Re: Tubes! They do a ____ good!

[dgoat <dgoat@quik.com>]

Jesse Ray Lucas wrote:
> I'm on the tube path now, but I'm seriously considering moving back to 
>solid
> state for space/weight/maintainability reasons.  I'm no slouch, but the 
>idea
> of carrying in an amp slung over my shoulder is enticing.  I have heard
> several guys come through town on tour using those Traveler heads and 
>they
> sound great for the size venues I'm playing in right now.

For bass, I prefer solid state. More "punch" and less "puff," i.e. it 
does not get buried by the rest of the band. But in a recording set-up, 
tube all the way!

> 5.  I read several very technical discussions of tube vs. solid state on 
>the
> web that boiled it down to: solid state and tube amps are basically the 
>same
> until you begin to push them into overdrive.

Actually this is not true in my experience. Play a Fender Stage 100 next 
to a Twin (both VERY clean amps) and weep at the beauty the tubes 
impart. This is not to say that a solid-state amp cannot sound good, 
because it can. A really good solid-state amp can sound better than a 
crappy tube amp, but a really good tube amp will (IMO) always sound 
better than a really good solid state amp. YMMV.

> One day, when Linux gets a good audio distribution and commercial 
>software
> support we will just drag our rack-mounted computers (by then, they will 
>be
> in 1U chassis or smaller) out to gigs with us, plug our basses into them,
> and run through the Echoplex Digital Pro plugin, into the SVT-II plugin,
> into the Ampeg 8x10 plugin, and into the board.  It's coming, I tell you.
> Mark my words.

Yup, when the tube-modeling is finally perfected -- still a long way off 
though...

D.G.