Tube amp \"warmth\"??? Give me a modeler any day!
Interesting reading:
\"I have worked with at least one well known guitar player who sets up an array of tube-amp stacks on stage, only to use a small solid-state pedal-effects unit 'stomp box,' as players say-for his actual overdrive sound,\" he said.
'From the [perspective of the] audience, you would think he was using the amps, but those are just for show. The advantage of the stomp box is that it is reliable-no tubes to change, it's consistent and it usually provides more gain or overdrive than a typical tube guitar amp. The stomp box drives another guitar amp - tube or solid state - which then drives a limited number of the speakers. Most of the amps on stage are just props without any electronics or speakers.\"
The point, Murphy said, is that some professional artists would just as soon use their solid-state pedals as their tube amps. They can get a satisfactory overdrive sound from either. The pedal is simply more convenient.
\"But ask a kid in the a audience,\" Murphy said, \"and he will insist that his favorite guitar player uses a tube amp, because he saw it. Ha! A lot of really expensive tube amps are sold this way.
\"As far as other characteristics of tube guitar amps are concerned, I have found that the pre-clipping frequency equalization and post-clipping EQ are absolutely critical adjustments. Once you have a well-behaved clipper-even if it's just simple diodes, as in the stomp boxes-it is the precise combination of pre- and post-clipping EQ that mostly determines how an amp sounds. The 'secret' of the best sounding guitar amps lies in the pre-clipping EQ response curve.\"
C&P from http://www.trueaudio.com/at_eetjlm.htm
Mickster
\"I have worked with at least one well known guitar player who sets up an array of tube-amp stacks on stage, only to use a small solid-state pedal-effects unit 'stomp box,' as players say-for his actual overdrive sound,\" he said.
'From the [perspective of the] audience, you would think he was using the amps, but those are just for show. The advantage of the stomp box is that it is reliable-no tubes to change, it's consistent and it usually provides more gain or overdrive than a typical tube guitar amp. The stomp box drives another guitar amp - tube or solid state - which then drives a limited number of the speakers. Most of the amps on stage are just props without any electronics or speakers.\"
The point, Murphy said, is that some professional artists would just as soon use their solid-state pedals as their tube amps. They can get a satisfactory overdrive sound from either. The pedal is simply more convenient.
\"But ask a kid in the a audience,\" Murphy said, \"and he will insist that his favorite guitar player uses a tube amp, because he saw it. Ha! A lot of really expensive tube amps are sold this way.
\"As far as other characteristics of tube guitar amps are concerned, I have found that the pre-clipping frequency equalization and post-clipping EQ are absolutely critical adjustments. Once you have a well-behaved clipper-even if it's just simple diodes, as in the stomp boxes-it is the precise combination of pre- and post-clipping EQ that mostly determines how an amp sounds. The 'secret' of the best sounding guitar amps lies in the pre-clipping EQ response curve.\"
C&P from http://www.trueaudio.com/at_eetjlm.htm
Mickster
Comments
Interestingly enough, we have quoted the same paragraph above on our web site at http://tons-of-tone.tripod.com/eq1.html
The GNX4 and GNX3000 do implement pre- and post-clipping EQ but do not allow access to these functions from Xedit or the front panel. You will need special 3rd party software to alter these settings. The results of tweaking these internal EQs are astonishing !!
Please visit our web site for more technical information on the insides of modern day Amplifier Simulators.
Sunil
is it possible to dl the megs software? i could not find a link to it.
Then again, if it got Anne Hathaway's beans steaming for me, I'd probably stack the stage up with Marshalls too. :twisted:
I am just thankful that I have been able to experience both the \"warmth\" of the tube amps and the flexibility and effects offered by the new modelers like the GNX4. I won't sell my Twin Reverb for personal reasons, but I would advise any new guitarist to invest in the modelers like the GNX4 and buy a good PA system. It will be much cheaper than a high quality tube amp and much more flexible for all kinds of sounds (guitar presets, drums, vocals, keyboards, etc...). Take care.
I just worry sometimes about reliability but you get that with tube amps also.
I've got a Valve Junior for home practice and it sounds great and makes you want to play for hours.
When you are playin out nobody cares about your tone, except the few with there hands folded.
So for getting the job done I think MFX units win handsdown
A) MFX units that have tube(s) built in
C) FET based pedals
So if tubes are the only answer, we need to break down the tone question to
Do we need a Tube inside an Amp only
or can we accept a Tube inside an MFX or pedal ?
Whats the difference in tone between the two above ?
Personally, I feel tubes are overrated and a good MFX is just fine ( tone and feel, both)
If a git'rist is so obsessed with \"perfect\" tone, they should either be a) under contract to one of the major labels, or b) under psychiatric treatment for OCD.
Funny, that's what my therapist says...........LOL.
Jamminmj