SS power tubes…it was only a matter of time

  • Thread starter Thread starter SpiderWars
  • Start date Start date
I don’t see how the characteristics of tubes could ever be replicated in the solid state world.. for a touring musician needing dependability sure… but for someone who cares about fidelity & the feel of the circuitry when pushed.. It would remain obsolete… UAD has tried it for years in their modeling (although it sounds decent) still no cigar….
 
Would it help if we referred to them as solid state valves instead of tubes?
 
Techdeth said:
Anyone try the Jet city’s ?
Click to expand...


I've been having a full set of them for years that I bought when they were blowing them out. They work fine and definitely change the feel/sound of an amp. Great to have on hand as backups
 
Omnipotent1 said:
I don’t see how the characteristics of tubes could ever be replicated in the solid state world.. for a touring musician needing dependability sure… but for someone who cares about fidelity & the feel of the circuitry when pushed.. It would remain obsolete… UAD has tried it for years in their modeling (although it sounds decent) still no cigar….
Click to expand...

For modern high gain amps, you wouldn’t need power tubes that clip in a pleasing way, so that’s an aspect of real tubes you could ignore. What you’d need is a power section that is as clean and wide bandwidth as it can be, that will also follow the impedance curve of the cab.

I’m no electronics engineer so I have no idea how you’d do that, but my point is that drop-in SS replacements for tubes don’t necessarily need to be identical to tubes to be as preferable or even more preferable to real power tubes in some situations.
 
Devin said:
I've been having a full set of them for years that I bought when they were blowing them out. They work fine and definitely change the feel/sound of an amp. Great to have on hand as backups
Click to expand...

How would you describe the differences? I snagged the only ones I could find, which was 5 of the low output version, the blue ones. Haven't tried 'em yet.
 
JohnnyGtar said:
How would you describe the differences? I snagged the only ones I could find, which was 5 of the low output version, the blue ones. Haven't tried 'em yet.
Click to expand...

I dunno how to really describe it other than it makes the amp lean more toward the behavior of a solid state amp

I haven't spent a ton of time using them; really only popped em in periodically to make sure they actually work

If you have some give em a shot
 
TheGreatGreen said:
For modern high gain amps, you wouldn’t need power tubes that clip in a pleasing way, so that’s an aspect of real tubes you could ignore. What you’d need is a power section that is as clean and wide bandwidth as it can be, that will also follow the impedance curve of the cab.

I’m no electronics engineer so I have no idea how you’d do that, but my point is that drop-in SS replacements for tubes don’t necessarily need to be identical to tubes to be as preferable or even more preferable to real power tubes in some situations.
Click to expand...
I prefer the natural compression of tubes vs solid state compression. Also tonally it has always taken the cake for me.. the way it introduces 2nd/3rd order harmonics (tho subtlety at times) & not in a static order but randomly is just unmatched 🤌🏽 I have heard some really nice 1s & 0s do the job though 🙂 to each their own. If I was going out of my way to introduce more solid state components into my tube amp I would just switch over to a modeler at that point… Just seems blasphemous 😂
 
Omnipotent1 said:
I prefer the natural compression of tubes vs solid state compression. Also tonally it has always taken the cake for me.. the way it introduces 2nd/3rd order harmonics (tho subtlety at times) & not in a static order but randomly is just unmatched 🤌🏽 I have heard some really nice 1s & 0s do the job though 🙂 to each their own. If I was going out of my way to introduce more solid state components into my tube amp I would just switch over to a modeler at that point… Just seems blasphemous 😂
Click to expand...

My Abaddon design is a mix of mosfets and tubes. Done correctly you can’t tell and actually improve the tone of the amp. Nothing in this circuit has been done before.

Many pros today actually get it wrong too. Too much copying and not enough mathematically backed innovation.

And no, an AXE FX or any modeler for that matter can’t replicate this tone. The punch only comes from analog design. Modelers are thin sounding and 1 dimensional. I’ve always said analog is king and my designs build on this concept.

 
Last edited:
SpiderWars said:
In guitar amps we typically only see two types of tubes, rectifiers and voltage amplifiers. We’ve had SS rectifier ‘plugs’ for many years.

But vacuum tubes did other things too. I had a job where an old test device came in for refurb and it had a vacuum tube that was basically a relay. Another thing that is common in SS form these days.
Click to expand...
A good point. Another interesting use I've seen of tubes is "volume expanders" where you used a tube with a special extra control grid to change the gain with signal level to "decompress" audio.
 
glpg80 said:
My Abaddon design is a mix of mosfets and tubes. Done correctly you can’t tell and actually improve the tone of the amp. Nothing in this circuit has been done before.

Many pros today actually get it wrong too. Too much copying and not enough mathematically backed innovation.

Click to expand...

Sounds killer bro 👍🏽 I think there are always going to be camps lol you’ll have your OG tube camp, Solid State amps, & modelers/profiler camps. I’ve heard great results in each one but my preference will always be straight tubes.. not just talking guitar amps tho.. Analog compressors as well. :) I tried rocking with my softube CL1B plugin for a long time but as soon as I got the real deal it was very apparent why the used market is so inflated right now lol I respect the innovative mindset. It’s good to push boundaries in this case it seems like a nice mashup. I am not a fan of modelers or profilers tho.. way to sterile for me.. however STL Tones has done some decent stuff. I know the big assumption right now is the modeler world taking out the analog world, & more/more people are selling off their rigs.. I don’t think that will ever completely happen because these companies are still selling amps left & right. Local techs in my area are making a living & staying busy around the clock as well :)
 
Omnipotent1 said:
Sounds killer bro 👍🏽 I think there are always going to be camps lol you’ll have your OG tube camp, Solid State amps, & modelers/profiler camps. I’ve heard great results in each one but my preference will always be straight tubes.. not just talking guitar amps tho.. Analog compressors as well. :) I tried rocking with my softube CL1B plugin for a long time but as soon as I got the real deal it was very apparent why the used market is so inflated right now lol I respect the innovative mindset. It’s good to push boundaries in this case it seems like a nice mashup. I am not a fan of modelers or profilers tho.. way to sterile for me.. however STL Tones has done some decent stuff. I know the big assumption right now is the modeler world taking out the analog world, & more/more people are selling off their rigs.. I don’t think that will ever completely happen because these companies are still selling amps left & right. Local techs in my area are making a living & staying busy around the clock as well :)
Click to expand...

Thanks dude! I’d love anyone that is hard on the modeling path to plug in to my designs and turn it up. These amps open up like the gates of hell and just get huge sounding. They don’t stay thin or just a louder version of the tone at practice volumes. The master volume acts as a tone knob itself in some ways. I always recommend the reactive load and IR path over straight modelers - best of both worlds. But nothing compares to all analog.

I agree on the analog recording too. I have a D two transformer coupled mic preamp.
 
glpg80 said:
Thanks dude! I’d love anyone that is hard on the modeling path to plug in to my designs and turn it up. These amps open up like the gates of hell and just get huge sounding. They don’t stay thin or just a louder version of the tone at practice volumes. The master volume acts as a tone knob itself in some ways. I always recommend the reactive load and IR path over straight modelers - best of both worlds. But nothing compares to all analog.

I agree on the analog recording too. I have a D two transformer coupled mic preamp.
Click to expand...
For real it sounds monstrous… 🤘🏽💯 % agree Reactive load & IR all the way over modelers.. That’s the best way you can explain pure solid state or digital signal path- stays thin & is just a louder version of the tone at practice volume”(when you push them) The character doesn’t grow or change like how some master volumes really act like a tone knobs.. (love that shit 🤘🏽) I too prefer pure analog across the board. We speak the same language. You have me intrigued by your builds now.. 😂
 
Devin said:
I dunno how to really describe it other than it makes the amp lean more toward the behavior of a solid state amp

I haven't spent a ton of time using them; really only popped em in periodically to make sure they actually work

If you have some give em a shot
Click to expand...

Thanks, Devin!
 
Omnipotent1 said:
I prefer the natural compression of tubes vs solid state compression. Also tonally it has always taken the cake for me.. the way it introduces 2nd/3rd order harmonics (tho subtlety at times) & not in a static order but randomly is just unmatched 🤌🏽 I have heard some really nice 1s & 0s do the job though 🙂 to each their own. If I was going out of my way to introduce more solid state components into my tube amp I would just switch over to a modeler at that point… Just seems blasphemous 😂
Click to expand...

It's wonderful that your very specific tastes are very specific and outside the use case I was suggesting this tech would be neat for.

I was laying out a use case for people (like me, for example) who don't want any powertube clipping in modern high gain amps, but do like the other things tube power sections provide.
 
TheGreatGreen said:
It's wonderful that your very specific tastes are very specific and outside the use case I was suggesting this tech would be neat for.

I was laying out a use case for people (like me, for example) who don't want any powertube clipping in modern high gain amps, but do like the other things tube power sections provide.
Click to expand...
That’s fair I was just replying to your initial response 😃👍🏽 Do you bro. I’m sure there’s people that would enjoy the concept.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top