27 replies to this topic

[Super Fuzz Big Muff]

I'm really familiar in this subject, but the only reason I would get a solid state is to travel w/ it. If I had to choose an amp it would be in the Marshall MG series. Any thoughts?

[spirograph]

that or peavey maybe

[Super Fuzz Big Muff]

I'm really familiar in this subject, but the only reason I would get a solid state is to travel w/ it. If I had to choose an amp it would be in the Marshall MG series. Any thoughts?

I'm not familiar w/ solid states, that's a typo.

[spirograph]

i had a marshall mg15,and for running fx n drives into the clean channel, it was awesome, could handle a lot, and a lot of volume too. i find solid state amps at their best as a neutral sounding base on which to build a sound. they tend to lack personality i think. some can make a pretty decent driven sound too, like my old peavey bandit (the one with the thrash button!).
solidstate amps are a lot lighter too!

[brandonwinmill]

I really don't like solid state amps. They are very quiet for the wattage. What i mean is that watt for watt it's a joke. Unless you are using a 1500 watt crown or crest with a tube preamp in front of it, i don't see the point. My tattoo artist comes do my work at my place so his kids can play with my gear. They have a 100 watt fender solid state amp. They used to bring it with them everytime and i asked them why they don't just use my mesa boogie. They said because it's not even 40 watts. We like it loud. So i had them dime that solid state amp and my mesa was almost cranked and they were walking out of the room because it's so loud. It crushes that solid state fender. No comparison. They never brought it back. I don't understand how they call that 100 watts, but i'm not a tech. I'd rather my little ac-4 vox over a solid state amp. The only exception would be the roland jazz chorus and a pignose. My friend has 2 pignose amps in his studio. One tube and one solid state and they both sound awesome. The jazz chorus amp is the cleanest amp i may have ever heard. Other than those, don't waste your money. All just my opinion.

[spirograph]

well yea, to be fair, if youve spent your life playin thru valve amps it seem a bit silly to get into solid states now. they just dont sound as good. it actually is that simple. those 100w fender amps and some of the marshalls etc can sound terrible after about 3 on the volume.

[brandonwinmill]

Yeah, i hope i didn't come off like a jerk. I was just saying my thoughts. There are people that i know who have sold hundreds of thousands of records and never plugged into a tube amp ever. Here is an example, Wayne Static from static x. I talked to him several times about tube's and he flat out told me that he has no idea what i'm talking about because he has never owned one. His sound really doesn't require a fancy guitar or amp. Some of the members who have been on this forum a while know that i have one of Wayne's signature prototype guitars that he gave me. It has one seymour duncan pickup and one volume control and that is it. It's a real hot pickup but the treble side of the guitar sounds horrible. It doesn't matter though because he never uses the high strings. He plays drop c and plays downstroke machine gun type rhythm. The last album they made as static x, he never plugged into an amp. It seems fake to me. They plugged into computers and all wore headphones and played. In other words, if you were in the room they were recording in, it would be silent. I just find that weird.

Again, i was just saying what i thought, i didn't mean to make fun of anyone who chooses solid state. If we were all the same then we'd need only one flavor of ice cream.
Thanks

[badmotorfinger]

Marshall MG's are the worst amps in the world. It literally sounds like a chainsaw. Digital to the max. I currently have a late 70's SOLID STATE Sunn Beta Lead and it is awesome. Solid State amp are built like #### now.

[badmotorfinger]

I really don't like solid state amps. They are very quiet for the wattage. What i mean is that watt for watt it's a joke. Unless you are using a 1500 watt crown or crest with a tube preamp in front of it, i don't see the point. My tattoo artist comes do my work at my place so his kids can play with my gear. They have a 100 watt fender solid state amp. They used to bring it with them everytime and i asked them why they don't just use my mesa boogie. They said because it's not even 40 watts. We like it loud. So i had them dime that solid state amp and my mesa was almost cranked and they were walking out of the room because it's so loud. It crushes that solid state fender. No comparison. They never brought it back. I don't understand how they call that 100 watts, but i'm not a tech. I'd rather my little ac-4 vox over a solid state amp. The only exception would be the roland jazz chorus and a pignose. My friend has 2 pignose amps in his studio. One tube and one solid state and they both sound awesome. The jazz chorus amp is the cleanest amp i may have ever heard. Other than those, don't waste your money. All just my opinion.

I beg to differ on the volume part for solid states. My beta lead is unbelievably loud... I have some really loud tube amps as well. 100 WATT 1976 Ampeg V4 head and cab, 1971 Sunn 1200s 150 watts with 90s Sunn cab and 1975 Traynor YBA-1 45 watt head. I'm not sure the wattage on my Beta Lead... but I can't even turn it past 2 even jamming with a full band... it is devastating. I believe that solid state amps used to be made very well, in the 70s etc. nowadays, they're horrible.

[brandonwinmill]

I beg to differ on the volume part for solid states. My beta lead is unbelievably loud... I have some really loud tube amps as well. 100 WATT 1976 Ampeg V4 head and cab, 1971 Sunn 1200s 150 watts with 90s Sunn cab and 1975 Traynor YBA-1 45 watt head. I'm not sure the wattage on my Beta Lead... but I can't even turn it past 2 even jamming with a full band... it is devastating. I believe that solid state amps used to be made very well, in the 70s etc. nowadays, they're horrible.

Agreed. A few solid state amps are legit. Vox made a solid state that was supposedly awesome back in the day. If i can remember right, i think tom petty used one. I'm just saying walk into guitar center and plug into any amp they have right now that is solid state and say, maybe 40 watts. Then place a tube 40 watt next to it and turn them on the same volume number and you tell me which one is louder. There are always exceptions. I would like to put that solid state that you have next to my old mesa boogie and see what happens. Just out of curiosity. Keep in mind that mesa's, sound way louder than most tube amps of the same wattage. It's a beast and it's my measuring stick. I bet that old lead and ampeg sound great as well! Thanks

[spirograph]

dimebag darrell played thru solidstate most of his life. im not sayin he had an amazing sound, but it was HIS sound. all depends on context really, ive got pretty good sounds from bass amps with mild overdrive pedals in front, when its all thats available. played like that for recording too. sounded interesting at least. and i think its fair to say, most things made post70s are pretty dodgy.

[Cernunnos]

A couple of weeks ago I abandoned my tube amp (a Carvin VL100) for the single-speaker, 50 watt version of the Roland Jazz Chorus, and I gotta say it's one of the best decisions I've made gear-wise for a very long time. All the hallelujah-ish reviews you can read here and there on the Internet are in fact true. It's clean as hell and it takes pedals just as good as any high-end Fender amp. I really recommend the Jazz Chorus series, and they do come pretty cheap as well. I paid just a little over 200 bucks for mine.

However, if amp overdrive/distortion is your thing, you won't be very impressed with it - or any solid state I know of for that matter - but that can be pretty easily solved by buying a decent tube-equipped pedal/preamp. You can probably get one of those Vox things that came out like five or six years ago for around or below $100 used.

[badmotorfinger]

A couple of weeks ago I abandoned my tube amp (a Carvin VL100) for the single-speaker, 50 watt version of the Roland Jazz Chorus, and I gotta say it's one of the best decisions I've made gear-wise for a very long time. All the hallelujah-ish reviews you can read here and there on the Internet are in fact true. It's clean as hell and it takes pedals just as good as any high-end Fender amp. I really recommend the Jazz Chorus series, and they do come pretty cheap as well. I paid just a little over 200 bucks for mine.

However, if amp overdrive/distortion is your thing, you won't be very impressed with it - or any solid state I know of for that matter - but that can be pretty easily solved by buying a decent tube-equipped pedal/preamp. You can probably get one of those Vox things that came out like five or six years ago for around or below $100 used.

Beta Lead is GREAT for distortion/overdrive. Most people just plug straight in too.. all solid state.

Check it out.

WITH A SUNN SONARO
CLEAN AND OVERDRIVEN


MELVINS BUZZ
OSBOURNE WITH 2

[hunterwh]

A few good solid state amps would be the Gibson Lab Series co-desginged by Bob Moog, late 70's Roland Jazz Chorus amps and a really rare amp by Gibson called the Gold Chorus. I still like boutique tube amps by far.

[h8mtv]

I own about a dozen amps, mostly Fender, some tube, some SS. I have always been a stompbox kind of guy, nothing does it for me like a big muff for dirt. I have come to prefer SS amps, especially bass amps. Loud and clean. The ampeg micro vr head thru my Marshall 212 is my favorite rig and has been for a few years now. Flame on.

[foxyloxy]

I beg to differ on the volume part for solid states. My beta lead is unbelievably loud... I have some really loud tube amps as well. 100 WATT 1976 Ampeg V4 head and cab, 1971 Sunn 1200s 150 watts with 90s Sunn cab and 1975 Traynor YBA-1 45 watt head. I'm not sure the wattage on my Beta Lead... but I can't even turn it past 2 even jamming with a full band... it is devastating. I believe that solid state amps used to be made very well, in the 70s etc. nowadays, they're horrible.

A sunn is like no other amp though, you really can't compare them to anything else on the market (or off the market).
I agree with the MG comment, they are dogs balls.

[redman1401]

My solid states, mainly my kustom half stack, is loud enough to play over drums and be heard in the mix so thats good, me personally though i do like my SS amps.

[foxyloxy]

My solid states, mainly my kustom half stack, is loud enough to play over drums and be heard in the mix so thats good, me personally though i do like my SS amps.

I had a little Kustom dxp? for a while they are killer amps for the price i really dig them!
what I love about tube amps is the louder they are the better they sound, nothing beats a 100watt monster cranked to 11.

[redman1401]

I had a little Kustom dxp? for a while they are killer amps for the price i really dig them!
what I love about tube amps is the louder they are the better they sound, nothing beats a 100watt monster cranked to 11.

Yeah I have the KG100FX head, plenty loud, just the speakers in the cab aren't the best. Went to my buddy's studio and hooked it the the Peavey XXX cab they have and man it sounds beautiful.

[rizzlecrack]

I play out of a Fender M-80 Chorus head with a 4-12 fender cab. This thing sounds pretty amazing. The built-in chorus has great tone. It is plenty loud. In fact I have never played it over 3volume. Even with my last drummer who played extremely loud with a big boy kit like dave grohl. I was very inpressed with it when I got it. I believe it was made in the 90s. It has that style. Made in the USA.