Why aren't you using tube amps?

[ScrewDevil]

If you're like most people there will come a day when you won't be able to do that. It may be a gradual loss of strength and flexibility, arthritis, etc. as you age, or it might a sudden injury. You sound like me 15-20 years ago. I was stubborn and bullet-proof. I'm now 66 and I laugh at my younger self; its simple ego that tricks you into deluding yourself. You're OK until the day you're not. That's the day you become a lot wiser. Don't tempt fate or that day might come sooner than you think.

I said physical limitations aside. If you remain uninjured, arthritis free, etc., the only limitations are those you place upon yourself. I would've never thought at 21 that I'd be in better physical shape overall 27 years down the line, but here I am, still plugging along.

 

[aborgman]

I'm seeing a lot of griping about weight. Tubes or solid state, some amps are heavy. Am I the only bassist here over 45 that has no problem lifting and moving things over 12 lbs.? Those with physical limitations I understand but "I'm getting older" is not a real reason to not be able to move a heavier rig of you have one. Heck, I lift and move waaay more weight everyday at work, moving a rig that only weighs 2/3 my body weight to and from a gig is not a big deal.

My current setup sounds just like my Ampeg B-18 head did, weighs 1/2 as much, and I've got 20x as much power.

I'd have to carry almost 5x the weight to get the power I need for a lot of gigs... and I have to haul my rig out of my basement every time I gig.

Can I carry a 90lb SVT? Yes... but for a lot less money and 65lbs less weight I can get the same sound with more headroom.

 

[10cc]

It depends on the weight of the weight in your consideration of one amp versus another (*cue rimshot*). I also wouldn't go so far as to classify it as laziness, but low weight and small size is incredibly attractive to some bassists. I've considered getting a small Class D head as a backup for some time since lugging two big amps to a show and leaving one in the truck is kind of a drag.

Why would you leave your back up in the car? Instead of on the stage so your band doesn't have to take a break while you run out to the parking lot.

Hmmm... I think I know the answer.

 

[10cc]

I'm not judging. The path of least resistance is always the more desirable. I just wondered if I was in some way unique in this. Lol

I am around your age and have no problems lifting my SVT and loading my 810 alone. But if I'm gonna be playing an hour set or a four set I don't hear a payoff worth the work compared to my lighter easier to get gone in a hurry rigs.

Now in the studio it's an entirely different thing. Tubes tubes and more tubes.

 

[ScrewDevil]

You're still carrying something from here to there. It's one or two trips each way. Man up and you won't need 2 or 3 rigs of various weights. Lol

 

[10cc]

You're still carrying something from here to there. It's one or two trips each way. Man up and you won't need 2 or 3 rigs of various. Lol

I hear ya. But I do not hear a better bass sound from the SVT.

 

[ScrewDevil]

Then why have it?

 

[bassdrop]

Why would you leave your back up in the car? Instead of on the stage so your band doesn't have to take a break while you run out to the parking lot.

Hmmm... I think I know the answer.

Depends on the gig. If it's a short set on a big stage or a high pay private gig with enough room on stage, sure I'll bring it in. A 4 hour bar gig with a tightly packed stage, um, no.

 

[Andrew Hargrove]

Nobody mentioned noise? You know that hum and the occasional a.m. radio station. That is why I am not playing them at this time.

 

[LiquidMidnight]

I am not saying that playing through SS stuff is wrong. If that's the sound you like, more power to you. But the day you do things based on what the average person in the audience is the day you resign yourself to thinking that average is good enough. If I ever made even one single decision in my career based on what the average person in the audience thinks, I'd have to quit. I do what I do because I aspire to being a little better than average, because I'm the one who has to stand up there, not them. And who are you to judge someone else's motivations and call it ego just because you don't see the point of it?

I think this is crux of the thing right here. Having a good tone, whether it's SS or tube, is of utmost importance and I wouldn't question anybody's use of an amp as long as it's a quality piece and does what it needs to do volume-wise. There are killer amps in both the tube and SS worlds. Sometimes you have to pick the right rig for the situation, and something like size, price, and how much power it pulls from the wall are factors. Just this last Sunday, I used a Peavey MiniMax for rehearsal, and it was the apoidea's knees. But I continually roll my eyes at the culture of the least common denominator here of "Well it's good enough, because Joe-Bob and Sue-Bob at the back of the bar couldn't give two craps about what amp I play." There's being practical and there's a rush to the bottom. Nobody wants to lug a B3 and Leslie speaker to the corner bar gig, but that doesn't mean the keys player should be going with the entry-level Casio over the Nord because "the audience doesn't care." I've wasted enough time in my playing career with people who take a "Bah, it's good enough" approach to stuff that goes well beyond just gear choices and it's a drag to play with those cats.

With that said, choosing to play a Fractal Audio unit over a tube amp is like deciding to take the Maserati out instead of the Camaro. The audience may not care that it's not a tube amp, but that's because an Axe-FX is still a world class, high-end emulator used by some of the top touring national acts around. You're still gonna sound like a million bucks if you are using it correctly.

Just my two duckets on the matter.

 

[baxter_x]

With that said, choosing to play a Fractal Audio

What Fractal do you play? Do you use any cabs with or IEM only?

 

[Xandrell]

You just feel trapped on your tube-ego here and try to force an argument...

tube-ego...

 

[Mvilmany]

I'm seeing a lot of griping about weight. Tubes or solid state, some amps are heavy. Am I the only bassist here over 45 that has no problem lifting and moving things over 12 lbs.? Those with physical limitations I understand but "I'm getting older" is not a real reason to not be able to move a heavier rig of you have one. Heck, I lift and move waaay more weight everyday at work, moving a rig that only weighs 2/3 my body weight to and from a gig is not a big deal.

I’m over 45, and I’m able to move heavy equipment. I’m just sick of doing it.

 

[Mvilmany]

tube-ego...

You say tube-ego, I say tube-ahgo.
You say tomato, I say to-mahto.
(Actually, nobody says to-mahto.)

 

[ScrewDevil]

I’m over 45, and I’m able to move heavy equipment. I’m just sick of doing it.

There ya go! Honesty! And a good answer.

 

[LiquidMidnight]

What Fractal do you play? Do you use any cabs with or IEM only?

I don't play a Fractal but would really love to see what one would be like on a regular gigging basis, if primarily for the consistency. I'd REALLY like to try a Kemper for a few gigs!

 

[tshapiro]

View attachment 2993601 I use one when load in permits. ... that's not often usually it's a block roll in from a downtown parking garage, that's when the new light weight stuff gets used and it is a compromise.

Nice rig!!!

 

[tshapiro]

I don't look at my amp when I play. It's behind me... so the warm glow would be wasted.


Don't need it in the studio either.

Lol... but, the glow is half the fun!

 

[Badwater]

For me, I use solid state bass amp because I like the tight solid clean tone of a bass. But for electric guitar I use only tube amps because, I like the dynamics of the overdrive. And not just any tube amps, tube amps such as the 5e3 and vintage 1974 Princeton Reverb, both these amps have tube rectifiers that provide the sag which give the dynamics to the tube sound. The Princeton is mellow and smooth and can be very clean with smooth overdrive (not distortion), and the 5e3 is very dynamic depending on the attack of the strings it goes from clean to very dirty with hard attack.

But with bass, I don't do a lot of solo or virtuoso playing so I don't need the maximum dynamics. Just some clean bass tone that I can manipulate with my attack. And the solid state amps do just fine.

 

[JoeWPgh]

Even within the tube v transistor worlds, there can be other differences, such as rectification. As much as I prefer the grit and bite of a good tube amp, I like the solid sag-less headroom of ss rectification. Others prefer a transistor power amp fronted by a tube pre.
So, it's not quite as simple as tubes v solid state. There's quite a bit of grey in between