Tube amps- am I missing out?

[67goat]

Are you missing out on something? Yes.

Do you need that something? Probably not, or you would probably own one by now.

Do you want that something? Play one and find out.

[Russ C]

I think tube amps sound alive - tonally. Like living things they’re more trouble but they’re worth it to me - cost, weight, everything.
It’s like looking at a colour photo rather than a black and white - or even the real thing rather than a photo.
My perceptions are totally subjective and may be irrelevant to anyone else.
Regarding physical size and tone .. amp/speaker rigs usually sound like they look .. imo again.
I have both and don’t even practise through the solid state amps.

[BillyH]

Originally Posted by RussL30

Long post alert.

I've been playing electric a lot more lately and have really been digging into some online lessons to get better at it. I have a 90s Tex-Mex Strat, Player series Telecaster and an older MIK Sheraton with SD Antiquities. I've been playing on a Vox VT15 modeling amp for the last 13 years.

I've really liked the tones on my Vox amp, and it is probably going to need replacing at some point as some things are starting to wear out a little bit and it's a cheap amp. It was a big improvement over the cheap crappy sounding Crate amp I started out with.

I'm a bedroom player with no aspirations of playing out or with a drummer. I can crank my amp every now and then but I'm scared of it getting too loud with an elderly neighbor on one side of my house and another young family on the other.

I know that even small tube amps can get really loud, but would it be worth getting a small tube amp like an AC10, Class 5 or Blues Jr or would it just be a waste not getting to crank those tubes? I play a good bit clean,but I spend a lot of time in that edge of break up tone to moderate gain. Every now and then I like to crank up some gain for some AC/DC, ZZ Top, Leslie West type rock.

So would a small tube amp be worth it or should I buy another modeling amp when mine goes out? Is there anything I'm missing by never playing a tube amp even at lower volume?

Hello Russ,

You could always look at getting an attenuator like the UA Ox Box and get that chime you're looking for at any volume and still keep your tube amps cranking. FYI

Billy

[dilver]

Yeah, you’re missing out. But if you can’t play with decent volume, there’s no point. You’re better off with a modeling amp or something like a Positive Grid Spark, where you can get good overdriven tones at a low volume.

[RussL30]

Thanks for all the great responses so far in this thread. It's been very educational so far and given me lots of information to research. So much great knowledge and information here.

I probably do need to try one, but something about trying a tune amp with volume at a guitar store is a real turn off for me but may be the best thing to do.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Big Band Guitar

I am a retired electronics technician (39+) years.

Tubes are a waste of money. Any perceived difference in sound is imaginary.

I switched from a 68 fender Deluxe to a LoudBox Mini. Lighter, louder, cleaner, and a whole lot less money.

Just to clear up few things

I am a retired framing and trim carpenter (40) years but that really lends me no more credibility for suggesting guitar tone woods than a retired CPA

Tubes being a "waste of money" is a totally subjective personal opinion

Buying an SS amp only sell it later for less money and then buying a tube amp, could also be considered a "waste of money"

Any perceived difference in sound is "imaginary" is not only a totally subjective personal opinion, but very likely not correct.
Because - One of your statements contradicts another of your statements::
IF as you say your LB Mini is "cleaner"---then either there is a difference in sound OR you are (as you claim others are doing ) imagining there is a difference --It's either one or the other, but cannot be both.

Look I understand the logistical advantages of SS vs tube = lighter no tube changes, easier to incorporate DSP SIMS etc.
And so SS amps are totally valid personal preference, I have owned some and they were fine. I moved on to tubes but that is also a totally personal preference

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by RussL30

Thanks for all the great responses so far in this thread. It's been very educational so far and given me lots of information to research. So much great knowledge and information here.

I probably do need to try one, but something about trying a tune amp with volume at a guitar store is a real turn off for me but may be the best thing to do.

As some have mentioned the notion that a tube amp has to be breaking up , "at volume" to sound "good" is a myth. Now it is fact that many electric guitar players prefer the sound of some tube distortion (breakup) over the clean sound . But that is simply and completely personal opinion and preference not objective fact .
Jazz musicians have been playing clean into tube amps for multiple decades and they are very concerned about good sound

Also as noted many newer tube amps offer breakup at lower volumes with things like wattage selection features .

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Big Band Guitar

I am a retired electronics technician (39+) years.

Tubes are a waste of money. Any perceived difference in sound is imaginary.

I switched from a 68 fender Deluxe to a LoudBox Mini. Lighter, louder, cleaner, and a whole lot less money.

That there's funny!

Crank that Deluxe up and then explain that to the police at 3 am.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by RussL30

Thanks for all the great responses so far in this thread. It's been very educational so far and given me lots of information to research. So much great knowledge and information here.

I probably do need to try one, but something about trying a tube amp with volume at a guitar store is a real turn-off for me but may be the best thing to do...

See my prior post above: if you're only going to be playing at practice levels most of the time, your test run doesn't need to be any louder than a good dreadnaught or jumbo acoustic guitar - you're looking for tone and dynamic headroom rather than raw volume. Incidentally, if you're mostly a clean player (as I am) IME the latter is of far greater importance in lending natural color and dynamics to your style: when Leo Fender and Everett Hull (Ampeg) developed the first high-power guitar combos in the late 1950's, it was for the jazz/pop/country players of the day who needed clean headroom for ever-larger performing venues, rather than the OSHA-hazard levels with which they would be associated a decade later. In fact, I routinely practice at acceptable levels with tube and analog solid-state amps in the 40-120W range, as I have for years without P.O.'ing either my former neighbors - no mean feat when you're living in a Brooklyn apartment building, with all that implies - or my family in the process; in a nutshell, I wouldn't give it a second thought - if it sounds and feels right to you (IME one very important distinction between dedicated tube - as well as some old-school analog SS - and multi-channel modeling gear) when you plug in, then it is...

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by KevWind

...I am a retired framing and trim carpenter (40 years) but that really lends me no more credibility for suggesting guitar tone woods than a retired CPA...

Betcha know a well-constructed speaker cab when you see it though, and I wouldn't hesitate to take your advice in that department - I'll let the CPA worry about whether or not I can declare it as a tax deduction...

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Betcha know a well-constructed speaker cab when you see it though, and I wouldn't hesitate to take your advice in that department - I'll let the CPA worry about whether or not I can declare it as a tax deduction...

Well I can tell you I personally hate particle board but again but that is more jaded personal opinion from dealing with sheets of it for so many years
Now from a purely technical stand point the same 3/4" 4x8 ft. sheet,, got a lot heaver when I was 55 than when I was 30

[GoPappy]

Originally Posted by RussL30

. . . I play a good bit clean,but I spend a lot of time in that edge of break up tone to moderate gain. Every now and then I like to crank up some gain for some AC/DC, ZZ Top, Leslie West type rock. . . .

You should check out some videos of the Carr Super Bee amp. It goes from beautiful Fender-sounding cleans to great crunch (and beyond) tones. And, most importantly for the bedroom player, it has an attenuator that allows you to dial in the tone you want even at bedroom levels . . . all without affecting the tone at all.

The real question is whether you're willing to pay the price of admission for it. I haven't been willing so far, but I'm still considering it.

[Deft Tungsman]

Over the decades I've been through all kinds devices that strive to emulate the sound and feel of a tube amp, like many others who've posted here.

Like many others, I find the Yamaha THR amps to deliver a very close approximation to the real thing at sensible volume levels. Last year I upgraded from the original THR10 to the THR30ii Wireless and couldn't be happier. It's a flexible piece of gear, and because there are no cables involved, it's just as easy to start playing the electric as it is the acoustic!

HOWEVER, in my experience, nothing can compare to playing a good tube amp. Pity they are always so fiercely loud, right?

Wrong. After many long years, I finally found two amazing single-ended combos that I can crank up pretty high without the neighbors in my building calling the cops. After 20-30 minutes, they really start to open up. The entire feel of the instrument begins to come alive.

Sadly, both have been out of production for over a decade.

Matchless Baby



Cornford Carrera

[redir]

For what you are after I would Google "1 watt tube amps" and take a look around.

[Nymuso]

Originally Posted by Big Band Guitar

I switched from a 68 fender Deluxe to a LoudBox Mini. Lighter, louder, cleaner, and a whole lot less money.

Are you putting a jazz box through it?