Tube power section bad, me emulate it

[311boogieman]

But to be honest, i feel like we may be overthinking this whole situation..

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Since this thread got bumped - looks like your Vypyr has seen better days

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

Since this thread got bumped - looks like your Vypyr has seen better days

Peavey rockmaster into a line 6 effects loop. Believe it or not, the preamp has one of the nastiest metal tones I have heard. It is now being run into a PS2

 

[psychic_driver]

The power amp is where everything comes together. Everyone concentrates on preamp modifications and the preamp modules but the power amp design is what actually produces the sound output in a tube amp and controls a significant impact to the feel, sound, and character.

I would be worried they’re mucking in power amp emulation moreso than the all analog preamp. The power amp design will make or break how something feels under the fingers or responds.

I’m skeptical about a lot of claims aimed at bedroom playing sounding like you’re cranked but you’re not. No gain is just a fancy way of saying unity buffer or a unity gain long tail pair.

I actually have my own phase inverter design that’s more optimal than what is commonly used and it’s actually intended to provide louder volume and hit the power tubes harder. I hate how everything is trying to copy the real deal and then pales in comparison to said real deal.

This is true. I have been running experiments lately aimed at achieving maximum volume & beefy tone using preamp pedals running into the effects return of solid state bass amplifiers ... So far the volume is there but the tone lacks the depth of a tube power section.

My goal is to be as loud as possible with an analog rig that is not as prone to damage as lugging a heavy tube head in and out of a van every night on the road

 

[311boogieman]

This is true. I have been running experiments lately aimed at achieving maximum volume & beefy tone using preamp pedals running into the effects return of solid state bass amplifiers ... So far the volume is there but the tone lacks the depth of a tube power section.

My goal is to be as loud as possible with an analog rig that is not as prone to damage as lugging a heavy tube head in and out of a van every night on the road

Interesting. SS amps can get insanely loud. Keep us posted and welcome to Rig-Talk

What would you say is your favorite amplifier ever and what do you think of the TGP change in terms/practices?

 

[TheGreatGreen]

To me it seems like the 0 watt amp thing in Synergy modules is just marketing speak for them building a Post Phase Inverter Master Volume circuit into a module, which I mean is really cool, but that's what it is. Basically it's a power section without power tubes. It's kinda confusing though because a 12AX7 can put out about 1 watt of power which is loud as shit compared to standard line level, which is where these modules are supposed to be operating. Still, imo it's a necessary component for being able to get the sound of a non master volume amp in a module, as the phase inverter breaking up really is the majority of where the distortion comes from in those vintage amps.

I don't see doubling up on phase inverters in a Synergy system to be all that much of an issue though, as I'd imagine most people are going to run the real poweramp in a Synergy system fairly clean so the "real" phase inverter isn't really going to influence the sound to any real non-linear degree. If you're running a single module into a tube power section that's breaking up though, yeah that will impact things but I wouldn't think that's the way most people are running these setups.


As far as the Class D amp claims, I can't imagine a Class D amp sounding "just like" a real tube poweramp, unless under the most curated and specific conditions, so like both amps would need to be working quiet enough that they're not clipping at all, and the Class D's DSP chip has an EQ in it to emulate the impedance curve of the exact cab and tube poweramp pair being compared or something. But even then, it's only going to mostly work with that one cab and tube poweramp the Class D's DSP chip has been matched against. Mismatch the real poweramp or the EQ signature the DSP is applying to match the impedance curve of the specific cab being used and all bets are off.