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In recent years there have been a slew of solid-state amp heads that weigh less than a few pounds but do a fine job distorting in a manner that is practically t

In recent years there have been a slew of solid-state amp heads that weigh less than a few pounds but do a fine job distorting in a manner that is practically the same as with tube amps. The pre-amp is where these distortions take place and because of this there are also a number of lightweight tube amplifiers that use a class D solid-state amplifier instead of tubes for the power stage. My middle-aged back definitely prefers the recent advances.

0_____0 4y ago
It’s really incredible to me how much punch modern tech can cram into a small enclosure. I have a pair of QSC K12, basically a versatile loudspeaker/monitor… the new ones are rated for 2KW (Peak), are built chiefly of plastic, have very impressive bass extension, and weigh about 40lb a piece. Very different, and much more precise, engineering than the old bass cab I bought as a kid, which rolled on casters and seemingly had enough room inside for me to crawl into, and had time best described as “flabby.”
i_am_proteus 4y ago
This is not quite correct. Distortion in a tube guitar amp is introduced in the preamp, the phase splitter (for push-pull designs), the power amp, the output transformer, and the speaker cone. There's also some distortion introduced by amps with tube rectifiers, as high current draw causes B+ (plate/anode) voltage to drop and changes the transfer characteristics of the tubes. This is why there's some disparagement of "master volume" tube amps that attenuate voltage before the power amp to get a distorted sound at lower volumes- they lose the phase splitter and power amp distortion. Whatever the electrical design, when amps aren't cranked, they lose speaker distortion. This is why physically small amps are popular in studios- they can be turned up to their own limits to get distortion without being as loud as stage amps. "Hybrid" amps that use a tube preamp and a solid state power amp certainly have some tube distortion from the preamp, but because of circuit design differences and different tubes used in the power stage, it isn't identical to a full tube amp. Not that it necessarily "needs" to be. Digital modeling amps are getting closer, perhaps even close "enough." Play equipment you like to play and get a sound that you like and the engineering details don't matter.

0_____0 4y ago

It’s really incredible to me how much punch modern tech can cram into a small enclosure. I have a pair of QSC K12, basically a versatile loudspeaker/monitor… the new ones are rated for 2KW (Peak), are built chiefly of plastic, have very impressive bass extension, and weigh about 40lb a piece. Very different, and much more precise, engineering than the old bass cab I bought as a kid, which rolled on casters and seemingly had enough room inside for me to crawl into, and had time best described as “flabby.”

i_am_proteus 4y ago

This is not quite correct. Distortion in a tube guitar amp is introduced in the preamp, the phase splitter (for push-pull designs), the power amp, the output transformer, and the speaker cone. There's also some distortion introduced by amps with tube rectifiers, as high current draw causes B+ (plate/anode) voltage to drop and changes the transfer characteristics of the tubes. This is why there's some disparagement of "master volume" tube amps that attenuate voltage before the power amp to get a distorted sound at lower volumes- they lose the phase splitter and power amp distortion. Whatever the electrical design, when amps aren't cranked, they lose speaker distortion. This is why physically small amps are popular in studios- they can be turned up to their own limits to get distortion without being as loud as stage amps. "Hybrid" amps that use a tube preamp and a solid state power amp certainly have some tube distortion from the preamp, but because of circuit design differences and different tubes used in the power stage, it isn't identical to a full tube amp. Not that it necessarily "needs" to be. Digital modeling amps are getting closer, perhaps even close "enough." Play equipment you like to play and get a sound that you like and the engineering details don't matter.