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The Tube Challenge

Which amp is the tube amp?

  • Amp 1

    Votes: 73 44.8%

  • Amp 2

    Votes: 90 55.2%
  • Total voters
    163
#63
Psycho, about those 58's, could the shelf at 80hz you picked up be a result of the way the freq response works dropping way off from about 80 to 50, or would you get something if it was still working right?
 
#69
The Heil will have a better top end, I'd rather have it than an RE20.

I didn't cheat. I didn't run any of the analysis until AFTER I had listened to both samples. It was the low levels that made me curious. (BTW you have some DC offset in there, too.) Since my studio computer is not connected to the internet (nor will it ever be), I had to listen using the pair of Sony V150's on my general purpose computer and its onboard soundcard. They don't have much low end themselves, so I was just making sure I was hearing what I thought I was. Shoot, the stuff I have on this computer is just my 'screwing around with' software. I got all my info from an old version of Sound Forge's analyzer.

I could go into detail about WHAT the frequency response looked like, but I won't. ;)

JimmyM said:
Psycho, about those 58's, could the shelf at 80hz you picked up be a result of the way the freq response works dropping way off from about 80 to 50, or would you get something if it was still working right?
Click to expand...

What I got from 80 Hz on down was over 60 dB below the rest of the signal and it was even in amplitude which means no harmonic series was present, ergo it was noise.
 
#71
Psycho Bass Guy said:
The Heil will have a better top end, I'd rather have it than an RE20.

I didn't cheat. I didn't run any of the analysis until AFTER I had listened to both samples. It was the low levels that made me curious. (BTW you have some DC offset in there, too.) Since my studio computer is not connected to the internet (nor will it ever be), I had to listen using the pair of Sony V150's on my general purpose computer and its onboard soundcard. They don't have much low end themselves, so I was just making sure I was hearing what I thought I was.

I could go into detail about WHAT the frequency response looked like, but I won't. ;)
Click to expand...
I'll start worrying when it doesn't sound good or when it's on someone else's dime. My studio is pathetic, but I've actually turned out some really good sounding stuff. Nobody will ever hear it, but still... ;)

I'm leaning toward the Heil myself, although it would be nice to have an RE 20 as a Swiss Army Mic.
 
#72
JimmyM said:
But I do have to ask Anderbass how the feel with tubes would be different in a live setting if the amps sound so much alike. Unless you're going for tubey breakup, I can't see how the amp source would affect the feel, all other things being equal of course.
Click to expand...

My last comment was coming from the fact that I really dont think an amps feel (or lack of) is conveyed in recordings nearly as much as noticed in person. (and I dont think it necessarily requires tube-breakup to achieve) I'm not claiming all my tube amps necessarily give the same level of feel either. I personally get much more feel from my SVT-II, than any of my other tube Amps.

I'm thinking you might understand my feel comment better after you've refreshed your memory by gigging your SVT/810 again. But then again, I really dont notice many people on this forum (with highly talented tone description abilities) ever mentioning much about feel, so I have to assume their evidently not getting enough to even mention or maybe I'm just weird and notice this particular aspect more than most. I cant describe feel (or tone for that mater) very well, but I definitely know when I'm feeling it or not.
 
#75
anderbass said:
My last comment was coming from the fact that I really dont think an amps feel (or lack of) is conveyed in recordings nearly as much as noticed in person. (and I dont think it necessarily requires tube-breakup to achieve) I'm not claiming all my tube amps necessarily give the same level of feel either. I personally get much more feel from my SVT-II, than any of my other tube Amps.

I'm thinking you might understand my feel comment better after you've refreshed your memory by gigging your SVT/810 again. But then again, I really dont notice many people on this forum (with highly talented tone description abilities) ever mentioning much about feel, so I have to assume their evidently not getting enough to even mention or maybe I'm just weird and notice this particular aspect more than most. I cant describe feel (or tone for that mater) very well, but I definitely know when I'm feeling it or not.
Click to expand...

I assume you mean the touch sensitive dynamic response that results from a class AB tube-design?
 
#78
BTW, I voted 1 for tubes mainly because it just sounds "old" and less complex. The second one sounds more HI-FI, so I figured it to be SS. My decision was also based on neither amp being cranked.

I've never won anything, so I'll probably be wrong here too. :)

I also have zero experience with either amp in this experiment. I liked the tone of the second file better, so in light of my first post, I should learn something about what my ears like. Not my eyes.
 
#80
anderbass said:
My last comment was coming from the fact that I really dont think an amps feel (or lack of) is conveyed in recordings nearly as much as noticed in person. (and I dont think it necessarily requires tube-breakup to achieve) I'm not claiming all my tube amps necessarily give the same level of feel either. I personally get much more feel from my SVT-II, than any of my other tube Amps.

I'm thinking you might understand my feel comment better after you've refreshed your memory by gigging your SVT/810 again. But then again, I really dont notice many people on this forum (with highly talented tone description abilities) ever mentioning much about feel, so I have to assume their evidently not getting enough to even mention or maybe I'm just weird and notice this particular aspect more than most. I cant describe feel (or tone for that mater) very well, but I definitely know when I'm feeling it or not.
Click to expand...
I use a lot of rented gear since I do a lot of flying, and an SVT is on my rider, although you'd be surprised how many people translate that as a GK/Hartke 410 rig. But occasionally they do supply me with one. And the feeling you're talking about is more of a function of the speaker cab being so big, IMHO. I once got an SVT with a bad head so I used my LM2 instead, and quite honestly I got the exact same feeling. Looked really weird, but it worked.

That said, I'm dying to get my SVT head back. The tech who's working on it is a foot-dragger, though. Genius with tube amps, but he's not exactly the fastest repairman in the world.
 

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