A year ago I was convinced I had to have
a good tube amp (or two or three and so
on). I’ve owned a few from Marshall, a few
Fenders, a Vox, a Traynor, and a couple of
others I’ve forgotten about now. For live
stage use, tube amps can be great, no
doubt. For home use, most of these amps
just didn’t work that well for my needs.
Tube amps work great when driven to a
certain level, which is often not compatible
for home or studio use; they’re just too
loud. Even at some gigs, higher-watt tube
amps just aren’t needed. Will there be a
seismic shift in guitar players moving away
from tube amps to solid-state? Not anytime
soon, but it’s great to have alternatives.
there’s nothing wrong with that, some
indeed have glorious tone . . . just don’t
get too caught up in the hype. I see some
players spending more time discussing
which NOS tubes work best in which
positions, with which speaker, and other
esoterica. For me, I decided the precious
time I have available to play guitar is better
spent actually playing guitar.
If you find yourself in a similar dilemma, give
some of the solid-state gear a try. Quilter,
Tech21, and Roland to name a few, might
just surprise you. For now, I’m extremely
happy with my tone, something that not
enough players seem to experience! The
forums and social media are filled with
“must-have” tube amp offerings, and
ToneReport.com
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