I dug out my one SS amp the other day....

[MadAsAHatter]

and it was a good reminder of why I like and play tube amps. Granted it's a Crate GT3500 Shockwave (the one that's a near copy of an Ampeg VH-140C) so it's not the best example of a SS, but holy hell it was so stiff to play. When you're so used to the responsiveness of tubes then jump on something that doesn't respond to shit it was a bit rough. I played on it for a few hours and still didn't fully adapt to how stiff (and to an extent lifeless) it was.

On the up side it did nail that 90's era death metal tone perfectly; which is why I bought it in the first place and kept it around all this time. Since I have the space I'll keep it hooked up for now. I have a feeling thought It'll eventually find its way back into the closet.

 

[anomaly]

I kinda like the response of some SS amps. That immediacy that they have is really cool for start stop riffing, and any riffing that requires a tight tone. The old school Randall's have that response but at the same time they have a warmth to them that reminds me a bit of tubes. Must be the transistors they use, J-fets. I'll always like those amps, my first decent amp was a Randall rg100es. Boosted and thru a couple 4x12's it felt like it could take down a couple walls with the amount of air it moved... you could really feel it hit you in the chest with it's punch.

 

[RaceU4her]

Well you said it, it does death metal perfectly and that’s what it’s for.

 

[Chubbs]

That’s interesting, I find SS way easier to play. Maybe it was the years of playing modelers.

 

[Racerxrated]

That’s interesting, I find SS way easier to play. Maybe it was the years of playing modelers.

This. Every SS amp/preamp/modeler turns me into a guitar hero as soon as I start doing runs ?

 

[cetanu]

Never played the Shockwave and I can barely remember owning the VH140c (which I did) but I love amps with a really tight response that are challenging and stiff to play. I absolutely hate over-saturated and overly saggy amps, e.g. played an ENGL Powerball for a while ages ago but it felt as dead to me as my Vetta II in most high gain settings back then. Dusted off my Laney VH100R for a gig one day and sold the Powerball a few days after.

 

[MadAsAHatter]

I kinda like the response of some SS amps. That immediacy that they have is really cool for start stop riffing, and any riffing that requires a tight tone. The old school Randall's have that response but at the same time they have a warmth to them that reminds me a bit of tubes. Must be the transistors they use, J-fets. I'll always like those amps, my first decent amp was a Randall rg100es. Boosted and thru a couple 4x12's it felt like it couple take down a couple walls with the amount of air it moved... you could really feel it hit you in the chest with it's punch.

Well you said it, it does death metal perfectly and that’s what it’s for.

Never played the Shockwave and I can barely remember owning the VH140c (which I did) but I love amps with a really tight response that are challenging and stiff to play. I absolutely hate over-saturated and overly saggy amps, e.g. played an ENGL Powerball for a while ages ago but it felt as dead to me as my Vetta II in most high gain settings back then. Dusted off my Laney VH100R for a gig one day and sold the Powerball a few days after.

Exactly, it's perfect for that start & stop high gain death metal where you need a super tight quick response. Though I haven't played that kind style in a good long while. I'm more hard rock & 80's thrash where you'd want a little response form picking dynamic. The SS not responding to it hardly at all was throwing me off. Like someone put a compressor out front and set it to full bore. Not saying that's a bad thing. I'm just not used to it at all and why I've been using tube amps. I just like the feel of a tube amp better. I'm sure if I spent some quality time with the Shockwave I'd get the hang of it again. It may just take a while for it to feel more natural.

 

[anomaly]

This. Every SS amp/preamp/modeler turns me into a guitar hero as soon as I start doing runs ?

Same here, I can play effortlessly thru most high gain SS amps.

 

[rottingcorpse]

I scored a Randall RG100 classic off this forum recently, and once I finally got around to plugging it in a week or two ago I was giggling like a kid.

 

[anomaly]

I scored a Randall RG100 classic off this forum recently, and once I finally got around to plugging it in a week or two ago I was giggling like a kid.

Cool, I wonder how close those are to the original RG's circuit wise? I know they were made later in the mid 90's.

 

[rottingcorpse]

It has more gain for sure. Far closer to the C200.
We were REALLY surprised. Bloodrock is a big Randall fanboy.