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Tube or Solid State, and why? Best Tube amp or head? consider weight please.
- Thread starter los100malditos
- Start date
Wow, VERY subjective. You just gotta try a bunch out and see what you like. I've had a couple and I settled on a Peavey VB-2. I started with a solid state and a bunch of pedals to try to find that chunky tube sound but couldn't quite get what I wanted. I finally just dumped everything, tried the VB-2 and fell in love. It's heavier then a solid state (as all tubes will be) but not to bad and you can't beat the price.
The VB-3 is a 300 watt all tube head, and I think it weighs something like 37 pounds. Lighter than a lot of solid state heads out there.
There is no best. What you might consider outstanding I might think of as terrible. Tone or the sound you hear in your head is a personal thing and no one except yourself can find it. You have to go out and try every amp and speaker system that you can find. When you find the one that makes you smile, buy it.
Either one. Because that's what you like, what you can afford, has the features you want, gets the sound you want and/or is the weight you want.
As sirpug said, it is very subjective. I really like SVT's but couldn't afford one and got an SVT 7 Pro instead because it gets so close. You just have to try out what you can and find what you like.
As sirpug said, it is very subjective. I really like SVT's but couldn't afford one and got an SVT 7 Pro instead because it gets so close. You just have to try out what you can and find what you like.
Mr. Foxen
Commercial User
If weight is an issue, the fact SS includes class D/SMPS pretty much knocks all valve out of the running.
The new Traynor YBA-300 would be pretty good price/weight-wise. You owe it to yourself to try an SVT if you haven't done so already, you'll understand why people still lug them around to gigs when there are so many much lighter alternatives.
Mesa WalkAbout gets my vote in the hybrid world.
Mesa WalkAbout gets my vote in the hybrid world.
I used to play through an SVT years ago and have to admit if I were a touring artist that would be my pick. 30 years later and 60lbs lighter, I'm using a Eden WT550. I like it but don't love it' so I am having Keith Gwin a boutique amp builder make me a 200 watt all tube head just the way I want it. I have had many bass amps and guess you could say that I prefer all tubes. Will keep you posted with photos and results.
Lots of people prefer tubes, and I can see why. Most of the first bass amps were tube amps - the SVT, the B15 (both by ampeg), the Fender bassman, I think Vox made one called the AC-30, the list goes on. On the list of "classic" bass amps, the only SS unit is the Acoustic 360/361 combo (the 360 was a preamp, and the 361 was a W-bin with an 18 inch speaker and a power amp built into it). Given how prevalent tubes were early on, most people will like the sound of tubes over solid state. I personally tend to prefer solid state - it sounds good to me, is generally lighter (the peavey VB-3 is an exception), I have yet to need to replace a transistor in an amp (though if I had to I'd rather replace a tube than a transistor), and they're generally cheaper than tubes. With that being said though, many people prefer tubes, and it's obvious as to why - even if the audience generally won't hear the difference, a lot of players can (or at least claim to), and it helps them get their "tone".
My own opinion? Basses and amps are just tools, what really matters is the music makin' and the booty shakin'. If spending the extra coin and lifting the extra weight of a tube amp will help you accomplish the above better, then more power to ya.
As for best tube head, my buddy loves his SVT-CL. I personally prefer the Traynor YBA-3, the YBA-2 is also worth checking out too, but the YB-3 has a bit more of a familiar EQ to me, which is part of why I prefer it over the SVT. The other part is because it's just a bit brighter and seems a bit "cleaner" and "brighter" to me, I tried it at a music store and loved hearing it at low-gain. I dunno, many people love the SVT, and I can understand as to why, but if I were to buy a tube head, it'd be the YB-3.
My own opinion? Basses and amps are just tools, what really matters is the music makin' and the booty shakin'. If spending the extra coin and lifting the extra weight of a tube amp will help you accomplish the above better, then more power to ya.
As for best tube head, my buddy loves his SVT-CL. I personally prefer the Traynor YBA-3, the YBA-2 is also worth checking out too, but the YB-3 has a bit more of a familiar EQ to me, which is part of why I prefer it over the SVT. The other part is because it's just a bit brighter and seems a bit "cleaner" and "brighter" to me, I tried it at a music store and loved hearing it at low-gain. I dunno, many people love the SVT, and I can understand as to why, but if I were to buy a tube head, it'd be the YB-3.
I think you're not getting a lot of responses to this because we all know what already has been said - it's subjective.
Technically, all amplifiers are supposed to accurately reproduce the sound of the instrument, meaning the sound you get out of any amplifier should be the same. Except they all sound different, and some sound better to some people.
While you're out A/B - ing tube and solid state amps, try out different sold state amps, because they have different sounds too.
Just to make things really complicated, there are a lot of signal processors that have a pretty darn good "tube" sound.
Not to hijack the thread, but does anyone have a favorite? I really like my Behringer BDI 21 Bass Driver.
But it depends on what amp I'm playing through (hee-hee).
Technically, all amplifiers are supposed to accurately reproduce the sound of the instrument, meaning the sound you get out of any amplifier should be the same. Except they all sound different, and some sound better to some people.
While you're out A/B - ing tube and solid state amps, try out different sold state amps, because they have different sounds too.
Just to make things really complicated, there are a lot of signal processors that have a pretty darn good "tube" sound.
Not to hijack the thread, but does anyone have a favorite? I really like my Behringer BDI 21 Bass Driver.
But it depends on what amp I'm playing through (hee-hee).
The characteristics I prefer can be found in some tube amps and in some SS amps. I've heard both dialed in horribly live. I've heard both just be heaven.
I like a quick attack, warmth, clarity, complex musical overtones. I like simple eq that does what you want live without having to adjust other stuff to get what you want. I want it out of my way, in no way limiting what I want to hear. I like hifi and fat together with grind available because of my technique.
I've always wanted the sound of a Showman when it was turned up to three but really loud. I've wanted the warm fat of a B-15. I've wanted the edge and upper mids of a Marshall SuperLead 100 just not compressed. I've wanted the clarity of a Hiwatt. I've wanted the big huge wide highs and lows of a Sunn 2000s with JBLs before it goes into distortion.
It's funny the Polytone 101 came the closest for SS until some present day gear. Plugged into a Leslie preamp pedal and 147 is near perfect at low volumes. Wider frequency bandwidth than bass amps at the time. Of course it was Hammond organ amplification.
Glocks can do both really well. The musical harmonics or overtones are present.
YMMV due to what you hear in your head.
I like a quick attack, warmth, clarity, complex musical overtones. I like simple eq that does what you want live without having to adjust other stuff to get what you want. I want it out of my way, in no way limiting what I want to hear. I like hifi and fat together with grind available because of my technique.
I've always wanted the sound of a Showman when it was turned up to three but really loud. I've wanted the warm fat of a B-15. I've wanted the edge and upper mids of a Marshall SuperLead 100 just not compressed. I've wanted the clarity of a Hiwatt. I've wanted the big huge wide highs and lows of a Sunn 2000s with JBLs before it goes into distortion.
It's funny the Polytone 101 came the closest for SS until some present day gear. Plugged into a Leslie preamp pedal and 147 is near perfect at low volumes. Wider frequency bandwidth than bass amps at the time. Of course it was Hammond organ amplification.
Glocks can do both really well. The musical harmonics or overtones are present.
YMMV due to what you hear in your head.
My old B&K Mosfet amp will blow away most current solid state amps in sound quality, but you will make good use of the rack handles due to it weighing about as much as a tube bass head. Those old linear power supplies with massive power transformers and beer can filter caps are hard to beat soundwise.
However, when weight is a consideration you have already answered your own question as modern solid state is the way to go. Tube gear or old school solid state has to be heavy in order to sound good. Bass amps need bigger output transformers than guitar amps of the same power output as they need tighter control and at lower frequencies.
If I didn't already have more old amps laying about than I know what to do with, I would be starting out with lightweight solid state and then branching out from there as I got more experience. Whether or not you are willing to spend up to a quality level means more than arbitrarily choosing tube or solid state. There is no "best" that fits all situations.
However, when weight is a consideration you have already answered your own question as modern solid state is the way to go. Tube gear or old school solid state has to be heavy in order to sound good. Bass amps need bigger output transformers than guitar amps of the same power output as they need tighter control and at lower frequencies.
If I didn't already have more old amps laying about than I know what to do with, I would be starting out with lightweight solid state and then branching out from there as I got more experience. Whether or not you are willing to spend up to a quality level means more than arbitrarily choosing tube or solid state. There is no "best" that fits all situations.
Both tube and SS. Why - because I like both. Best tube bass amp - Ampeg and Mesa/Boogie. Best SS bass amp - Gallien-Krueger. Weight - GK bass amps are lightweight.
NOTE: Best only means what I personally like best.
The "sleeper" tube bass amp is the Peavey Classic 400. A genuine 400 watts of all-tube goodness, with true two-channel switching. A great dirty sound if you wantdistortion, otherwise very nice clean tone.
Of course, it weighs almost 100 pounds. And costs $300 to retube the eight KT88's.
Want less power in a tube amp, the Ampeg V4 is the low-power brother to the SVT and "only" weighs 70 pounds give or take....
Of course, it weighs almost 100 pounds. And costs $300 to retube the eight KT88's.
Want less power in a tube amp, the Ampeg V4 is the low-power brother to the SVT and "only" weighs 70 pounds give or take....
