Do You REALLY Need a Tube Amp? - Battle of the Fender Electric Guitar Amps

My Favorite Guitar + Filming Gear at Sweetwater

Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. The link above is an affiliate link, that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission on.

[EltonGoslettGuitar]

Is the Champ good enough? Yes.

Is the Deville significantly better? Also yes

[CyborgWolf]

I asked my wallet & it said no after slapping me

[SanjayMenon]

If you play like Marty, basically any amp will sound good!!! 😎🤘🤘

[taiteo]

Find it odd that when we sit down to record in home setups, we rely on digital modeling in a DAW to emulate an authentic sound, be that reverb or a cranked tube amp, and accept that as being 'realistic enough' but there's all this snobbery about 'authentic' when it comes to digital amps, especially for beginners. This is great! It lets you play around with specific sounds without having to be in a setting that a lot of us just aren't able to have.

[bobbusby]

I cant say I would be satisfied with the Solid State after first playing and listening to the Tube amp. The sound difference was night and day for me.

[MyVantasticLifeVoyage]

I have the Champion 100 with 2x12 and it’s amazingly good. All I need really. For me solid state reliability and convenience outweigh the slight tonal improvement a true tube amp gives.

[chrisb]

dont get me wrong i love tube amps and solid state amps cant beat that real sound, but its the maintenance of them and just the worry that something could go significantly wrong that kill tube amps for me. i like the no hassle no maintenace no worry of solid state

[vipingaur]

Just like the OP said "The solid state sounds like listening to somebody playing in another room", you cant beat the shimmery and open sound of that tube amp.

[dr]

Even if a beginner can afford the tube amp, they should get the champion (or katana, etc). They can discover what sorts of tones, and potential amps, they like, and be much more informed when they do purchase a tube amp. Why spend a grand on a deville, only to find out that your more of an ac 30 (or whatever) person. One of the greatest things about current modeling amps, is how much they can offer in helping a beginner (or more advanced player) figure out what they like

[GuyMouton]

The DeVille sounded much better, but I can't say how much of that is driven by the difference in speakers. It would be great to see a comparison using tube vs. solid state heads using the same cabinet.

[scoots]

The Champion 40 is a great value, it is what it is. A GREAT little amp. No one in their right mind would go into a store and try to decide between these two amps.

[samuelgonzalez]

(I love the channel BTW!!)
So I've owned this amp, and I know it can sound better if you use the EQ properly.
I Gig around 3 nights a week, 4pc band, Restaurants, Hotels, Casinos. From lobbies to stages, I use little SS amps And they always sound great. The crowd CANNOT tell the difference! They always have enough punch, and if needs more volume or low end, I just mic it, easy.
I still make just as much money as the dudes playing expensive tube amps. And I always get asked about my tone. Good tone is almost always in how you set your EQ, whether that is on your amp or an EQ pedal. Especially with how far cheap amps have come.

[alecross]

Love your videos Marty, the amount of players you have inspired and touched around the world is crazy and you’re still so humble.

[markskinner]

You should do a few videos on psychedelic type effects and scales an stuff. Great video Marty. Maybe chords and some progressions to go with it.

[gabrielchartrand]

I liked the vid when he said :
"Not loud AF but pretty darn loud."

[luizalbertokoehler]

I have several tube amps (Fender Blues Jr. Tweed, Marshall DSL, Laney ...) and transistor amps (Fender Princeton 112 Plus, Marshall V8080, Roland Cube 60 orange ...). I've tested and compared the amps exhaustively (for Eric Clapton and Stones style) and I would say that tranzistor amps, typically in the drive channel, with drive at minimum (Fender) and at 3.8 (Marshall), sound as good as tube amps, especially if you use a drive pedal.

[deansupreme]

I have had a champion 40 that i've had for about 6 months now. I love how it sounds. I don't gig just jam in my man cave.

[JRGast]

It’s like you read my mind and then post what I need. Thank you good sir!

[grene]

I would love to see a review where you say it's one amp, but it's actually the other, then vice versa. I think the comments would be fascinating!

[mkhudn]

They sound different but you don’t NEED one. Most people are musically challenged and think Beyoncé is the real deal. They wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.