Solid State. Love it? Hate it?

[peejaybee]

I have two amp setups: My Super Champ X2 with a few pedals (Behringer Tube Screamer clone, ProCo RAT, Biyang Mouse, Boss OD-20) and an old Crate GX15R with a DigiTech RP360 XP feeding it, and a 1x12 cab.

Right now the pure solid-state setup gets most of the use. Part of that is that I am really busy right now, and sometimes I'm picking up a guitar for ten minutes just to noodle around. Turning on an amp with tubes for such a short time seems like abuse. Part of it is that the DigiTech has a headphone output, and the Super Champ does not. Part of it is that, honestly, to my ears it sounds just as good as the Super Champ, and is much more versatile.

I still love the Super Champ, but sometimes I think the only reason I am holding on to it is that it's Sonic Blue and I fear that if I let it go, I will never again see its like.

So I guess this is a long-winded way to say, I like solid-state digital things just fine. I have nowhere near the skill, as a guitarist or listener, to deem silicon inferior; but then again, I have never played into a really good tube amp. I certainly wouldn't say no to a chance to mess with a Marshall 18W or one of its clones.

 

[Relic]

I certainly wouldn't say no to a chance to mess with a Marshall 18W or one of its clones.

Much like the older JMP era (not-reissue stuff either) the newer 18 watt Marshalls simply do not sound the same as the originals & I do not think they are something to be placed too high on a pedestal when looking for a 'really good tube amp', unless you get your hands on one off the original versions.

Here's really cool video I know you'll likew Robert. These guy actually switch parts of the original & re-0issue Marshall 18 watter trying to find what components are bringing the difference in sound!

I also have to me just noted that you stated,..

Yes, it looks cool having a Marshall and all, but, much like a Gibson, they are troublesome.

I really don't get where you are coming from with that Robert, especially when referring to Gibson. How troublesome is a guitar bro?
But maybe the newer Marshall are troublesome (although I have 5 newer Marshalls that I use frequently without a single issue) that I'm not aware of but I know personally what I've put Marshall JMP amps from the 70's through & have had years of weekly hard driven use with little issue but for tube freshening, and these are 40+ year old amps!

Sometimes I'm not sure what other folks expect or are looking for when tube amps for guitar 'ain't good enough' & solid state gets looked to for an answer simply because my life experience just doesn't support the bad rap they (Marshall Amps) get hit with.

To me they are a beautiful part of playing electric guitar & are just as important as the guitar itself, ok almost, guitar comes first. LOL

 

[Inspector #20]

Here's really cool video I know you'll like Robert. These guy actually switch parts of the original & re-0issue Marshall 18 watter trying to find what components are bringing the difference in sound!

"I really don't get where you are coming from with that Robert, especially when referring to Gibson. How troublesome is a guitar bro?
LOL"

I was referring to all the headaches I've had with my vintage and brand new Gibson's - tuning and intonation anomalies, buzzing pickups, neck joint flex, circuit board issues and the like...I guess it's more of a disappointment really.

I bought my SG to get started on a recording because I wanted a tone for this album I once had from my '68 Gibson SG.

So, after buying this one, new from a Gibson dealer, I can't record with it. I have to get the nut slots dressed, full setup, then three full sets of noisy Gibson humbuckers, a 9 foot roll of copper tape, a vintage harness to replace the PCB and, finally, a quiet, nice sounding pair of PAF clones.

A six month detour to correct the problems with a brand new Gibson???

Now then, any intelligent person would have just returned it to the retailer. Not me. My OCD nature demanded that I fix it. The money doesn't bother me...its the lost time.

Ironically, the SG sounds great now and I have grown to hate it because of all the lost time and problems with it.

I'm moving forward with the recording, but I hope, at some point, I can find this SG a new home.

Marshall's - I was just referring to how we had to be so careful with the SLP's because of how easily the tubes could be damaged.

It wasn't such a big deal then because you could buy tubes at Thrifty Drug Store....Remember???

I am very, very happy with my two DSL40C'S. They are great amps. Reasonably quiet, sound good and are easy to move around. I still have my 1997 Marshall Valvestate VS265 2X12 stereo chorus combo that I bought new in 1997.

Its a good amp still, has some noise issued, so I don't record with it, but my kids and my music students play through it and just love it...

Just my humble opinion....

I often work on a lot of people's recordings. I have also played through all kinds of amps.

I used to think that only a tube amp could give me the tone of my old JTM30. Not anymore.

Some of these new amps really nail the old tones without any bad habits.

How many here can remember having to put a fan on a JTM30 to keep it cool and running during a long session??? Or, pop a tube in the middle of a session or live set???

Those things just stick with me...

 

[Relic]

I was referring to all the headaches I've had with my vintage and brand new Gibson's - tuning and intonation anomalies, buzzing pickups, neck joint flex, circuit board issues and the like...I guess it's more of a disappointment really.

I bought my SG to get started on a recording because I wanted a tone for this album I once had from my '68 Gibson SG.

So, after buying this one, new from a Gibson dealer, I can't record with it. I have to get the nut slots dressed, full setup, then three full sets of noisy Gibson humbuckers, a 9 foot roll of copper tape, a vintage harness to replace the PCB and, finally, a quiet, nice sounding pair of PAF clones.

A six month detour to correct the problems with a brand new Gibson???

WoW! In contrast the '14 SG Standard I bought had zero issues except for that silly a$$ e-Tune (the G-Farce predecessor). A great guitar with someone's $#itty idea rammed up every new buyers rectum (like anal or not) and rendering the guitar as is in original shape simply NOT GOOD ENOUGH for any type of professional live performance!

It sounds to me you might have let an imperfect guitar drive you crazy! These new SG's are what they are & they simply are not the same guitar from 68. Neck flex is horrible because of the heel design they settled on. I can wiggle my guitar by the horns & slap the fvk'n strings off the fretboard! Yet, they are what they are & owning one demands you have acceptance for these flaws or drive yourself crazy looking for perfection in a mass produced guitar built to make the company the most money it can get!

I don't know what year your SG is but by 2016 the fretwork & bridge on an HP SG is probably the best you can expect from a mass produced guitar from Gibson. Just free yourself of that G-Farce & enjoy some pleked fretwork. Before I believe only the nut was pleked??

In close comparison My 2015 Firebird is a frik'n rock. Solid as fvk. Intonation to die for! Amazing. The issues I did have were the neck pup not sounding good enough, which was corrected by a tip to lower the neck pup way past the point I would have thought would work, and tuning stability, height adjustment & neck relief which were all interconnected & simply needing time for adjustment, settling, re-adjustment, settling repeat, repeat blah blah. That literally took over 2 weeks! But once established & affected forces settling in, she has been that rock solid tuning stable guitar I require to gig with.
And she really kicks some a$$ at gigs & breathes a bit more fire into my amp than that '14 SG can deliver. Much broader tone response & just a smiling ear to ear joy to play.

Hey, is there a Firebird Forum yet?? LOL

What you need is a good ol vintage SG brother. It's what you knew & what you miss & very hard to really replace or replicate with a new guitar. Deals are out there. Put your OCD to work & go find yourself a vintage gem you can love & adore & be happy with once more!

Rock On Robert, Rock On.

 

[Inspector #20]

WoW! In contrast the '14 SG Standard I bought had zero issues except for that silly a$$ e-Tune (the G-Farce predecessor). A great guitar with someone's $#itty idea rammed up every new buyers rectum (like anal or not) and rendering the guitar as is in original shape simply NOT GOOD ENOUGH for any type of professional live performance!

It sounds to me you might have let an imperfect guitar drive you crazy! These new SG's are what they are & they simply are not the same guitar from 68. Neck flex is horrible because of the heel design they settled on. I can wiggle my guitar by the horns & slap the fvk'n strings off the fretboard! Yet, they are what they are & owning one demands you have acceptance for these flaws or drive yourself crazy looking for perfection in a mass produced guitar built to make the company the most money it can get!

I don't know what year your SG is but by 2016 the fretwork & bridge on an HP SG is probably the best you can expect from a mass produced guitar from Gibson. Just free yourself of that G-Farce & enjoy some pleked fretwork. Before I believe only the nut was pleked??

In close comparison My 2015 Firebird is a frik'n rock. Solid as fvk. Intonation to die for! Amazing. The issues I did have were the neck pup not sounding good enough, which was corrected by a tip to lower the neck pup way past the point I would have thought would work, and tuning stability, height adjustment & neck relief which were all interconnected & simply needing time for adjustment, settling, re-adjustment, settling repeat, repeat blah blah. That literally took over 2 weeks! But once established & affected forces settling in, she has been that rock solid tuning stable guitar I require to gig with.
And she really kicks some a$$ at gigs & breathes a bit more fire into my amp than that '14 SG can deliver. Much broader tone response & just a smiling ear to ear joy to play.

Hey, is there a Firebird Forum yet?? LOL

What you need is a good ol vintage SG brother. It's what you knew & what you miss & very hard to really replace or replicate with a new guitar. Deals are out there. Put your OCD to work & go find yourself a vintage gem you can love & adore & be happy with once more!

Rock On Robert, Rock On.

Good observations....and yes, this guitar drove me nuts....

I'm looking at a couple of Les Pauls now as we type...

 

[Relic]

Good observations....and yes, this guitar drove me nuts....

I'm looking at a couple of Les Pauls now as we type...

I think if you get an HP Les Paul & the right pickups you could be real happy, after tossing the G-Farce of course!

I didn't realize how thin & mid-rangy those stock 57 Classics were in that '14 SG until I plugged that lowly mini-humbuckered Firebird right in my amp after using that SG during a gig. The band volume just made the difference & lack of tone that much more unavoidable.

Just keep & open mind & don't get stuck or forcing an idea on yourself like you needing that SG to be 'the Answer'.

 

[Inspector #20]

I think if you get an HP Les Paul & the right pickups you could be real happy, after tossing the G-Farce of course!

I didn't realize how thin & mid-rangy those stock 57 Classics were in that '14 SG until I plugged that lowly mini-humbuckered Firebird right in my amp after using that SG during a gig. The band volume just made the difference & lack of tone that much more unavoidable.

Just keep & open mind & don't get stuck or forcing an idea on yourself like you needing that SG to be 'the Answer'.

HA!!! I sure do!!!!

Did you read my PREVIOUS rant??? I put a pair of Gibson 57 Classics in my SG - NOISY and THIN.

The 'Gibson Purists' won't acknowledge this, but I went through three sets of Gibson pickups and it was awful....AND they sounded the SAME with the PCB or the Tone Man Vintage Wire Harness!!!!

First, a brand new pair of Gibson 57 Classics - noisy and THIN. Then, TWO sets of Gibson 490's - a 2016 set and a 2107 "Revised Specification" (new and improved) set - all were Noisy and MUDDY

Finally, a set of GFS Alinco II Classics II's - Beautiful tone!!!!

 

[Inspector #20]

I think if you get an HP Les Paul & the right pickups you could be real happy, after tossing the G-Farce of course!

I didn't realize how thin & mid-rangy those stock 57 Classics were in that '14 SG until I plugged that lowly mini-humbuckered Firebird right in my amp after using that SG during a gig. The band volume just made the difference & lack of tone that much more unavoidable.

Just keep & open mind & don't get stuck or forcing an idea on yourself like you needing that SG to be 'the Answer'.

Relic,

Thought you would like this....

 

[Relic]

Relic,

Thought you would like this....

Robert, I don't endorse, use or even like Marshalls newer amps. Like I said before I'm strictly an vintage JMP fan & frankly find Marshalls newer band volume amps brittle, harsh & thin in comparison.

The newer Marshalls that I do have are a couple 1 watt 50th Anniversary amps & a Zakk Wylde Micro Stack. I do have a newer vintage modern but I really don't like it!

I think there are a whole bunch of amps that do a way better job than newer Marshall's do above the 15 watt range. If I needed a tube amp for band gigs or recording I honestly would never buy a new Marshall for that job again! I think they suk. Suk the tone right out of your guitar!

 

[smitty_p]

I think there are a whole bunch of amps that do a way better job than newer Marshall's do above the 15 watt range.

Interesting observation you make.

So, you find the Marshalls that are 15 watts and below to be okay for tone, but not the higher wattage Marshalls?

 

[Relic]

Interesting observation you make.

So, you find the Marshalls that are 15 watts and below to be okay for tone, but not the higher wattage Marshalls?

No, I think that is essentially the dividing line for intended amp use IE: home use vs an amp to use in a Rock'n band. Marshall makes a bunch of amps in a bunch of wattages. So it's not fair for me to overgeneralize & try to make some pompous negative statement as much as I'm trying to say there are a bunch of band volume amps out there that sound way way better than a typical Marshall MG pr JVM quality amplifier. Marshall tone has thinned dramatically since the 70's JMP era.

Thats from my observation from going through amps & trying to redefine & perfect my sound over a 4-5 year period that I sorta wrapped up a couple of years ago. I'm not hot in the amp game right now but I doubt the 30 - 50 watt Marshall MG or 50 or 100 watt JVM has gotten any better sounding in those two - three years since I wrapped up the seemingly never ending search for the 'right' amplification for my band needs.

 

[smitty_p]

I see your point. Of course, the MG line is all solid-state, so I don't know how well it compares to the rest of Marshall's stuff.

 

[Inspector #20]

No, I think that is essentially the dividing line for intended amp use IE: home use vs an amp to use in a Rock'n band. Marshall makes a bunch of amps in a bunch of wattages. So it's not fair for me to overgeneralize & try to make some pompous negative statement as much as I'm trying to say there are a bunch of band volume amps out there that sound way way better than a typical Marshall MG quality amplifier. Marshall tone has thinned dramatically since the 70's JMP era.

Thats from my observation from going through amps & trying to redefine & perfect my sound over a 4-5 year period that I sorta wrapped up a couple of years ago. I'm not hot in the amp game right now but I doubt the 30 - 50 watt Marshall MG has gotten any better sounding in those two years since I wrapped up the seemingly never ending search for the 'right' amplification for my band needs.

My smallest amp is a DSL40C....that's my practice amp. I don't like the tone of anything small than 12"....

 

[Inspector #20]

Looks like I have to try and find a place to store the incoming Blackstar ID260TVP.....

 

[guitarweasel]

Now here's one of the Mothers of solid state amps!

 

[guitarweasel]

My personal favorite cause I owned one. ( sounded like crap too.)

 

[Tony M.]

I used a Roland JC-77 for many years.
It's a great pedal platform and the chorus is truly wondrous.
I still have it but it's on long term loan to Tone House Studios out on Long Island.

 

[Inspector #20]

My personal favorite cause I owned one. ( sounded like crap too.)

View attachment 3819

Looks cool...LOL!!!

 

[Vox AC30]

Life begins at 40 !!!!............................for a valve amp

 

[Relic]

I see your point. Of course, the MG line is all solid-state, so I don't know how well it compares to the rest of Marshall's stuff.

Thanks Smitty, I corrected that to reflect the JVM series also. I'm honestly not up to snuff on newer Marshall stuff but I did play their tube amps & even the MG SS stuff at various music stores (including cranking in the iso rooms) pretty intently a couple years back when going through this new amp evaluation phase. I am certain that my being totally unimpressed by Marshall's working man line (not point to point specialty amps etc) has left all the correct acronyms impressed in my aging pea brain!

I am certain that if I plug into one of Marshalls newer amp & went "Holy $#it! This is fvk'n awesome!" that I probably would not only know everything about it but I'd probably be playing one right now too.

Interesting to note, I kinda like what I hear listening to the 2525 mini Silver Jubilee 20/5 watt amp!



Unfortunately I only have sound clips to judge the amp by but I don't hear the noise generating Bee Buzz that I immediately hear with a whole lot of newer Marshall amps.
The other problem for me is the price for one of these Mini Jubilee jammy's is at $1299.oo which is squarely in the vintage JMP price range & I would certainly want to shop for an additional JMP classic to add to the collection & use when playing. But,.. ya never know bro...

Here's a 2525 mini Silver Jubilee clip...