why solid state amps suck

gball said:
Yes. Very nice stuff. A guy I knew was good friends with Pat Quilter and he'd bring whatever the latest Quilter amp was over to our practice space and of course we'd geek out on it for a while. Good-sounding amps but not something that would get me to mothballing my Mesa, especially after being able to compare side-by-side.
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Not saying a Quilter would be better than a Mesa. I was saying they react like a tube amp.
 
IVe only ever had 2 amps "shite" the bed on me ---
and for the record
I dont gig
I dont tour
I dont MOVE the amp once in my office....
I dont PUSH or DRIVE the amps hard at all.
yet 2 (yep 2) MESA amps crapped out
A MESA f-30 AND A mESA sUBWAY bLUES
and 1 bogner alchemist developed a massive issue as well....whish I think was actually a Hybrid??

so-- say what ya will Ill not be going back down those 2 roads again............


I have had solid state amps costing as little as 25.00 and on up to 3-4-500.00 ----that didnt have ANY ISSUES .....

I like both -- I think both have their uses

as said earlier here -- if it sounds good I really dont care HOW it "works" ...... as long as .... IT ACTUALLY WORKS

one of my favorite amps ever is the Fender Mustang and I have bought those for as low as 35.00 --- hours of fun with WONDERFUL home use tones in those things
 
eSGEe said:
one of my favorite amps ever is the Fender Mustang and I have bought those for as low as 35.00 --- hours of fun with WONDERFUL home use tones in those things
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I agree. I have 2 Mustangs: a Mustang III v.2, and a Mustang I v.1 upgraded to the v.2 software.

I have been using them for the las 6 years or so, and they are killer amps IMHO, and very overlooked/under rated these days.

I personally think that they are superior to the later Mustang GT/GTX models, and I really think Fender :poo: the bed when they dumped the v.2 models.
 
Pretty much every attempt to switch musicians to solid state amps over the last many years (decades) has failed.

Most of the solid state models are failures, but there is a market for student (small) solid state amps.
They never keep manufacturing the solid state models for very long...

The Roland Cube and Jazz Chorus have been the longest lived, but are not widely used compared to tube amps.

Fender and Marshall (at one point) tried to switch but eventually fell back to tubes again. The SS models just didn't sell all that great.
Although Fender and Marshall did make some pretty good sounding transistor amps...
 
KUSTOMS --- yum! Bass players have been using more SS than tube for decades.......
kustom clean7.jpg
Ive loved me some over the years ;)

THis was one of the best SS amps I have ever owned....... they are hard to find -- certainly rare POLY TONE 2x12
polytone.jpg
Polytone1_zps8535cfb6.jpg
insidethePoly1_zpsa1e8ee0a.jpg

look at all that PINK owens corning insulation (fire hazard???? ) --- ???
Talk about STUPID loud and amazing amazing cleans with HUMUNGOUS headroom???? FIND ONE OF THESE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


110 watts --- Made in Hollywood Californication in the 70's ....... and honestly one of my most PROFITABLE flips (400% profit babies ;) )

but --- solid state sucks ...........................
here is a minty model
reverb.com

Polytone 2X12" combo amp Model 104, early / mid '70's. | Reverb

Rare, one owner Polytone Model 104, 2x12" 110 watts combo c. early - mid '70's in pristine condition with original foot switch, cover and manual.
reverb.com reverb.com
 
Amp Mad Scientist said:
Pretty much every attempt to switch musicians to solid state amps over the last many years (decades) has failed.
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I know there’s a joke in my reply to this, coming up, somewhere….
Bass players have embraced solid state amps pretty heavily. They’re usually looking for high headroom cleans though…at least as a base line. So it’s not unusual to see 500-1000 watt SS power amps at play with them.
There are exceptions, of course, like the SVT fans out there, some of the Stoner players etc.

Oh yeah….the joke…..I suppose it all has no bearing on bass players…do they qualify as musicians?
;) :cheers: ;)
let me put my flame suit on now….
56D1753A-72EB-4EC5-AA29-E099BC30F53A.jpeg
Yep, that’s my bass….
 
Polytone made SEVERAL very innovative items ......
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mega brute jazz head for example


Ive also owned more PEAVEY Solid State amps in my lifetime than any other brand or style .... I cant even list ALL of them ......MOST of them lets put it that way -- if PEAVEY made it in SS Ive owned it except for the REALLY HUGE wattage SS amps


Thatbastarddon said:
I suppose it all has no bearing on bass players…do they qualify as musicians?
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nope ...... no they dont ........lol

They arent musicians but they are the reason your woman shakes her butt and dances.. ............
 
eSGEe said:
Les Paul used a Tech 21 (SOLID STATE) amp at the Iridium (and a BOSS pedal board) .......... not even gonna joke that HE SUCKED......
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Well, I for one never said they suck, and noted that they can and do sound great. But I don't like the feel of them. And I do think some amount of this discussion comes down to how an amp gets used: Jazz and Blues players have had great success with clean, huge headroom tones using SS rigs. But I play with gain, usually a lot of gain, and that's where I have found them lacking. But its like just about everything else, y'know? To each their own. Some of us play Les Pauls, some play Strats, etc. And some of us dig their SS amps and some of us choose tube amps instead. In the end its all about making music, so it's all good I think.
 
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