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Tube amp question

#22
My Sadowsky SA200 doesn't really sag but it has a solid state rectifier.

Gale

SadowskySA200.jpg
 
#25
The one I love is when people claim that tube amps have a slow response. Apparently electricity travels slower in tube amps :rolleyes:

The weight "issue" is also one I think's great. Unless you are older or have back problems. A 50lb - 100lb weight shouldn't be problem in the slightest!

Gale, that SA200 is a thing of beauty. I can but dream of owning one, one day, and a TE V8, and a Marshall VBA400, and Peavey Classic 400 and . . . damn, well, you get the point :(

:p
 
#26
Tube amps are delicious. It's a reliable foundation and you can fine tune your tone with different tubes and they are built to last for decades (the non PCB ones anyway). The recent renaissance in tube amps certainly helps.

The only downside I see with them is that they are heavy. So here's to the undustry inventing a genuine way to reduce the weight of output transformers!

I am still going to get the Reeves 225 first chance I get.
 
#27
Tube amps are all different, just like solid state amps. You can't just generalize and lump them into one category. You might like a lot of solid state amps, and hate a lot of tube amps, or vice versa. There's lots of variables with amp type and tubes, as there are also with speakers, cabs, the rest of your gear, your tone settings, and your pic attack. You can be a tone freak for years and never be satisfied. Reasearch and get tips, but it helps to try as much as you can and develop your own perspective, as one mans tone may not particularly be what another wants. Find your sound. I have many tube amps, and some are quite different than others. Some break up early, and some have more clean raw power than I'll ever use. I like them all, though there are other's I want to try, and other solid state too. (and speakers, and basses, and guitars, and cabs, and effects, ...ahhhh) My work is never done, but it's all fun.
 
#29
I think tube amps do sound spongy... but the sponge is soaked in warm Aunt Jamima Syrup :D


I also agree with the Speakers comment. It's not all in the Amp... Speakers are probably more of a culprit in bad sound than any amp, or at least in many cases....
 
#32
The weight isn't that bad, about the same as one of my 212's. Oh, I'm 53 so enough of the old guys can't move them, and if you have a hard time with it, there is a new thing they have out on the market. It has two wheels and a handle, I think they call it a "dolly":D
 
#35
hdracer said:
The weight isn't that bad, about the same as one of my 212's. Oh, I'm 53 so enough of the old guys can't move them, and if you have a hard time with it, there is a new thing they have out on the market. It has two wheels and a handle, I think they call it a "dolly":D
Click to expand...

Actually they are called "Hand trucks" not dollies. Being 53 you should know this.
Having played all tube amps for decades I no longer do. I get all I need from my hybrid. Maybe I just no longer have the pounding in my ears from lifting heavy amps :hiding: :)
 
#36
Let me start with: I love my Sunn 300T tuber alot. However, I was strong-armed into going tube by my guitarist who going for a retro sound. If I had to do it over, I would probably stick with solid state. Better economically, don't weigh 75+ pounds, don't have to worry about tubes crapping out or their fragility, don't have to fiddle with bias, etc.
 

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