"Bass players don't need tubes."

uwe · December 13, 2011, 05:33:31 AM

Now that's a statement. I'd take issue with it even if it stated the opposite. I've played excellent solid state and tube amps and crappy solid state and tube amps. I don't think an Ampeg SVT (though I own and play one) is the be- and end-all of bassdom. It does some things better than my Ashdown and Markbass rigs and some things worse. I like the treble and the mid range of a tube amp (though treble will never snarl like it does on a solid state if that is what you are after, I'm not), but I think as regards bass and sub-bass most solid state amps project things more tightly and accurately than most tube amps (certainly both my Ashdown and my Markbass rig reach frequencies that the SVT has given up on, whether you need these frequencies is a matter of taste); with a tube amp low bass tends to be everywhere and not very concrete, which feels nice for the bassist, but causes issues for the mix. There is a reason why the 8x10 fridge that goes with the SVT is no sub-bass wonder (I've added a 1x18 Ampeg cab to mine for that reason), it camouflages where the SVT loses accuracy, not that that is an issue in most playing situations.

Am I in a minority and do you actually have to be religious about playing tube or solid state?

patman · December 13, 2011, 05:58:08 AM

It really doesn't matter to me. I just need a graphic eq so that I can get the right frequencies reproduced...

Although I love my son's Ashdown amp...I just plug and play and it sounds good.

godofthunder · December 13, 2011, 06:00:30 AM

For me it has to be tubes all the way. I like my Hiwatt DR201 and Marshall Major the best. I have numerous SVTs over the years and they leave me cold. I would take a V4B over a SVT any day. Another Ampeg I like a lot is the B-25B, great amp for a small room or recording. I did have years ago a ROAD ss amp, it had a master vol. and shoved over that thing sounded fantastic. only ss amp I ever liked.

rahock · December 13, 2011, 06:10:21 AM

I've been playing SS amps a lot more than tube amps over the years but I'm not sure I can say I have a preference. There are a whole lot of old tube heads that I absolutely love. The weight and conveniece of SS is a great thing and there are many that do everything I'm looking for. My Genz Benz shuttle 6.0 is definately a dream come true. 3.75 lbs os SS with a single 12ax7 tube to give it some of that tube push, incredible definition and plenty of juice to get the job done. A bit of a comprimise between the two and I like it

Rick

nofi · December 13, 2011, 06:24:31 AM

makes me no nevermind.

Psycho Bass Guy · December 13, 2011, 07:30:22 AM

The words of the gentleman advocating Acoustics should perhaps be taken with a grain of salt. A good amp is a good amp. Vintage amps that have survived to now were obviously built pretty well and most of them are tube. Whether someone else thinks I need them is irrelevant.

leftybass · December 13, 2011, 08:23:00 AM

Matters not to me. If I can get "my sound" out of an amp, I don't really care how it's done.

uwe · December 13, 2011, 08:34:39 AM

"and most of them are tube"

Is that so?

What about all those H&H, Peaveys, Acoustics, Trace Elliots etc on the market? For much of the eighties and nineties, tube amps were not what people were looking for (at least in Europe, I can't speak for the US). I'd say there are more solid states on the market (but tubes have certainly made a comback in the last 5 to 10 years, almost any bass amp company worth its salt is offereing a large tube amp with 8x10 rig these days). Vintage to me is anything that's 10 years old or more these days.

jumbodbassman · December 13, 2011, 08:59:17 AM

Quote from: leftybass on December 13, 2011, 08:23:00 AM
Matters not to me. If I can get "my sound" out of an amp, I don't really care how it's done.

agreed. most of my favorite amps lately are solid state hybrids which use a tube to warm up the ss sound. my favoite amp right now is an eden

uwe · December 13, 2011, 09:05:38 AM

That sums me up as well. I always welcome the chance to play other people's rigs, often I won't even change their settings. Results are often interesting, but never did I not recognize myself immediately.

Dave W · December 13, 2011, 09:12:21 AM

Tubes satisfy some inner need I have. Maybe it's just a tungsten deficiency. Yeah, that must be it. Or maybe it's just old age and the lack of decent SS amps when I was young.

Whatever gets you your sound is okay with me.

uwe · December 13, 2011, 09:19:57 AM

That's a point. Early solid state stuff sounded harsh and had horrible distortion when overloaded, but you don't have that anymore with stuff even at a low price today. I played someone else's Marhall solid state rig - by the look of it hardly an upmarket model - only recently and it sounded nice and snappy with my TBirds (and a bit too snappy and rash for my taste with his P, but other people might love it).

gearHed289 · December 13, 2011, 09:56:21 AM

I am definitely a tube fan, and have been since the late 80s. However, I have gotten some killer sounds out of solid state amps as well. A SS amp through 15s has a certain sound that I really like (Geddy Lee...). In the mid/late 90s, I switched from my '74 SVT to a SVT III Pro - 5 tube pre-amp/SS power amp. Very close approximation of the old monster, but I noticed right away the lows were a little tighter. Recently, I picked up a new Acoustic 115 combo with a 200 watt SS amp section. It's great! Cheap, reasonably light weight, 6 band rotary EQ. And it's LOUD! I'm using that for most gigs, and bringing out the '74 SVT and my 115/210 cab for bigger places with easy load-in.

clankenstein · December 13, 2011, 01:31:56 PM

i guess i have a camp in both foots because i have a ampeg valve preamp crossover and solid state warwick poweramp which works well for me.i can get internal organ massage frequencies and a nice bit of crunch when i play hard.torrid state ?

stiles72 · December 13, 2011, 02:15:53 PM

Feet in both camps. I try not to get too hung up on tube vs. solid state, but try to assess the rig as a whole. I have quite a few Ampegs including a '63 B15 Portaflex. But I think my '66/'67 solid state BT15C sounds just as good if not better, even though those early solid states get a bad rap.