Question:
I know it sounds like a newbie question...but that's because it is!
I've never looked into buying a new amp before, just a new guitar and new pedals. And trust me, I researched the heck outta those haha. I already know what my dream guitar is, and what my realistic dream guitar is.
It's about time I figured out waht my dream amp and my realistic dream amp is And to start, I need to find out what the difference between a tube amp and a solid state amp is, besides "sound".
Answer:
Look at the Tube Snobbery and How To Buy An Amp threads in this forum.
My honest, frank, advice for this matter. Forget about Solid State. There is absolutely nothing about them that makes them better then tube amps. Forget about modeling amps. Forget about digital amps. Forget about hybrid amps. Tube is the only way to go. Period.
A couple amp terms you should be familiar with. First, the guitar goes to the amp thru the input. Then it goes to the preamp section. There, the tone is shaped by the EQ, gain, and most other tone shaping controls. Then the signal goes into the power amp section. There, any effects are added, and the sound is amplified to drive the speaker. The overall power of the amp is determined by the power section of the amp. The gain levels of the amp are determined by the preamp section. The signal from the power amp is then led to the speakers, where it is then heard by your ears.
The real differences? Easy. One uses transistors to amplify the sound. The other uses tubes. Plain and simple. What difference does that make? In theory, pretty much nothing. Either one will amplify the sound. However, tubes are old technology, and the sound they make is very impure. Now why the heck do you want an impure sound? Well, guitar amps are never meant to amplify a plain signal. A guitar amp will always voice the guitar a certain way, which is why most amps sound different. Now, an impure signal in the case of guitar amps is either good or bad. In the case of tubes, it's a good thing. THe sound is much warmer, harmonically rich, and just better. (if you wanna get into the whole guitar=food thing, the sound is richer, creamier, sweeter, and overall droolworthy). Now for some reason, the two types of amps go into distortion differently. For reasons not yet understood. Transistor/Solid State amps tend to go into distortion very suddenly. This makes sense, because they are a very hi-fidelity sound reproduction system. As soon as the circuit is overloaded, it clips. Easy stuff to understand. However, tubes are wierd. When you crank a tube amp, the power tube section especially, the tubes behave in such a way that it does into distortion very smoothly. The sound's wave form doesn't uniformly clip into distoriton, like solid state amps. It slowly goes into clipping, and it gives a lovely, creamy, semi-distorted, smooth compression goodness. You might not even be able to tell if it's clean or distorted. It just sounds awesomely awesome. Another characteristic of tube amps is that because they smoothly go into clipping and their circuits behave differently, they, for some reason, get a ton louder then a solid state amp of equal wattage. That's always good, but that means the volume can get a bit out of control. The answer? Attentuators. Attentuators are a device that reduces the loudness of the amp, by going in between the amp and the speakers. It allows you to distort the all the tubes of the amp, both power tubes and preamp tubes, to get the sweetest distortion and overdrive tones ever heard.
I hope that's not too much info for now.
Answer:
the REAL difference?
$$$
that's what the real diff is
haha, don't listen to me...
actually, i prefer tube amps over SS too. they're a bit harder and more expencive to maintain (ex: keeping tubes safe, changing tubes, biasing and such). At first, when i listened, i couldn't tell too much of a difference until one fateful sunday afternoon when i actually played through a buddy's DeVille...
omgaweropuizsgfa;fjejtpzjw5n2w5r

totally worth the extra $$$
Answer:
Originally Posted by rainer123 Forget about Solid State. There is absolutely nothing about them that makes them better then tube amps.
While I share your tube snobbiness, and I agree tube will most always get you the best tone, solid state does have advantages (though nothing actually related to tone). They're lighter weight and are generally cheaper than tube amps, which isnt to say tube amps have to be a huge struggle or that all tube amps will make you have to mortgage your house. Just in general, those tend to be "advantages", at least for some.
With that said, it's much more worth it to save a little more and lift a little more weight to get the awesome tone you'll get from tubes.
Answer:
Originally Posted by ApparentlyNothing While I share your tube snobbiness, and I agree tube will most always get you the best tone, solid state does have advantages (though nothing actually related to tone). They're lighter weight and are generally cheaper than tube amps, which isnt to say tube amps have to be a huge struggle or that all tube amps will make you have to mortgage your house. Just in general, those tend to be "advantages", at least for some.
With that said, it's much more worth it to save a little more and lift a little more weight to get the awesome tone you'll get from tubes.
OK, so I exaggerated a bit.
The benefits of tube totally destroy anything that could possibly redeem solid state amps.
I'm such a tube snob.
Answer:
Originally Posted by rainer123 OK, so I exaggerated a bit.
The benefits of tube totally destroy anything that could possibly redeem solid state amps.
I'm such a tube snob. Haha, ok man, just reelin ya in a bit with the exaggerating. Some people don't realize how fanatical we are.
Answer:
Originally Posted by rainer123 Look at the Tube Snobbery and How To Buy An Amp threads in this forum.

Ooh, I'm a happy camper...thanks rainer
edit: reading up a little, you gotta take care of tube amps right? re-tube them and stuff? is it difficult to do? I'm not very...handy.
edit2: also, i see now that i would be able to sell my distortion pedal...however, is that the only effect that I wouldn't be needing?
Answer:
Originally Posted by AznSkaterChick edit: reading up a little, you gotta take care of tube amps right? re-tube them and stuff? is it difficult to do? I'm not very...handy. neither am i. i guess as long as you don't shock yourself its easy.

Originally Posted by AznSkaterChick edit2: also, i see now that i would be able to sell my distortion pedal...however, is that the only effect that I wouldn't be needing? some tube amps have reverb and tremolo. otherwise i would keep your effects. and even though i am planning on purchasing a tube amp soon, im keeping all of my effects, DS-1 and all!
Answer:
I am also reading that tube amps can be really loud...does that mean that tube amps sorta make sucky practice ones?
Answer:
The diff? Solid State translated into English means crap. Tube means heaven on earth.
Answer:
Originally Posted by AznSkaterChick I am also reading that tube amps can be really loud...does that mean that tube amps sorta make sucky practice ones?
Nope, the good thing in using a tube amp for practise is that the tubes will last ages (unless u use an attenuator or have no neighboors )
I'll be using a 50W one to practice but I wont be cranking it up unless I get an attenuator.
Answer:
Ok cool. So what are some of the brands/models worth checking out? and how much do tube amps often go for?
Answer:
Originally Posted by AznSkaterChick I am also reading that tube amps can be really loud...does that mean that tube amps sorta make sucky practice ones?
Remember, they make volume controls on amps for a reason. Just because you've got an amp that can play a huge gig, doesn't mean you gotta be blasting it all the time. Use your volume control. If you need it to be quiet, turn it down. Not exactly rocket science. They also make attentuators for a reason.
I personally like Peavey tube amps. What styles of music will you be playing?
(Oh yeah, and about retubing, you won't get shocked if you exercise sonme common sense. Like turning off the amp and unplugging it before retubeing, or making sure you're sticking the tube in the right ways, and stuff like that. )
Answer:
Oh yeah, plan on spending at least $300.
Answer:
Originally Posted by AznSkaterChick edit: reading up a little, you gotta take care of tube amps right? re-tube them and stuff? is it difficult to do? I'm not very...handy.
edit2: also, i see now that i would be able to sell my distortion pedal...however, is that the only effect that I wouldn't be needing?
You can keep your distortion pedal. You don't have to, but it'll give a different flavor of distortion then the amp will. Not that the pedal will sound better, but it'll be an addition.