Solid State. Love it? Hate it?

[Relic]

Same Same I had a Line 6 Vetta-2 gave it away sounded like poop. Now I have seen a rash of Mexican Fender amps fail. I'm not sure how many vintage and custom build amps I own
It's a sickness. The only new manufactured guitar amp I would buy is the Guytron GT-100 watt. Guytron Guitar Amplifiers

Oh yeah! That amp sounded fvk'n awesome & absolutely perfect for that song!


(above.. Jon Herington - lead guitar on Dukes of September (Steely Dan) with Gibson Custom Shop SG & Guytron GT-100)

Great chord sounds & a ballz on lead sound! Jon not only has a good complimentary sound to the original recordings he reproduces live but he also incorporates the exact original lead parts with some of his own improvised lead work which definitely keeps things interesting!

Here's a shot (below) of the rest of Jon Herington's sound formula from the 2016 Steely Dan Tour.

That Guytron GT-100 amp is pretty unique in that it uses EL-84 tubes in an intermediate power amp stage Before hitting the 4 EL-34 main Power Tubes! I mean how fvk'n cool is that!? It allows for real decent drive tones at lower volumes. 'Sounds' like a great amp!

Here's Jon Herington's web site / gear page. He has some really cool intructional guitar video's on there that offer some nice insight into his playing approach & even breaks down some iconic Steely Dan tubes with those jazz fused chords changes & rockin lead work. If your a guitar lovin fanatic ya gotta check him out!

Jon Herington GEAR

 

[67plexi]

Graydon Stuckey Brilliant mind owner of Guytron founder of 18watt.com and much more total first class act. Graydon's Son has been building Joe Walsh's amps since age 15 the branch
doesn't fall to far from the tree.

 

[Inspector #20]

HELP ME!!!!

I have been bitten by the Blackstar bug....

 

[Kerry Brown]

HELP ME!!!!

I have been bitten by the Blackstar bug....

Sorry, there is no help for that affliction. Blackstars are awesome amps.

 

[Inspector #20]

You hit everything I was wanting to say.

I was just today listening to a recording from 4-5 years ago where I was using my buddy's house amp which was a Spider Line 6 & I was reminded about both the fact that I never really liked the amp & WHY I never liked the amp. The amp just would not behave or respond how I like guitar amps too. But, that is just 1 SS amp in a world of SS amps.

I do have that Marshall Zack Wylde Micro Stack which is OK for a living room dirtied up drive sound for practicing on at lower volumes but it lacks the shine, dynamics, harmonic content & compression of my 1 watt Marshall 50th Anniversary JVM tube amp or the same model JMP 1 watter!

I also still have am older Peavey 'Trans-Tube' (all SS by the way) which did an OK job at somewhat mimicking a tube amp or at least sounding better than most SS guitar amps, & it didn't bother or piss me off to use it for rehearsals but still, it simply lacked the room dynamics & sonic oomph of a real 50 watt Marshall.

So, do I like SS?..
In TV technology it's fvk'n brilliant!
In a car stereo ya can't beat 'em!
In a house Hi-Fidelity Stereo they can do a better job at accurate sound 'reproduction' but do not add the warm or the same sort of harmonic distortion aficionados love & demand.
In an amp, I can like & appreciate what they do & will use them on occasion but certainly they are still mostly different from a typical tube amp. And most importantly, I still hear a desirable difference with tubes & prefer to use tube amps for playing guitar.

Tube interaction with a guitar signal is part of the playing experience I enjoy & after thinking on it, I have to consider it an essential part of 'my sound'.

That doesn't mean I "Hate" SS but I certainly am not in "Love" with SS guitar amps either.
Oh baby I love you soooo much. I wanna stick my jack into your input & rock hard. Ahhh, No!

After using nothing but Marshall for the better part of 29 years, I too feel like tube interaction is everything. I even tolerate the noise inherent to a tube amplifier. Then, I started looking at Blackstar....specifically the ID260TVP - a 65 pound 2 x 12 combo with digital panning stereo delay and multiple power tube voicing in which you can actually select between KT88, 6L6, EL84, 6V6, KT66, and EL34's.

I am just blown away. I been playing one right next to a JVM-410C, borrowed from a colleague. In ever single case, the Blackstar sounds better, even more natural than the $3,000 Marshall combo. The amount of effects are staggering and it is dead quiet. It has so many features I cannot figure out how to use them all, but mainly, I use the delay and reverb...I could care less about everything else.

The built in USB and emulated line out are fabulous.

Ok, you probably recall my posts about the "dirty AC power" issues I was having and it's effect on my DSL40C's??? The Tripp Lite #TLP1208TEL power conditioner helped, but not a lot. Ok, the Blackstar can be plugged right into the wall and no noise, no radio station bleedover...nothing.

Yes, it looks cool having a Marshall and all, but, much like a Gibson, they are troublesome. The Blackstar is just such an easy tool to use and without any bad habits, noise or tubes to replace. I'm having a hard time staying faithful to Marshall.....

 

[Inspector #20]

I like tube amplifiers because to my ears they have a richer and more complex
sound then their SS counterparts. SS amplifiers seem to have less dimension,
depth, color, or whatever the Hell the word I'm looking for is.

I absolutely agree....until recently. Playing a Blackstar ID260TVP side-by-side with a marshal JVM410C, there is no comparison - The Blackstar sounds more dynamic & organic than the Marshall...

 

[Relic]

I absolutely agree....until recently. Playing a Blackstar ID260TVP side-by-side with a marshal JVM410C, there is no comparison - The Blackstar sounds more dynamic & organic than the Marshall...

I actually don't like the newer Marshall's past the JMP era. The filtering kept changing among other things & the organic tone got thinner & thinner until we ultimately get the buzzin bee syndrome sounds starting which just about starts with the JCM 800 series & gets 'perfected' lol with the JCM 900 & afterward.
If you can get a good working Plexi era or even just afterward when they were still point to point & even beyond that into the 70's era circuit board amps including their first Master Volume amps, you are talking pretty organic fantastic guitar tone. Night & Day compared to todays mass produced Marshall.

And that Blackstar ID260TVP is all SS state right?? Boy there web site is very tricky & elusive with there wording calling it "True Valve Power'' to describe their SS imitation of valve powered amp! Holy fvk Batman! How less straight forward can you be when they make you have to read between the lines like that? I wouldn't blame anybody that thought this amp had fvk'n actual tubes in it!

Anyway, I don't have the amp but would be real curious to hear it in a live band situation next to another guitar using a smokin tube amp.

 

[Inspector #20]

I actually don't like the newer Marshall's past the JMP era. The filtering kept changing among other things & the organic tone got thinner & thinner until we ultimately get the buzzin bee syndrome sounds starting which just about starts with the JCM 800 series & gets 'perfected' lol with the JCM 900 & afterward.
If you can get a good working Plexi era or even just afterward when they were still point to point & even beyond that into the 70's era circuit board amps including their first Master Volume amps, you are talking pretty organic fantastic guitar tone. Night & Day compared to todays mass produced Marshall.

And that Blackstar ID260TVP is all SS state right?? Boy there web site is very tricky & elusive with there wording calling it "True Valve Power'' to describe their SS imitation of valve powered amp! Holy fvk Batman! How less straight forward can you be when they make you have to read between the lines like that? I wouldn't blame anybody that thought this amp had fvk'n actual tubes in it!

Anyway, I don't have the amp but would be real curious to hear it in a live band situation next to another guitar using a smokin tube amp.

Also blows away my Super Lead Plexi for tone as well....that my colleague now owns, and I played the Blackstar right next to it....

 

[Inspector #20]

And that Blackstar ID260TVP is all SS state right?? Boy there web site is very tricky & elusive with there wording calling it "True Valve Power'' to describe their SS imitation of valve powered amp! Holy fvk Batman! How less straight forward can you be when they make you have to read between the lines like that? I wouldn't blame anybody that thought this amp had fvk'n actual tubes in it!

Anyway, I don't have the amp but would be real curious to hear it in a live band situation next to another guitar using a smokin tube amp.

I been corresponding with the engineering department. The "True Valve Power" refers to the amp's ability to compete for loudness, watt-for-watt, with a genuine tube amp.

 

[Inspector #20]

I actually don't like the newer Marshall's past the JMP era. The filtering kept changing among other things & the organic tone got thinner & thinner until we ultimately get the buzzin bee syndrome sounds starting which just about starts with the JCM 800 series & gets 'perfected' lol with the JCM 900 & afterward.
If you can get a good working Plexi era or even just afterward when they were still point to point & even beyond that into the 70's era circuit board amps including their first Master Volume amps, you are talking pretty organic fantastic guitar tone. Night & Day compared to todays mass produced Marshall.

And that Blackstar ID260TVP is all SS state right?? Boy there web site is very tricky & elusive with there wording calling it "True Valve Power'' to describe their SS imitation of valve powered amp! Holy fvk Batman! How less straight forward can you be when they make you have to read between the lines like that? I wouldn't blame anybody that thought this amp had fvk'n actual tubes in it!

Anyway, I don't have the amp but would be real curious to hear it in a live band situation next to another guitar using a smokin tube amp.

At one time, I wouldn't use anything other than a SLP full stack. But, over the years, I have downsized quite a bit. The smallest amp I have ever owned is a DSL40C, and it's a really good amp for the money. I consider my DSL40C my practice amp and I don't like the tone of anything less than a 12" speaker, even for home practice.

Now, as I find myself doing more recording and less live work, I am starting to look at these things differently. The technology available to replicate tone is amazing. When I spoke to Blackstar, they examine different tube amps with a tonal spectrometer and break down the signal into frequencies. At that point, they can emulate the tone quite easily...it's more of a science than doing t by ear....

I really am blown away....

 

[Relic]

At one time, I wouldn't use anything other than a SLP full stack. But, over the years, I have downsized quite a bit. The smallest amp I have ever owned is a DSL40C, and it's a really good amp for the money. I consider my DSL40C my practice amp and I don't like the tone of anything less than a 12" speaker, even for home practice.

Now, as I find myself doing more recording and less live work, I am starting to look at these things differently. The technology available to replicate tone is amazing. When I spoke to Blackstar, they examine different tube amps with a tonal spectrometer and break down the signal into frequencies. At that point, they can emulate the tone quite easily...it's more of a science than doing t by ear....

I really am blown away....

There seems to be some old-timer pro's like Waddy Wachtel that are using Blackstar amps. Waddy is running two Blackstar Artist 30 amps & he also uses essentially no effects in his rig set up beyond amp reverb, a Fulltone 2B clean boost & an MXR Smart Gate (if you can even consider that an effect per se). And Waddy got turned on to these Blackstar 30's by none other than his long time buddy Leslie West!

I'm certain you love your Blackstar SS & It must do a good job at simulating all those various tube configurations. But in the end it is a solid state amp that is imitating a tube amp!

 

[Inspector #20]

There seems to be some old-timer pro's like Waddy Wachtel that are using Blackstar amps. Waddy is running two Blackstar Artist 30 amps & he also uses essentially no effects in his rig set up beyond amp reverb, a Fulltone 2B clean boost & an MXR Smart Gate (if you can even consider that an effect per se). And Waddy got turned on to these Blackstar 30's by none other than his long time buddy Leslie West!

I'm certain you love your Blackstar SS & It must do a good job at simulating all those various tube configurations. But in the end it is a solid state amp that is imitating a tube amp!

I haven't bought one yet...I'm just trying one out!

 

[Relic]

I haven't bought one yet...I'm just trying one out!

All that matters is that you like the amp & are happy with what it does when ya play guitar through it.

 

[Walks Backward]

When I first began playing electric guitar there were only tube amps. TV had tubes. Radio had tubes. Then electronics began to evolve. The genius of Jack Kilby brought electronics out of the stone age and thus all things moved forward and evolved. All but guitarists that still must have the glow of the tube so simulate the fire in their cave. But not all guitarists cling to the past and those that have an open mind evolved.

I repaired those heavy, too hot running, inefficient antiquities of amplification and profited from the troglodytes that owned them. Meanwhile I evolved and you fellows can hoot and holler all you want about those relics of the past, but like smokeless powdered cartridge firearms replaced black powdered muzzle loaders, solid state amps ARE here to stay. Carburetors are the past and fuel injection is here to stay. Cars evolved. TV'S evolved. Amplifiers evolved. Yet so many dwell in the past and beat their chests like apes angered by progress encroaching upon their jungle. But they beat their chests via computers, laptops, notebooks, and smartphones ALL powered and operated by integrated circuits and microchip technology. Almost sounds a might hypocritical doesn't it? Oh well, they've got their tubes to gather around like their cave firepits to celebrate their ancient ways. More power to ya guys! Some of us are evolved and actually live and function in the 21'st century. I look forward to viewing your cave art on the stone walls showing you throwing spears at a defenseless microchip.

Now blow your horns and gather your tribe as someone said the evil words and spoke of solid state and declared tubes obsolete! But you're gonna have to use modern technology and not tubes to do it.....

 

[WavMixer]

Perhaps you could reach more people with smoke signals

 

[Walks Backward]

Awww, their tube amps will be smoking soon enough as they overheat and the big filter caps start to blow their guts all over the place!

 

[Inspector #20]

All that matters is that you like the amp & are happy with what it does when ya play guitar through it.

Dude...I have to admit I am fascinated by that panning, stereo delay effect...

 

[Relic]

Awww, their tube amps will be smoking soon enough as they overheat and the big filter caps start to blow their guts all over the place!

Funny thought how similar enjoying old tube amps & old vintage cars are eh? It's all part of the deal, the package. Thing is, when ya love & appreciate something classic, vintage, old etc, I find there is very little complaining about taking care of them being done by the people who are really into them. In fact, I would even venture to say true aficionados of these classic, vintage , old school technologies to some extent aren't really bothered by the repair & maintenance. In fact, many end up educating themselves & make efforts to become skilled enough to do the maintenance & repairs themselves. Because,.. it is rewarding & enjoyable.

If you find that repairing your old tube amp or correctly fixing your classic car are a burden, then it probably is time to abandon these things in lieu of simpler things.

There is always somebody ready to buy that old amp or classic car for around what you paid for it, if not even a little bit more sometimes.

 

[Relic]

Dude...I have to admit I am fascinated by that panning, stereo delay effect...

I've had a couple multi-pedals that offered this feature. So whether it was through two amps, headphones or direct in to a console, the effect is mesmerizing. Even more so if you have multiple parameter control & adjustability. Stereo imaging is one of my favorite things to be conscious of & work in the studio. I've been wanting to get back in there & do new stuff but I'm missing that push, drive & real conviction to take those first steps & get the process started. Hey, how did I end up here on that??

 

[Inspector #20]

I've had a couple multi-pedals that offered this feature. So whether it was through two amps, headphones or direct in to a console, the effect is mesmerizing. Even more so if you have multiple parameter control & adjustability. Stereo imaging is one of my favorite things to be conscious of & work in the studio. I've been wanting to get back in there & do new stuff but I'm missing that push, drive & real conviction to take those first steps & get the process started. Hey, how did I end up here on that??

My old DD-3 is about as modern a delay as I have ever had, but I have become more open minded of late. I remember when we used to record dry and add all the effects later, but i'm looking to come up with a simple live rig that will give good results in a studio setting, and I want to minimize my pedal setup....I only have 4 that I've owned since the 1980's/1990's.