Bought a solid state ...they've come a long way baby!

[Whisperer]

I have been pleasantly suprised at the sound of solid states these days. So impressed in fact , I bought a Laney LX20R... a 15 watt with spring reverb. I wanted something to plug a cd player/ mp3 and play along. It was just over $100

I'm wondering if it is similar to the Vox Pathfinder, I know Laney does the VC30 tube amp which is similar to the AC30... I'd love to compare the 2 SS amps side by side.

Anyhow, I did a little side by side comparison with my Gibson GA5 tube amp and was pleasantly impressed.

I took off the metal grill and put something a little nicer for a grill cloth on the front, looks real nice now.

I'm not sure how well the new higher wattage SS amps do in band situations, but this lower wattage amp sounds real nice cranked up too. In fact , it sounds better louder, very much tube sounding.

Pretty cool stuff!


Check em out!

[BMKindoll]

I know what you mean. I just bought a Peavey Rage 258 which uses Peavey's TransTube Technology. It's 25W and runs through an 8" speaker. I really like the sound of it. Sounds VERY much like a tube amp. Also has a few different settings, one of which sounds like a Fender amp, and one of which causes the amp to sound like a Vox type sound. I really like it.


Brandon

[rangercaster]

solid state provides great clean sound ... the overdrive and distortion thing has always been disappointing, but new technologies like transtube and digital modelling have made major improvements in SS sound

[cg73cmc]

SS amps have been quite capable for some time now ... for artists who were daring enough to use them and find ways to employ them.

Here's one famous one from Queen's Brian May ... and it's responsible for most of his identified "tone" - which I don't necessarily consider to be "clean" btw ...

[ProToneThinline]

Originally Posted by Whisperer

I'm not sure how well the new higher wattage SS amps do in band situations, but this lower wattage amp sounds real nice cranked up too. In fact , it sounds better louder, very much tube sounding.

I've been gigging a couple of SS Peavey amps for a couple of months now - an older Express 112 and a new Bandit. They both sound great on stage. The clean channel is excellent, and even had a very tube-like breakup when you crank it. The gain channel does both very low gain and really high gain very well, but has a little trouble with medium gain tones, so I usually use my pedals into the clean channel.

Yes, I still own some tube amps, but for now they're all sitting in storage. I also have a Vox AD50 modeling amp, but I prefer the Peaveys.

[Chicago Slim]

Originally Posted by ProToneThinline

I've been gigging a couple of SS Peavey amps for a couple of months now - an older Express 112 and a new Bandit. They both sound great on stage. The clean channel is excellent, and even had a very tube-like breakup when you crank it. The gain channel does both very low gain and really high gain very well, but has a little trouble with medium gain tones, so I usually use my pedals into the clean channel.

Yes, I still own some tube amps, but for now they're all sitting in storage. I also have a Vox AD50 modeling amp, but I prefer the Peaveys.

+1, I've got a collection of tube and SS amps. I sold the Roland and Vox modeling amps. Kept the Peavey Transtubes, Vox Pathfinder 15R and my favorite, Orange Crush 30R. The only thing that they don't do well is medium gain. My tube amps, are seeing less and less use.

[Tim73]

Originally Posted by rangercaster

solid state provides great clean sound ... the overdrive and distortion thing has always been disappointing, but new technologies like transtube and digital modelling have made major improvements in SS sound

I was just going to post similar views.

[ProToneThinline]

Originally Posted by Chicago Slim

The only thing that they don't do well is medium gain.

Slim, thanks for posting that. I was beginning to think it was my ear.

[Jakedog]

I have been gigging a Peavey Transtube Studio Pro 112. 65 Watts of really nice sounding SS tone. And yeah, when you push it hard, it sounds ridiculously "tubey". It'll do everything from indie-rock jangle to Bakersfield country with no trouble at all. I have a little trouble with overall volume, I have to crank it pretty high to use it on stage. I am thinking of either getting something with a little more wattage, or getting a second Pro and running stereo. They are so light, moving two wouldn't really be any problem.

Like most here, I don't really care for the OD channel, but a pedal out front takes care of things just fine, and the breakup when you crank the clean is very nice.

[castpolymer]

I have a Vox AD 30 VT in my office and I love it. The tube in the preamp warms it up just enough to be a sweet modding amp. Being able to switch from the Fender to Vox to Marshall tone is very nice. Definately worth the bucks.

[Daddydex]

I have never been happier with an amp purchase then I have been with my Peavey Bandit 112. The clean channel is loud and clean or loud and dirty. Yep, both. Whatever you want it to be. Do that with a tube amp. More (or less) clean headroom with the flick of a switch. The more you drive the amp the better it sounds. My tube amps are in the closet and I don't think they will be coming out for a long time.

Some may think it doesn't sound exactly like a tube amp but lets face it, all tube amps sound different anyway. So if you want a cheap, reliable, excellent sounding amplifier, look no further.

Dan

[JohnnyCrash]

I had to reheares on some SS stuff a long while back. Some of the transtube/flextube stuff actually had some very tube like dynamics (give and take). Still not quite there in the dirt department, but the cleans were almost complex.

Fast forward a few years and I've actually heard a lot of good sounds from SS amps. Some interesting textures I could even use on some tracks.

I guess what I'm saying is, the technology seems to be moving quickly and there are even some older SS amps that make some nice, useful sounds.

[Chicago Slim]

Originally Posted by Jakedog

I have been gigging a Peavey Transtube Studio Pro 112. 65 Watts of really nice sounding SS tone. And yeah, when you push it hard, it sounds ridiculously "tubey". It'll do everything from indie-rock jangle to Bakersfield country with no trouble at all. I have a little trouble with overall volume, I have to crank it pretty high to use it on stage. I am thinking of either getting something with a little more wattage, or getting a second Pro and running stereo. They are so light, moving two wouldn't really be any problem.

Like most here, I don't really care for the OD channel, but a pedal out front takes care of things just fine, and the breakup when you crank the clean is very nice.

The Studio Pro is one of my favorites. I've owned a Bandit and 100 watt Supreme XL, but I still prefer the Studio Pro. Do you still have the Blue Marvel speaker in yours?

A different speaker can give you more headroom, and possibly more volume. Plus, it allows you to shape your sound. An Eminence Patriot, will give you more of a Fenderish sound. While Celestions and Eminence Red Coat line, will give you more of a British sound. An Eminence Legend and Scheffield (Bandit) speakers, will retain the original sound, but give you more volume and headroom.

If you want to pair it with a second amp, a different amp would give you more tonal choices. I sometimes run the line out of my Vox Pathfinder 15R, into the effects return of the Studio Pro. This gives me a huge sound, with Vox chime and tremelo.

[Colo Springs E]

......I do agree s/s has come a long way. But for gigging, it just doesn't work for me.

I used a couple of s/s heads into a 4x12 cab when I was regularly playing out (Peavey Supreme and a Fender MetalHead). The PV was 100 or so watts, the Fender was actually 250w in the configuration I had.

As loud as that MetalHead was... it would somehow get lost in the mix. It was the wierdest thing, don't know how to explain it. Playing it at my house with no other instruments, it really sounded nice, had a ton of available tones, headroom out the wazoo on the clean channel, had built-in effects, and seemed well constructed. But on an actual gig, it was really disappoining. I only kept it for 4 or 5 gigs, and then went with a Mesa 30w F-30, and the presence of that amp vs the s/s rigs onstage was night and day--there really was no comparison.

Tube amps "punch" and "hit" harder, even if the volume isn't loud.

Might've come a long way, but not long enough for my tastes.

Just my experience and opinion... If it works for you, that's all that matters!

-Eric

[trailboss]

I still have an older Marshall Master Lead 30 combo that I can't bear to part with. It's a SS 30 watt, single 12, single channel, open back combo, made in England not China. I literally have thousands of hours on this one and it just won't die. It sounds pretty decent by itself, but at one point I owned two and ran them in stereo after a big pedalboard.

[Doug Ferguson]

Very true. I've had a long-standing appreciation of the Roland JC's. But for what I do, a tube amp still works best -- and I've collected this big ol' mess of tubes along the way, too.

[studio1087]

The VOX stuff is really good. I have a DA5 that my friends couldn't tell apart from my old 76 Champ. The Carvin SX stuff is really good also.

I will get used to practicing at night with the DA5 and my ear gets used to it. I just bought a little Fender Champion 600 and it I switch between the 600 and the DA5, the 600 "feels" and responds so much better.

I think that SS is getting better and better but sometimes you don't know what you're missing until you try tubes. It's easy to say....."This solid state Fender amp sounds pretty good today".

John

[Whisperer]

Originally Posted by ProToneThinline

Slim, thanks for posting that. I was beginning to think it was my ear.

Medium gain on the little Laney is quite nice to me, it's the full - on gain that I am not in love with. Pedals might be a good help, if there is one that works well with it, that can be a long expensive experiment with some amps though.

As for in the mix with a band , how about cranking the mids on the eq?

[play_loud]

I have a LANEY 120HCM (also has spring reverb) AND a Vox Pathfinder, I can confirm that they have a similar tonal palette (the laney is after all designed/ made in the UK), but with the Laney having far more versatility as a result of three band EQ (for each channel!) and far superior overdrive (the Vox OD is a little too “tinny” for my liking, but good for those classic British invasion sounds...).

I love my SS amp, for me it’s the perfect solution.

Why?

Because I can go from ultra clean to a blistering solo with the press of a footswitch (and not have to rely on pedals), because most tube amps in my price range have far too little EQ for my liking (‘one trick ponys’?), because I can play at high volumes with absolutely no break up, because I don’t have to worry about yearly services, changing tubes blah blah, because I can sound like the product of myself and my guitar and nothing else. Above all its because I play in a three piece band (guitars, bass drums) and as a result I have to cover alot of different bases, it simply wouldn’t be possible on a tube amp without having to continually roll the volume knob (roll off gain but roll off high end and volume too? no thanks). This is of course just my own opinion.

If its good enough for Mark Knopfler its good enough for me. Listen to Sultans of Swing...

Yupp.. that’s a Roland Jazz Chorus.

Long live SS!

Oh and for the record: I never have any problems cutting through the mix.

Cheers,
Chris

[jt100]

i gig with a Vox AD50VT and love it. I've had other musicians come up, compliment me on my tone and ask me if it's a tube amp. Great variety of usable sounds, and very user friendly. Plenty loud enough for club gigs where we only mic vocals too. I can't say enough good things about it.