ChuckyTruant: Guitar Amps? Tube Vs Ss Vs Digital

ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	the blackstar looks awfully sexy
KILL 10.19.12	tube or gtfo
menawati 10.19.12	damn gotta be tube, natural distortion >>>>> fkin fx
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	hmm lol kill and then hep kat what do you use in your ska band, if your even a guitarist idk
KILL 10.19.12	i actually own a blackstar ht40 and it fuckin rules so
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	No way KILL? Please tell me more man, my knowledge and lingo of tube amps is bad
UnnamedOcean 10.19.12	Tube amp is probably best in the long run if you already have a decent practice amp. Only problem is that if you want a lot of effects you'll need to dish out money for pedals.
menawati 10.19.12	i got a mesa boogie but i think the valves are all fucked
KILL 10.19.12	what do you want to know? warm as fuck tones you could never get with a SS, the louder it goez the bester it sounds holy fuck i love it so hard wow!!!!
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	@ menwati - lol, I would kill for a mini recto 25, but they are 1K. Yikes @ Ocean - yeah its definitely the most expensive route. But all the pedals I would need are, distortion, delay and compression/sustainer
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	haha kill, idk, does it do every thing you want it to do? does it sound good clean?
lyzakthellama 10.19.12	tube amps definitely have the best tone
bloc 10.19.12	Tube amps all the way for me. I can understand the simplicity in recording and touring with a digital rack mounted thing, but regardless of what they say about Axe Fx or other shit it's never going to be the exact same. Solid state amps are great for beginners I think. The total number of actual amps I've owned is 3 and the first two have been ss. Both pretty much did what you wanted them too. I think they are a good way to separate the guys who are going to play guitar for the rest of their lives, and the guys who are going to quit after a couple of years.
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	^ this is true
KILL 10.19.12	yea sounds amazing clean and the isf knob helsps you get pretty mucch any tone you want cept shitty djent donigdoing but straight dudes dont care about that anyway
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	^ lmfao yeah im doing a djent tone so no worries
UnnamedOcean 10.19.12	If it's just for recording you can always get away with delay and compression on whatever software you're recording in.
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	^ yep. which for the time being, yeah thats all it will be
menawati 10.19.12	too many fx hides how bad you are, all u need is reverb, once you can control the sound properly without compression u hardly need it anyway unless u are recording and need some limiting
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	Hmm. Compression just sounds better to my ears, but I'll take your word for it.
johnnyblaze 10.19.12	tube, cuz they're the best. but also dont buy a tube amp if youre gonna waste it on producing noise like these bands [2]
DominionMM1 10.19.12	tube amps, bro. keep saving and get yourself a mesa/boogie.
Madbutcher3 10.19.12	Tube or a Kemper. A good solid state like a Jazz Chorus is good for cleans though.
jdennis31 10.19.12	imo, unless you have a somewhat treated room and can mess around with different micing techniques, i'd invest in a really nice preamp/mic and just record direct. micing an amp usually sounds great when you can blast the amp and have plenty of time to practice different micing techniques, but otherwise the recording will come off sounding really weak. also, if you're going with the amp micing then you don't need a huge stack, a decent combo or halfstack is all you'll need.
jdennis31 10.19.12	i never turn off my compressor chucky, i think it sounds great and love keeping my notes even, although i try to practice playing even tones without the use of a compressor
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	Ok sweet. Thanks for the advice guys. I think I'm gonna get the blackstar HT5. Has all I need and the wattage is good. and none of these bands are noise. smh
Emyay 10.19.12	what y'all think about axe fx? anyone actually ever use one? they seem pretty fuckin badass not gonna lie. debating on whether to get a tube amp or one of those
bloc 10.19.12	A friend of mine just bought an Axe Fx. It's cool if you do a lot of recording and playing live (if you're lazy) but otherwise I would never purchase one.
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	They do look badass. and sound badass. too bad they are 3 grand lol and do they just not replicate a tube amp correctly bloc?
bloc 10.19.12	I mean, they are pretty damn close to the real thing; there's no question about it. I think they would be most useful to the high gain players though. But it's funny about Axe's endorsements though, such as Vai and Petrucci. Those guys don't even use the Axe as an amp modeler. They just use them for the effects.
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	lol yeah. that is funny
Emyay 10.19.12	well i don't play live and i don't do a lot of recording so maybe i should just get me a tube amp. i'm such a noob with amps, but i know my shitty solid state line 6 amp just isn't cuttin it. i can get a serviceable metal tone and thats about it. i've gotten to the point that i barely want to play electric anymore because the tone is just so bad
menawati 10.19.12	why spend loads on fx that try to replicate a valve amp and fuck about with the signal, just get the real thing ?
Madbutcher3 10.19.12	The Axe-FX ain't as good as the Kemper Profiler. Plain tube amps are better too.
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	I haven't even heard of this Kemper Profiler thing
Madbutcher3 10.19.12	I think it was on this year's Accept. That album had tasty tone. Basically you mic up an amp to the Kemper and it analyzes the dynamics of some chords you play, then you get a duplicate sound in the Kemper. It's more accurate than the Axe-FX. You can download the profiles that people made too. It's also about £1000 cheaper.
Athom 10.19.12	I have one of the Jet City JCA20's and after I rebiased it hot and changed the tubes to JJ's that thing sounds like a beast. I'd go with the Blackstar. It's gonna give you better tones at recording volumes because at 5 watts the tubes will break up faster.
Madbutcher3 10.19.12	Yeah the Blackstar is good. Cheap too.
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	Yeah which is good cuz then I can get a solid cab
wacknizzle 10.19.12	Tube is the way to go. With every digital program I tried I had tons of signal problems and just couldn't even get it working properly. I'm trying to save up for a Tiny Terror Orange, A Black Star combo, or if I'm really broke a line 6.
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	Awesome, thanks for the advice guys.
Emyay 10.19.12	have one of the Jet City JCA20's and after I rebiased it hot and changed the tubes to JJ's that thing sounds like a beast. i have no idea what the fuck that means...kudos to you for knowing whats up, but i just want something thats gonna sound good out of the box. sounds like the blackstar might be up my (and chucky's) alley
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	I've actually played a tiny terror before, sounded awesome, but was more of a fuzzy 70's rock kinda tone. And I don't like how few controls it has
wacknizzle 10.19.12	Dude Orange Tiny Terror's sound good in any setting. You can definitely get a great metal tone out of em if it's set right.
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	Hmm, well maybe I just don't know how to work one haha
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	Lol @ mike - sounds sweet
wacknizzle 10.19.12	agreed captain. when i was 16 and broke I had to make do with what i had. i know how to get the tone I want out of most amps.
Ire 10.19.12	tube. ALL HAIL THE FENDER DELUXE REVERB ss can be done right. the zt lunbox has some pretty nice cleans. digi can be dece. i have a behringer vamp that sounds pretty sweet once you have two cabs and the stereo delay working
Madbutcher3 10.19.12	I'm a poor man so I use a bugera 6260. Works and has been fine so far, good tone too.
wacknizzle 10.19.12	ALL HAIL THE FENDER DELUXE REVERB [2] for anything that isn't metal it's the perfect amp.
R6Rider 10.19.12	"tube or gtfo" yeah, what kill said if would probably be better to save your money and get one of these http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y3sAtER9Fk great for recording and playing live
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	yea but 50 watts would be overkill for me
KjSwantko 10.19.12	No offense intended here but this has to be the dumbest thread I've ever read. Of course go with Tube.
ChuckyTruant 10.19.12	^ lol KJ, for a kid on a budget and not playing live, it was a valid question I think
KjSwantko 10.19.12	Save up and get a tube bro. Otherwise you're just going to buy a shitty amp and be pissed with yourself later. Always save and go with quality
Ire 10.19.12	YEAH MAN BUY A TUBE AMP BUT I'M NOT GONNA TELL YOU WHICH ONE
KjSwantko 10.19.12	But anyway, its hard to get a quality tone with digital effects through a program like podfarm. Again, I'd save and get a cheap tube amp down the road. Also the notion that a tube amp needs a lot of maintenance isn't true; if you play a ton you should replace the tubes every few years, but that's about it and its not hard to do and can be done for like $100.
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	Well all right sweet.
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	lol whys that
KjSwantko 10.20.12	Sounds fake and lame. Nothing will ever beat the tone of old school tube.
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	I WASN'T ASKING YOU
KjSwantko 10.20.12	well I'm tellin you!
ZombicidalMan 10.20.12	Yeah, tube amps are great. Nothing against SS or digital amps, tube just sounds better. I have a Tiny Terror, or as you say "Micro tube amp". I can get great metal tones out of it without the use of a pedal, but put a nice Fuzz or a Rat in front of it and you can get sweet sludge. As far as metal goes, I've found it sounds perfect for stoner and sludge, can nail thrash and NWOBHM, but is pretty shite at BTBAM type stuff, and death metal. Would not recommend most small tube amps for "modern metal" as many lack tone controls. Dark Terror is a little better but I really dislike using signature products (especially from Jim Root, bleh. At least his amp does sound good). I guess I'd also recommend the Traynor DH15 and DH40, as well as their cabs, and probably the Hughes And Kettner Tubemeister lines, even though they're a bit more expensive. H&K have much more bu way of tweaking your amp and are effect-loop friendly. Other thing to remember is pickups make a huge difference as well. Just put some Drop and Gains in my spare guitar, now it can make any amp get a metal chunk to it.
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	lmao
ZombicidalMan 10.20.12	Get rid of your Line 6 Spider, seriously. Best thing I ever did for my guitar playing
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	@ Zombi - yeah man, I get you, but thats why I'm going with the HT5, cause it doesn't lack controls
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	lol why? its great for practicing
ZombicidalMan 10.20.12	Sounds like a good choice then man. One last rec I'd throw out there is Blackheart amps, they have a nice 15 Watt combo for like $400, which is ridiculously cheap and sounds great. Not really metal, but just a thought. I guess the Spider's good for practicing but when you're using 5-15 Watt amps you can get them to be an acceptable practicing level for the house or apartment without sacrificing tube goodness
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	Thats good to hear. Now I just need a good 2x12 cab. Any recommendations
Ire 10.20.12	ya line 6 is shit to the max
ZombicidalMan 10.20.12	Uh I'll keep being the Guitar Center asshole kid and throw out a few suggestions... I do like my Traynor cab, it's got a removable backing, so it can be open or closed back, which is nice. Two Celestion Greenbacks which some people hate, I think they sound great. I'd recommend it to you. That's about $500, they make another 2x12 for $370 as well, dunno if it's good. Obviously Orange cabs are great, way overpriced though, not a fan of Marshall cabs, and Emperor cabs are fantastic. No idea on the price as it depends on what you get, but they're worth it IMO.
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	All right sweet. Thanks for the help man
wacknizzle 10.20.12	you can always buy a cheap cab new or used cab and replace the speakers too, it isn't very hard. You won't need much more for a soldering iron.
ZombicidalMan 10.20.12	No problem. Keep some money for an SM57 or something if you decide to record using a setup like that, nonetheless happy saving, hunting, and playing. Oh yeah, wacknizzle gave awesome advice. Building your own cab from scratch or upgrading an old one is probably the best method.
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	Oh wow, I hadn't even thought of that. What are the best speakers? And where would I get them?
wacknizzle 10.20.12	Yeah Chuck if your dad or anyone you know is handy man of sorts you might be able to build your own or refurbish cab or a used one. Or if you can find a used tube amp that needs work you could just buy tubes for it and see if you can get the work done on it, the tubes are really what makes it.
wacknizzle 10.20.12	Jensons are good, Eminence are good. I really want a cab with 100 Watt Celestion G12K100 Speakers, they used those in the high-powered Orange PPC412 cab. They're supposed to be amazing.
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	Yeah, I've only really heard of Celestions lol
wacknizzle 10.20.12	There's so many facets of what goes into guitars and amps and effect pedals, not everyone knows all the brands that are available. Like I always liked Ibanez guitars but I could never live with the stock pickups, so I've spent time investigating pickups and different combinations.
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	Oh yeah def. I'm probably going to get some Bareknuckles or SD's for my Ibanez.
wacknizzle 10.20.12	nice, they seem pretty legit. i prefer non-active pickups as well.
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	For sure, passive's are better
bloc 10.20.12	Celestions are the fucking best. Speakers are easily one of the biggest factors in your overall sound. You'd be surprised to hear how different speakers can sound in your rig. Their size also makes a huge difference when it comes to volume. Having 5 watts is mostly about having less clean headroom than it is about having less volume. I think a lot of people are fooled by this. True, there will be a big difference in volume between a 5 watt and 50 watt amp, but run a 5 watt through a 2x12 and stand back.
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	Lmao. Great mind's think alike, ehh?
ncguitar 10.20.12	I now live in an apartment, and also had to sell my (mediocre) gear to buy a pc and pay college stuff. Now I have a worn out Jackson Js1 and a 50$ amp. It's just not the same.
Ire 10.20.12	agreed bloc
ncguitar 10.20.12	Oh, tube only if you can crank it up and are going to play constantly.
eternium 10.20.12	If you're even asking this question then you need to stay away from the guitar and music in general.
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	^ ignorant
Ire 10.20.12	solid state can be great stfu jeez
bloc 10.20.12	"Oh, tube only if you can crank it up and are going to play constantly." This is a good point. Getting a 50 watt amp if you're only going to be playing at home is a total waste; you'll never get that pushed/hot power tube sound (unless you want to kill your cat/grandmother/neighbours).
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	Oh ok I see now @ bloc, sweet
bloc 10.20.12	Yeah, no bashing on SS required. The clean tones you can get from one are pristine as glass.
R6Rider 10.20.12	SS definitely is not as bad as most think. Also I know you think 50 watts is too much, but trust me in the long run you're going to want something that has balls and can cut through a mix when needed.
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	Trust me dude, 50 watts is 10x overkill for my current position
menawati 10.20.12	fksake mine is only 15 and thats no good for at home, 50 would be total overkill
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	haha yea exactly. I mean I do still live with my parents also lol
bloc 10.20.12	I got 15 watts too. Going through a Celestion 1x12 the thing is plenty loud. I do plan on getting a higher wattage amp though eventually, as I need some more clean headroom. Maybe an AC30 or Deluxe Reverb.
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	What kind of music do you play bloc? Cause you're quite the metalhead but those aren't metal amps lol
menawati 10.20.12	friend of mine had an AC15 that sounded glorious
bloc 10.20.12	Haha, yeah it sounds a bit weird. I mostly play jazz, blues, and rock. I love listening to metal, as you know already, and I did start playing mostly metal when I first picked up the guitar but now not so much.
ChuckyTruant 10.20.12	Ok, well cool man cool. I gotta pick up jazz somewhere along the way. Not sure how to play it in my open tunings though