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  #31  
Old 05-12-2021, 05:41 PM
Paleolith54 Paleolith54 is offline
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Originally Posted by captain_jack View Post
If you were looking for a good crunch sound at low volume, are you better off getting a tube or ss amp? Would a 10 watt ss or 1 watt tube be a better choice?
No way to know without listening.

If all I was doing was playing at home at low volume (say, conversational level) I'd get the cheapest 10-15 watt solid state practice amp I could find and put a used Boss OD from Craigslist in front of it (doesn't really matter which one IMO) and wail away. That gives you a clean and dirty channel, and it'll be indistinguishable at those volumes from options costing several times more.
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  #32  
Old 05-12-2021, 05:47 PM
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Originally Posted by captain_jack View Post
If you were looking for a good crunch sound at low volume, are you better off getting a tube or ss amp? Would a 10 watt ss or 1 watt tube be a better choice?
I honestly feel that for low volume I'd get an SS. The difference between my blues cube and Mesa become most evident when you start winding them up. The Blues cube doesn't really change. It's just more of the same but louder.

A good tube amp on the other hand simply feels different. Like the air being pushed by the speaker is denser. I can't really describe it, but my body feels the difference.

My recommendation would be a 25 or 30 watt SS with a master volume. Not a 10 watt. Most of the good SS amps will have variable wattage. My Blues cube hot has 0.5 watt, 5 watt, 15 watt, and 30 watt settings. It literally can go from Headphones, to 0.5 watts in the bedroom, to the full 30 watts in a club. And it's a loud 30 watts. You won't outgrow it! Some SS amps are not as loud as the watt rating would suggest. It's weird.

The opposite is true, in my experience, with the Fender Blues Junior. Those can be brutally loud for their size!
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  #33  
Old 05-12-2021, 06:59 PM
captain_jack captain_jack is offline
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I have a Fender Champion 20 and I can get a clean tone I like at (what I think is) a reasonable volume for an apartment. If I crank the gain up all the way I get a great crunch sound, but much louder. Turning down the volume loses some of the distortion effect. So I'm on the fence between getting a lower powered amp or trying a pedal in front of my existing Fender.

It sounds like trying a pedal might be the way to go.

What I really need to do is find a place where I can try some amps in person, but inventory every where is low so it's a bit tough.
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  #34  
Old 05-12-2021, 07:20 PM
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Originally Posted by DebbieE View Post
It'd be nice if Fender made a Tone Master amp Princeton Reverb. Something a bit smaller than the deluxe reverb.
Yeah, around 15 lbs! Since I dont haul my amps out of the house, Ive leaned towards the vintage tube amps that weigh between a boat anchor and bank safe! That is one downside of tube amps most can agree on. To the OP: The rest is up to your ears. FYI, with my home playing, iVe not had to retube hardly at all, and the few I have were old vintage models. ITS really a matter of preference
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  #35  
Old 05-12-2021, 08:21 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Originally Posted by captain_jack View Post
If you were looking for a good crunch sound at low volume, are you better off getting a tube or ss amp? Would a 10 watt ss or 1 watt tube be a better choice?
Got your amp right here: loud enough for band practice/coffehouse gigs (as long as you have a drummer whose strong point is technique rather than bombast), built-in attenuator that'll take it down as low as 0.1W, headphone jack for when you don't want to P.O. your neighbors/S.O./cat by practicing at 3AM, simple four-knob WYSIWYG controls (including IMO the best built-in digi-verb you'll find at any price - dime it and this one'll surf), extension jack can power a 4x12" cab if necessary, classic all-tube tone for days, the best $200 you'll ever spend on the non-guitar end of the equation - and I absolutely love mine:



https://www.bugera-amps.com/product....odelCode=P0B02
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  #36  
Old 05-12-2021, 10:47 PM
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Originally Posted by 1neeto View Post
Which Vox do you have? I have the Cooperhead drive and it sounds great through my clean channel. It truly has the Marshall tone to it.
My Vox is the Valvenergy Mystic Edge. It is said to emulate the AC30. I just figured that it should have about the right amount of gain and dynamics for me.
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  #37  
Old 05-13-2021, 12:39 AM
1neeto 1neeto is offline
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Default Solid State amp vs. Tube amp

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Originally Posted by perttime View Post
My Vox is the Valvenergy Mystic Edge. It is said to emulate the AC30. I just figured that it should have about the right amount of gain and dynamics for me.

Nice! Yeah the copperhead drive is part of their valve energy drive. I have the cutting edge on my sights since it emulates a “certain American high gain amp”. Might even get it this weekend since my local store has it who knows. ⛽️
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  #38  
Old 05-13-2021, 01:09 AM
hatamoto hatamoto is offline
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Originally Posted by FoxHound4690 View Post
I know this subject has probably been debated to death beyond hell but what do you guys prefer, solid state or tube? are tube amps really a hassle because they require more maintenance, tubes having to be replaced etc.?

What type of amp is also better for use of pedals (BOSS pedals to be exact)?
I just bought my first tube amp, about 2 months ago. I will say that if feel and volume is your priority then tube is the way to go. It feels good to crank it and feel the air pressure hit your body.

Tonewise, I don't think you can go wrong with either solid state or valve. Just know what you want. Lots of nice solid states out there nowadays, but if you're a purist, then go valve.

As far as maintenance, can't really say yet. The only thing I'm mindful about now is the turning on/off process with the standby switch.

As far as pedals go, it depends. What matters is what kind of pedals are you using. Many amp manufacturers have an effects loop so it's isolated, meaning whatever you connect there doesn't affect the amp's overdrive. You usually put time based pedals such as delays and revervbs in the effects loop so even if you overdrive your amp, it still sounds good. Both SS and valves can have a built in effects loop, that just depends on the manufacturer.

Really, using the effects loop is preference. No right or wrong way. I personally like my delays and reverbs there vs straight into the amps input.


So to answer your question of what type of amp I prefer....It depends on my situation:

1. Right now I live in an isolated house so I prefer tube. I don't have to worry annoying my neighbors.

2. If I was going to move in an apartment again, then I would prefer solid state or even a DAW setup.

I like both for different reasons.
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  #39  
Old 05-13-2021, 04:16 PM
dougdnh dougdnh is offline
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I've had tube amps and ss amps for many years. When I first started playing, SS amps were just coming out and pretty exotic. For the past 18 years I've had a Roland BC-60 Blues Cube - solid state that can hold it's own against any tube amp of the same size. Love it - no tube issues, always sounds great, I've gotten lots of compliments on my sound. I may get flamed for this, but I really think the whole tube thing is a bit of an 'emperors new clothes' phenomena.
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  #40  
Old 05-13-2021, 04:49 PM
Big Band Guitar Big Band Guitar is offline
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I have spent 39 years as a electronic technician so I know a little about both.

I hear no difference. I got rid of any tube anything years ago.

I once installed a solid state amp inside a 65 fender deluxe box. I was playing in a pit band with my ES175. I got many compliments on that "great old tube sound". From a distance it "looked" like a tube amp.

Play through whatever makes you happy. It's all about making music right?
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  #41  
Old 05-14-2021, 11:07 AM
fwphoto fwphoto is offline
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Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa View Post
Got your amp right here: loud enough for band practice/coffehouse gigs (as long as you have a drummer whose strong point is technique rather than bombast), built-in attenuator that'll take it down as low as 0.1W, headphone jack for when you don't want to P.O. your neighbors/S.O./cat by practicing at 3AM, simple four-knob WYSIWYG controls (including IMO the best built-in digi-verb you'll find at any price - dime it and this one'll surf), extension jack can power a 4x12" cab if necessary, classic all-tube tone for days, the best $200 you'll ever spend on the non-guitar end of the equation - and I absolutely love mine:



https://www.bugera-amps.com/product....odelCode=P0B02
This +1

If you want to take it even further, an Eminence Patriot speaker replacement & a couple of upgraded tubes take the little V5 to a whole new level. Still, total cash outlay under $300. Yes, this comes from personal experience. :-)

Frank
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  #42  
Old 05-14-2021, 12:00 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Originally Posted by fwphoto View Post
...If you want to take it even further, an Eminence Patriot speaker replacement & a couple of upgraded tubes take the little V5 to a whole new level. Still, total cash outlay under $300. Yes, this comes from personal experience. :-)
Exactly what I did with mine - Eminence 820H and Preferred Series tubes from thetubestore.com...
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  #43  
Old 05-14-2021, 06:18 PM
roylor4 roylor4 is offline
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Originally Posted by captain_jack View Post
I have a Fender Champion 20 and I can get a clean tone I like at (what I think is) a reasonable volume for an apartment. If I crank the gain up all the way I get a great crunch sound, but much louder. Turning down the volume loses some of the distortion effect. So I'm on the fence between getting a lower powered amp or trying a pedal in front of my existing Fender.

It sounds like trying a pedal might be the way to go.

What I really need to do is find a place where I can try some amps in person, but inventory every where is low so it's a bit tough.
Try an affordable od/distortion pedal. If you like the clean on your Champ 20, there's no reason to reinvent the wheel. Then, when you kick on the pedal, it's like having a 2 channel amp. Start with something cheap first to see how you like pedals and how well your amp "takes" pedals. You can always upgrade later.
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  #44  
Old 05-14-2021, 07:23 PM
phcorrigan phcorrigan is offline
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Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa View Post
Exactly what I did with mine - Eminence 820H and Preferred Series tubes from thetubestore.com...
Steve,

What speaker did you put in your V22?
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  #45  
Old 05-14-2021, 10:01 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Originally Posted by phcorrigan View Post
Steve,

What speaker did you put in your V22?
See my response to Frank above...
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