Poll - Solid State vs Tube Amps for Jazz Guitar

[markb]

Well I have an early '65 Deluxe Reverb and a '52 Gibson GA 20. Both great amps. Not much headroom with the Gibby at all but for low volume jazz jump/blues very nice.The BFDR is my favorite amp of all time but maybe not the best jazz amp. I have a Henriksen Bud 10 on its way. Pretty sure it will be my grab and go jazz gig amp from here on out.

[JazzNote]

My main amp has been for quite a while now a Mambo 8", somtimes i use it parallel with a Mambo 10" or AER Compact 60
The Mambos don't really sound solid-state typical, in fact they deliver a liveliness close to a tube amp.
On some gigs i use a Acoustic Image Clarus 2R or SL with a RE Stealth 10 or 10 ER, i might also use this combination in parallel with the Mambo 8"

[user404]

Both with slave amp


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk

[Ed Davis]

Quilters are awesome. I use a 101 Mini Reverb. If I want to play out of two I will run out of a stereo reverb unit to the quilter & my old AER Compact 60 (2) Both weigh around 20 pounds. :-)

[Litterick]

Message found on local Facebook group:

"Hi folks, my Line 6 Vetta 2 x 12" 100-Watt Electric Guitar Stereo Modeling Combo Amplifier, blew its chipboard, and it's such a great amp. Does anyone know of anybody who has one and wants to sell it?"

I am glad both my amps are hand-wired.

[jim777]

Message found on local Facebook group:

"Hi folks, my Line 6 Vetta 2 x 12" 100-Watt Electric Guitar Stereo Modeling Combo Amplifier, blew its chipboard, and it's such a great amp. Does anyone know of anybody who has one and wants to sell it?"

I am glad both my amps are hand-wired.

I almost bought one of those used back in '03, so I'd say he likely got his money's worth out of it.

[pdfiddler]

I think, but am not entirely sure, that I might be able to identify tube vs solid state in a listening room. Maybe. Basically, I'd pick the tone I liked better and assume it's the tube amp. Might be easier for an overdriven sound, but I'm not sure about that either.

I seriously doubt that I could sit in the audience listening to a quintet or bigger band and be able to tell tubes vs solid state.

On second thought, I don't think I could really tell no matter what the situation. When I tried it at home, Little Jazz vs Vintage Reverberocket, the EQ setting made much more difference than which amp I was using.'

In fact, out of all the gear choices, I think the one I might be mostly likely to identify by sound would be single coil vs humbucker. But, clearly not always. Some players get a darker jazz sound (the one I associate with humbuckers) out of single coils. But, if the guitarist is playing with a certain kind of brightness, I might get that right. I don't think I could do it for amps. I know for a fact I can't reliably do it with archtop vs solid (175 vs. solid), but I do think I can sometimes tell the difference. So much is EQ and touch.

I can hear it ever time and I don't know why others can't hear it. It's in the note decay. After you pluck the string, plain as day.

[Herbie]

I can hear it ever time and I don't know why others can't hear it. It's in the note decay. After you pluck the string, plain as day.

Well, You mean that You can hear it when You play? I suppose You can’t hear the decay when someone else is playing, can You?

Now I started wonder about this decay. What is it? How does it sound?

[D.G.]

I can always hear the difference, though the new generation of modelers - I’m looking at you, Fender Tone Masters - are really close.

While I prefer a good tube amp, I don’t dislike a well tuned solid state jobbie. It’s just another tonal pallet.

[Betz]

Of everything I have sold over the years, the only piece of kit I really missed was my ‘65 Princeton Reverb Reissue. Recently saw a used mint one at GC and brought it home. For me, there is ‘something’ about plugging straight into the tube amp that I don’t get with solid state. Of course, the first thing I did was replace the modern Jensen speaker with an early ‘70s Oxford 10J4 so we definitely may not be interested in the same experience . . .

[Sleeko]

I’ve enjoyed my Fender Acoustisonic Junior and JazzKat solid state amps. The Junior has an exceptional warm tone and some nice built in effects in stereo. While it’s voiced for acoustic electric guitars, it works great with electric archtops.

The JazzKat I bought from Bill Fender when he owned his business. He suggested setting everything to neutral for that clean jazz tone. We A/B'd it against an Evans tube amp and we both agreed the JazzKat sounded better to our ears and very tube-like without a tube. It was also about $500.00 cheaper than the Evans.
Both are weighty, though the JazzKat is more portable and has a nifty carry handle on the side for easy transport.

[Stringswinger]

I have owned many amps over the years, both tube and solid state. I sold my last two tube amps recently and I have no plans on obtaining any more of them. The technology has progressed to where one can get 95% of the tube amp sound and feel with a lighter and more reliable solid state amp. Furthermore, modern day tubes simply do not have the same sound as vintage tubes.

In my amp journey over the last 51 years (since I bought my first guitar amplifier) I have really liked Fender and Mesa tube amps and Polytone and Acoustic Image solid state amps. I have now moved on to Henriksen for the solid state amp sound and Quilter for the tube amp sound. All four of my amps (three Henriksens and one Quilter) are Class D amps and the heaviest is 21 pounds. I haven't embraced much change in guitars (I still mostly play 175's, L-5's, Super 400's, Les Pauls and Strats), but for me, the newer amps have proven to be a godsend for my 66 year old back.

[Little Jay]

Still torturing myself lugging tube amps around but I have a couple of lightweight solid state amps as well, for those jams and gigs in the city centre I travel to by bike….

[PB+J]

Soooo tired of tube amp hoodoo. I have an older model Henricksen jazzamp, head and cab, and it sounds great all the time. If I want a little tube quality I've got a bunch of nice pedals that will add saturation and compression including this one:

Mid-Fi Electronics ::: Magick "i"

And a UA woodrow pedal, which models a tweed deluxe. They get close enough and I'm not lugging a heavy tube amp

[murphybridget837]

Solid-state amps may not perfectly replicate every aspect of tube amps, modern technology has made significant strides in emulating their characteristics. It's worth experimenting with different models and features to find the tone and feel that best suits your playing style and preferences. I would suggest tube amps for studio/concert hall purpose and solid-state amps for busking.

[PB+J]

Fender makes a 1000 watt digital amp that comes in 10 and 12 inch speaker versions. It's light and aims for a flat response. It's got a four band active EQ

Tone Master(R) FR-12 | Guitar Amplifiers

Seems like an interesting choice for someone interested in jazz: a loud simple platform for your guitar straight or with pedals/modelers. Basically a PA speaker with volume and EQ controls that looks like an amp. Lists at $549 for the 12 inch, 499 for the ten. That's a lot less than a Henricksen. I'd like to try one.

[jumpnblues]

Solid state for me. Don't even really own a tube amp anymore...even my princeton is living with a friend who will eventually buy it.

My "nice" amp is a Henriksen head with a redstone speaker cab.

I might ditch a bunch of stuff in the next year though and nab one of those Fender tonemasters...

I love my Tone Master Deluxe Reverb. Great tone, light weight, among many other features.

[Rickco]

I started with a twin in'68 which I reluctantly gave up cause I couldnt lift it anymore, traded for a '65 deluxe but a little to "tubey" (killer with my 175!) got a early Hot Rod Deluxe which has a preamp out. Just for grins I plugged the preamp into a Hafler FET power amp Ive been using for piano and used the 12" Jensen for the speaker. You lose the reverb when you bypass power but my friend modified the amp so reverbs in I also changed some ICs that drive the reverb. Its really best of both worlds. If I want loud and "driven" I can just plug into the power section which is quite good but to noisy for studio stuff. I also got a little Roland AC60 all SS probably class D. just got it cause it was cheap and light perfect for practice but... I find thats the one Im playing through the most, really sounds good on carved archtops. I always play clean no effects and low volume so not best choices for a fat bluesy sound but for clean with some "personality" the HRD into the Hafler and surprisingly the little Roland work pretty nice for chord melody and soft comping.