Is anybody done with the Tube vs SS thread wars?

I may end up having only SS to play, but I won't like it!


OTOH, I guess I can just pretend with my virtual tube glow:



don't really worry too much one way or the other. S'all good to me.

 

It's all about attitude.

 

As to the original question, YES.

 

It all changed when the Kemper profiler and Axe-FX II made it nearly impossible for discerning ears to hear any difference...

 

Sounds about right. I'm wondering when we'll arrive at the point of the cost outweighing the benefits and these other countries decide they're done.

 

Notice it's the cat with the bad attitude, and the dog is the happy one?

 

And from what I've been told, they have the tactile/response aspect down as well.

 

I know for fact that the Kemper does, based on owning one for a few years. Digital isn't for everybody, which is absolutely fine. Mesa Triple Rectifiers aren't for every tube amp purist, either-even though they're tube amps.

 

I've heard it through the little accompanying 8" and it sounds good, the 12" it sounds great, and a 412 and it is glorious - ridiculous looking, but glorious.

 

Well there's this guy too. He's in France.

 

I agree.

If you can push air through quality FRFR monitors from one of the high end modelers you're golden.

 

I'm waiting for the day our digital overlords claim the throne. I like tube amps, and use them, but know full well that other possibilities exist. I was pretty excited after talking to a working player who used Ax-FX. What he had to say about seemed to good to be true, but wasn't. I stuck around for his set to listen. I was very impressed. If it sounds and feels good, I'm all for it. Like the Tech 21 amps. They really nail it, but for the poorly implemented effects loop, it would have satisfied me completely.

 

It could be argued that "it all changed" when Peavey, Polytone, Acoustic and Roland made pro quality SS amps that pros chose to use and earn a living with.
Decades ago.
Further advances have not been as significant in terms of SS amps becoming legit pro level gear.

While the internet debated details involving how well a computer can mimic a tube amp seems to be a really big deal, in reality it's old news that some players choose SS and digital amps and signal processing.

In terms of a major shift in gear choice, the improvement of PA gear has been more significant, along with the lowering of volume levels due to OSHA, which has pushed big amps aside in favor of smaller amps.

It might also be worth noting that on the internet, "discerning ears" are one of the least respected measuring tools, to a point where it's hardly even worth claiming you hear a difference between a cheap device and an expensive device, since you will be deafened by ridicule for trusting your ears.

While I'm impressed by the amount of time and money that was spent trying to mimic a tube amp with a computer, I have no interest in playing guitar through a computer.
So for me nothing has changed.

Actually one thing that has changed, is that with the renaissance of hand wired smaller tube amps, a savvy shopper can buy half a dozen different great sounding tube amps for less than the price of a high end modeler.

I love reading about players selling off all their tube amps in favor of a computer.
Keep it up everybody!
I have room for more tube amps!
Sorry for your loss...

 

Well, I meant on this thread...

 

I'm a software engineer, so I get how intriguing it must be to BUILD stuff like the Kemper and AxeFX.

But it's all kind of crazy. It's an insane project. It's like if the Apollo Space program was used to go to the moon to get some dust to make some uber special glue that just got used to glue two pieces of wood together for a home woodworking project. Meanwhile there was a tube of regular wood glue, a hammer, and some nails available on the bench for free.

How many electrical components are in a tube amp vs a Mustang GT? Remember if it's got an ARM processor in there since just about everyone of these devices is basically a smart phone system on a chip that's a few billion transistors to run the amp.

 

I don't know why anyone gets upset about the debate. If I think a bottle of wine is worth 2k and pay to drink to my taste, why do people not paying it or drinking it care if they think it tastes like a £5 bottle?

People who cannot taste the difference are looked after, people who want the 2k bottle are looked after. Who needs to be told a valve amp is heavy, and old tech? EVERYONE WITH A BIG TUBE AMP KNOWS THIS ALREADY: LEAVE US TO OUR TASTES

If it helps anyone, until I had spent about 40 minutes really exploring it, I never saw much added by tubes

 

The thing is, for some reason, some people want to go beyond "this is my preference" to "I am right and you are wrong".

 

I don't get invested in the tube vs. SS thing, but I will say two things have blown my mind this year. 1) The new Vox MV50 series with the Korg Nutube (repurposed VFD technology from Noritake) sounds really good. 2) I realized the Strymon Flint is a digital pedal. For me, all bets are off, and the fundamental categories are now "Delivers the Goods" and "Doesn't." The how is just a technicality.

 

I would like to gratuitously gainsay what you wrote there and say you are wrong/I am right

I am reminded of the wag who said 'there are two types of people in the world: those who like to reduce the world to a division of 2 types, and those who do not'