Why Guitar Players Choose Tube Amps Over Solid State Amps

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[jackxavier]

I’ll tell you why, guitarists tend to be prone to financial ruin.

[BrooklynBounce]

The Boss Katana is my favorite low cost solid state amp. I’ve only been playing for around 2 years as I bought a cheap Stratocaster and amp combo during the covid lockdown. I fell in love with playing and a year ago I purchased a 2018 American standard HSS Strat because I really worked hard at teaching myself how to play with the help of all of you wonderful YouTube teachers.
So just yesterday I purchased my first amp (aside from that junk amp that comes with the squier Strat kit). I went with the Boss Katana 250 and I absolutely love it. My all time goal is to buy myself a tube amp because I really love that clean blues sound that they make. My next gift for myself will definitely be a tube powered amp tho.
Thank you for sharing your experience and opinions with us. It was because of this video, I chose the boss katana. Thank you again 🙏
I’m sorry for my long post, I just wanted to paint a background of myself so you know that I’m just a beginner and your videos really help me with my new passion. I never had a desire to play a guitar until one day I woke up during the covid lockdown and I ordered a guitar to keep me occupied.

[barbmelle]

There was a time that all amps were tube amps, from the cheapest model from Montgomery Wards department store, all the way up scale. When Fender started selling the "NEW! IMPROVED! SOLID STATE!" amplifiers, Many started taking the tube amps to the pawn shop to raise money for the Solid State models. Some people stashed them in the basement and shed. I am a pretty clean Jazzy/blues player and stayed true to my tube roots. I do have to admit, digital modeling has come a long way.

[jbert]

Both your tones tube and solid-state sound really good. I have a 65 deluxe reverb w/ a Creamback that I really like. But one of my favorite solid-state amps for me was the Peavey red striped bandit. Super versatile.
Great video.

[loopie]

For most people, when practicing at home or playing with a band, Solid State amps are fine. Once you become a professional and are doing recordings, tubes are considered warmer with more "feel". The modern Chinese Supro amp made today has nothing in common with the old models except the name. JP dropped the Supro's as soon as he got a Marshall. Just play and have fun.

[rayschoch]

I'm glad you started with some "smaller questions." For me, that makes all the difference. A certified old person, I'm less and less enamored of particular pieces of gear. If the sound produced is pleasing and suits my purposes, I don't care who made it. It might help that I'm not a real musician, and my guitar-playing is exclusively at home, where cranking up the volume is basically counterproductive, and more than that, unnecessary with the amps I have. Those amps are: 1) a 100W solid state; 2) a 35W tube; and 3) a 15W digital modeling amp. I'm generally playing only for myself, and don't really enjoy ear-piercing volume or FX, so the master volume on all the amps rarely goes beyond 3 or 4. In that range, with or without pedals, the difference(s) between the digital and the tube are there if you're a true audiophile, but are mostly – my opinion only – unimportant or trivial. Not "totally, " but "mostly" unimportant. My thinking for amps is much like my thinking for guitars – high-end equipment is generally a little bit better, but only a little bit. If you're a pro, playing sold-out stadiums and theater venues, the extra expense may be worth it to you. It's not worth it to me. Gear manufacturers, like businesses everywhere, are adept at adding a feature that costs them $4 and bumping the price of that particular piece of gear up $50. More importantly, in a decade, that feature will, more often than not, be out of style, or nearly impossible to find parts, tubes, switches, and other bits and pieces for, or its design will be outdated by whatever the latest and greatest thing happens to be. I buy low-end to mid-range equipment, modify it to suit my purposes if necessary, and keep it a long time.

[obmijimbo]

I've played tube amps since I started playing back in 70s. I tried solid state now and again but they never "felt" right under the fingers. About 2 years ago I bought a Fender Deluxe Tone Master. Total game changer for me. It is just doing that one thing of sounding like a Fender Deluxe. It honestly "feels" and sounds like tubes in my opinion. Plus I can record direct without an additional device needed.

[slingpeace]

I have the mk2 kat head and I don’t think I will ever go back to tube amps. Just the absolute ease with recording as well as getting basically kind of sound I could ever want.

[TheTimHall]

When I was a kid I started with solid state because it was cheap. I got a Marshall Valvestate when they were first released. Kind-of like a hybrid. I liked it, but I played with a load of effects pedals, and later a rack mount effects unit. It got to the point where the amp was really irrelevant for my style, and so was the guitar. I could probably plug directly into the PA and have the same sound. 😁

As you point out, it really depends on what you play, how you play it and the size of the venues. If I were a kid now I would probably buy a good effects and modeller unit and plug into the PA and not worry about moving around heads and cabs. That was a nightmare... I'm sure many guitarists would hate that idea, but each to their own.

BTW: Recently started playing again after 20+ years off. I'm terrible. 🤣

[grog]

I have two Fender tube amps, they take a lot to keep them working. Had my Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb completely reworked after the tubes failed. Sounds great now. I bought a Boss Katana MKII Head, which I have on my Fender cabinet. It is a great amp, a switch will go between 50 Watts and 100 Watts. I flick another switch and you would swear it is a Marshal column from the 70's. So yea I really like the Boss Katana.

[isaacroche]

Boss Katana Artist for me...
Just dial the tone...
10 voicings
No money on tubes
✌️

[devinwilliams]

I have two tube heads, a solid state head, and I use plugins a lot at home. I think it’s all good. You can dial good or bad tones out of anything. I think people need to focus more on tuning their ear to what exactly makes a “good tone” and not bank on a certain thing like, tube or digital etc. doing it for them.

[jeremybecker]

Excellent as always, Mike!

One thing though, and independent variable is the thing you change (the head you use). Using a constant cab negates confounds (confounding variable).

- Your scientist consultant

[hypertensionwarriors]

Great video
Not having a lot of money to just splurge on gear “because i can” since im just play at home only (not gigging/not pro) i currently own a katana 100w mkii combo. Over the past 3yrs I’ve traded gear to try multiple things: blues jr, ac15, bassbreaker 15, bugera, DSL40c and a plethora of pedals. I have been satisfied for my playability and tone through my katana 100w and silver sky se. Mainly blues/rock and worship. If i had the money to just blow on gear i would love to collect vintage amps (like beato or r shull). However, only playing in front of friends and family they have no idea what i use. To them i sound “good”. I consider myself intermediate if that and in which case to sound good i humbly accept. The Supro sounded great

[timsheffield]

I never could tame the brightness of the katana 100 watt combo. My helix sounds incredibly great though. But the natural compression you get with tube amps i think is what makes them so great.

[lemonyandzesty]

I only had a brief period early on in my guitar playing where I wanted tube amps. Eventually I realized almost none of the guitarists i actually liked or looked up to were regularly using tube amps. Most tube amp enthusiats seem to prefer the bluesy rock sound, with amp just past the edge of breakup. Light overdrive was never my thing though, I prefer to play either jazz and folk music with a perfectly clean sound, or death metal with heavy distortion saturation. So I've always found solid state worked better for me. I love never having to worry about buying replacement tubes. Solid state amps are also way lighter for traveling to gigs or recording sessions. Lastly, solid state amps are often more energy efficient to, depending on which class of amp you're using. Bass players were way ahead of us on that last point, resulting in the creation of class D amps that are extremely light, but also extremely powerful.

[jonathanhines]

I am just a hobbyist, but always preferred tubes until recent years.. Several newer digital and/or solid state amps are very good. I really like Roland Blues Cubes and the Quilter amps as well.

[ifax]

Isn't it amazing how many players think tube amps are the business, yet how many famous recordings are done on solid state amps? Why do all major recording studios have a JC120 in them. Keith Richards, Rory Gallagher, Carlos Santana, John Fogerty, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Paul Simon, Andy Summers, Adrian Smith, Dimebag Darrell, George Lynch, Chuck Schuldiner, Jonny Greenwood, Kurt Cobain, Buzz Osbourne, Josh Homme and many, many more all use solid state amps... Play by ear, don't be a gear snob.

[crsantin]

I only play at home. I use all types: digital, modelers, solid state and tubes. They are all good. I love my Helix. I think the Boss Katana is pretty great. The new mini Friedman and Soldano amps are great affordable options that sound good. However, tube amps still feel the best to me. They feel great under my fingers even at low volumes. I feel the difference and yes it is worth the extra money that tube amps cost. I don't care if other people can't hear the difference. I can. I won't give up my Helix but I also won't give up my tube amps.

[SpartanLaserCanon]

One reason I choose to get a Tube Amp (Mesa Badlander 50 head and Mesa 2x12 cab) instead of getting another solid state amp is that the built in distortion is way better to me than on any Solid State amp I heard demos of on YT. I don't know what it is with Solid State amps and having not very good built in distortion sounds, but I am glad I have an amp that makes me want to practice more now. Lots of Tube Amps have very good clean channel tones for anything including Jazz. I prefer my Mesa Badlander's clean and distortion channels over the ones on the Roland Cube x30 I used to have. In terms of Amp/Effects sim stuff there is way better options today than there used to be and I use Bias FX 2 and my Boss ME 25 sometimes. Heck, I even prefer some of the very good clean settings on my Boss ME 25 when plugged directly into an interface over the clean channel on the Cube x30. With the Cube x30 I had to turn the middle as high as possible just to get a good Jazz tone for my ears.