I've been shopping for a new amplification sound and I think I've decided on the SWR mini mo (for versatility and amzaing sound quality) coupled with a tube power amp(so as to give the warmth not always associated with solid state). Any suggestions? What about the resulting sound-personal experiences with similar experiments. Thanks for any input?
I'd bet you'd have better luck with this question over in amps. I'll move you there. Also, try the search function - there must be a ton of threads on this.
IME tube warmth is primarily in the preamp, not the poweramp. But you could try the Mesa/Boogie poweramps, but you'll hardly find a tube poweramp in the SVT watt range.
well, IMHO, a tube power amp does a world of difference in tone, at least compared to the usual QSC or Crest power amps, which are built with transparency in mind. tubes can definitely warm up or give some nice tube like sheen to your tone, and its alot of the reason why many will risk further back injury to gig with one. a nice Aguilar DB728 gives you tons of warmth. http://www.aguilaramp.com/html/products/db728.html while i've heard Demeter's own VTHF-300M has a more hifi, refined tube thing going. http://www.demeteramps.com/proaudio/vthf300m.html you might have better luck with finding a used Aguilar, for a cheaper price, and i've rarely seen a Demeter up for sale. also, again, be prepared however, for some back breaking lifting. might be a good idea to invest in one of these... http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...3060831411/g=home/search/detail/base_id/54600
IME tube tone comes more from the power amp than the preamp. Channel two on vintage svt's is one 12AX7 in the preamp and 6-6550's (2-12BH7's)in the power amp. Compare that to any solid state bass amp with one or more 12AX7's in the pre amp and they sound nothing like a tube amp. The last solid state amp I owned was an ampeg svt-III pro (tube/mosfet)which sounds more like a solid state amp to me. I would look at an Aguilar or maybe a Paul Jones T-500.
