Do You Gig With Solid State Amps? - Page 2

woodman · May 14th, 2008, 11:11 PM

i'll grudgingly play a solid-state amp if forced to in a backline situation. but as an old geezer set in my ways, i will never own one again. but hey, that's just me -- look at a guy like Arlo, he's a picker's picker and he likes SS just fine.

robbysturgis · May 14th, 2008, 11:26 PM

I gigged for like three years with my Fender M80. Great sound, versatile, clean, plus crunch, and great spring reverb, used to play a MIM Strat through it.

When the band broke up, I bought a tele and a Blues Jr. and didn't touch the M80 for a couple years.

Plugged it in a month ago with the tele and forgot how great it sounded.

turn_up_the_tele · May 14th, 2008, 11:47 PM

Hey;

I only use SS amps in both my live rig and for recording. And this comming from a guy who owns classic Vox and Fender tube amps.

My rig consits of 2 Fender Power Chorus 2 x 12 amps. Red Knobs, made in the USA in the late 80's. I love the sound I can get from these. I play mostly Brit rock and with a TS 808 in front of these 2 guys, heaven. I like the coldness I can get from them.

I wanted a rig that would set my tone apart, and I think I have acheived that with this combintaion of amps. My main guitar is a '76 MusicMaster, so that maye have something to do with it too.

This is something I put togeather using photoshop and guitar geek:

Jeremy Palmer · May 14th, 2008, 11:48 PM

My Tech 21 Trademark 60 does just fine for me. I can get most sounds that I want out of it, without breaking the bank (or my shoulder!)

frank sumatra · May 15th, 2008, 12:02 AM

+1 on the T21 Trademark 60. Very versatile, but I find I use channel 1 more and if I need grit, I will use an OD stompbox. The tube amp stays in the living room now.

MikeSRV69 · May 15th, 2008, 12:26 AM

After playing out with tube amps ranging from 80's Marshalls to 60's Fenders to 90's Riveras I have been happily gigging with a mosfet Randall RG100 combo for over a year. I play country and need loud and clean for indoor and outdoor stages and the Randall delivers the goods. My overdrive gives me dirt when I need it, and the amp is ridiculously loud. I know it's not a cool amp to have in boutique circles, but who cares? I make a living with it, and I still have a stock 66 Super Reverb for tracking. I started gigging in the early 80's and, due to budgets, had primarily ss gear for years. After being off of it for so long, I find I enjoy the tightness and loudness of the ss thing. Most guys are worried about distortion but my thing is clean tones so ss amps work for me. Maybe if chicks at the gigs start asking if I am playing tubes, I will start to care, but for now all is good. My two cents...

Al Watsky · May 15th, 2008, 12:41 AM

Well I use SS amps a lot, over 30 years of SS gear, before that all tube.
I have used 3 different Polytones,2 different Peavey Bandits, a Fender Stage 100 and 2 different Pritchard Amps.
I love the Pritchards, they never let me down. The sounds from my Pritchard amp have been heard all over the world and I've only scratched the surface of what the amp can do.
Also have used tube amps hundreds of them. I've owned literally dozens of Fender amps. I am totally in love with all eras of Fender amps. From the 40's
and right up to now. Point to Point or PCB. Great stuff.
What I use on a given day depends on what I need for the job at hand or whats at hand at the job.
If you use effects you already have lots of SS in your signal path.
It all depends on how you use the gear you have available.
Its possible to make great sounds with Either SS or Tube amps.
If I can I'll record some of the shows I do in Canada in the next few days and post a link. Then you can tell me if my Pritchard Amp sounds good to you folks. The next record I'm doin' will be SS.
The last record was Tube.
Last gig was SS.
You need both. If I'm traveling I like the SS gear, it takes the bumps better.
Its fun to combine a SS amp with a tube amp. For a while , years ago I liked to use a Polytone MiniBrute with a BF Deluxe. Sounded great.
I have a gig in Montreal this Saturday night, 2 twin reverbs, the next day , I'll be in the studio recording classic rock sounds on a SS Pritchard. When I tour the record most likely the concerts will be played on Tube gear , mainly because thats what the rental companies provide.
This is a rambling post, I guess my point is that it seems silly to think that Art is unable to transcend the gear.

trag-o-caster · May 15th, 2008, 08:33 AM

I've had good experiences using certain SS amps. I still have an old Lab Series L11 head around here, although I haven't gigged with it in over a couple of years. I've recorded with it too. Sounds great IMO. I've also had good experiences onstage with Tech 21 stuff, BluesCubes, and the clean channel of a Peavey Bandit 65 along with a Morley JD-10 preamp was my main setup several years ago.

One thing I've noticed with SS is that tone controls seem to be a little extreme. If you change a setting only slightly you get a major tone change - not always for the better. You end up tweaking the thing ENDLESSLY trying to find that "sweet spot". With a good tube amp, you walk up to it, plug in, and BANG - there's the amps tone! The tone controls just fine tune what's already there. That doesn't seem to happen even with GOOD solid state.

Teleglide · May 15th, 2008, 09:12 AM

I have a Polytone Minibrute that I use for small jazz gigs, but that's the only time I use SS unless my amp has a problem. I keep a Crate Powerblock in the truck in case my Deluxe Reverb blows up.

I used to have a Lab Series L5 that I used once in a while. It's a nice amp, and BB King favors these when he can find one. Weighed a ton though.

May 14th, 2008, 11:11 PM	#41 (permalink)
woodman Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Mint Hill, NC Age: 62 Posts: 5,362	i'll grudgingly play a solid-state amp if forced to in a backline situation. but as an old geezer set in my ways, i will never own one again. but hey, that's just me -- look at a guy like Arlo, he's a picker's picker and he likes SS just fine. __________________ Truth is stranger than fact ... www.myspace.com/woodymitchellmusic BAND PAGES: www.myspace.com/stragglerswing (Stragglers - Western Swing) www.myspace.com/loafersgloryband (Loafers Glory - '70s country-rock)

May 14th, 2008, 11:26 PM	#42 (permalink)
robbysturgis Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: fairfax Posts: 359	I gigged for like three years with my Fender M80. Great sound, versatile, clean, plus crunch, and great spring reverb, used to play a MIM Strat through it. When the band broke up, I bought a tele and a Blues Jr. and didn't touch the M80 for a couple years. Plugged it in a month ago with the tele and forgot how great it sounded. __________________ In early '57, I bought a Fender Telecaster. ~ Johnny Rivers

May 15th, 2008, 08:33 AM	#48 (permalink)
trag-o-caster Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Flushing, Michigan Posts: 4,302	I've had good experiences using certain SS amps. I still have an old Lab Series L11 head around here, although I haven't gigged with it in over a couple of years. I've recorded with it too. Sounds great IMO. I've also had good experiences onstage with Tech 21 stuff, BluesCubes, and the clean channel of a Peavey Bandit 65 along with a Morley JD-10 preamp was my main setup several years ago. One thing I've noticed with SS is that tone controls seem to be a little extreme. If you change a setting only slightly you get a major tone change - not always for the better. You end up tweaking the thing ENDLESSLY trying to find that "sweet spot". With a good tube amp, you walk up to it, plug in, and BANG - there's the amps tone! The tone controls just fine tune what's already there. That doesn't seem to happen even with GOOD solid state. __________________ Timothy Jon Lamb

May 14th, 2008, 11:47 PM	#43 (permalink)
turn_up_the_tele TDPRI Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 34	Hey; I only use SS amps in both my live rig and for recording. And this comming from a guy who owns classic Vox and Fender tube amps. My rig consits of 2 Fender Power Chorus 2 x 12 amps. Red Knobs, made in the USA in the late 80's. I love the sound I can get from these. I play mostly Brit rock and with a TS 808 in front of these 2 guys, heaven. I like the coldness I can get from them. I wanted a rig that would set my tone apart, and I think I have acheived that with this combintaion of amps. My main guitar is a '76 MusicMaster, so that maye have something to do with it too. This is something I put togeather using photoshop and guitar geek:

May 14th, 2008, 11:48 PM	#44 (permalink)
Jeremy Palmer TDPRI Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Princeton, MN Age: 29 Posts: 26	My Tech 21 Trademark 60 does just fine for me. I can get most sounds that I want out of it, without breaking the bank (or my shoulder!)

May 15th, 2008, 12:02 AM	#45 (permalink)
frank sumatra Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 121	+1 on the T21 Trademark 60. Very versatile, but I find I use channel 1 more and if I need grit, I will use an OD stompbox. The tube amp stays in the living room now.

May 15th, 2008, 12:26 AM	#46 (permalink)
MikeSRV69 TDPRI Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Chicago area Posts: 21	After playing out with tube amps ranging from 80's Marshalls to 60's Fenders to 90's Riveras I have been happily gigging with a mosfet Randall RG100 combo for over a year. I play country and need loud and clean for indoor and outdoor stages and the Randall delivers the goods. My overdrive gives me dirt when I need it, and the amp is ridiculously loud. I know it's not a cool amp to have in boutique circles, but who cares? I make a living with it, and I still have a stock 66 Super Reverb for tracking. I started gigging in the early 80's and, due to budgets, had primarily ss gear for years. After being off of it for so long, I find I enjoy the tightness and loudness of the ss thing. Most guys are worried about distortion but my thing is clean tones so ss amps work for me. Maybe if chicks at the gigs start asking if I am playing tubes, I will start to care, but for now all is good. My two cents...

May 15th, 2008, 12:41 AM	#47 (permalink)
Al Watsky TDPRI Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: New Jersey Age: 56 Posts: 87	Well I use SS amps a lot, over 30 years of SS gear, before that all tube. I have used 3 different Polytones,2 different Peavey Bandits, a Fender Stage 100 and 2 different Pritchard Amps. I love the Pritchards, they never let me down. The sounds from my Pritchard amp have been heard all over the world and I've only scratched the surface of what the amp can do. Also have used tube amps hundreds of them. I've owned literally dozens of Fender amps. I am totally in love with all eras of Fender amps. From the 40's and right up to now. Point to Point or PCB. Great stuff. What I use on a given day depends on what I need for the job at hand or whats at hand at the job. If you use effects you already have lots of SS in your signal path. It all depends on how you use the gear you have available. Its possible to make great sounds with Either SS or Tube amps. If I can I'll record some of the shows I do in Canada in the next few days and post a link. Then you can tell me if my Pritchard Amp sounds good to you folks. The next record I'm doin' will be SS. The last record was Tube. Last gig was SS. You need both. If I'm traveling I like the SS gear, it takes the bumps better. Its fun to combine a SS amp with a tube amp. For a while , years ago I liked to use a Polytone MiniBrute with a BF Deluxe. Sounded great. I have a gig in Montreal this Saturday night, 2 twin reverbs, the next day , I'll be in the studio recording classic rock sounds on a SS Pritchard. When I tour the record most likely the concerts will be played on Tube gear , mainly because thats what the rental companies provide. This is a rambling post, I guess my point is that it seems silly to think that Art is unable to transcend the gear.

May 15th, 2008, 09:12 AM	#49 (permalink)
Teleglide TDPRI Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Vershire, VT Posts: 83	I have a Polytone Minibrute that I use for small jazz gigs, but that's the only time I use SS unless my amp has a problem. I keep a Crate Powerblock in the truck in case my Deluxe Reverb blows up. I used to have a Lab Series L5 that I used once in a while. It's a nice amp, and BB King favors these when he can find one. Weighed a ton though.