Tube vs Solid-State Amps

 

Tube vs Solid-State

Buying a new amp?  Looking to upgrade?  Stepping through the doors at your local music shop will offer you a sea of amp choices.  Amps can be a broad topic to cover, but let’s help demystify at least one aspect of amp shopping: tube vs. solid-state.

What’s the Diff?

•               Tube amps (also called valve amps) use vacuum tubes to amplify the signal from your instrument.

•               Solid-state amps use transistors and electronic circuits instead of tubes.

 

Compare / Contrast

To help you narrow your choices, here is a comparison table that looks at the differences on a variety of dimensions.

	Tube	Solid-State
Sound	·      Warm, rich, dynamic tone ·      Natural compression, harmonic overtones ·      Reacts to hard/soft play ·      Breaks up into overdrive more naturally ·      Beloved by blues, classic rock, jazz, vintage tones	·      Clean, consistent tone at all volumes ·      Predictable ·      Good pedal platform
Feel	·      Amps respond to touch, playing style, guitar volume knob shifts (typically having cleans at low guitar volume or dirty sounds at high guitar volume) without a change in loudness to the listener	·      Predictable tone characteristics, less variation
Use Cases	·      Practice - Less ideal for practice at low volumes, especially where you want to push the amp to breakup, but some models offer attenuation to address this issue ·      Live – Traditionally the preferred choice for musicians with their impressive presence and responsiveness, but are heavier and more fragile to travel.  May be overkill for some venues due to output volume required for optimal power tube operation ·      Studio – For musicians comfortable micing amps, and/or those who appreciate the palette a particular tube amp offers	·      Practice - Quieter, often have headphone jacks, making them great for practice use ·      Live – Less fragile, lighter weight.  Some offer additional outputs for integration into sound setup/mixer ·      Studio – with digital modelling technology and USB outputs can offer versatility without the need to mic the amp.  Direct recording without an audio interface is available on some models.
Cost/Maintenance	·      Typically, more expensive ·      More fragile (tubes wear, burn out) ·      Requires technician with technical knowledge to refurb older units ·      Can be modified / rewired to change tonal characteristics ·      Some vintage models may not have repair documentation readily available, while others are very well documented	·      Typically, less expensive ·      Durable ·      May not be repairable if there is an issue with an integrated circuit or if mainboard needs replaced ·      Product support cycle may be short so spare parts may not be available

 

One more critical point for those new to buying guitar amps: you cannot directly compare the output wattage of a tube amp against a solid-state amp.  This means that a 30W valve may be the same or louder at max volume than a 200W solid-state amp.

 

Which Should You Choose?

Go tube if: you are focused on replicating vintage tones and focused on the feel and responsiveness typical of a tube amp.

Go solid-state if: you want to save some money, want something with a headphone output, or is well-suited to practice.  

Also consider:

• Modeling amps if you are looking for good emulation of vintage tube amp tones,

• Amp simulation pedals and/or floor units as there are an array of options at a variety of price points

 

The Audience

A lot of what we’ve talked about is musician-focused; how the amp responds to your touch or changes in volume at the guitar, portability, etc.  If you’re playing live, you might also consider how the amp will sound to your audience; especially in a situation where they will be hearing the amp routed through a PA.  Will you get enough of what you need from a solid-state amp and still deliver a convincing performance to your audience?  Will they hear or appreciate the difference between a tube amp and solid-state?  Certain solid state/digital options wouldn’t be that different from their valve counterparts in a live mix due to the quality of modern solid state and digital amp tonal capabilities.  Solid state technologies have come a long way in the last decade.

 

Product Recommendations

Here are a couple of quick recommendations that you can grab today.  There are many more, and you can reach out to our team for more personalized advice.  We can special order a variety of products not on our website or in-store; something else to keep in mind 😊.

Tube: Fender Blues Junior 30^th Anniversary 15-watt Combo Amplifier

The 15w power output is a good for a variety of gigs, especially if volume is a concern.  It’s small, portable, and a decent pedal platform.  Buy it here.

Solid State: Boss Katana 50-watt Combo Apmlifier (Gen3)

This 50w amp has built in amp modeling and a limited set of built-in effects, USB out and a headphone jack. Great for practicing without disturbing others at a very reasonable price point.  Its 50w output is reasonable for occasional gigging in small venues. Buy it here.