Tube Amp
Chris
Aug 31 2007, 09:11 PM
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Some one may get pi**ed off by this question...but what is a tube amp....?

I posted earlier...but my post may have been confusing....

Also my 30w Marshall MG isn't loud enough to compete with my unplugged (very loud) drummer...

Can any one suggest to me an amp that will be suitable for band practices and small gigs...I live in the country so loud noises arn't usually a problem...

My budget is about £250 - £300 ( about $550 dollars i guess) (also i like to think internet prices...you get a lot more for your money)
My playing styles are classic rock and blues rock...and i play through a clean channel on the amp, but use pedals to get my sound.

Thanks, Chris

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Muris Varajic
Aug 31 2007, 10:27 PM
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Huh...hard one huh.gif
Tube amp uses tubes to provide power output,sometimes in preamp section as well.
Tony? smile.gif

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Hungus
Aug 31 2007, 10:36 PM
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I cant offer an explanation but I can offer a couple of links if you enjoy reading...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tube_amp
If you dont feel like reading much skip to the sections 'Characteristics of linear valve amplifiers' and 'Applications' subsections 'Audio' and 'Instrumentation amplifiers'

Also this article on 'Valve Sound' may also be interesting...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valve_sound

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This post has been edited by Hungus: Aug 31 2007, 10:39 PM


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JVM
Aug 31 2007, 10:38 PM
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From: Raleigh-Durham, NC
QUOTE (Chris @ Aug 31 2007, 08:11 AM) *
Some one may get pi**ed off by this question...but what is a tube amp....?

I posted earlier...but my post may have been confusing....

Also my 30w Marshall MG isn't loud enough to compete with my unplugged (very loud) drummer...

Can any one suggest to me an amp that will be suitable for band practices and small gigs...I live in the country so loud noises arn't usually a problem...

My budget is about £250 - £300 ( about $550 dollars i guess) (also i like to think internet prices...you get a lot more for your money)
My playing styles are classic rock and blues rock...and i play through a clean channel on the amp, but use pedals to get my sound.

Thanks, Chris


Your Marshall MG is a solid state amp. This means that all of the tone that comes out of those speakers, is made by circuitry. Also, a 30w tube amp is MUCH louder than a 30w solid state amp, just how it works.

Tubes are short for 'vacuum tubes' or they're called valves in some places. Valve amp is the same as tube amp. Tubes are there to amplify and distort your signal. There are two sets of tubes in a tube amp, the preamp and the poweramp tubes. Check this out. See the lightbulb shaped things? The ones on the left are power tubes, and the ones on the right are preamp tubes. Preamp tubes generate your distortion when you crank the gain/drive channels up, but the powertubes also have a very nice distortion sound when you crank the volume, it's called clipping or just plain overdrive.

Solid state amps don't have tubes, except some that have tubes in the preamp section that don't really count as tube amps (hybrids). Your MG might be a hybrid, I'm not sure. Solid state amps are generally a method of trying to reproduce the tube sound, which a lot of people consider to be "the best" sound, in a generally more safe method, because tubes (can) be unreliable and dangerous, but as long as you're careful with them you may never have a problem with 'em, and they sound great.

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Chris
Aug 31 2007, 11:27 PM
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thanks guys. smile.gif what dangers do tube amps offer?
So in the opinion of who ever is reading this, do you suggest I get a low watt tube amp with good sound but maybe unreliable (if i understand correctly)

or a high watt (like 70 - 100w) solid state amp...

also which ones are usually more versatile and lighter? if we say that both can give about the same loudness..

Also ..is there any ratio of the wattage and loudness of solid state amps : tube amps

Thanks, Chris

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This post has been edited by Chris: Aug 31 2007, 11:33 PM


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JVM
Sep 1 2007, 12:46 AM
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From: Raleigh-Durham, NC
QUOTE (Chris @ Aug 31 2007, 10:27 AM) *
thanks guys. smile.gif what dangers do tube amps offer?
So in the opinion of who ever is reading this, do you suggest I get a low watt tube amp with good sound but maybe unreliable (if i understand correctly)

or a high watt (like 70 - 100w) solid state amp...

also which ones are usually more versatile and lighter? if we say that both can give about the same loudness..

Also ..is there any ratio of the wattage and loudness of solid state amps : tube amps

Thanks, Chris


Well, tube amps ARE honestly quite safe, you could go years without any problem from them. It's only if you don't know how to handle them properly. The tubes are exposed in the back of the amp, and they work by getting hot. So if you touch one of the tubes after the amp has been "warmed up", you may burn yourself.

Solid states are usually more versatile, and also lighter (I think). I have a 1x12 inch speaker fender solid state (called the automatic gt) that was my first amp. It's solid state, 90w. I also have a 1x12 fender hot rod deluxe tube amp, which is 40 watts. It's much, much louder than the solid state, and personally I find that it sounds better. The GT isn't a recent amp, and it's not a modeling amp, so it's not nearly so versatile as something like the vox valvetronix, but it sounds decent. The deluxe is also much bigger than the gt, even though they're the same speaker size, it's just barely smaller than an average 2x12 amp.

To put it simply to you: a 40 watt tube amp is more than you will need for jamming with friends, practice sessions etc. A 40 watt tube amp can handle probably an audience of 2-300 people or more. My GT is classified as only 25 watts of a tube amp, even though it says 90w on the back of it.

In general solid states are more reliable, but then again a tube amp can go for years without needing anything (you may want to change the tubes every few years though, which isn't too expensive).

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Chris
Sep 1 2007, 08:12 PM
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thanks JVM you have really helped me. smile.gif

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Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

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Amp : Marshall MG Series 30DFX
Pedals : Dunlop Cry Baby GCB-95, Behringer OD100
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