Best solid state amp. Simply the best!

[tomems]

I admittedly didn’t read this whole thread in detail but you REALLY have to check out Raezer’s Edge amps. The Luna can be ordered online with a 12, 10 or 8” speaker and either open back or closed, ported with a tweeter. 200 watts of clean loud power. Digital reverb.

The Centauri is a hybrid with a 12AX7 high voltage preamp tube and an actual spring reverb tank. Open back and traditional EQ for a lightweight 200 watt combo that leans far into Fender territory.

Really great values too!

I spent a lot of time on the RE website and ended up wanting the Sol, their tube amp. Then I closed that tab because that’s not what I’m trying to do.

But I have to say the hybrid is attractive. I wonder if I would “hear” the tube or the class D. If you look at the blindfold video I posted just above, spoiler alert, the one that wins has a single tube. Hmmm…

[Litterick]

You will not find the best solid-state amp, because it does not exist. Many excellent solid-state amps can be found, but no one amp is demonstrably better than the others. In this respect, they are like guitars, cars and bars.

[DRS]

I picked up a Katana 50 Gen3 combo.
I really like it. You get great tone right out of the box. Very realistic warm tube sound. If you want to hook it up to a computer you can fool around with the deep settings but you don't need to. I like the Clean and Pushed channels. There is also an Acoustic, Crunch, Lead, and Brown channel. I like the reverb it is set-up with but there are all kinds of reverbs, delays, drives, FX to add it that is your thing.
Light - 26 lbs with the 1x12 speaker. They're also not expensive and seem well built.

[Litterick]

If only Dumble had made a solid-state amp. Imagine the fuss that would have caused. Everybody would have said it was the best solid-state amp, simply the best, better than all the rest.

[jzucker]

my favorite is a fractal or tc modeler into an alto pa cab.

[John A.]

If only Dumble had made a solid-state amp. Imagine the fuss that would have caused. Everybody would have said it was the best solid-state amp, simply the best, better than all the rest.

Some people say that the secret to the Dumble sound is its solid state overdrive circuit.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Some people say that the secret to the Dumble sound is its solid state overdrive circuit.

I know some Dumbles have solid state rectifiers. But if any has a SS circuit in the signal path, it’s news to me, John.

[arnie65]

I think he's talking about a class "D" amplifier, which uses a solid state in the power amp section, but it does still uses tubes on the preamp section. It's a hybrid amp. Fuchs makes one, called the ODH, and it's another Dumble amp iteration.





Arnie..

[jim777]

Update no. 2!!!

EHX Dirt Road Special
OK - not a jazz amp. But maybe this one could do both??? Has anyone tried one of these? Looks like a fun cheap amp. Currently my 2nd place amp.

Is this the Mike Matthews Dirt Road Special? I had one maybe 40 years ago, and absolutely loved it. I didn't realize they were still making them, or they had been updated or anything.

[jzucker]

I know some Dumbles have solid state rectifiers. But if any has a SS circuit in the signal path, it’s news to me, John.

The classic dumble has an FET overdrive circuit in it but it's typically switchable and has a lot of gain. The typical robben ford sound does not use the FET circuit.

[John A.]

I know some Dumbles have solid state rectifiers. But if any has a SS circuit in the signal path, it’s news to me, John.

Many sources say that one of the inputs of the ODS has a FET stage. I don't know anywhere near enough about electronics and amp design to say what it does, though.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I think he's talking about a class "D" amplifier, which uses a solid state in the power amp section, but it does still uses tubes on the preamp section. It's a hybrid amp. Fuchs makes one, called the ODH, and it's another Dumble amp iteration.
Arnie..

John’s post suggests to me that he meant Dumble Dumbles:

Some people say that the secret to the Dumble sound is its solid state overdrive circuit.

He also said “solid state overdrive”, which would be in the preamp. Class D doesn’t do distortion very well. It’s clean up to the limit of its power supply, at which point pushing the input voltage higher generates nasty distortion that just makes it sound bad. I don’t know of any use for class D circuitry in any stage except the final output to the speaker(s).

Whether using tube or class D SS power stages, Fuchs, Two Rock, and similarly Dumblic devices still use conventional (class A, A/B, or B) circuitry to get their sonic character. Class D is only used for power amplification.

[John A.]

The classic dumble has an FET overdrive circuit in it but it's typically switchable and has a lot of gain. The typical robben ford sound does not use the FET circuit.

Various forums say that LC and RF don't use the FET channel, but David Linley, Lowell George, and SRV did. The internet is always right, so I take that as gospel.

John’s post suggests to me that he meant Dumble Dumbles:

Yup

He also said “solid state overdrive”, which would be in the preamp. Class D doesn’t do distortion very well. It’s clean up to the limit of its power supply, at which point pushing the input voltage higher generates nasty distortion that just makes it sound bad. I don’t know of any use for class D circuitry in any stage except the final output to the speaker(s).

Whether using tube or class D SS power stages, Fuchs, Two Rock, and similarly Dumblic devices still use conventional (class A, A/B, or B) circuitry to get their sonic character. Class D is only used for power amplification.

I have a 100% solid state, class D Dumble, aka a ZenDrive plugged into a Quilter Aviator Cub.

[lawson-stone]

I have been surprised at how much I'm enjoying the Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb. Great tone for jazz playing, tons of volume when needed. Plus a few amenities not found on the parent amp. It has been some of the best gear money I ever spent.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I have a 100% solid state, class D Dumble, aka a ZenDrive plugged into a Quilter Aviator Cub.

I've settled on a Smokin' Amp Company Zensation, which (according to Gabe, the owner / designer / builder) is a true clone of the ZenDrive. They're only $100, and I don't hear a difference between mine and friends' ZenDrives. I've been through at least a dozen "dumbler" pedals over the years, including Danelectro Daddy-O, Wampler Tumnus Deluxe, Rowin Dumbler, Vertex SSS/SRV, Hotone Grass, etc. The Smokin' Amp Zensation is excellent, and I highly recommend it.

We live and learn! I just spent a little time reading up on the "SS" elements in a Dumble. There's a single FET in the front end of the ODS and the SSS, and there's a separate input to run the guitar's signal through its little circuit before it hits the first tube input stage. From what I've just read, the FET is just another gain stage that "fattens" the signal but does not directly add distortion to it. It's apparently best with single coils, as most articles about it say it makes humbuckers sound muddy. Several sources refer to the FET input (the "hot" input) as the single coil input and the normal input as the humbucker input.

[bluejaybill]

I've settled on a Smokin' Amp Company Zensation, which (according to Gabe, the owner / designer / builder) is a true clone of the ZenDrive. They're only $100, and I don't hear a difference between mine and friends' ZenDrives. I've been through at least a dozen "dumbler" pedals over the years, including Danelectro Daddy-O, Wampler Tumnus Deluxe, Rowin Dumbler, Vertex SSS/SRV, Hotone Grass, etc. The Smokin' Amp Zensation is excellent, and I highly recommend it.

We live and learn! I just spent a little time reading up on the "SS" elements in a Dumble. There's a single FET in the front end of the ODS and the SSS, and there's a separate input to run the guitar's signal through its little circuit before it hits the first tube input stage. From what I've just read, the FET is just another gain stage that "fattens" the signal but does not directly add distortion to it. It's apparently best with single coils, as most articles about it say it makes humbuckers sound muddy. Several sources refer to the FET input (the "hot" input) as the single coil input and the normal input as the humbucker input.

It's probably not much different than an FET boost pedal, of which there are many. For instance the Fulltone Fat boost IIRC. Seems to be a straight boost with a bit more fullness to the sound.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

It's probably not much different than an FET boost pedal, of which there are many. For instance the Fulltone Fat boost IIRC. Seems to be a straight boost with a bit more fullness to the sound.

That's what it is. It's just 2N7000 MOSFETs and an NE5532 op amp chip. This obviously (now that I know there's one in a Dumble ) does exactly what the FET in the input stage of a Dumble does. Neither this nor the ZenDrive sounds exactly like a Dumble (any Dumble - I know they're all different) or Dumble clone. I can't get the endless sustain that many Dumbles will do, I'm sure this is because none of my amps has the cascaded input stages Dumble used, since the output stages of my Twin and my Princeton are probably pretty close in characteristics to Dumble's output stages.

Here's a sample of serious sustain from an Overdrive Reverb (apparently a rare model). The kid's not much of a player, but you can get an idea of the amazing sustain from this short clip:

Here's Mick Taylor getting some sweet sustain at 6:28 from an ODS. You can hear how certain frequencies sustain a lot longer than others as the sound decays:

[John A.]

I've settled on a Smokin' Amp Company Zensation, which (according to Gabe, the owner / designer / builder) is a true clone of the ZenDrive. They're only $100, and I don't hear a difference between mine and friends' ZenDrives. I've been through at least a dozen "dumbler" pedals over the years, including Danelectro Daddy-O, Wampler Tumnus Deluxe, Rowin Dumbler, Vertex SSS/SRV, Hotone Grass, etc. The Smokin' Amp Zensation is excellent, and I highly recommend it.

We live and learn! I just spent a little time reading up on the "SS" elements in a Dumble. There's a single FET in the front end of the ODS and the SSS, and there's a separate input to run the guitar's signal through its little circuit before it hits the first tube input stage. From what I've just read, the FET is just another gain stage that "fattens" the signal but does not directly add distortion to it. It's apparently best with single coils, as most articles about it say it makes humbuckers sound muddy. Several sources refer to the FET input (the "hot" input) as the single coil input and the normal input as the humbucker input.

I have a Joyo TaiChi, which is ZenDrive clone, but it doesn't run on batteries (because it lights up very brightly and needs more current), which limits its utility for me. So a broke down and got an actual ZenDrive (Love Pedal version, used for $150). I gotta say, it sounds great. I've also got a Klon and a Fulltone OCD, neither of which is getting any use lately.

I had a Daddy-o -- I've heard that described as a clone of a Marshall Gov'nor, but not of a ZenDrive.