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  #81   Report Post  
Karl Uppiano
 
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"Lord Valve" wrote in message
...


Karl Uppiano wrote:

But Harvey, you must remember, LV knows everything.


Does he know *why* tube amps sound different than transistor amps?


Probably. ;-)

Does he
know *how* a transistor amp might be designed to sound like a tube amp?


Does he give a ****? Probably not. ;-)

Hint: It has to do with how these amps overload, iron in the signal path
(or
lack of it), and the amount, type and speed of feedback, etc.


Gosh, thanks.


Don't mention it. I'm just throwing stuff out there because I think it's
interesting. I've always been puzzled about why people obsess over
implementation details.

Hint: Tubes *and* FETs are both field-effect devices.


Hint: trons need plenty of room to frolic.

Now, if you wanna squish 'em all up into an itty-bitty
piece of sand, you go right ahead. I prefer free-range
organic trons which have plenty of room to do the bop,
the shimmy, the shake, or whatever other gyrations
their little homespun inspiration may lead them to try.
Don't need no consarned foreign molecules in the
way, or no dope, neither.

Discuss.


Go right ahead.


It has already started.

Lord Valve
Uberrohrenfuhrer, Thousand Year Glass Reich










  #82   Report Post  
Scott Dorsey
 
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Karl Uppiano wrote:
"Scott Dorsey" wrote in message

And I can build you a transistor amp and you can swap the 2N3055 output
transistors for MJ10004 (and rebias) and it'll sound different, again
because the distortion spectrum is measurably different. (The same goes
for a tube amp with swaps between tube types).


That wouldn't surprise me, but if/when the distortion is below the noise,
what is it that we're perceiving, if anything?


If you can answer that question with good solid supporting evidence, you
can probably get a whole issue of the JAES all to yourself. That is a
question that people have been asking for 75 years or so. The answers
get better, but they remain pretty diffuse.

FETs actually were the first transistors, having been discovered some time
in the late 19th century. But they weren't practical (to the point of
being
able to carry useful current) until well after junction transistors had
become popular. I'll think of the guy that discovered the things... Wentz
I want to say? It's discussed in the MIT Press book on the history of
electric
power distribution.


I should have said "practical transistors".


I'm _still_ waiting for practical transistors today. Either you can get
low noise or high breakdown voltages, you can't get both. And if you want
high breakdown voltages and high input impedance, you can't get low
Miller capacitance. This isn't the future I was promised. And semiconductor
guys are increasingly trying to sell me lower and lower voltage parts. For
God's sake, I want _higher_ operating levels, not lower ones. Take your 3V
rails and stick them, Maxim. I want +/-48V supplies minimum.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
  #85   Report Post  
Yuri T.
 
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BB king plays a Lab Series.

LV


When I've seen him it was a Fender Twin.

Lab Series, ugh. The few I've heard rather sucked but there may be exceptions.


  #86   Report Post  
Yuri T.
 
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Sure, but the curves are different. Hell, for that matter, the curves on
beam power tetrodes and straight pentodes are totally different. And the
curves on different FET configurations are different. It's all different.
It's a wonder anyone can agree on how things should sound at all.
---scott


No one can agree....
  #87   Report Post  
Yuri T.
 
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All the research in the AES isn't going to change a player's attitude.
If they play blues, they'll play tubes until there's no more vacuum.
It isn't about high fidelity. It's about attitude.


Umm, c'mon Mike it's about more than 'attitude'. It's about TONE. It's
also most impossible to explain. In general tube guitar amps just feel
better, more organic to the player. Kinda like the difference between
a real piano with nice action and a digital piano with nice action.
Not that there aren't decent soild state amps. But there's just
something 'bout them tubes. Plus you can't argue with a 40 year old
amp that has never failed me. (Though it did about knock me
unconscious once before I installed the grounded plug.)

Comparing guitar amps is more subjective than microphones. There's the
interaction of the player, guitar and whatever little boxes are
plugged in too.

I own a POD. Useful tool but there's just a bit of latency between the
picking of the note and the hearing of the note that bothers me.
  #89   Report Post  
hank alrich
 
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x-no archive: yes

Mike Rivers wrote:

I own a POD. Useful tool but there's just a bit of latency between the
picking of the note and the hearing of the note that bothers me.


Hardly representative of a solid state amplifier. That's like a
fair-to-middlin' digital piano with a bad action.


This is .sig material! g

--
ha
  #92   Report Post  
Roger W. Norman
 
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A more appropriate assessment is that a tube amp fails in a predictable way,
and as it fails (speakers break up, transformer sags, etc) it produces a
sound that seems to emanate from the interaction of the player, guitar and
amp. But it's like using a soften function on a digital photo. While the
photo may become more pleasing on the overall view, it's actually less sharp
and less detailed. Or, maybe it's more warm than true to the color, or
whatever. That's why guitar players like what they hear when they've
cranked the amp up to get the transformer to sag and why they are dumping
100 watts into vintage 25 watt speakers, etc.

I know because I bought my first electric guitar in 1961 (still have it) and
so I have some serious guitar playing under my belt too. But the fact is
that I've dealt with hundreds of guitar players over the years, and to a
fault most rock players simply have no ability to determine WHY they like
the sound of an overdriven amp, they just do, and mostly, to be totally
honest, is because it hides most of the stuff they do wrong, and allows they
to pin their perceived playing abilities on the amp's ability to hide what
they don't do right.

I'm sure you've run into situations where players sound good on a Les
Paul/Marshall combination but when they get hold of an acoustic, they can't
play for a good ****. They explain it as a difference in the way the
guitars are set up, but the fact is they never learned good guitar technique
in the first place. They are jammers.

The reason I say this is that, like I said, I've dealt with tons of players,
and the best ones are the ones that know the guitar inside and out, can use
an amp or not, and can make any music they play sound good.

Now I'm not doubting your abilities, Al, I'm just making a generalized
statement here from my experiences over the years. Guitar players are a
dime a dozen, but good guitar players are more like $100 per pound. Gantt
Kushner, here locally in DC is an example of a good guitar player. His amp
is a Bogner, and while it can crank and kick with the best of the blues boys
in town, it's capable enough to allow him to do anything his playing
abilities can come up with. Then there's Steve Abshire, Paul Bollenbach,
Paul Winger, and a number of other fantastically good players that can sit
in on any session or live event without so much as a "what key" statement.
I'd say fully 98% of the guitar players out there don't fit this mold.

So I'd suggest that the tale of the vintage guitar amp is a tale of minimal
pages in the runes of guitar playing. While certain amps seem to work best
for the majority, it's the spectacular that belie the myth.

--


Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio

"play-on" wrote in message
...
On 29 Nov 2004 21:34:04 -0500, (Mike Rivers)
wrote:


In article

writes:

Umm, c'mon Mike it's about more than 'attitude'. It's about TONE.


This goes hand in hand with "attitude" when it comes to guitar
players.

also most impossible to explain. In general tube guitar amps just feel
better, more organic to the player. Kinda like the difference between
a real piano with nice action and a digital piano with nice action.
Not that there aren't decent soild state amps. But there's just
something 'bout them tubes.


This is "attitude" for sure.


No Mike, it's not. Listen, I've been playing as a pro guitarist for
over 30 years, and I have tried just about every amp over the years.

Tube amps are a "feel" thing -- as he said, it's a bit like keyboard
action. A tube amp, when pushed, pushes back a little bit and the
guitarist can play with the dynamics of this. It's kind of like
having a giant tube compressor.

Al



  #93   Report Post  
Mike Rivers
 
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In article playonATcomcast.net writes:

This is "attitude" for sure.


No Mike, it's not. Listen, I've been playing as a pro guitarist for
over 30 years, and I have tried just about every amp over the years.


It sounds like you have an "attitude" there. You've been playing for
30 years so you know what's right.

YOu have a preference, and that's fine. It's your craft. When you
insist that the other kind doesn't feel right to you, that's
"attitude."

Tube amps are a "feel" thing -- as he said, it's a bit like keyboard
action. A tube amp, when pushed, pushes back a little bit and the
guitarist can play with the dynamics of this. It's kind of like
having a giant tube compressor.


Why isn't this possible in solid state amplifiers? I'll bet it is.
Could be you've just never wanted to believe it's possible. Or that
since you found your sound, you just didn't worry about all the other
possibilities. That's perfectly normal.



--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo
  #94   Report Post  
Roger W. Norman
 
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Then again, of the number of amps I have, one is a Traynor Mark III 100 watt
with 4 GT 6L6s and at full tilt it plays absolutely clean into an Ampeg V22
4-12 cab (the entire amp has been re-tubed). Yanked two of the 6L6s and
it's got some ability to do something else. So obviously, if the amp is
tube and it only plays clean as designed, then your speculation is
incorrect.

There are tons of factors involved, like how much voltage is being put
across the tube plates, how beefy the power transformer is, what the
efficiency of the speakers and cabinet are, etc. To simply suggest that
tubes are what make the difference is folly. And even if it were true, then
tube age would make a more pronounced difference than any tube aficionado is
going to allow for, because I've seen players with 20 year old tubes
adamantly suggesting their amp is the best whilst other players with new
tubes in their old rigs or NOS tubes in their new rigs kick the most butt.

AND I've recorded Charley Bird playing an acoustic/electric who's tone was
to die for. Unfortunately he did within a month of his last concert of
which I recorded. But the point is that the "stuff" of playing guitar is
the guitar playing, not the amp it goes through.

--


Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio

"Yuri T." wrote in message
om...
play-on wrote in message

. ..
On 24 Nov 2004 17:38:51 -0800, (Georg Grosz)
wrote:

From what I can tell, the famous guitarists are the ones using modern
solid state gear. There may still be tube amps being used by some rock
and blues players, but on jazz gigs, I see mostly small solid state
amps.


Maybe jazz players use them, but if you are going to talk about really
"famous" guitar players (most jazz guitarist being totally unknown to
the general public) the vast majority continue to use tube amps.

Al


Yeah, that's funny. Almost everyone I know uses tube amps. Jazz
players tend to be the exception. Then you'll see Polytones and JC
120s. Both of which are too clean and dry for rock, blues, etc.



  #96   Report Post  
Paul Asbell
 
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Roger W. Norman wrote:

A more appropriate assessment is that a tube amp fails in a predictable way,
and as it fails (speakers break up, transformer sags, etc) it produces a
sound that seems to emanate from the interaction of the player, guitar and
amp. But it's like using a soften function on a digital photo. While the
photo may become more pleasing on the overall view, it's actually less sharp
and less detailed. Or, maybe it's more warm than true to the color, or
whatever. That's why guitar players like what they hear when they've
cranked the amp up to get the transformer to sag and why they are dumping
100 watts into vintage 25 watt speakers, etc.

I know because I bought my first electric guitar in 1961 (still have it) and
so I have some serious guitar playing under my belt too. But the fact is
that I've dealt with hundreds of guitar players over the years, and to a
fault most rock players simply have no ability to determine WHY they like
the sound of an overdriven amp, they just do, and mostly, to be totally
honest, is because it hides most of the stuff they do wrong, and allows they
to pin their perceived playing abilities on the amp's ability to hide what
they don't do right.

I'm sure you've run into situations where players sound good on a Les
Paul/Marshall combination but when they get hold of an acoustic, they can't
play for a good ****. They explain it as a difference in the way the
guitars are set up, but the fact is they never learned good guitar technique
in the first place. They are jammers.

The reason I say this is that, like I said, I've dealt with tons of players,
and the best ones are the ones that know the guitar inside and out, can use
an amp or not, and can make any music they play sound good.

Now I'm not doubting your abilities, Al, I'm just making a generalized
statement here from my experiences over the years. Guitar players are a
dime a dozen, but good guitar players are more like $100 per pound. Gantt
Kushner, here locally in DC is an example of a good guitar player. His amp
is a Bogner, and while it can crank and kick with the best of the blues boys
in town, it's capable enough to allow him to do anything his playing
abilities can come up with. Then there's Steve Abshire, Paul Bollenbach,
Paul Winger, and a number of other fantastically good players that can sit
in on any session or live event without so much as a "what key" statement.
I'd say fully 98% of the guitar players out there don't fit this mold.

So I'd suggest that the tale of the vintage guitar amp is a tale of minimal
pages in the runes of guitar playing. While certain amps seem to work best
for the majority, it's the spectacular that belie the myth.




Good, thoughtful post here, Roger.

There's a reason that many savvy players use the word "forgiving" to
describe certain amps and guitars. It is sometimes used as a compliment,
to indicate that the amp or guitar makes 'good sounds" regardless of how
its played. A lot of compression, harmonic distortion, amp/speaker sag,
or spacial FX like 'verb or cathedral-like delay can have that effect on
certain players.

But a great player may wish for a more "accurate" translator of his
technique, so that a wide variety of tone shadings can be under his
voluntary control. That sort of player will feel more comfortable with
an acoustic guitar, for example, and also with a less "forgiving" amp
that translates more faithfully the details of his right hand picking
technique and dynamics. I think you're referring to players like that in
your description above, Roger.

A quick note- this issue is not NECESSARILY a solid-state vs tubes one.
For example, within the world of tube amps, there are amps based more on
the Blackface Fender models which tend to compress less, have a
pronounced treble peak, etc, and others in the modded hi-gain Marshall
camp that are made to overdrive easily, compress a lot, and produce a
recognizable, familiar tone no matter HOW the guitar is played, and by
whom. Different players will like one or the other, or possibly both...
but one amp is far more "forgiving" than the other. Also, one is capable
of being more tonally variable and individually expressive than the
other. When a player says he loves the "tube amp tone", it's not clear
which quality he's referring to... but it's often one or the other, but
not both.


Paul


Paul Asbell

www.paulasbell.com



  #97   Report Post  
play-on
 
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On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 11:23:02 -0500, "Roger W. Norman"
wrote:

A more appropriate assessment is that a tube amp fails in a predictable way,
and as it fails (speakers break up, transformer sags, etc) it produces a
sound that seems to emanate from the interaction of the player, guitar and
amp. But it's like using a soften function on a digital photo. While the
photo may become more pleasing on the overall view, it's actually less sharp
and less detailed. Or, maybe it's more warm than true to the color, or
whatever. That's why guitar players like what they hear when they've
cranked the amp up to get the transformer to sag and why they are dumping
100 watts into vintage 25 watt speakers, etc.

I know because I bought my first electric guitar in 1961 (still have it) and
so I have some serious guitar playing under my belt too. But the fact is
that I've dealt with hundreds of guitar players over the years, and to a
fault most rock players simply have no ability to determine WHY they like
the sound of an overdriven amp, they just do, and mostly, to be totally
honest, is because it hides most of the stuff they do wrong, and allows they
to pin their perceived playing abilities on the amp's ability to hide what
they don't do right.

I'm sure you've run into situations where players sound good on a Les
Paul/Marshall combination but when they get hold of an acoustic, they can't
play for a good ****. They explain it as a difference in the way the
guitars are set up, but the fact is they never learned good guitar technique
in the first place. They are jammers.

The reason I say this is that, like I said, I've dealt with tons of players,
and the best ones are the ones that know the guitar inside and out, can use
an amp or not, and can make any music they play sound good.


I can do that. But I still prefer tube amps given the choice.

Now I'm not doubting your abilities, Al, I'm just making a generalized
statement here from my experiences over the years. Guitar players are a
dime a dozen, but good guitar players are more like $100 per pound. Gantt
Kushner, here locally in DC is an example of a good guitar player. His amp
is a Bogner, and while it can crank and kick with the best of the blues boys
in town, it's capable enough to allow him to do anything his playing
abilities can come up with. Then there's Steve Abshire, Paul Bollenbach,
Paul Winger, and a number of other fantastically good players that can sit
in on any session or live event without so much as a "what key" statement.
I'd say fully 98% of the guitar players out there don't fit this mold.


I wasn't talking from the perspective of wanna-bees or kids who can't
really play. Just for your future reference, I've been playing
professionally since 1972... I've been lucky enough to work with some
really great people, many of them legends of American popular music.
I've done network television, major label albums, toured the country,
done theatrical gigs, and have played in pretty much every possible
venue, from the high to the low.

So I'd suggest that the tale of the vintage guitar amp is a tale of minimal
pages in the runes of guitar playing.


It's not about vintage, it's about tubes. I usually use newer tube
amps for live work & use smaller vintage amps in the studio.

While certain amps seem to work best
for the majority, it's the spectacular that belie the myth.


I rarely use my amps pushed really hard & turned up super loud as I'm
not really a "rock" player. I can, and have gotten good guitar sounds
going into a solid state amp, or even going direct. It's in the
fingers, not the gear. But, I still vastly prefer tube amps, more for
the clean (but "colored") tone they get than for the balls-to-the-wall
overdrive. The overdriven sound with solid state modeling amps is
actually pretty good, where they can't compete in my book is in the
warm, low gain tones. I haven't yet heard a solid state amp that can
sound like a nice Fender tube amp with the volume on "3".

Al
  #98   Report Post  
play-on
 
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On 30 Nov 2004 11:39:32 -0500, (Mike Rivers)
wrote:


In article playonATcomcast.net writes:

This is "attitude" for sure.


No Mike, it's not. Listen, I've been playing as a pro guitarist for
over 30 years, and I have tried just about every amp over the years.


It sounds like you have an "attitude" there. You've been playing for
30 years so you know what's right.


I know what's right for me -- why shouldn't I, after so many years of
experience? I'm speaking for myself... that is "attitude"???
Everyone else is welcome to play thru whatever they want... but the
fast point is many many pro guitarists agree with my preference for
tube amps.

YOu have a preference, and that's fine. It's your craft. When you
insist that the other kind doesn't feel right to you, that's
"attitude."


Why? It's not an attitude, if it doesn't feel right, it doesn't...
end of story.

Tube amps are a "feel" thing -- as he said, it's a bit like keyboard
action. A tube amp, when pushed, pushes back a little bit and the
guitarist can play with the dynamics of this. It's kind of like
having a giant tube compressor.


Why isn't this possible in solid state amplifiers? I'll bet it is.
Could be you've just never wanted to believe it's possible. Or that
since you found your sound, you just didn't worry about all the other
possibilities. That's perfectly normal.


The modelling amps have tried hard to emulate that feel of tube amps,
and they are getting better all the time, especially with the
overdriven sounds. I played a Vox "Valvetronix" amp at Guitar Center
the other day that sounded damn good. But for a pretty, smooth,
slightly compressed clean or semi-clean sound, that reacts that
certain way, tube amps still rule for me personally. I still have not
played a modelling amp that can give you the touchy-feely response.
You are welcome to use whatever you want... go for it... but wait a
minute, you don't even play the electric guitar, do you? See, it's
not just about the sound... to a non-player, the sound may be almost
the same. But for the guy playing, it's the response that makes the
difference.

Al
  #99   Report Post  
play-on
 
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On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 13:32:50 -0500, "Roger W. Norman"
wrote:

But the point is that the "stuff" of playing guitar is
the guitar playing, not the amp it goes through.


Certainly... it's the guy not the gear in the final analysis. That
doesn't stop people from wanting the best gear they can get. When you
start talking about electric guitar, in many generes the amp has
become part of the instrument, not just a way to make the guitar
louder. A guitarist can be as picky about an amp as he might be about
a guitar.

Al
  #100   Report Post  
Paul Asbell
 
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....

So I'd suggest that the tale of the vintage guitar amp is a tale of minimal
pages in the runes of guitar playing.



It's not about vintage, it's about tubes. I usually use newer tube
amps for live work & use smaller vintage amps in the studio.

While certain amps seem to work best


for the majority, it's the spectacular that belie the myth.



I rarely use my amps pushed really hard & turned up super loud as I'm
not really a "rock" player. I can, and have gotten good guitar sounds
going into a solid state amp, or even going direct. It's in the
fingers, not the gear. But, I still vastly prefer tube amps, more for
the clean (but "colored") tone they get than for the balls-to-the-wall
overdrive. The overdriven sound with solid state modeling amps is
actually pretty good, where they can't compete in my book is in the
warm, low gain tones. I haven't yet heard a solid state amp that can
sound like a nice Fender tube amp with the volume on "3".

Al



Yes... what Al said goes for a LOT of highly experienced, expert
players... myself included.


Paul


Paul Asbell

www.paulasbell.com





  #101   Report Post  
Lord Valve
 
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Paul Asbell wrote:

...

So I'd suggest that the tale of the vintage guitar amp is a tale of minimal
pages in the runes of guitar playing.



It's not about vintage, it's about tubes. I usually use newer tube
amps for live work & use smaller vintage amps in the studio.

While certain amps seem to work best


for the majority, it's the spectacular that belie the myth.



I rarely use my amps pushed really hard & turned up super loud as I'm
not really a "rock" player. I can, and have gotten good guitar sounds
going into a solid state amp, or even going direct. It's in the
fingers, not the gear. But, I still vastly prefer tube amps, more for
the clean (but "colored") tone they get than for the balls-to-the-wall
overdrive. The overdriven sound with solid state modeling amps is
actually pretty good, where they can't compete in my book is in the
warm, low gain tones. I haven't yet heard a solid state amp that can
sound like a nice Fender tube amp with the volume on "3".

Al



Yes... what Al said goes for a LOT of highly experienced, expert
players... myself included.

Paul

Paul Asbell

www.paulasbell.com



The amps I built for Derek Trucks to use with the Allman Brothers Band are
tubers.

Stage level was a problem. The Allmans use *three*
drummers at the same time, and they work huge
venues. DT had been using a SS Randall, which
was plenty loud, but it lacked something he was looking
for, especially in the feedback characteristics. DT does
a lot of controlled feedback stuff - super tasty, in fact -
and while he was getting exactly what he needed out of
the (LV-tweaked) '65 BFSR which he was using with
his own band, he couldn't use it with the Allmans. It just
wasn't loud enough. Ordinarily, when a stage level problem
is encountered, the fix is to bring the amp's mike up in the
monitor mix - but that *doesn't work* for guitar feedback
technique. DT doesn't sing, and he hates monitors anyway.
That's one of the reasons his own band (the Derek
Trucks Band) carries two full-size Leslies instead
of just one small one - DT likes to hear the real thing,
because a Leslie simply doesn't sound "right" through
a monitor. What he needed for the ABB tour was
the Super Reverb from Hell, and that's what I built him -
a modified Super Six, jacked up to 118 watts output,
running Mercury Magnetics iron through six custom-built
Weber 10" "Pyle clone" speakers. A few proprietary
tweaks here and there, to be sure. ;-) I delivered another
one back in April when the ABB rolled through Denver,
and since then he's taken to using BOTH of them at
the same time, especially outdoors. He can stand
further from his rig and still do his feedback tricks
that way (so he says).

BTW - all you FX freaks might want to know about
DT's processing gear:

It's called a guitar cord. ;-)

Catch DT with the ABB or his own band (which
I prefer) and you won't soon forget it.

Lord Valve


  #102   Report Post  
Mike Rivers
 
Posts: n/a
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In article playonATcomcast.net writes:

I know what's right for me -- why shouldn't I, after so many years of
experience? I'm speaking for myself... that is "attitude"???


Not when you make it clear that it's your preference. But when you
declare that a tube amplifier is better, and then use your experience
to back that up, it's what I call attitude. Call it what you want, or
nothing.

Everyone else is welcome to play thru whatever they want... but the
fast point is many many pro guitarists agree with my preference for
tube amps.


Hey, many people had a preference for George Bush, too. That doesn't
mean he's better than the other guy.

You are welcome to use whatever you want... go for it... but wait a
minute, you don't even play the electric guitar, do you?


Well, no, but I understand what you're talking about. However if solid
state amplifiers didn't work for guitar players, they wouldn't sell so
many of them. I'll admit that there ARE a lot of tube amplifier out
there - it's the largest market for vacuum tubes so they must be doing
something right. But I know a lot of guitar players who have learnd to
become comfortable with solid stage amps and choose to use them for
their primary benefits - size, weight, and reliability.

See, it's
not just about the sound... to a non-player, the sound may be almost
the same. But for the guy playing, it's the response that makes the
difference.


I can say the same about banjos. But there isn't just one kind of
banjo that I'm comfortable playing.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo
  #103   Report Post  
Paul Asbell
 
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Lord Valve wrote:





I rarely use my amps pushed really hard & turned up super loud as I'm
not really a "rock" player. I can, and have gotten good guitar sounds
going into a solid state amp, or even going direct. It's in the
fingers, not the gear. But, I still vastly prefer tube amps, more for
the clean (but "colored") tone they get than for the balls-to-the-wall
overdrive. The overdriven sound with solid state modeling amps is
actually pretty good, where they can't compete in my book is in the
warm, low gain tones. I haven't yet heard a solid state amp that can
sound like a nice Fender tube amp with the volume on "3".

Al




Yes... what Al said goes for a LOT of highly experienced, expert
players... myself included.

Paul

Paul Asbell

www.paulasbell.com




The amps I built for Derek Trucks to use with the Allman Brothers Band are
tubers.

Stage level was a problem. The Allmans use *three*
drummers at the same time, and they work huge
venues. DT had been using a SS Randall, which
was plenty loud, but it lacked something he was looking
for, especially in the feedback characteristics. DT does
a lot of controlled feedback stuff - super tasty, in fact -
and while he was getting exactly what he needed out of
the (LV-tweaked) '65 BFSR which he was using with
his own band, he couldn't use it with the Allmans. It just
wasn't loud enough. Ordinarily, when a stage level problem
is encountered, the fix is to bring the amp's mike up in the
monitor mix - but that *doesn't work* for guitar feedback
technique. DT doesn't sing, and he hates monitors anyway.
That's one of the reasons his own band (the Derek
Trucks Band) carries two full-size Leslies instead
of just one small one - DT likes to hear the real thing,
because a Leslie simply doesn't sound "right" through
a monitor. What he needed for the ABB tour was
the Super Reverb from Hell, and that's what I built him -
a modified Super Six, jacked up to 118 watts output,
running Mercury Magnetics iron through six custom-built
Weber 10" "Pyle clone" speakers. A few proprietary
tweaks here and there, to be sure. ;-) I delivered another
one back in April when the ABB rolled through Denver,
and since then he's taken to using BOTH of them at
the same time, especially outdoors. He can stand
further from his rig and still do his feedback tricks
that way (so he says).

BTW - all you FX freaks might want to know about
DT's processing gear:

It's called a guitar cord. ;-)

Catch DT with the ABB or his own band (which
I prefer) and you won't soon forget it.

Lord Valve





I'm not personally a huge ABB fan, but Derek and his band is definitely
a personal fave. I love his sound in that group... if you're in part
responsible for his SR sounding so good, Congrats!

I have also longed for the "just like my SR, but louder"... sounds like
you nailed it for DT.

--
Best regards

Paul


Paul Asbell

www.paulasbell.com



  #104   Report Post  
play-on
 
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On 1 Dec 2004 08:21:32 -0500, (Mike Rivers) wrote:

You are welcome to use whatever you want... go for it... but wait a
minute, you don't even play the electric guitar, do you?


Well, no, but I understand what you're talking about. However if solid
state amplifiers didn't work for guitar players, they wouldn't sell so
many of them. I'll admit that there ARE a lot of tube amplifier out
there - it's the largest market for vacuum tubes so they must be doing
something right. But I know a lot of guitar players who have learnd to
become comfortable with solid stage amps and choose to use them for
their primary benefits - size, weight, and reliability.


Right, size, weight, and reliability... I notice you didn't mention
tone or sound as a "primary benefit". For serious guitarists tone is
the #1 thing. I don't particularly enjoy lugging heavy amps around,
but I'm glad to do it to get a sound that I like. As far as
reliability many SS amps are not that reliable. Sure you don't have
to change tubes with them, but when they do develop problems, they can
be more difficult to troubleshoot and repair. I have a 1960 Fender
Bassman, it has *never* failed on a job since I bought it in 1980. OF
course I've had to have maintenance done, but the thing is just an
overbuilt workhorse. The only time I had a problem with it in almost
25 years was in a rehearsal when it fried a resistor across one of the
power tubes.

The main reason so many SS amps are sold is that they are relatively
inexpensive.

See, it's
not just about the sound... to a non-player, the sound may be almost
the same. But for the guy playing, it's the response that makes the
difference.


I can say the same about banjos. But there isn't just one kind of
banjo that I'm comfortable playing.


I play more than one kind of guitar amp too... but they all happen to
use tubes.

Al
  #105   Report Post  
Mike Rivers
 
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In article playonATcomcast.net writes:

Right, size, weight, and reliability... I notice you didn't mention
tone or sound as a "primary benefit". For serious guitarists tone is
the #1 thing.


I did say "become comfortable with" and that doesn't mean being lazy,
I meant getting a sound they like out of it. You say you can't, I say
you don't care enough to try hard enough, and that's all right if you
don't mind lugging around a heavy amp and changing tubes.

There used to be a rock bar band around here that carried a small
grand piano with them because the pianist didn't like the sound of the
electronic pianos of the period (this was 20 years ago or more). They
took the legs off so they could put it in a van and set it up on stage
on milk creates. Four of them could handle it, the fifth carried his
own drums in. But I'll bet that today he plays something he can carry
under one arm.

But suit yourself.

--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo


  #107   Report Post  
Yuri T.
 
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(Mike Rivers) wrote in message news:znr1101933683k@trad...
In article playonATcomcast.net writes:

Right, size, weight, and reliability... I notice you didn't mention
tone or sound as a "primary benefit". For serious guitarists tone is
the #1 thing.


I did say "become comfortable with" and that doesn't mean being lazy,
I meant getting a sound they like out of it. You say you can't, I say
you don't care enough to try hard enough, and that's all right if you
don't mind lugging around a heavy amp and changing tubes.

There used to be a rock bar band around here that carried a small
grand piano with them because the pianist didn't like the sound of the
electronic pianos of the period (this was 20 years ago or more). They
took the legs off so they could put it in a van and set it up on stage
on milk creates. Four of them could handle it, the fifth carried his
own drums in. But I'll bet that today he plays something he can carry
under one arm.

But suit yourself.



Geez Mike, what did a guitar player ever do to you? So get
'comfortable with' getting a sound out of a pair of SM57s at a chamber
recital you are recording. They are good quality reliable microphones
and you are lazy if you don't keep trying harder to get the sound you
want out of them instead of pulling out that pair of Sheops that make
your ears happy.

I've been playing guitar since I was 10, now 36. I've have played
through literally 100's of amplifiers. I worked at 3 different music
stores in the past. Chuck Levin's, Veneman's and Zavarella's. The amp
is almost half of the insrument. There have been some solid state or
hybrid amps that I like. I certainly could use one if I needed to.
Tubes are no crutch. But I always and up with a tube amp. I own and
gig with a 1965 Fender Vibrolux. 35 watts, not overly loud or heavy
and it has never failed me. I also have a Bogner which is a wonderful
amp but a bit too much for many of the gigs I play.

As usual non-guitarists just don't get it. Same as non-trumpet players
don't understand the whole mouthpiece thing. Like non-engineers don't
get the whole mic-pre thing. They won't necessarily hear the
difference between a Rolls mic pre or a Hardy.


Okay Rant off. Have a good one Mike.
  #108   Report Post  
Mike Rivers
 
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In article writes:

Geez Mike, what did a guitar player ever do to you?


Only insist that tubes were better, that's all.

So get
'comfortable with' getting a sound out of a pair of SM57s at a chamber
recital you are recording. They are good quality reliable microphones
and you are lazy if you don't keep trying harder to get the sound you
want out of them instead of pulling out that pair of Sheops that make
your ears happy.


Done that. But now I have better. But I don't have one microphone that
I use for that application because I'm "comfortable" with it, I
realize that some variety is nice, and it doesn't have to sound the
same all the time. Also, when it comes to microphones, you have to
consider the venue - there are directivity patterns that work better
in some venues than others. I suspect that it's the same with guitar
amplifiers, too. An experienced player wouldn't use the same amplifier
in a coffee house (and turn it down) that he'd use in an arena (and
put a mic on it). So saying that tubes are best is like saying
condenser mics or tube mics or ribbons are the best. It depends.

I've been playing guitar since I was 10, now 36. I've have played
through literally 100's of amplifiers. I worked at 3 different music
stores in the past. Chuck Levin's, Veneman's and Zavarella's. The amp
is almost half of the insrument.


I'll go along with that, except that you can't make a bad guitar good
by playing it through a great amplifier. But a good player can do a
good job with almost any setup. He might not be able to do what he
considers his best every time, but then who does?

As usual non-guitarists just don't get it. Same as non-trumpet players
don't understand the whole mouthpiece thing. Like non-engineers don't
get the whole mic-pre thing. They won't necessarily hear the
difference between a Rolls mic pre or a Hardy.


And this is a bad thing? If they're good engineers and produce a good
final product, who cares what they use? Well, the engineer might
because he might have to work harder mixing through a Mackie than
through an API, but that's life. Like a famous guitar player once
said: "You can't always get what you want." But I suppose that if you
buy it and haul it, you get what you think you need.

I have nothing against tube amplifiers or people who use them. I only
have it in for people who insist that it's the only way to design a
useful amplifier, because it isn't.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo
  #109   Report Post  
Lord Valve
 
Posts: n/a
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Yuri T. wrote:

I've been playing guitar since I was 10, now 36. I've have played
through literally 100's of amplifiers. I worked at 3 different music
stores in the past. Chuck Levin's, Veneman's and Zavarella's.


Hey, a DC boy...

I worked at Chuck's before you were born, whippersnapper. ;-)
Hell, my band used to go downtown to Chuck's when we
needed gear. (I can't remember where it was - 7th avenue?
It got burned down in the MLK riots and that's when he moved
to Wheaton.) We bought from Veneman's, too. I bought my
first Hammond from the Wheaton Hammond Organ Studio,
which was about 100 feet from Chuck's front door. (Ain't
there no more.) I got my first Leslie from Chuck's (in Wheaton).

So - does DC still suck? ;-)

Lord Valve
Old




  #110   Report Post  
Scott Dorsey
 
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Lord Valve wrote:

So - does DC still suck? ;-)


It's only sucked since Charlie Byrd died and Ramsey Lewis left town.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."


  #112   Report Post  
Andre Jute
 
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Lord Valve wrote in message ...

Lord Valve
Old


Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas, poet of thermionic truth

Arm the wrinklies! - Andre Jute, libertarian
  #115   Report Post  
Bill Vermillion
 
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In article , Roger W. Norman
wrote:

A more appropriate assessment is that a tube amp fails in a
predictable way, and as it fails (speakers break up, transformer
sags, etc) it produces a sound that seems to emanate from the
interaction of the player, guitar and amp.


And the story is that when recording the Marty Robbin's "Don't
Worry 'Bout Me" the bass player hit a note and it was distorted.

A tube had fallen out. He put it back, and then the producer
decided he liked it better with it out. Thus the first 'fuzztone'
was born.

A few days later Grady Martin recorded a song featuring this
new sound called "The Fuzz". This dates to about 1958 - and
remember playing both on the radio then. Of course only one
becamse a hit.

Bill
--
Bill Vermillion - bv @ wjv . com


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