Why Choose a Tube Amp Over Solid State? | Master Your Tone - #7 | Thomann

[@oscarbenson7655]

For me it's all about the better feeling when playing tube amps. Like getting closer to the guitar tone and closer to my emotions. IMHO no one in the audience cares about what technology you are using.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Very true. We shouldn't try to build a rig to impress or satisfy others, much more for ourselves so that we FEEL great when playing. That is the only factor the audience is interested in: how inspired and good we play. //Kris

[@tubeworkshop]

​@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses You're so right! It's not about what differences in sound the audience will hear. It's about the differences of how we guitar players will feel during playing. And hopefully it will enable us do to a better performance. That is what matters to the audience!

[@LiveToPlayGuitar]

My landlord certainly had a preference…he liked my acoustic the best. 🎸🔊🎶🤘✌️♥️🤟

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

I feel you, haha! When ever I practice a lick or my scales I always play an unplugged electric guitar. Anything else would drive my family crazy. 😆 //Kris

[@angrycheese]

It's not what's best. It's what works for you!

[@tubeworkshop]

Reason 6: Tubes glow in the dark and give warmth in the winter! 😉

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Haha, how could I forget about that important point. Come on Kris, don't be so sloppy with your facts. 😆 But yeah, nothing beats the smell of a warmed up tube amp. //Kris

[@tubeworkshop]

@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses Haha, shame on you Kris! And you're so very right: The smell of a warmed up Tube Amp is unbeatable. Especially the smell of a cooking, early 60ies VOX AC30... ;-)

[@josearjona3728]

That Quilter is an amazing amp!

[@russellives6069]

Yea, I was just thinking this is a good quilter ad.

[@Sinkovc3]

oooooooo that intro was EPIC

[@PooNinja]

It’s probably not everyone’s favorite option but running my twonotes Opus into a Harley Benton thunder 99 running into a pair of pa speakers and it sounds incredible. Im all about that solid state reliability , light weight and inexpensive cost of ownership.

[@ro307805]

I have a line 6 HD 500 pedal board hooked to a Sansui 9090db with 4 klipsch horns. It sounds amazing and is a great living room rig where I can just slide the pedal board under the couch

[@Akapickles]

If it inspires you, play it. Don’t let looks, Brands, or your friends convince you otherwise. I changed from a silver face Super Reverb, to an HX stomp plus some other pedals into some killer studio monitors. It does things that I could never do with the Super Reverb.

[@Gruppe_11]

Tube for life! It's the real deal.

[@stevelandress]

Having owned both tube and solid state amps, I say get the amp that gives you the sound you want. It really doesn't matter which as long as you can get your sound.

[@bodymovin-calisthenics]

Wisdom is here.

[@Tethered_to_the_Polestar]

The wiseman has spoken

[@squirelova1815]

Oh but the "Glow" of Tubes! Plus tubes heat up your house...and Electric Bill. That's why I Love my Peavey Vypyr VIP3 so much.

[@adilO.o]

Great video dear Kris as usual 😎 !! I think we live in a fantastic time for us guitar player, as we have infinite possibilities. I am sure all the missing elements on the Solid State Amp could be compensated with pedals. This could be a great part two video 😊 For example when you cranked the volume on the first playing, I personally heard more compression and warmth on the tube amp. So my idea would be to use a compressor (subtle settings) on the SSA front and an eq in the loop to boost some low mids. Again for cutting in the mix, an eq in the loop with a mid boost. There are so many incredible pedals today that would help a SSA come to life. However with a great tube amp you can save money as you won’t need much pedals to achieve a great compression, warmth and sweetness.

[@stigsy5609]

After many great but heavy tube amps I switched over to Quilter and here I will stay. I love it. It has its own sound but it can compete with a 100w engl sovereign in volume. I have the one channel Quilter which has a Fender like setting and this gets my pedals.

[@michael_caz_nyc]

Nothing like a Tube Amp - the natural compression smooths-out Ice Picky spanky-clean transients. I love the cleans on the Quilter and also the Yamaha THR 30II - but Nothing like a Fender Princeton Reverb.

[@joermnyc]

What about a hybrid amp?I have a 60 watt ‘90s Marshall “Valvestate” combo with pre-amp tubes, but everything else is solid state.

[@jamesonpace726]

Never could tell much of a difference - lucky me....

[@jmorg1267]

Me neither… guess you had to be there.. lol

[@dhtn]

I don’t believe anything that came from any guitar sellers! It’s like advertising!

[@VolatileDave]

Definitely agree on the looks aspect. Everytime I look at my tube ENGL I just wanna start playing!

[@NeungView]

*every time

[@betoalvarez1248]

I use both: Fender Deluxe, Hot Rod, and Boss katana

[@nekkon1989]

I hate the warm up and cool down that tube amps need. I use my Katana more than my Bassbreaker 30r for this very reason. You're done with plqying, unplug and leave immediately

[@PooNinja]

I positively love my Katana . No tubes required 🤘🏽

[@mylogify]

What happens if you don't cool it down?

[@nekkon1989]

​@@mylogifythe tubes are in danger of breaking

[@PooNinja]

@@mylogify possibly damaged during load out or moving it around while hot, thats my understanding anyway.

[@StaySic4Ever]

I got DT25 over Katana no issue in warm up or cool down, but I don't crank it.

[@hcnilsson]

Tu-Be continued 👏👏👏

[@TheLordcasio]

In the 90's, I had the luxury of buying and testing a few vintage Fenders at a stupid low price. BUT...I wound up selling them back and buying a vintage Solid State 2x12 Standell, because I was (am) into effects (coincidently purchased at a pawn shop next to the famed "Oasis Bar" in Oklahoma...."I buy at amps at low places"). Then I got a JC-120....I digress. More recently, I did an A/B test against an Ampeg SVT III rack preamp into a Mesa Boogie 50/50 power amp VS the same preamp but with a 100/100 Watt solid state pedal (like the Harley Benton, but by whoever makes it in the states). On bass, the tube vs solid state debate was HANDS DOWN tube. I need to recreate the same situation with my tube pedal preamp and the same solid state power amp vs my MESA 20/20 tube power amp...I'm pretty sure who will win, but...ya gotta try it, right? Ultimately, our guy here at Thomann is giving it to you straight. It is taste, but there are things to expect. Personally, I like approaching things like this at a "modular level"...meaning, I have tube and solid state/transistor based preamps AND tube and solid state power amps. Depending on the use case, I can mix and match. Good job Thomann guitar guy!

[@franckrichard8077]

Very usefull, as always ... I admit I am more confident with a solid state amp such as a Quilter or Ethos Custom Tones: the sound is maybe not as good as a valve amp (and honestly sometimes I wonder ...), but you have far more reliability and we don't all have guitar techs to do bias setting or change valves ....

[@L4sleeko]

I’m in the Solid State camp as I don’t want to mess with tubes. I’ve got a Fender Acoustasonic Junior intended for acoustic electric guitars but works beautifully with electric arch tops. Very warm tone, great effects built in and stereo for added dimension. Also have a JazzKatt all solid state but made to sound like a tube amp. With all the controls set flat it nails it.

[@florisvanlingen]

I've had tube amps for the past 10years and never had to "mess with tubes". When a tube eventually goes out you just bring it to a tech and are good to go.

[@L4sleeko]

@@florisvanlingen well good. And I don’t have to bring anything to a tech but I’m glad you enjoy your amp.

[@tubeworkshop]

@@L4sleeko Nothing wrong with Solid State. If it sounds great for you, then it sounds great. But just keep in mind, that also Transistors can go bad over time...

[@StaySic4Ever]

I just tried various amps in the store back and forth, decided to get Line 6 DT25 combo over Katana top amps, just sounded better.

[@carlton1390]

I think that (in general) if you want an accurate representation of what's coming before your amp (effects, pickups etc) a solid state amp is best. Tube amps are like their own instrument with a lot more character an colour potentially. The maintenance of a tube amp must also be considered, and availability of tubes could be a problem in the future too.

[@B_Wolfen]

I think that except for the Quilter's own OD, they both deliver great tones. In other words: Both are a blast with pedals. I'm between both worlds with a bluguitar Amp1 and an Evil Robot when going tube snobby (uhhh, that tube vibrato is to die for) 🖤

[@transparent6748]

It’s well known many times you hear what you see

[@VintageRadius]

Kris, great video. Is there a distinction here to call out (or further explore) on the differences between solid state analog guitar amps and digital modeling amps? For example, that Quilter is solid state and I agree that it took that overdrive and fuzz very well. But I’ve seen videos on the Fender Tonemaster amps which are digital amps that while sounded great clean or with light OD, they really did not sound right with a fuzz pedal, or certain types of fuzz. Fascinating!

[@andrewbecker3700]

I like having both. If your just playing rythm in the average cover band, I don't think most people can even hear a difference. Katanas are great. For lead tones, its always nice to have at least a small lunchbox tube head. Getting the edge of breakup crunch I enjoy, comes way easier with an MT15.

[@hans-friedrichrack7033]

Für meine Bässe nutze ich einen cleanen solid State Combo (Markbass CMD 121)mit röhrengetriebenen Markbass Distorsore davor.

[@frankhughes5702]

This video has made me want a Quilter head now!!

[@michaelviscuso8957]

I got a splitter. One into a tube amp one into solid state. SOUNDS KILLER. Why does everybody make it so hard.

[@Eric1396]

I love the sounds of the tube amp when it distorts by itself but I prefer e distortion pedal to be plugged in a good solid state amp.

[@ercb.7299]

Sometimes I'm left perplexed when folks say I can't tell the difference, but in this instance ... I cannot tell the difference. The demonstrations for example don't indicate from what I'm hearing anything about one being "warmer" or less "warm" than the other.

[@yetimatzenightcat8702]

Das schöne an röhre ist das man den amp übers feedback super fahren kann, bei solid state fährste nix 😢

[@FriedConsole]

I want to see a blind test and see if people can spot the difference.

[@steveo44]

I actually preferred the quilter!. Both sound awesome though. My personal opinion is that tube amps will always be around but become less common. This is purely because solid state has become so good that younger players will likely gravitate to the cheaper less physically heavy option

[@baileywatts1304]

These kind of videos are hard to really do right because I feel like my favorite solid state amp (Sunn Beta Lead) does so much that is on the same level as a tube amp from the perspective of sound, but the feel of playing through it is different. Like running a distortion pedal into it feels more like stacking pedals instead of how it feels to put a pedal into a tube amp. There's really no substitute for just trying a lot of amps yourself.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

I know exactly what you mean and yeah those Sunns are incredible! Cheers //Kris

[@spacepodi]

By the time it’s recorded digitally, compressed to KZbin, sent over the internet cables, broadcast over wifi to my iPad, and sent to my transistor hi fi amp via the headphone line out - then to my to my 6” hi fi speakers, the difference is not that noticeable. But I do get what you’re saying, and tend to agree, though ironically my amps for home use (wet/dry) are a tube transistor hybrid (Orange) and a transistor bass amp (Ashdown) so maybe I’ve stopped caring about prestige, pride of ownership and heritage - which are all part of owning a “real” amp. It’s a budget thing though - if I had money, I would be looking at a boutique tube amp head and cab.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Thanks for the comment! We give our absolute best making our edited videos represent the actual tone in the room as good as possible. And to be honest, when I rewatch this one on youtube it is very very close to what I've heard in the room. Slight difference in the warmth and in how they react to the pedals (especially to the fuzz). I didn't make it easy for myself here, this Quilter sounds incredible, it's really not like those budget solid state amps that make people dislike them. 😅 Cheers //Kris

[@michaelweiss1531]

In the 90s prs built an expensive transistor amp and no one heard the difference but it never went into production.

[@alanst.4417]

This Quilter sounds incredibly good (for a solid state 😉). Nothing against SS amps, they have their undoubted pros, but I'm definetely in the tube camp. Every time I play a SS for a longer period of time, I feel as if there's something missing, even if I like the the basic sound. They just don't as lively IMO, which is especially prominent dry. Great for practice and practicality, but it doesn't inspire me nearly as much.

[@abouc]

Totally agree on looks, especially in the bass world where you need a lot more power. I don't care how good it sounds, a Darkglass head on top of your 2x10/1x15 stack, 4x10, or 8x10 cabinet looking like an old Mac Mini just seems so out of place. Thankfully there are plenty of solid state & hybrid bass heads that still look & sound great without needing to lug around a massively heavy SVT head.

[@gearhead2017]

The only amp I would own would be a revv generator 120,amazing metal tone, on the other hand,I have a crate gt 212 120 watt I've had for more than 20 years that fires up the second I hit the power switch everytime

[@Akasha92]

To your points: 1: Roland Blues Cube Artist 2: Roland Blues Cube Artist 3: Roland Blues Cube Artist 4: Roland Blues Cube Artist 5: Roland Blues Cube Artist + Blackstar HT-Dual Drive (OD pedal with tube inside)

[@jdwilliams202000]

They take pedals a million times better then IR or solid state

[@sgtpilko5428]

The Pandora pedal sounds tasty

[@gcvrsa]

Contrary to popular myth, it's not the tubes that make a tube amp sound the way it does, and there's nothing inherent to solid-state transistor technology that prevents solid-state amps from sounding like tube amps. The difference is the specific circuit topologies that are typically used. The major factor in why tube amps sound the way they do is not the tubes, per se, but the fact that tube have very high characteristic output impedance and loudspeaker drivers have very low impedance. This means that tube amps typically need to be coupled to an output transformer to match their output impedance to the loudspeakers, and that has a dramatic effect on how the components of that system interact, and how the system as a whole reacts. Transistors typically have very low output impedances, and do not require output transformers, and it is this that results in a much different sound.

[@michalkysel4351]

Yes, output transformer making the difference. But this is not a whole story. Tubes using high voltage power sources with relatively small storage caps and relatively high internal impedance, and this is the reason for compression of peaks of the signal. Caps are quickly depleted in few ms, but charging is not as fast. So, this making typical tube compression. Another story is transfer function of typical tube, where is relatively small linear area and rest of the graph is smoothly fading into parabolic-like curve. It has impact to lot of distortion by 2nd and 3rd harmonics, and this is not starting in one point, but it fading in smoothly.

[@tubeworkshop]

You pretty much nailed it. It's not the Tube itself, that brings all the Magic... it's the complete Design of an Amp.

[@BB-ft6nd]

Have you tried the Super Crush 100 yet?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Yeah I did and it's amazing. It even takes pedals really well. //Kris

[@shanemcconnell1736]

My friend brought his quilter amp over to my place, turned it on, it sounded like an amp under a packing blanket? I said, put some top end on it, he said it’s all the way up, sound like crap.

[@monoscopes]

The thing about fuzzes is true, vintage fuzzes especially sound much better on tube amps.

[@peterfercher2451]

compare the tube amp to a bluguitar amp1😁

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Well, technically the Amp1 is a tube amp, haha! Jokes aside, the Bluguitar stuff sound and feel amazing too. I owned one for years and played a lot of shows with it. //Kris

[@tubeworkshop]

@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses Ahm, sorry to say: Nope! Amp1 from BluGuitar is technically no Tube Amp. It's a an amazing sounding Pedal Plattform Amp that uses a Tube. But it's not a real "Tube Amp". But I think Thomas did a really great job on the Amp 1 for being as close as you can get...

[@randygomez9595]

"It'S A fEeL tHiNg!"

[@NightOwlGames]

ive got a Boss Katana MK2 212 100, it looks like a boring black box its really nothing to look at, we are forced to keep a piece of cardboard attatched to the top of it to give it some kinda style lol its ugly!, however it comes with 100s of free effects you can simulate pretty much any pedal effect this saves you a fortune, the amp is under £500 so very affordable it sounds great it have a lovely warm tone, i hear it can keep up with a drummer so its good for live gigs, it also sounds good on low volume in the bedroom to practice on.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Absolutely! Those Katanas are truly amazing amps. Cheers //Kris

[@iancurrie8844]

Is "colder and technical" equally great to "warm and alive"? I'd say NO.

[@sch2412]

can't believe i'm writing this, but the solid state amp actually sounded way better with overdrive pedals. nice!

[@matzer8846]

Yup ... this comparison is done well: same loudspeaker for both amps ... But still there is some price difference You could add some really high end comp and reverb and some OD ... to the Quilter to get to the price of the REVV. The traditional aversion regarding transistor amps is caused mostly by the bad low quality speakers added to the package. One of the 1st manufacturers of good transistor stuff was WEM (remember Pink Floid) and they were quite pricey Then we had the JC-120 which had the price of a half stack when it arrived in Germany in the ~ mid 70s puh but it was - and still is - a great amp and a stage authority which does get through in the mix (remember Police) Well ... the speaker does do the job mostly. Imagine a JC-120 with 2 EVs ... ever got to hear a VibroSonic- or Twin-Reverb with 1x15" or 2x12" JBLs These killers really existed in the late 70s and we had a 1x15" in the Band with an IceCube distortion unit fitted in the reverb loop -> bleeding ears Bottom line imho.: its the 🔊 not the amp

[@mylogify]

I thought it was Jimmy Page entering the stage for a moment, then I saw it's Kris Barocsi! :D

[@Sloth_Racing_Team]

Solid State sounds like modern MP3 and Tubes like vinyl records. Only the crackle is left. 😂

[@jeffrowlette]

Most people would benefit more from practice than on a new amp.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Haha, true! That being said, new gear does inspire to pick up the instrument more often. I guess what matters is to have a rig that inspires you to play. If I love what I hear I immediately have more fun working on my phrasing and come up with new riffs much faster. Cheers //Kris

[@jeffrowlette]

@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses Very good point!

[@antoonhermans8953]

Yeah well , tube amps are nice , but the modern day tube amps from the main brands are poorly build ( cheap components ect . ) and therefore will fail after a while , and repairs will become difficult ( because of the filmsy pcb boards ect. ) and expensive ( and trying to find a good repairguy in you're nighboorhood is also not so easy ) . The other option is to buy an handbuild ( mostly really expensive ) tube amp wich will last longer but then there is this reset the bias / buying new tubes thing . So why go to all this trouble if you have options like the fender tonemaster amps , wich cost less , are lighter to carry around and have more options and sound just like an tube amp and do not fail after a certain amount of time , so lets face it , tube amps have become a "niche " , nice to have but not pratical in many ways , i guess a nice 5 watt tube amp for home use and an digital / solid state amp for gigging is the ultimate solution .

[@ArvidNielsen]

Courageous, Kris 😮 (you’re not wrong)

[@squirelova1815]

"Looks"? You want a nice and good looking SS Amp then you can always have the classic beauty of a Fender silver cloth or even a classic Vox or Marshall cabinet too. Most non musicians don't care what your Amp looks like and even the "Best" Legendary or High End amps can look Fugly to someone who knows very little about guitar amps. Don't sweat it you youngsters out there, just learn to play first and then go ogling pretty Amps when you can impress the audience.

[@duxxxhm]

I dont mean to offend, but point no. 1 is absolute bullshit