Great article on the subject, " Why tubes sound better "

[rjtwangs]

My friend Tommie James, who is a noted vintage amp collector, his amps have been featured in Vintage Guitar, Fretboard Journal and Premier Guitar, sent me this great article, scroll down to the 5th paragraph....hope you find it as informative as I did!

https://www.kenrockwell.com/audio/w...iNvfcCIdzqzvLlPN0YMOYC3mUOLdszSrwNvt-FrlqHtVM



RJ

 

[nixdad]

Oh yeah, the camera guy. Informative chap.

 

[Marc Morfei]

So basically, tube amps sound better because...they sound better. Ok then. I agree.

 

[EspyHop]

And then there’s the Marshall Lead 20…

 

[JRapp]

Hmmm, but they sound even better when you put SS and digital pedals in front of them (a common practice)? Or use diodes in the preamp circuit to generate distortion? Then we pump that $3000 15 watt boutique amp through Class D power amps, digital effects, time-alignment delays, board EQ so people can hear you...Right. Not much left of that Telefunken 12AX7. Some tube amps sound great for some kinds of music; many do not. It is amusing that this is from an audiophile source as every effort was made to eliminate distortion in those designs since the 1940s (Leo Fender also tried to eliminate distortion in his designs). I've yet to see a home audio system comprised of JCM 800s or tweed Champs.

 

[ucnick]

In that article, there are a lot of what one of my English professors in college called "gross generalizations " - extending the characteristics of a few examples of something to everything in it's class. IMHO, I honestly believe Pat Quilter would take exception to a number of statements in this article, as Pat is a master of amp design both SS and tubes. I have had several discussions with him via email over the years and his breadth of knowledge of both type of amp is astonishing...and humbling.

 

[JL_LI]

So tube amps sound better because of harmonic distortion that enriches the sound. And they have that harmonic richness at low volume. I hear that every day when I play through my Mesa Boogie Express 5:25. I find the 5W setting brighter and realize that I’m hearing harmonic richness. I don’t have to play loud to hear this. In my house, I limit loudness to what I can sing over without a mic. The article makes broad generalizations, but those generalizations provide insight into why I hear what I hear from my amp.

 

[tele12]

Hmmm, but they sound even better when you put SS and digital pedals in front of them (a common practice)? Or use diodes in the preamp circuit to generate distortion? Right. Some tube amps sound great; many do not. It is amusing that this is from an audiophile source as every effort is made to eliminate distortion in those designs since the 1940s.

Below is a link to an article where the state tubes are better where there is an electrical/mechanical interface. Two examples they cited are poweramp/speaker and microphone preamp.
So a solid state pedal or preamp would not affect the sound.


http://www.theaudioarchive.com/TAA_Resources_Tubes_versus_Solid_State.htm

 

[JL_LI]

Below is a link to an article where the state tubes are better where there is an electrical/mechanical interface. Two examples they cited are poweramp/speaker and microphone preamp.
So a solid state pedal or preamp would not affect the sound.


http://www.theaudioarchive.com/TAA_Resources_Tubes_versus_Solid_State.htm

This may be true. I use a BOSS EQ-200 in front of my Boogie for tone shaping. Between the guitar and the amp input, it’s before the gain stages but in reality it acts as a preamp. I usually use it to roll off high or low frequencies but I can also use it as a boost, either in specific frequency bands or across the spectrum. The equalizer has no affect on tube amp sweetness, only the frequency distribution that’s amplified.

 

[bgmacaw]

Are there crystal lattice involved?

 

[DougM]

The kool-aid is especially tasty this time of year

 

[MilwMark]

Well, as long as their wives sometimes comment tubes sound better, it’s settled then.

 

[donrichfan]

Are there crystal lattice involved?

You bet.

 

[superjam144]

My amp evolution went like: Fender Frontman/Cheap Peavey 15 watt > Line 6 Spider 2 > Fender HRD/Fender Blues Jr.

I haven't played top of the line solid states yet. But the difference from the line 6 to the HRD and BJ was so astounding, so monumental. My guitar playing went to new heights... And I am still enjoying the tube sound today.

The Roland Blues Cube has certainly been tempting for me... But I love my junior, and am content with my gear at the moment. Still breaking in my tele in my mind. Love that too.

My dad bought me the Line 6 and I can still remember the joy I had when I opened it. Man that meant so much to me... He has no idea, to this day how much that meant.

 

[NoTeleBob]

Mostly tube amps sound "better" because they sound like what people played in the early days and we want to sound like that.

That said, there is a "warmth" to a tube amp and a sterility to a solid state sound in most cases. And warmth sounds better to us as humans. The very goal with solid state in the early days was to get a pure sound without tube type distortion. Sterile. "Isn't this great". And then we go there... and it was great for Hi-Fi, and not attractive for guitars. So people reconsidered tubes for guitars.

The solid-state exceptions are usually amps where they tried hard to get the to a sound a la the tube amp warmth we prefer by purposefully altering the output. With rare exceptions (e.g. BB King and the like), tube amp sound is our preferred output.

 

[DougM]

So, everyone here hates Albert King's SS tone with his Acoustic 270, or Jeff Beck's with his Sunn Coliseum Leads?

 

[Peegoo]

The secret to tubes sounding so superior is the bias control. The one labeled 'confirmation'.

 

[Peegoo]

So, everyone here hates Albert King's SS tone with his Acoustic 270, or Jeff Beck's with his Sunn Coliseum leads?

And Santana at Woodstock. The amp he played through was a transistor model built by Bob Gallien.

 

[DougM]

And Santana at Woodstock. The amp he played through was a transistor model built by Bob Gallien.

I knew that. Mike Shrieve is from my hometown and one of my best friends was in a band with his younger brother Kevin, who's a guitar player. They used to get to go hang out at Carlos' house (I never got invited!), and Gregg Rollie bought my friend, who is a keyboard player, his first Fender Rhodes. Some people have all the luck!

 

[DougM]

I read that article and it's a lot of hogwash propaganda. He says that the only good playback in 1970 was from an FM broadcast and there were no good speakers. I guess he never heard of all the great sounding turntables from AR, Linn, Technics, Pioneer, Denon, Dual, JVC, Thorens, and others that were around then, the great cartridges from Shure, Pickering, Empire, ADC, Stanton, Audio Technica, and others, and great speakers available then, such as the JBL L100, and the Klipschorn and La Scala, designed in 1947, and are to this day two of the best sounding speakers you can buy.