• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Tube Power

spalka621

spalka621

Supporting Member
Jul 26, 2005
307
271
Minneapolis, MN
#1
Just wondering how many tube watts I would need in order to keep up with my band. Right now I am using my Peavey Firebass at 8ohms which puts out 275 or around that and am bearly curring through. I also am getting two more 8ohm cabs, just wondering which amps could handle those.
 
#7
As you probably know, the conventional wisdom is that "tube watts are the same as solid state...until you clip." One may be able to use a tube amp pushed a bit into clipping because it seems that tubes clip more gradually than SS amps, which are reputed to clip "basically all at once." :cool:

To be honest, my experience is that you should have nearly twice the power you need to match the max rms rating of your cabs. If a 350 watt head can do it when pushed, get 500-700 watts for the same speaker load (SS or tube). If it sounds good, it is good. :p

BTW, a tube pre in front of an SS power amp gives you most (if not all) of a tube amp sound. IMHO. :ninja:
 
#8
Jim Carr said:
To be honest, my experience is that you should have nearly twice the power you need to match the max rms rating of your cabs. If a 350 watt head can do it when pushed, get 500-700 watts for the same speaker load (SS or tube).
Click to expand...
+1. I must agree and admit that I'm a member of the 150-200% school. If a speaker cabinet is notoriously inefficient (Acme, e.g.), I want twice the rated power for the cabinet or more. Even for very efficient cabs (Euphonic Audio, e..g.), I want at least 150% of the cab's rated power.

Bluesy Soul :cool:
 
#9
buy yerself an ampeg svt
the one with all tubes
or a sunn model T
or a fender 300 the copy of the sunn
or a demeter preamp with a macintosh 2300 or 2500
you will have sufficient power for any situation with any of these choices
 
#10
The 0x said:
If you don't mind a bit of good sounding grit in your tone, then the YBA200 should theoretically be able to be driven to put out closer to 300 watts at full volume, i'm guessing (it's not ultralinear, is it?). That would be pretty damn distorted, though.
Click to expand...


Not quite, it will be able to run driven at about 200 watts and sound good, you wouldnt be able to run a 200 watt SS head at 200 watts without being in clip city, and ruining your cab.

Ive got a peavey firebass, and it is loud as hell, i use it into 4ohm cabs, at the full 700 watts, its loud! But i only usually use it at 475 watts, and my SVT-II ( 300 watts all tube ) sounds a hell of alot louder than it ! Ive not directly compared it to when the firebass is running at 700 watts, because ive never really needed more than one cab with the SVT!
 
#12
Warwick TubePath 10.1
http://www.warwickbass.com/amps/tubepath10-1.htm

I bet this amp is capable of getting much much louder than a tube amp. It has a tube amp in it, to a dummy load, and the output goes to a 1000w SS section. This amp must give the full tube sound and compression of a typical tube bass amp, with a hefty 1000w SS behind it. This would be like taking the DI off the speaker and sending it to the FOH.

There must be other preamps that take the same approach to allow you to hookup the amp of your choice.
 
#13
The 0x said:
An honest 200 watt amp should put out 200 watts without clipping. The problem is that after that, it spikes into distortion quickly. So the signal would have to be VERY even. But a tube amp can be clipping without it audibly distorting a lot (hence the "smoother transition").
Click to expand...
The power rates are aquired by using a sine wave tho, and there is no way anybodies bass playing is anywhere near a sine wave. While a SS amplifier will put out 200 watts and so will a tube amp from a generated sine wave, the transient peaks will undergo hard clipping in a SS amplifier and soft clipping in a tube amplifier, the soft clipping is that lovely tube drive so many of us love :) To avoid clipping a SS amplifier they are often run well below the rated power output, with only the peaks hitting that rated output for instance, but a tube amp can be driven fully closer to the edge.
 
#14
seamonkey said:
Warwick TubePath 10.1
http://www.warwickbass.com/amps/tubepath10-1.htm

I bet this amp is capable of getting much much louder than a tube amp. It has a tube amp in it, to a dummy load, and the output goes to a 1000w SS section. This amp must give the full tube sound and compression of a typical tube bass amp, with a hefty 1000w SS behind it. This would be like taking the DI off the speaker and sending it to the FOH.

There must be other preamps that take the same approach to allow you to hookup the amp of your choice.
Click to expand...

The SWR Interstellar Overdrive takes this approach as well. This would be the closest, however, "dummy loads" still don't quite react the same way a speaker does. It's closer than hybrids, but still not quite there. That said, i'd like to try that amp.
 
#15
Most everyone is forgetting that one of the factors that contributes to the "tube tone" is the power amp! the overdrive achieved by pushing a 6550 or 6l6 is heavenly. So while putting a tube pre before a SS power amp maybe somewhat close to the sound of an alltube amp, its not quite there. Youll stil get SS clipping in the power section. some hybrids to sound pretty good, with tube driven mosfets (svt 4, some mesas). IMO, unless you have a real quality, super-powered ss head (GK), it wont sound as "smooth" when driven the way a tube head will.

So if youre having trouble keeping up volume wise, get yourself a used SVT II or mesa 400+. youll blow em out of the water.
 
#18
Yes, it's a real shame that the description of the TubePath on the Warwick site is completely lacking any real technical detail - nor is there anything useful in terms of technical spec available to download. You'd think they'd at least say what tubes were being used. What are they being so coy about? :eyebrow:
 
#19
I use a 100W Valve hiwatt head through a 2x15 against a pretty loud drummer and two 30W fender combos and it is just loud enough without driving it too hard. I nearly always have PA back up so I don't have to worry about filling a room just from my cab.
I have only used two SS heads which I have borrowed at times to try out. One is a Hartke 300W head which was actualy quieter than my Hiwatt and an Ampeg B "something" rated at 500W or 400W @ 4 ohms which was louder when producing a clean sound, but I couldn't get a nice drivey sound out of it.

The other fun thing with valve amps is you got to pay for valves and biasing every now and then. I just done about 16 months with my last set of tubes and Ive just had to shell out £100 for a new set, biasing and general tweaking.

A 200W valve head would be plenty loud enough for me... it just depends on what exactly you're expecting to achieve with it.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back