Posted in: Instruments by A Hollow on July 9, 2008 | 7 Comments
Any gigging musician has at some point asked and been asked, “What’s the difference between Tube and Solid State?” followed promptly by the discussion of which is “better”. This article is meant to break down a sample of the pros and cons for both types of amps. This article scratches the surface of a complicated opinionated question.
I have been a performing guitarist for a little over a decade and from the first time I played on stage and again this past week I am constantly asked the same questions. You know what they are: What kind of gear do you use? Really I have a… blah blah blah. So what do you think is better Solid State or Tube?
Ultimately, this (and essentially on some level everything musical) is a discussion of taste and preference. Country and blue grass lean towards the telecasters and steel guitars just as much as Metal and Deathcore enjoy seven string madness and blast beats. But in the end there are some facts that anyone amp shopping should keep in my mind.
I have played a lot of amps in both the Solid State and Tube realm. I won’t tell you what I currently use so that you won’t right me off as a waste of time based on brand name preferences.
Let’s start by breaking down the Pro’s and Con’s of Solid State and Tube amps.
Solid State PRO’s:
The price of Tube amps has been slightly exaggerated. If you’ve got a couple hundred bucks to spend on an amp you can get a new tube amp. In all cases musical the more expensive the better. A vintage or boutique tube combo can run you two to five grand. There isn’t much point to buying a twenty year old solid state amp. You can get a bigger solid state amp for cheaper but the adage ‘you get what you pay for’ is typical when looking at the price tag on a both tube and solid state amps. I bought an 80watt Marshall Combo for about $450 dollars in 1998. In 2001 I bought a Mesa Subway Rocket 15watt combo for about the same price. On a personal note, that was the changing point for me and I won’t go back to solid state. Some of you look at the wattage and are saying “Wow, that’s a step down!” That little Mesa combo drowned that Marshall two times over.
This is not a myth so much as an observation. You can buy a Solid State amp that can model hundreds of sounds. The Line6 POD is very versatile and can give players a massive arsenal of sounds for a relatively good cost. However, you might notice that a lot of modeling solid state amps area trying to emulate and model vintage and boutique tube amps. Hmm? Curious.
As I stated in my opening paragraph, the ultimate decision is that of the player and his/her preferences. I encourage any respectable musician to go out and spend a lot of time researching everything that is out there. Avoid the August Mistake. What’s the August Mistake you ask? If you have ever worked in a music store inevitably every August there is a big end of summer, back to school rush. Every fourteen year old who spent his summer mowing lawns comes in with a sweaty Ziploc full of ten dollar bills and plans to become the next Cobain. So they blow a huge load of money on the biggest cab they can afford with the most wattage, not understanding that wattage is not some kind of awesome meter. No one with a 20watt tube amp is impressed when you say you’ve got a 100watt solid state mess and B.C. Rich Warlock. About the time these kids get a driver’s license they come back with half of their August Mistake gear and trade it in on something different because they have “matured”.
Truth be told if you are a real musician you will never mature. You are constantly immature and learning. Let the same hold true in your equipment.
This article is based on collective opinion of many musicians from forums all across the web. In my next article I would like to outline some of the Physics that make these opinions what they are. There is some truth to the PRO’s and CON’s based in the electronics of the Solid State and Tube configurations.
Evan August 19th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Awesome article. I am interested to hear that this is still a problem even with today “modeling” amps. I am an aspiring Electrical Engineer and don’t really know much about music/ amps. Also, I don’t know if you read the comments on your articles, but if you do I would like to ask you a few questions. Is there a better way to contact you?
Jonny December 1st, 2008 at 9:32 am
Excellent article. Great points on all fronts….
I’d love to hear your take on pedal boards (several different stand alone pedals) vs multi-fx pedals (Boss GT-5, ect.)
Raja April 18th, 2009 at 1:49 am
Kick Ass article nice work very informative i am waiting for the next one.
Joe July 2nd, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Great article. Personally I dropped 300 bucks on a 75w line 6 solid state, but I now wish that I had saved up more money to get a lower wattage tube. Oh well.
Chuck July 5th, 2009 at 2:00 am
Couldn’t disagree more. I’ve been playing and making money at it for 30+ years. Recorded everywhere from tiny home studios to the BBC in Maida Vale, London. Amps–I’ve owned ‘em all–Marshalls, Fenders, Mesa-Boogies. Last 7 years it’s been all Line 6–now I’m using an XT Live. Dialed in, it sounds awesome. Problem is, most players don’t dial it it. It takes time and patience, and careful listening. Cranking the gain to 11, scooping the mids, etc will give you horrible tone. So don’t crank the gain and scoop the mids. Then plug it into a (yes, tube powered) Atomic Reactor. You won’t miss those 12AX7s.
For that matter, it’s easy to get a horrible sound out of a great tube amp. Including a Boogie (I owned a Mark III for years–great amp–but you can make it sound BAD without much effort). Also owned a blackface Deluxe, and had two JCM800s in my basement. All can sound horrible if dialed in wrong.
But agree on the Spider series. Not good amps.
James July 10th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
lol this is so true,
when i started out playing guitar, i got a Marshall MG50DFX
because i figured, higher wattage, and MARSHALL for a low price
but when i heard my friends little tube Traynor, there\’s a presence and crunch that even the frequency dependent dampening on my Marsh cant copy. What’s funny is that over time since i’ve been playing with this amp, i’ve been using less and less distortion, and im almost at the lowest gain, and i think ive found a pretty nice niche in the sound. considering I only spent $250 on it i’m not complaining cause i did really get my money\’s worth..
but maybe in another few years ill get a tube
Saraceni October 10th, 2009 at 12:49 am
I am using a Tech 21 Trademark 60 Solid State and for Tube I use the 6505/5150 Peavey. Both I used for my recordings and for distortion or clean works. For live gigs I use the 6505 Tube .