Should I Just... Give Up?

[BrettFuzz]

For a few years now I have been trying to find a SS/modeling amp that would be "eh, close enough" to any of the tube amps I have been (un?)fortunate to have played (not even a specific one). I keep coming up short every time. And, truth be told, I have not even played that many tube amps and not even for that long... but the few I played, even for just a few minutes, seem to have ruined me forever for the SS/modeling amps. It's frustrating at best. I also have the misfortune of being the type of a person who walks into a room that I had only been to once before in my life and notice immediately that the couch was moved 2 inches closer to the tv and the plant pot is now facing the other way. So frustrating to live like this; I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. Anywhoo... here are some of the SS/modeling amps I have tried and my experience/opinion of them. Please keep in mind this is my own subjective opinion and if yours differs please don't take any negatives personally.

Roland Cube 80x - too muffled, could not get it to sound open no matter what, sounded like the amp was in a closet and not in the room with me

Katana 50 - this sounded fantastic after putting up with the Cube, the breakup and the presence (amp in the room feel) were miles ahead of the Cube; probably should have stopped here but... it could also be a 'false memory'... it's been a while

Katana 100 MK2 - started using a looper pedal and wanted the FX loop; sounded bigger than the 50 because it was... bigger? But also brighter... not in a good way; could have been the new, not yet fully broken-in speaker

Katana Artist Mk2 - only got it because I got a great deal on it; much much darker sounding than the 50 and the 100; had it for quite a while but could not fully get on with the Waza speaker, a speaker swap might have made this one passable

HotOne Ampero Stomp 2 with Headrush/Alto speaker - this had really good usable presets and overall sound; I just could not get that amp-in-the-room sound/presence no matter what FRFR (or other kind of) speakers I tried

Catalyst 60 - my latest; it sounds like a recording of a guitar tone, rather than an amp in the room (even tho it technically is an amp in the room). Weird because it's the Katanas that are often flagged as uninspiring, they lack character, etc., which is probably true, but at least they sound like the amp you are plugged into is what's generating that tone... and this is much worse, sounds way fake.

I also have a Roland Micro Cube (first version), Mustang I v2, Mustang LT25, Mustang Micro, also AmpliTube 5, Guitar Rig 6, Bias FX2 plug-ins and have also tried a bunch of other plug ins, out of which Neural DSP's Tone King was my favorite. I found out that I don't like anything smaller than 10" speaker and plug-ins sound great but not amp-in-the-room great.

The reason I have been looking for a SS/modeling amp is that I work from home and every hour or so I have about 5-10 min to spare so I grab a guitar and play... so I leave the amp on and ready all day... probably 10 hrs a day at the minimum, but more realistically 12+ hrs (yes, I have no life). A SS/Modeling amp I can either leave on all day or turn on/off every hour, it does not care. My one tube amp, tho, would hate me if I did either of the two things. I am looking for that amp-in-the-room sound/feel primarily because anything that does not provide that, no matter how great it sounds for what it is, is totally uninspiring to me.

But... hear me out... what if I got like 2 other tube amps and split the 12-14 hr duty among the 3 of them...4-5 hrs a day each? Does that even make sense? Am I crazy? Ok, don't answer this last one. Man... talk about the least efficient way to solve a problem... lol.

Or should I just turn on my one tube amp in the morning and leave it on all day and play it and deal with the consequences/mainteanance/rapair cost as they arise?

WWYD?

For the record, I feel really fortunate to have these kinds of problems because, compared to some of the rest of the world, these are not really problems... they are the "first world problems", a.k.a., "how much money should I spend on the thing nobody ever needs ever..." lol.

Either way, your input is appreciated and I thank you.

 

[USian Pie]

Are you saying literally every tube amp you've played sounds better than every solid state amp you've played?

My tube amp hasn't been turned on in years but the solid state amps I use aren't modelling amps. They are just guitar amps that happen to make sounds that please me.

Honestly, I'm kind of tired of the whole "tube vs solid state" debate on this forum and I'm not 100% sure you aren't baiting with this thread. It certainly seems perfectly formulated to generate another multi-page epic with tiresome references to "feel", "harsh", "artificial", "sterile", "responsive", "tonemaster", "the real thing", etc. My apologies if you are sincere.

So if you're looking for suggestions on a solid state amp you should try, you'll probably get them. To me, it seems like suggesting what kind of person someone should marry on a forum. Without hearing someone play and what tones they like, it's all just wild guesswork.

If what you really want to do is buy and maintain a couple of small tube amps, that's the only thing that will satisfy you. It's just a question of how much money and time you want to spend chasing other things so you can say, "I tried solid state amps and didn't like them" with conviction.

 

[SRHmusic]

There are more amps out there, of course, but the hassle of buying and selling gets old.

Is it really that terrible to wait 20 seconds for a tube amp to warm up? I guess if you do this once an hour for 10 minutes of playing it's not so good, what with the thermal cycling. But a couple times a day isn't so bad. A point to point wired amp should hold up pretty well.

For what it's worth, I'm very happy with a Blues Cube Artist, and almost as much with the Stage. They're not 100% modeling amps, but have discrete solid state (transistor) power amps. I compared the Artist side by side with a Katana 50, and the Artist was far better sounding and feeling to me. I find these good enough to not miss tube amps. Plus the variable power is helpful. (Best dynamics and feel are at the higher settings.) I've not found a side by side comparison to Tone Masters, which are modeling with class D output stages, but people on here seem to like them

 

[Killing Floor]

The “model” in “modeling amp” represents model.

 

[ce24]

Get a tube amp with a stand by switch……yes tube amps breathe….there is a breath that i can hear the no solid state can do……ive played plenty of both….i own both….but tubes get my playing time…i only use my ss for a monitor of my guitar only in my trio…..check out Traynor YGM3 or other small wattage Traynors.

 

[corliss1]

What's wrong with leaving tube amps on? Why would they hate you? You think they know the difference between being on for 5-6 hours at a gig vs your house? Play what you want, and it'll be just fine.

 

[BrettFuzz]

Are you saying literally every tube amp you've played sounds better than every solid state amp you've played?

My tube amp hasn't been turned on in years but the solid state amps I use aren't modelling amps. They are just guitar amps that happen to make sounds that please me.

Honestly, I'm kind of tired of the whole "tube vs solid state" debate on this forum and I'm not 100% sure you aren't baiting with this thread. It certainly seems perfectly formulated to generate another multi-page epic with tiresome references to "feel", "harsh", "artificial", "sterile", "responsive", "tonemaster", "the real thing", etc. My apologies if you are sincere.

So if you're looking for suggestions on a solid state amp you should try, you'll probably get them. To me, it seems like suggesting what kind of person someone should marry on a forum. Without hearing someone play and what tones they like, it's all just wild guesswork.

If what you really want to do is buy and maintain a couple of small tube amps, that's the only thing that will satisfy you. It's just a question of how much money and time you want to spend chasing other things so you can say, "I tried solid state amps and didn't like them" with conviction.

Apologies, I should have clarified that I am not a tube amp snob... never owned one until about 2 years ago... grew up playing an acoustic because that was all I could afford... got a first electric guitar and amp at 47 and a first tube amp at 50... no time to develop tube snobbery. I just have that curse to hear the slightest difference in tone.

 

[BrettFuzz]

Wait... Are you guys saying it's ok to leave the tube amp on all day? I mean, I grew up with tube TVs and they were on for most of the day almost every day but I have been conditioned to think that "your precious guitar tube amp should be off when you are not using it, and make sure to not turn it on/off more than 3 times a day". Is that not correct?

 

[BrettFuzz]

... They are just guitar amps that happen to make sounds that please me....

Therein lies my problem... not all of them do that for me.. not because I am used to the tube amp sound, I am not... but because I can unfortunately clearly hear the difference.

 

[corliss1]

Is that not correct?

Nope.

 

[BrettFuzz]

Without hearing someone play and what tones they like, it's all just wild guesswork.

You are right, I should have clarified:
I don't use pedals, nor I ever will.
I don't record, nor I ever will.
I don't play or care about the clean tone. I always play with at least some dirt.
I don't play metal.
LZ and old EC are my target tones.

 

[Lucius Paisley]

You are right, I should have clarified:
I don't use pedals, nor I ever will.
I don't record, nor I ever will.
I don't play or care about the clean tone. I always play with at least some dirt.
I don't play metal.
LZ and old EC are my target tones.

In that case - yes.

 

[Wooly Fox]

For your purposes, I don't think a SS amp will get close to the LZ or EC level without pedals.

Modelling amp wise, you're pretty much having to shoot for the expensive gear like Axe FX or Kemper or Quad Cortex to get into the ball park I imagine.

 

[Greenmachine]

My opinion is that you should (a) find an amp that sounds how you like, then (b) turn it on when you want to play it, and (c) turn it off when you're done.

Sincerely,
Another internet random guy.

 

[trandy9850]

Therein lies my problem... not all of them do that for me.. not because I am used to the tube amp sound, I am not... but because I can unfortunately clearly hear the difference.

That’s because you may be equating ”different” with “bad”.

It’s human nature…perfect example:

Guy‘s been playing the same guitar for ten years….he goes out and buys a different guitar that really caught his eye…problem is…it doesn’t sound or feel like the guitar he’s been playing for the last ten years….so it must be a “bad” guitar…not as good as the other one….even though it very well may be even better…but he doesn’t really give it a chance because it’s not like the other one.

I’ve seen this happen hundreds of times.

 

[2L man]

Tube combo which you like and has a light Neodym loudspeaker should keep smile in your face carrying than a modeler with a Ceramic and which you don't like even it might be bit heavier

 

[Trenchant63]

Chose a good quality SS amp that gets you the closest to what you want. Spend lots of time (patiently) with it to appreciate its response and nuances to your playing technique and learn how to use them. Amp will become your favorite even over tube amps. Now when I use other amps, I miss the response from my SS (analog) amp. That’s how it worked for me anyway.

 

[VintageSG]

Providing the heat is vented properly, there's no issue with leaving valve amps on for extended periods. Think about the old radiograms and tabletops that'd be switched on at 6am, and powered off at 11pm. They worked for years. Valves don't get hotter and hotter. They reach their equilibrium and stay there.

The sheer amount of power wasted doing so though is another matter.

There are some superb solid state amps. From the humble Hotone, through older Vox pathfinders, Orange, Quilter, Fender, Roland. the list goes on.

 

[Brent Hutto]

My opinion is that you should (a) find an amp that sounds how you like, then (b) turn it on when you want to play it, and (c) turn it off when you're done.

Sincerely,
Another internet random guy.

Sometimes the solution to a problem is to realize it's not a problem at all. This is one of those times. The random guy has nailed it.

Not playing an amp you love the sound of because you might one day down the road wear it out or need to replace a burned-out part is a false "problem". Just play it.

 

[Red Ryder]

Buy a cheeseburger.