Why I Prefer Solid State to Tube Amps

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When I first began getting into gear everyone always said tube amps were better.

Since then I’ve gone through cycles of owning multiple solid state and tube amps.

At present I currently own one tube amp, but my preference for most of the jazz work I do is solid state.

1. Size vs Clean Head Room Ratio
2. Maintenance / Reliability
3. Consistent Sound
4. Tube Amp Pros
5. My Favourite Solid State Amp

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[steveg]

There is also another aspect that pure SS amps(not emulating tubes per se) have faster transient response and lots of headroom by nature. The softness and compression of tubes is awesome when you want it but limiting when you don’t

[JackTheSkunk]

The audience couldn't give a flying flip about what kind of amp you're using as long as they can hear you.
I am not an expert, but I did have a Blues Cube Hot for a year or two. The cleans were amazing to my ears.

[Matz]

I play Hawaiian steel guitar. I don't want a signal that breaks up or distorts. I want a fat glassy tone.

[TheRosswise]

I also prefer solid state just because they are much more reliable and almost completely maintenance-free. I also like that I don't have to crank them to deafening levels to get them to sound amazing. The problem was always finding a solid state amp that had a good overdrive channel, as I play rock and metal and for that style you need an amp with a solid drive channel. Luckily I have found a few amps that stand toe-to-toe with tube amps very well in that regard.

[BobcatOneManBand]

Quilter Super Block US all day! Straight into the PA system with all my pedals running into it.

[jamesm]

I use a Quilter Tone Block 202 (solid state) through a Raezer's Edge NY8. Sound works great for me and the Tone Block has very simple and minimal controls. I play an archtop through it, a Tele, and a nylon string. It sounds great for all. It is warm but not too dark or dull. Lot of good demos of the 202 on YouTube, including Tim Lerch.

[kempini]

I use a DV Mark Little Jazz combo. Best Amp I have ever owned, now all my guitars sound jazzy through it!

[guitarman]

Started on tube because there were no solid state. When solid state became available I didn't like them because the reverb always sounded weird. Out of necessity I switched from Fender Twins and Deluxes to the Roland Jazz Chorus. Then fell in love with the Cube 60. My favorite is my Fender Deluxe Tonemaster. All you say about this subject is spot on. When tubes stopped being Ameri can made, the tube amps changed drastically. Great video! Spot on!

[zachsmith]

My favorite amp is a old solid state Yamaha Ta20. It has a polystyrene speaker that will blow if you push it to far. Overall the sound is very organic and can even do crunch with a boost pedal.

[swissarmyknight]

I never disliked solid state amps, but I was brainwashed to think tubes were best (to be fair, they're definitely very good for certain applications). I finally got a Roland JC-22 for home use (wanted a JC for ages). Then I saw how great it was to have an inexpensive, lightweight, durable, great-sounding clean pedal platform that can sound great at any volume (bonus: the chorus sounds great). The clean sound stands up to any other, and if I want dirt, I have a collection of dirtboxes for it. I've got pedals that emulate a Marshall sound (JHS Angry Charlie), a Friedman sound (Friedman BE/OD), a Hiwatt sound (Catalinbread RAH), a Laney with modded treble booster sound (Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra), Big Muffs, and a bunch more. If I want compression (it has none, unlike tubes), I've got pedals for that as well (Wampler Superego is so great). I might be the only guy playing doom metal and space rock on a Roland, but GOT DAYUM it sounds good and doesn't piss off the neighbors. Any sound I want is a stompbox away and it was all pretty dang cheap for how good it sounds.

[keithbedggood]

G'day Jamie, I am mostly a jazz player, and an erstwhile pit player. For my Cargill semi-acoustic, I use a Fender Deluxe 112 mostly and, occasionally, a Fender Blues Junior. I bought the solid state about thirty five years ago particularly for jazz festivals, as it was a bit lighter. Turned out to be the very best. The Blues Junior I treat as a back-up. Quite a good unit, but it doesn't match the semi-acoustic like the 112 does. For my Cargill acoustic, I use an AER 60, a brilliant little unit.

[redeyeify]

i have 10 Marshall amps 7 valvestate and 3 MG

[artcamp]

Fender "Tone Master " Deluxe Reverb... What a fantastic amp. to me it's perfect. It has no drawbacks and comes with that beautiful fender clean sound

[davekana]

I just had small Polytone gone through with my tech. Think it’s from the 70’s, needed new capacitors and a plug. It’s just perfect for me, sounds great to. I’m just going for that clean Jazz sound.

[marksguitars]

great video, I am a Blues and Classic Rock player and prefer tube amps for that crunch and compression, but all of your points about tube vs solid state are spot on. When I worked in a music store during the 80s, the Polytone amps were very popular with Jazz players Joe Pass used to come into our store, he was friends with the owner, Joe prefered Polytone 102 I believe. Mini Brute, Mega Brute, etc. There were a few rock players that would crank them a certain way and get amazing break up sounds too. I use a silver panel Fender Deluxe for live and at home a solid state Boss Katana 50 amp, love them both, thanks for sharing.

[Bushprowler]

I'd highly sought after boutique and vintage tube amps but my all-time favorite is a relatively rare about 30 years old solid state amp for everything from jazz to blues to classic and modern metal. Nothing compares tone- and feel-wise which is why I'd so much expensive tube amps in the first place. I was always looking for something that even a relatively incompetent amp tech can troubleshoot and repair (even a well respected amp guru that I provided with all the tech manuals and schematics couldn't or didn't want to maintain/repair my ss amp properly) but still has a comparable tone as well as the dynamics and feel that my ss amp has. I tried everything ss and digital as well from Amp1 to Quilter to Line 6 Helix and Fractal but nothing could even get close. Now I have a relatively new ss amp from Russia as a backup but even though it's a very well thought out design and a great amp overall it behaves and feels like most of my tube amps did.. so, it's certainly a fantastic amp but it's not the same.

[DrDooDah]

I play direct into the PA. The business end of my pedal board is a Guyatone VT3 tremolo (always on, with effect turned off) into an Award Session JD10 preamp, and lastly a graphic EQ pedal. The VT3 is buffered and pushes a significant volume boost going into the preamp, which gives a great impression of a nicely warmed-up tube amp. (When I want tremolo, I just wind up the intensity knob on the VT3). I find that the JD10 sounds best with all the tone controls at noon, hence the EQ pedal after it. I have all the highs turned off and the mids and lows pretty much flat. For home use and small gigs I plug into a Roland CM30 Monitor, with a 6.5 inch speaker. It sounds great.

[angusorvid]

I feel solid state modeling has come so far that it's no longer necessary to rely on tube amps. Yes, most of the great tones that modelers emulate are based upon tube amps, with the exception of Roland JC models, which a lot of these amps/pedal systems emulate. But a good modeling amp now has the actual feel of a tube amp. Also, one thing you pointed out in the video which I totally agree with is consistency. Solid state is just more consistent. Tubes are, by nature, temperamental. I've owned countless tube amps, but I've also used a lot of solid-state amps, like a Randall RG75 combo I used for years playing hard rock and metal in L.A. in the 80s. The most reliable tube amp I owned was a Boogie which took a lot of spills and kept on ticking. In the 8 years I had that amp I changed tubes maybe 3 times, and I played this thing a lot. At the moment I used a Boss GT-1 multi effects processor through a Boss/Roland Cube amp and get amazing tones without a tube in site. I just sold a Marshall and got this for a mere fraction of the cost. It's just brilliant. I play instrumental prog fusion, so something like Yes and Return to Forever, Mahavishnu, etc. I often go from a big rock sound to pristine clean, and I get all the tones I could ever ask for, and a lot of great effects, with this system. I always found that jazz players were more open to solid state than rock/metal players, because there are simply so many legendary tube amps that steal the spotlight from solid state. I think things are changing slowly, as more and more players are using systems like the Boss GT series, Helix, Headrush and Fractal. I tell new players not to get hung up on tubes, as the supply of tubes is very unstable, and they don't want to put all their eggs in a broken basket.

[robertgowa]

As jazz player - I use DV Mark Jazz Combo (solid state) - have perfect jazz tone but also work well with cruch/everdrive delivered through combination of Xotic AC+ (overdrive) and Helix HX Stomp (modulation, delay). From time to time I also have gigs as "one-man-orchestra" and usr Roland GR55 to add some "hammod" or "brass" sound - Everything with DV Mark Jazz :-)

[alainbergmans]

I use two amps, in my view, both are great for jazz : Roland 80x (inexpensive) and AER Compact 60/2. Both give me a very good jazz tone and if more volume is needed they both can be hooked to a PA system. The Roland is a real workhorse full of great features for the price. If you have a guitar with both humbuckers and piezo pickups, by mixing them you can obtain a great warm and crisp tone.