "non tube" and there's no denying the majesty of the tube sound.
I made my peace - Keep the 69 SVT in the studio at home(recording) - Use the SS amps for gigs/jams.

 

[Jughead6]

.... there are people who are already satisfied with their tone when using solid state gear, even those who feel that they can satisfactorily capture the essence of tube sound. And there are those who will never be satisfied unless it's all tubes.

I am both of these people, but under different circumstances. At gig volumes, I think the nuances of an all-tube rig get lost in the mix. I find it is much easier if I simply run with a nice clean signal from a solid state rig and then let the PA guy/girl work his/her magic.

In the isolation of my own home, however, I find there is nothing better than to heat up my all-tube rig.

But I can see why solid state amps are on the ascendancy. Modern solid state amps are pretty cheap and it is hard to resist buying a higher wattage than we probably really need. It's a bit hard for all-tube rigs to compete with "bang-for-buck" solid state rigs.

 

[gnarlyWarlock]

I watched Bayside at The Showbox last week. Them, and all the acts before them, brought lead sleds (guitarists had Mesa & Marshall stacks)

 

[cnltb]

Is There A Future For Tube Amps?
I think so...eventually i might well get myself a Rheingold head and cabs...super heavy and therefor completely outdated, but also very, very good.

 

[ashtray]

Most of my guitar amps are tube. My bass amps are solid state (one has a tube in the preamp). There was talk I recall back in the 90's that tube amps wouldn't be around much longer but in the guitar world thats almost all I see. And yeah, for a 50 watt combo price at $1,000-2,000, there is definitely a profit in it.

 

[Dave W]

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

+ whatever we're up to now.

If I'm counting right, in the last year I've bought 5 all tube amps. Some were flipped but I still own a couple of them

 

[chadds]

I've owned & played SS, hybrid, & all tube amps. I see a lot of tube amps around here, but I see a lot of SS amps too. IMHO there is a future for all types of amps. To me, there is something about the imperfect sound reproduction of a tube amp that sounds noticeably different than a SS amp. Some would say they sound better, some would say they sound worse...that's all a matter of opinion and nobody is right.

Those who are just focused on making some money in the music industry want something that performs day in and day out with as little maintenance cost as possible. And there's nothing wrong with that. In the end, most of the people in the crowd can't tell the difference anyways as long as it doesn't break down on stage while they're watching...they definitely notice that.

There are also those who couldn't care less about making money and play in bands for their love & passion for music. The ones that don't mind carrying a matched quad of $40-$100 tubes around just in case their power section goes out on them, all for the sake of having tone that is noticeably different to their ears.

There will always be working musicians who need to keep their profit margin in mind, and there will always be hobbyists who care more about their passion than the money. So there will always be a market for both.

There will always be working musicians who care about the biz end but will pour some profit into their sound. A blend of both. Their ears know. Their audience's ears know.

 

[chadds]

I've owned & played SS, hybrid, & all tube amps. I see a lot of tube amps around here, but I see a lot of SS amps too. IMHO there is a future for all types of amps. To me, there is something about the imperfect sound reproduction of a tube amp that sounds noticeably different than a SS amp. Some would say they sound better, some would say they sound worse...that's all a matter of opinion and nobody is right.

Those who are just focused on making some money in the music industry want something that performs day in and day out with as little maintenance cost as possible. And there's nothing wrong with that. In the end, most of the people in the crowd can't tell the difference anyways as long as it doesn't break down on stage while they're watching...they definitely notice that.

There are also those who couldn't care less about making money and play in bands for their love & passion for music. The ones that don't mind carrying a matched quad of $40-$100 tubes around just in case their power section goes out on them, all for the sake of having tone that is noticeably different to their ears.

There will always be working musicians who need to keep their profit margin in mind, and there will always be hobbyists who care more about their passion than the money. So there will always be a market for both.

There will always be working musicians who care about the biz end but will pour some profit into their sound. A blend of both. Their ears know. Their audience's ears know.

 

[strictlybass_ic]

I think tube amps will always have a place, but I think (for bassists at least) it is moving ever more into the realm of studio/nostalgia. I can easily see them remaining around in many studios as a "house amp" to use for recording purposes. But, as for gigging bassists I think the class D revolution is finally tipping the scales (get it ) away from tube amps. Back when lead sleds were the alternative it wasn't much more to ask to lug around a tube head. But now that you can toss a tiny class D into the pocket of a gig bag I anticipate more and more and more people making the switch. There will always be those who hang onto it (either out of devotion, or because they have roadies to move their stuff) but I think it will become more and more of a niche rather than the norm.

 

[brianrost]

Is there a future for Tube Amps?

Until you can't get tubes any more.

How far are we from replicating the Tube amp sound flawlessly? Will it ever happen?

It's like trying to reach infinity, you can get closer and closer to it but you will never really arrive.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Tubes were good enough for my grandfather's listening pleasure, and they are more than good enough for mine.

The engineers of yesteryear got it so right when when electronic amplification was invented. The 300B tube, developed so long ago, is still milestone in audio that audiophiles hold in awe.

The industry has been dumbing down audio since the introduction of the transistor radio. With the introduction of digital sound formats they have generations clued out as far as high fidelity is concerned. But things are coming around as they always do.

Tube sound will always be sought after. Immitators will always seek to aspire to that level of harmonic richness and performance. They aren't there yet. And the goal is an asymptotic distance away.

 

[Lindex]

Is There A Future For Tube Amps?
I think so...eventually i might well get myself a Rheingold head and cabs...super heavy and therefor completely outdated, but also very, very good.

Rheingold builds great stuff...but also at a nice price...makes even Glockenklang feel a bit cheapish...

 

[Coolhandjjl]

There is even a market for steel needles for old Victrola's as each play needs a fresh needle.
There are lots of reasons why people do the stuff they do.

Tubes are less prone to the effects outer space radiation. It took a while to develop ss devices for space flight, and those devices are very expensive. So if you plan on going to Mars, bring your tube gear!

 

[corinpills]

I think the nature of GAS in bassists will always create enough people who want to take their tone to the next level- it's just a natural thing for musicians to keep tweaking and trying things looking for their sound. Not to get too deep (although, what better place than in a bass forum) as more and more of our society becomes plastic and simulated, I think people can't help but appreciate things that are more organic and analog. The smell of burning tubes, the heat, the satisfying weight of an SVT on your shoulder, the gut- punch of KT88s, all very hard to simulate. Humans crave things like that. You always get nay-sayers who say "you can keep that heavy amp -lifting, I did my time", but there's always young players coming up who have never experienced that (and old fools like me who never got over it).

 

[DWBass]

Yes. The future is to keep making them lighter.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Tubes are less prone to the effects outer space radiation. It took a while to develop ss devices for space flight, and those devices are very expensive. So if you plan on going to Mars, bring your tube gear!

Not to mention when an atomic bomb hits. Solid state amps won't work. Gigs will have to do be done with tube amps.

 

[ariwax]

Of course there is a future for tubes. We were brought up to think of the archetypal sound being an SVT and a fridge. Of course there are plenty of good solid state rigs out there, but none of them do that thing better than the real thing. Heavy but simple, as close to plug 'n play as it gets in our world. Of course, hybrid/SS technology also allows you to do other things which your SVT can't do. Like load in in one trip. Or not worry about a tube blowing out during a gig, or not worry about impedance matching. Or achieve the quick transient response and powerful attack many people seek when slapping/popping.

There are exceptions of course, and like most people I choose to split the difference: after a great deal of experimentation I now run my A Designs KGB into a UA Solo/610 tube DI and rely on the tubes for most of my gain, and send that into a solid-state poweramp, a Crown K1. Crushing tone, the best of both worlds for me, and I have owned and loved several 300W tube rigs. Does it totally cop the SVT or blackface Bassman sound? No, but it gets very very close while giving me the things about solid state tech that I like, and the UA provides gobs of warmth and authentic fur on my tone if I want it.

So long as there are roadies willing to lug them, there will be tube heads. So long as most people aren't in touring bands, the trend toward lighter and better-sounding SS rigs will continue. So as several people here have already said, tubes are dead. Long live tubes.

 

[Grooveline]

As long as there is dynamics in music people will be using tube amps. So unless the world turns exclusively to electronic/dance music or death metal there will always be tubes.

 

[Gaolee]

Most of my guitar amps are tube. My bass amps are solid state (one has a tube in the preamp). There was talk I recall back in the 90's that tube amps wouldn't be around much longer but in the guitar world thats almost all I see. And yeah, for a 50 watt combo price at $1,000-2,000, there is definitely a profit in it.

You live in the same place I do. I prefer the sound of big solid state amps for bass and the sound of small tube amps for guitar.

 

[mpdd]

i've always been full tube(in the mid 90s you could buy a sunn 2000s head for $125) between 120 watts and 200 watts, because the guys i played with have always used fender and peavey ss guitar combos, it's unlikely at this point that i'm gonna need an svt, mesa 400, or super powered ss or hybrid head