Seriously. Solid State or Tubes?

[Stratnic]

So I work in a Guitar Shop, and I am a Guitar tech for a living.

I was talking with a guy today, and he was telling me that only Blues/Rock guys prefer Tube Amps, most other kinds of guitar music (Metal/Ska/Reggae/etc) Prefer Solid State amps.

Now... I'm kind of picky, and I am admittedly a Blues player. But seriously, Even Metal Guitarists I know prefer Tube Amps. To me, Solid State stuff just sounds so flat, more like noise than music. I can just never get really into playing when I'm on a Solid State. Is there anyone out there who PREFERS Solid State? And if so why?

Not judging I just really want to understand why exactly you'd choose a solid state over a tube. Of course I mean other than just having a small practice amp for your kid or learner.

[pitseleh]

I think SOME metal guys prefer solid states, but then, plenty of them also use Mesas, tube-based Peaveys, Diezels, Kranks, etc. I always associate ska/reggae with blackface/silverface Fenders, too, for whatever reason.

[magilla]

Some jazz players prefer Solid State (Henriksen, Evans, etc) to Tube, some the other way around. Solid State offers jazz players a tight, punch, accurate, natural reproduction of their archtops, so I understand that. Others like the warmth (what the solid guys would call "artificial" warmth) of Tube.

[sidneystreet]

In general, tubes still reign supreme regardless of musical genre (perhaps jazz excluded). It is still pretty rare to see a big-time touring guitarist playing anything but tubes on the concert stage.

[marcoaml78]

i still prefer tubes to solid state BUT my metal amp is a solidstate, it produces a digital-like sound with a distorsion pedal that is great for heavy (read really heavy) metal.

but its all it can do, cleans on a solid state are beyond awful. but i think that amps from brands like line 6 (spider's etc..) can sound really great.

im not a big gigger and when i used to i mostly played on partys, garage gigs, etc (i.e. small ones) and have to moved a lot, therefore i used solid state because of the reliability, i knew that it would always worked when i plugged it in, no worries on the tubes, and i could literally kick it around and it would be okay..

[jbrown013]

I think it depends on the persons purchasing the equipment. I used to own a fender solid state amp when I was in highschool, was all I could afford but sounded good to me. Some persons enjoy solid state amps that have sims in them for versitility etc.

[ksandvik]

There are so many opinions, everyone has their own take. Mine is that tube amps are the best but you end up carrying heavy amps around and at some point you just give up.

I prefer modeling and a plain power amp as backup, good compromise.

[rhythmrocker]

Yes, Seriously: Solid State or Tubes.

[Head+Cab]

As much as I like (and own many) tube amps, I am a huge fan of Tech 21's analog solid state line-up.

[Tesla_Energy]

this issue is a serious battle
cuz if more and more people go to solid state
then there's less of a reason to produce tubes
dont mistake this for a "green" issue either
and i couldn't tell the difference is between solid state or Tube
if you put one up against another, probably
its really like...
you don't own a fire-arm, but you buy bullets anyway
right?
bullets and ammunition are currency in a degraded society
so invest in bullets
there's a Montana fire-arm manufacturer
buy from them
and buy lots and lots and lots and lots of ammunition

and guess what? i'm a NYC-LIBERAL
and i'm telling you red-necks to buy ammunition

Originally Posted by Stratnic

So I work in a Guitar Shop, and I am a Guitar tech for a living.

I was talking with a guy today, and he was telling me that only Blues/Rock guys prefer Tube Amps, most other kinds of guitar music (Metal/Ska/Reggae/etc) Prefer Solid State amps.

Now... I'm kind of picky, and I am admittedly a Blues player. But seriously, Even Metal Guitarists I know prefer Tube Amps. To me, Solid State stuff just sounds so flat, more like noise than music. I can just never get really into playing when I'm on a Solid State. Is there anyone out there who PREFERS Solid State? And if so why?

Not judging I just really want to understand why exactly you'd choose a solid state over a tube. Of course I mean other than just having a small practice amp for your kid or learner.

[kimock]

Originally Posted by Stratnic

So I work in a Guitar Shop, and I am a Guitar tech for a living.

I was talking with a guy today, and he was telling me that only Blues/Rock guys prefer Tube Amps, most other kinds of guitar music (Metal/Ska/Reggae/etc) Prefer Solid State amps.

Now... I'm kind of picky, and I am admittedly a Blues player. But seriously, Even Metal Guitarists I know prefer Tube Amps. To me, Solid State stuff just sounds so flat, more like noise than music. I can just never get really into playing when I'm on a Solid State. Is there anyone out there who PREFERS Solid State? And if so why?

Not judging I just really want to understand why exactly you'd choose a solid state over a tube. Of course I mean other than just having a small practice amp for your kid or learner.

Seriously, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDmVmw41I2k

[teemuk]

Both technologies - and their combinations - are used from beginners to pros, also regardless of genre. No need to alieanate yourself from one due to prejudices.

[kimock]

Originally Posted by Tesla_Energy

this issue is a serious battle
cuz if more and more people go to solid state
then there's less of a reason to produce tubes
dont mistake this for a "green" issue either
and i couldn't tell the difference is between solid state or Tube
if you put one up against another, probably
its really like...
you don't own a fire-arm, but you buy bullets anyway
right?
bullets and ammunition are currency in a degraded society
so invest in bullets
there's a Montana fire-arm manufacturer
buy from them
and buy lots and lots and lots and lots of ammunition

and guess what? i'm a NYC-LIBERAL
and i'm telling you red-necks to buy ammunition

That deserves a radio show at least.
I'm afraid you're wasting considerable talent on the unwashed here, but if you must walk among them . . . . . . .... . .

THEY DO SEEM TO BE EVERYWHERE!!!!

[TS808]

It depends.

What I mean by that is it depends on the application and your own needs.

Personally, I prefer the tone of tube amps, but hey, I'm a stone's throw away from 50 years old, no longer gig, and have a pretty busy schedule. That being said, for how much I like tube amps, they just don't work for MY application. Where I live, volume is an issue plus like I said, I don't gig anymore, so it became more sensible for me to go to digital and solid state.

Digital and solid state amps work very well for me when I'm sitting around noodling or playing along to backing tracks or a CD. The quality of some solid state and digital amps have improved (e.g., Peavey Bandit 112 Transtube, Line 6 Spider IV) where it no longer means a huge sacrifice in tone. Since I can't crank a tube amp in my townhome, the tube amps wind up sounding thin....even the Genz Benz Black Pearl Head that I owned on 7 watts was too loud...I couldn't put the master and volume above 11:00 on both without shaking the walls.

I'm pretty satisfied with my current amps...the Peavey Bandit and Line 6 Spider IV. If I were gigging again, I'd certainly go with tubes.

[ABKB]

Pretty simple really. Most jazz guys prefer SS, but not all. Most metal guys prefer tubes, but the SS/modelers are making headway in the metal world. Everybody else, tubes unless there's a financial reason or unless the player prefers modelers. There's no rules here and no studies, but I do believe that's the general consensus.