sold off all my tubes and bought solid state!

[grungebob]

Yep,
I sold all my tube amps (marshall jtm60, jcm600 and blackstar ht5) and bought a solid state Fender 212r, couldn't be happier am i mad???

 

[Echo Are]

No, I don't think you're crazy, although I would've kept at least one tube amp . Tube amps are tops in tone, but, yeah, can't beat the convenience of solid-state. I have a Fender Frontman 65R that's my backup and easy-on-the-back amp. It does a really nice Blackface twang. Loud and clean in a portable package. Just don't bump the knobs into anything.

 

[kelvinator60]

How is a solid state more convenient? Keep the tubes changed and try not to drop it and a tube amp is pretty much trouble free. That is not to say you can't get great tones out of solid state amps, I know you can. But maint has never been an issue. It actually seems solid would be worse for me for convenience as my amp repair guy will not work on them.

 

[dalandan]

hmm.. i'm going the other way. I'm on the path of becoming a tube-aholic.

 

[NortheastHick]

Geez. I thought you were gonna say some highbrow digital modeling thingamajiggy. A fender 212r? Ya i guess i do think you are crazy. Those things are like the cheapest of the cheap. But whatever floats yer boat.... IMHO of course.

Rock on with your 212r

 

[grungebob]

lol, yeah the 212r is cheap as! but I like it. I couldn't get usable sounds of of my valve amps at a volume neighbours would allow for general play or recording, the 212r although it can go very loud sounds great at bedroom levels and even the drive channel on low drive (like 4 out of 10) gives a very nice warm bluesy sound. I add an MXR 6 band EQ to the clean channel and it sounds good. see i didnt say great but good, good enough for me and the 2 x 12's give me nice hi fi like note seperation and definition plus with my tone press pedal or dirty bomb it sounds exactly like what i need.

If i ever move to a detached house i'll buy a tube amp again but for now im well happy with my cheap ass fender plus you what...? I've got a lot of cash left for guitars and more pedals

 

[stratzrus]

You're not mad if it works for you.

Here's a pic...

 

[bbutler123]

Yep,
I sold all my tube amps (marshall jtm60, jcm600 and blackstar ht5) and bought a solid state Fender 212r, couldn't be happier am i mad???

Are you kidding me????? I bought 3 Frontman 212r, and I loved them!!!!!!!
They are clean, loud (very), have good dirt (IMO). I ran them with a Line6 pod and using the Deluxe Reverb (and maybe some others) I couldn't imagine a better tone.

I have Marshall tube, but I still haven't totally convinced myself that I like tube tone better. It's different and has something that SS doesn't have of course, but some SS has a clean, full quality that tube will probably never match.

In other words, I don't think you're crazy.

 

[Lestertele]

No. Rest assured. You nuts out your mind!




















j/k

 

[jaydub69]

I used one of those at a practice studio one day and it worked fine for a night. Cool crunch sound. The next week I couldn't stand it.

 

[BadAssBill]

I don't think you're mad...as long as you don't plan on playing with an actual band again. Every time I play with a SS with a band, and not practice/play along with song, it never cuts and just gets drowned out.

 

[grungebob]

lol , quite a mixed bag of results. I for sure expected to be committed!

 

[Waxhead]

Yep,
I sold all my tube amps (marshall jtm60, jcm600 and blackstar ht5) and bought a solid state Fender 212r, couldn't be happier am i mad???

yep - you're crazy.... but if you're crazy n happy ...well .. good luck to ya

 

[Dica3]

the lead guitarist in a really good band I show swap with all the time plays a 335 into one and it sounds shockingly good. whatever works just....works

 

[Will Chen]

Congrats!

I'm a fan of solid state amps but haven't played that one yet. Some of the older Fender solid state amps had fairly optimistic power ratings. Them and Crate are probably the biggest culprits in the ss watts <> tube watts urban myth. Regarding solid state amps being drowned out, I've got a Bandit and a Tech 21 Trademark 60 which are both hella loud and cut through in every setting I've put it in.

 

[Lucidology]

So what does the dirt channel sound like in that baby ..?
I'm sure the cleans are most likely pretty good 'eh ...

 

[Standard 64]

Youll come to your senses after a while,watch.

 

[trap]

you're not nuts, not all tube amps sound great. i had a peavey triumph 120 and it sucked royally. sold it for a fender hybrid, solid state with a 12ax7 in the pre and it killed the peavey. however, in general, tubes sound better.

 

[whippersnapper]

You're not nuts, I recantly bought a Peavey Bandit to replace my ENGL Classic 50 I am currently selling. Lightter, more reliable, sounds great. I do have and intend to keep my Fender Pro JR (with upgraded speaker and tubes) for a long time though!

 

[Anna_Laurel]

To be fair, you didn't exactly have any stellar tube amps. A great tube amp is something very, very special. But I'm not posting to tell you that. I'm posting because I have a great SS amp I have had for five or six years as a backup, and I have gigged with it several times.

Here it is:

It's a Randall RG100SC 2x12 combo. Very versatile and can be gigged without pedals. Excellent cleans, decent vintage drive and smokin' modern/metal drive, plus the best stereo chorus I have ever had the pleasure of playing. Takes OD pedals well too, particularly my Mesa V1 Bottle Rocket, which really smooths it out and gives it a less edgy feel. Only real drawback is, unlike most SS amps it's heavy as snot.

Anyway, you ain't crazy, at least not any more than any other guitar player out there....you just haven't found a tube amp you want to marry yet.