Tube preamp heads: Gimmick??

[teemuk]

At 500mv forward conduction is already quite distinct with generic Si. Yet forward conduction, and "soft clipping, usually begins around 200 - 300 mv.

 

[agedhorse]

At 500mv forward conduction is already quite distinct with generic Si. Yet forward conduction, and "soft clipping, usually begins around 200 - 300 mv.

This didn't feel quite right and got me thinking, so I ran a test on a 1n4004 diode. What I found was a very small conduction beginning at 500mV with an ultimately 1mA saturation current. As the saturation current increases the saturation voltage of Vf increases (as expected due to the forward dynamic impedance).

Perhaps you were thinking of a Ge diode?

 

[Munjibunga]

Some yes, some no. Eden's tube front ends don't do anything. The GK Fusion heads don't sound very tubey. Demeter's tube preamps do add an appreciable amount of tube feel.

 

[bucephylus]

Some yes, some no. Eden's tube front ends don't do anything.

They did, when JD designed them...

 

[Munjibunga]

They did, when JD designed them...

Which models were those?

 

[bucephylus]

Which models were those?

VT.25 and VT.40

I gigged the VT.25 for several years. Great head.

 

[Omega Monkey]

Got a chance to crank up the GBE 750 last night at a jam. Was definitely getting some tubey goodness out of the tube channel. I think it was probably helped by it being a trio jam, so the bass was turned up more than usual. It was much more SVT like than I've had it before (which is usually at lower volumes).

 

[JediBassKnight]

Resurrection of long dead thread.

Has anyone tried the new GK Fusion series?
Has a full 3 12ax7 preamp with 800 digital watts. Not much online about them and after reading through this thread I figured some of you might have an interest.

I'm thinking of grabbing the 112 or 210 combos.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Resurrection of long dead thread.

Has anyone tried the new GK Fusion series?
Has a full 3 12ax7 preamp with 800 digital watts. Not much online about them and after reading through this thread I figured some of you might have an interest.

I'm thinking of grabbing the 112 or 210 combos.

What about the Mesa WD 800 with its single tube front end?

 

[JediBassKnight]

I'm more interested in a full tube preamp

 

[Ihaveshingles]

What I like about the GK fusion 800 is that it seems quite a bit louder than the non tube 800 gk and has a much warmer and organic sound. If that’s all those 3 tubes accomplish then I’m happy. If ya want tubey, get a full tube amp.

 

[Taustin Powers]

In this day and age, are tubes really needed to get a "tubey" sound and feel?

Looking at the Aggie Tone Hammer, or the Berg amps with the "Big Fat Tube" sound profile. Seems like they get that sound done pretty well.

 

[JimmyM]

In this day and age, are tubes really needed to get a "tubey" sound and feel?

Looking at the Aggie Tone Hammer, or the Berg amps with the "Big Fat Tube" sound profile. Seems like they get that sound done pretty well.

There's a difference between emulation and the real thing that becomes apparent when you hear the real thing. Having said that, it ain't bad and it's a whole lot better than it used to be.

 

[teemuk]

As far as I know, there is no universal definition for what "real thing" sounds like. Unarguebly different tube amps sound different from another and generally "tube sound" is just an imaginary set of characteristics that people subjectively expect to portray their individual idea of "tubeness".

 

[JimmyM]

As far as I know, there is no universal definition for what "real thing" sounds like. Unarguebly different tube amps sound different from another and generally "tube sound" is just an imaginary set of characteristics that people subjectively expect to portray their individual idea of "tubeness".

Imaginary? Whatever. I know what Ampeg, Fender, Marshall, Mesa, Vox, Hiwatt, and a small handful of other tube amps sound like. And while I've heard tubeless sims and emulators get in the ballpark, I've never heard one nail those sounds to the letter. I've heard them be plenty good, but I've never heard an exact duplicate. I would certainly think that an emulator designed to sound like a specific tube amp could do it if it was all just in my head, as you suggest. So tell me why if it's not the tubes and transformers.

 

[teemuk]

So what do they actually sound like? Last time I checked Ampeg SVT sounded entirely different than Epiphone Valve Junior and you couldn't even remotedly compare Fender Twin Reverb with ENGL Powerball or Vox AC30. Last time I checked even a Marshall model 2203 sounded quite different to model 1987 or JTM45 so even amps made by the same manufacturer do not neccessarily feature a trademark tone.
I can hardly pinpoint any characteristics that would be common to Fender Champ and McIntosh MC275 so what actually is this "real thing" so commonly referred to?

So if we throw in yet another amp, which now just happens to be solid-state, what actually does set it apart from wide assortment of tube amps that also sound entirely different from one another? Clipping characteristics? Frequency response? Perhaps the damping factor? These all are all over the place in tube amps and can be perfectly "emulated" or "modeled" by solid-state circuitry if needed.

 

[JimmyM]

So what do they actually sound like? Last time I checked Ampeg SVT sounded entirely different than Epiphone Valve Junior and you couldn't even remotedly compare Fender Twin Reverb with ENGL Powerball or Vox AC30. Last time I checked even a Marshall model 2203 sounded quite different to model 1987 or JTM45 so even amps made by the same manufacturer do not neccessarily feature a trademark tone.
I can hardly pinpoint any characteristics that would be common to Fender Champ and McIntosh MC275 so what actually is this "real thing" so commonly referred to?

So if we throw in yet another amp, which now just happens to be solid-state, what actually does set it apart from wide assortment of tube amps that also sound entirely different from one another? Clipping characteristics? Frequency response? Perhaps the damping factor? These all are all over the place in tube amps and can be perfectly "emulated" or "modeled" by solid-state circuitry if needed.

Continue to twist around what I said to suit your needs all you want. I said what I said and I stand behind it 100%.

 

[bucephylus]

In this day and age, are tubes really needed to get a "tubey" sound and feel?

Looking at the Aggie Tone Hammer, or the Berg amps with the "Big Fat Tube" sound profile. Seems like they get that sound done pretty well.

For my purposes, there are night and day differences. But, you need to play both and make up your own mind.

The tube preamp hybrids that are most of interest to me are those that demonstrate distinct differences when rolling different tubes of the same type through them. Some of the tube driven hybrids are specifically designed to NOT be sensitive to different kinds of tubes. Those tend to be more aligned with your comment.

Edit: here is my preferred backline amp for 5 or 6 years now. I’ve been through several alternatives during that time, including some you mentioned. This one continues to be head shoulders more to my liking. It is the VTBP-201 with a retrofit internal ICEPower 250ASX2 power module. Simply perfect for my needs.

 

[Bassdirty]

...Which is why I referred to them as rare birds. The only other one I can think of were those Crank guitar amps that were popular in metal circles in the mid-00s.

Oh yea, I remember them now. Krank w/a K.
Heres a "deal" on ebay. I guess a deal, as a heads alone are askin 2K+

$2700 for "all this" ( I think it was all). The Khrome Faced Krank, Head and Kabinets..lol.

No association w/seller btw.

T$

 

[Bassdirty]

Regarding LEDs, sometimes designers get bored doing the same old cosmetic thing and add little things for the sheer fun and artistic side of it.

Like the "Retina Melting" Blue LEDs in the Shuttle 6.
As can be seen in my Avatar Photo.



I heard some folks complain, but personally , I love it!

I always like a blue light on any gear. I’ve owned and loved some amps with red lights but a blue LED makes me feel good about my gear for no good reason at all.

HeLz Yeah!!



T$