4 ms·

Tube amps are used in both creating music (guitar amps, bass amps, etc) and listening to music (hifi preamps, power amps, etc). Tube amps used in creating musi

Tube amps are used in both creating music (guitar amps, bass amps, etc) and listening to music (hifi preamps, power amps, etc). Tube amps used in creating music usually have a distinctive sound. Fender Twin Reverb and Ampeg SVT are but two of the many tube amps with a distinctive sound. Solid state amps typically have a very different sound. Yes, there are digital amp simulators and yes they are very good nowadays. But lots of musicians want the real thing. That may not appeal to you, and you may dismiss it, but that’s the case. People generally aren’t buying an expensive tube guitar amp because they think they’re rare - tube amps are not hard to find. They’re buying them because they like the sound. Tubes in hifi equipment is a whole other ballgame. No comment on that one.

wilsonnb3 4y ago
> They’re buying them because they like the sound. You’re giving guitar players too much credit, they are only one step below “audiophiles” in their love for snake oil and marketing. Tube amps persist mostly because guitar players instinctively turn their nose up at solid state, due to tubes having been the state of the art when the first generation of world famous electric guitarists was young. Bass players are slightly better, mostly because an SVT head weighs 80 pounds and nobody wants to lug them around.
- temporallobe 4y ago
  I use both solid state and tube amps, and for vastly different use cases. I use a small 7-watt tube amp for my studio setup, and it does has a much different feel and tone than any of my emulators or solid state amps. Although amp sims and cab IRs are getting incredibly good these days, there’s just that inimitable magical spark that tube amps have. There’s also nothing quite like a maxed tube amp, which has so-called power amp distortion. On the other hand, tube amps are a PIA and are prone to having those delicate tubes shake their innards apart if jostled the wrong way, not to mention their backbreaking heft. Therefore I use a solid state/modeler amp on stage, because of far better reliability, weight reduction, and versatility. Now there are even pedal amps, with class D power amps built in, so guitarists need only bring their pedalboard and maybe a cab. But when it comes to recording, most studios are still gonna prefer genuine, preferably vintage, tube amps. Nobody really gives a shit about your tone on stage anyway.
- billjings 4y ago
  Guitar tone is built on breakup, and solid state did not break up like tubes. Not for a long time, at least - arguably FET transistors do a good job, but you still don't get the sag that a tube rectified AB amp yields when cranked. The only reason that solid state is now catching up to tube nowadays is that: * Front of house tech and home recording has made riding cranked amp tone live in a live environment a hassle, both technically and in terms of achieving the sounds that are being recorded * Solid state can credibly emulate tube tone now (this has happened on things like tube compressors, too) Having said all that, any time spent in the guitar pedal market (particularly around dirt boxes) will convince anyone that guitarists are indeed, as you say, total suckers for snake oil and marketing. :)
- coldpie 4y ago
  > You’re giving guitar players too much credit, they are only one step below “audiophiles” in their love for snake oil and marketing. Tube amps persist mostly because guitar players instinctively turn their nose up at solid state I agree with you, but I think solid state amps have only been "good" for the last 5-10 years at most, which is a pretty short time to change everyone's mind, habits, and equipment. So be gentle :)
dataviz1000 4y ago
I was reading a Wall Street Journal article about Taylor Swift's wealth today. The journalist pointed out something interesting, one of the biggest sources of income for Taylor Swift is vinyl record sales. She sold close to a 1,000,000 vinyl records of the Midnights album in 2022 each costing around $27. Moreover, vinyl record sales have increased year over year for the past 17 years. I suspect that the people who are purchasing Taylor Swift vinyl records might also be interested in purchasing vacuum tube preamps.
- Clamchop 4y ago
  Some, maybe. But I think most buyers won't ever own a turntable. Vinyl records are merch and you don't need any reason to buy one beyond wanting a keepsake with more interest than a poster. I think there's something to be said about the overlap of Taylor Swift fans with audiophiles, too.
- analog31 4y ago
  Can't easily copy a vinyl record.
- nl 4y ago
  I know a bunch of teenage kids who buy vinyl. They get them for the atheistics and as a objet d'art, and tend to listen to the music more via spotify than using the vinyl.
  - dataviz1000 4y ago
    Reading further, only half the people who buy vinyl have a record player.
jpmattia 4y ago
> Tube amps used in creating music usually have a distinctive sound. Fender Twin Reverb and Ampeg SVT are but two of the many tube amps with a distinctive sound. Solid state amps typically have a very different sound. It's worth noting: The nonlinearities in the tube amps are very different from the solid-state amps. So the right thing to compare it to is one of the newer digital sims with an appropriate IR response, scanned over different input strengths to simulate the nonlinearities. And I say this as someone with a 70s vintage Fender Twin Reverb: The emulators are really good.

wilsonnb3 4y ago

> They’re buying them because they like the sound. You’re giving guitar players too much credit, they are only one step below “audiophiles” in their love for snake oil and marketing. Tube amps persist mostly because guitar players instinctively turn their nose up at solid state, due to tubes having been the state of the art when the first generation of world famous electric guitarists was young. Bass players are slightly better, mostly because an SVT head weighs 80 pounds and nobody wants to lug them around.

temporallobe 4y ago
I use both solid state and tube amps, and for vastly different use cases. I use a small 7-watt tube amp for my studio setup, and it does has a much different feel and tone than any of my emulators or solid state amps. Although amp sims and cab IRs are getting incredibly good these days, there’s just that inimitable magical spark that tube amps have. There’s also nothing quite like a maxed tube amp, which has so-called power amp distortion. On the other hand, tube amps are a PIA and are prone to having those delicate tubes shake their innards apart if jostled the wrong way, not to mention their backbreaking heft. Therefore I use a solid state/modeler amp on stage, because of far better reliability, weight reduction, and versatility. Now there are even pedal amps, with class D power amps built in, so guitarists need only bring their pedalboard and maybe a cab. But when it comes to recording, most studios are still gonna prefer genuine, preferably vintage, tube amps. Nobody really gives a shit about your tone on stage anyway.
billjings 4y ago
Guitar tone is built on breakup, and solid state did not break up like tubes. Not for a long time, at least - arguably FET transistors do a good job, but you still don't get the sag that a tube rectified AB amp yields when cranked. The only reason that solid state is now catching up to tube nowadays is that: * Front of house tech and home recording has made riding cranked amp tone live in a live environment a hassle, both technically and in terms of achieving the sounds that are being recorded * Solid state can credibly emulate tube tone now (this has happened on things like tube compressors, too) Having said all that, any time spent in the guitar pedal market (particularly around dirt boxes) will convince anyone that guitarists are indeed, as you say, total suckers for snake oil and marketing. :)
coldpie 4y ago
> You’re giving guitar players too much credit, they are only one step below “audiophiles” in their love for snake oil and marketing. Tube amps persist mostly because guitar players instinctively turn their nose up at solid state I agree with you, but I think solid state amps have only been "good" for the last 5-10 years at most, which is a pretty short time to change everyone's mind, habits, and equipment. So be gentle :)

dataviz1000 4y ago

I was reading a Wall Street Journal article about Taylor Swift's wealth today. The journalist pointed out something interesting, one of the biggest sources of income for Taylor Swift is vinyl record sales. She sold close to a 1,000,000 vinyl records of the Midnights album in 2022 each costing around $27. Moreover, vinyl record sales have increased year over year for the past 17 years. I suspect that the people who are purchasing Taylor Swift vinyl records might also be interested in purchasing vacuum tube preamps.

Clamchop 4y ago
Some, maybe. But I think most buyers won't ever own a turntable. Vinyl records are merch and you don't need any reason to buy one beyond wanting a keepsake with more interest than a poster. I think there's something to be said about the overlap of Taylor Swift fans with audiophiles, too.
analog31 4y ago
Can't easily copy a vinyl record.
nl 4y ago
I know a bunch of teenage kids who buy vinyl. They get them for the atheistics and as a objet d'art, and tend to listen to the music more via spotify than using the vinyl.
- dataviz1000 4y ago
  Reading further, only half the people who buy vinyl have a record player.

jpmattia 4y ago

> Tube amps used in creating music usually have a distinctive sound. Fender Twin Reverb and Ampeg SVT are but two of the many tube amps with a distinctive sound. Solid state amps typically have a very different sound. It's worth noting: The nonlinearities in the tube amps are very different from the solid-state amps. So the right thing to compare it to is one of the newer digital sims with an appropriate IR response, scanned over different input strengths to simulate the nonlinearities. And I say this as someone with a 70s vintage Fender Twin Reverb: The emulators are really good.