Looking for a combo...

[TheIndieKid]

I know I mentioned that ideally I would love tubes, but the main reason I said that is because someone told me there is usually less "noise" with a tube amp, and generally they are warmer sounding and more pleasing to the ear. They're also louder than solid state amps of the same wattage.

However, as I've discovered it's more about speaker area rather than wattage, and also, finding a cheaper tube head is a hard task. I saw an Ashdown CTM-30 but that won't do gigs, will it?

I live about 15-45 mins away from repair centres depending on which one we are talking about.

 

[Al Kraft]

I know I mentioned that ideally I would love tubes, but the main reason I said that is because someone told me there is usually less "noise" with a tube amp, and generally they are warmer sounding and more pleasing to the ear. They're also louder than solid state amps of the same wattage.

However, as I've discovered it's more about speaker area rather than wattage, and also, finding a cheaper tube head is a hard task. I saw an Ashdown CTM-30 but that won't do gigs, will it?

I live about 15-45 mins away from repair centres depending on which one we are talking about.

I don't own that head, but it is reputed to be pretty loud for its rating and has a very full, rich bottom end. With fairly efficient cabs I suspect it could handle small-medium indoor gigs with little difficulty and then you can always get some PA support as needed.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

Depends what kind of music you're playing and what type of musicians.
I've got a little 10" Schertler B10 combo amp that i use for every gig which pumps out 300w despite its small size. I generally play with acoustic guitar based bands and go through the PA so it's just used as a stage monitor.

Just the other week i played with a trio to a room of nearly 500 people and we could talk to each other on stage comfortably.

If you have a FOH system with monitors, you'll be fine as long as the drummer keeps it down and the guitarist doesn't get carried away. If you are playing acoustic, you'll be fine too. But don't kid yourself, if you don't have FOH support, or aren't playing a gig with just acoustic guitars, it's not going to cut it. Always better to have more than you need than to need more and not have it. Been there, done that, don't recommend it!

 

[TheIndieKid]

Fair enough guys. Am I better just going solid state or hybrid? It just strikes me how a lot of massive bands now started doing venues in small clubs and what not a while back, but still used decent tube amps.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

I have a hybrid Eden amp (WT500/800) and I also have a totally solid-state Eden amp(FET front end), a Nemesis RS400. Besides having two channels and twice the power of the totally solid-state amp, the hybrid amp has a warmer sound. However, I recently had my WT500/800 in for repair for a couple of months and used my RS400 in the meantime. I was totally happy with my RS400 and not at all apologetic about the sound. But, now that I have my WT500/800 back, that's the one I'm using.

The old Eden hybrids are a little different than most though. The Eden hybrids have a 12ax7 tube in the impedance section operating within very specific parameters. So it never really distorts. Most other hybrids use a 12ax7 tube in the gain structure and if you crank it, you will get a lot of tube-type overdrive distortion. the newest Eden WTP line has a tube in both places along with a mix knob to blend it in with the normal "warm" sound from the other tube.

I do like the warmth of the sound from my hybrid amp but it wouldn't kill me to play without it. And, if you want that tube sound and don't have it...there are pedals for that - Eden's Glo-Plug pedal is one:


Most of the hybrid amps are more expensive than the FET front end all solid-state amps. If you can't pay for a hybrid, get a solid state and add a pedal later if you need one. If you can afford one of the hybrids though, I think they are worth getting. It's not a big difference, but there is a definite difference.