5 ms·

We could just as easily ask why would you use tubes for guitar distortion?

Tangurena2 3y ago
Hollow state devices saturate differently than solid state devices. Although FETs have similar saturation curves as tubes/valves (sometimes called "glass FETs" - both are voltage amplifiers while transistors are current amplifiers). The fuzz in most guitar amps is the hard saturation that transistors do. So I guess using tubes/valves for guitar distortion is a fashion/trend. There are a number of pre-amps for electric guitars that use tubes/valves to recreate some sounds from the 40s-60s.
- kazinator 3y ago
  > The fuzz in most guitar amps is the hard saturation that transistors do. Most guitar amps in what sense? Most guitar amp units shipped? Probably the biggest volume there is amateurs. > recreate some sounds from the 40s-60s. Try 40s-90s-00s--...? Tubes are commonly used right for tones right up to the heaviest metal. It's common for some solid state driving device to be used, like an overdrive pedal. That doesn't necessarily provide any needed gain, but rather shapes the clean tone, which has an effect on what kind of distortion you get. (Ironically, one difference between "old school" metal and "modern" metal that amps used in modern metal have more tubes: like three 12AX7's in the preamp rather than two. Nothing needs another vacuum tube more than "modern"!) In other words, the use of tubes in rock guitar continued to evolve well into the 1990s. So tubes are the key to authentically reproducing the sounds heard in 90s and later metal, not just 40s through 60s. Which is not to deny that solid state devices aren't used for distortion, either as driving elements for tubes or alone.
kazinator 3y ago
Mainly because the dead simple circuits (common-cathode class A amplification stages taken out of a textbook) produce the sought-after tones. Nothing needs to be contrived other than some resistor and capacitor values for a certain tonal profile you may be looking for. I prefer to have solid state almost everything, including the power amp; but there should be a couple of tubes in there for making noise.

Hollow state devices saturate differently than solid state devices. Although FETs have similar saturation curves as tubes/valves (sometimes called "glass FETs" - both are voltage amplifiers while transistors are current amplifiers). The fuzz in most guitar amps is the hard saturation that transistors do. So I guess using tubes/valves for guitar distortion is a fashion/trend. There are a number of pre-amps for electric guitars that use tubes/valves to recreate some sounds from the 40s-60s.

kazinator 3y ago
> The fuzz in most guitar amps is the hard saturation that transistors do. Most guitar amps in what sense? Most guitar amp units shipped? Probably the biggest volume there is amateurs. > recreate some sounds from the 40s-60s. Try 40s-90s-00s--...? Tubes are commonly used right for tones right up to the heaviest metal. It's common for some solid state driving device to be used, like an overdrive pedal. That doesn't necessarily provide any needed gain, but rather shapes the clean tone, which has an effect on what kind of distortion you get. (Ironically, one difference between "old school" metal and "modern" metal that amps used in modern metal have more tubes: like three 12AX7's in the preamp rather than two. Nothing needs another vacuum tube more than "modern"!) In other words, the use of tubes in rock guitar continued to evolve well into the 1990s. So tubes are the key to authentically reproducing the sounds heard in 90s and later metal, not just 40s through 60s. Which is not to deny that solid state devices aren't used for distortion, either as driving elements for tubes or alone.

kazinator 3y ago

Mainly because the dead simple circuits (common-cathode class A amplification stages taken out of a textbook) produce the sought-after tones. Nothing needs to be contrived other than some resistor and capacitor values for a certain tonal profile you may be looking for. I prefer to have solid state almost everything, including the power amp; but there should be a couple of tubes in there for making noise.