Tube-amps or what?

[eric_montgomery]

Eeeey,

i need more advice based on tube.
Do you know some of it tell me please!

[eric_montgomery]

Well i see nobody is giving a reaction
so why don't you tell me what kind of amp you're using
and why?
I hope it's more interesting now.

[James8831]

It's probably not a lack of interest ,Eric.
I think you're better off posting in the Tech Talk section as that's probably the forum for this sort of question.

Ok, my limited experience..a tube amp power section seems to give a more rounded and musical output and a natural distortion (think fat ,wide sound)when it is played flat out and a tube preamp has a wicked effect on the sound (provided you have a decent amp). Think of any real guitar tone from the 50s up to and including Slash, all those various tones [usually] come from tube amps -although a lot are modified by fx pedals..

I spent all my money on guitars,but, will get either a small old amp or a Laney LC15 when I have enough money,having said that my Vox Cambridge is nice enough for now..

[eric_montgomery]

Heeee man thnx,

now i'm up-dated. Sorry i'm just a beginner at forum's.
I don't get the point of it.
But thnx again!

[mc9mm]

I have one advice:
If you dont have one, buy one.

[Incidents Happen]

i have a Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Re-issue combo, and it makes even a crappy guitar sound excellent. I reccommend it.

[Bardsley]

I guess the question is: what do you want to know about tube amps? Do you want to know how they work? If you do, go to the tech talk and Lordathestrings or pstring (others too, but these guys know their stuff) will certainly be able to give you a run through of that side of things. How they sound in comparison to solid state? What are the differences between tube amps and solid state?
In my opinion, solid state amps are great for clean tone at any volume, especially with a hollowbody jazz guitar, which have lots of tone in them already. With solid body, you generally want the colouring that tube amps give the sound, and if you want distortion, tube amps are much better at being "overdriven" so that you get a smooth distorted sound. Tube amps are more expensive, and in the long run are harder to maintain. If you are a beginner, you'll probably get a lot of use out of a decent, nicely priced, much lighter, solid state amp. If, on the other hand, you already have a solid state amp, or you have been playing a while and are interested in particular tones then look into tube amps. Even though you can can get cheaper tube amps that are as good as these, you've got three main categories (this is fairly loose). Fender's are weel known for great clean sounds for amps like the Twin Reverb, and nice bluesy overdrive, generally what people talk about when discussing "American" rock sounds. Marshall are famous for their "British" distortion, and are amps you often hear in higher gain, old style heavy bands, ranging through punk and older rock played with more gain than blues (Hendrix played Marshalls). Mesa-Boogies, though making many types of amps for jazz and rock, created what is practically THE defining sound of "nu-metal" with their dual and triple rectifiers. These three types of amps are a good overview of the sounds you can get from tubes, though other brands are, from what I've seen, every bit as good, such as Laney, Ampeg, some Carvin, etc. Go to a store and try 'em out, and have fun!

[Zeppelin]

hey guys have you ever heard about fender's american hot rod tube amps?
i want to buy the blues junior one but its kinda expensive here (1000$ almost instead of 500$ in the usa) so i dont know if i should spend so much money on amp..

[Incidents Happen]

where do you live, england?

i recommend the Fender '65 DRR, i have one and it rocks.

[Zeppelin]

i live in Israel
since i dont want to spend too much money i guess i'll get from music123.com the blues junior amp.
ive been told the amp is loud enough to gig with in small clubs and pubes and in israel those are the only places you can realy play

[pstring]

Wow!, a $1000 for a Blues Jr., Man, that makes me feel bad, Zep, ain't their any amp builders in Israel, a $1000 is a hard to give up for a 15 watt amp, Blues Jr's usally go for about $300 here in the US, I hate to think anybody's paying that much for one........

[Zeppelin]

well it is expensive for many reasons..
it costs around 100$ per unit for shipping
fender allows only one person in israel to change the settings to adapt it to local voltage which is another 200-250$..
i found one on music123.com which all together with the shipping will cost me around 450$
the price there is 384$ + 99$ shipping
they say the list price is around 580$..
are u sure i can get one for 300$ inside usa? because i'll probably visit the usa around the autumn so maybe its not a good idea to buy one via the net now..

[Zeppelin]

and yeah it is damn expensive..
the rate between usa dollar and nis is 1 to 5
which means 1000$ is 5000 nis..
it is soooo expensive

[pstring]

Yeah, shipping is a rip, and what they charge to do the voltage conversion is robbery, plain and simple, they ought to be ashamed to charge that much. $384 is the normal, in-store retail price of a Blues Jr., on sale price, normally $299, slightly used models about the same to around $250, if you are coming this way in a few months and you got a $1000 to spend, a smart shopper could probaly pick up a Hot Rod Deluxe and a used Strat for that kind of cash, I don't know what kind of Customs duty you'll face going back home and you'll still be stuck with the voltage conversion , but that might get you a lot more for your money. If I can remember to do it, I'll search around and see if I can find a schematic for a Jr.& a Deluxe, if the same transformer is used for domestic and export models, the conversion could be done here, it only involves switching a few wires on the power transformer........
PS, Fender list price on anything, total marketing ploy, nothing they have sells for those prices..........

[Edited by pstring on 07-26-2002 at 11:35 PM]

[Zeppelin]

the problem is that i dont want to spend all the 1000$
i think i'll settle down with the blues jr..
there are some pro's in israel who play life with that amp because he is loud enough to play with..
i guess bringing one from the states or ordering online is cheaper even if i need to change the wiring because all together it will cost me around 3500 nis instead of 4800 nis in a shop here..

[Lordathestrings]

You may find that your best option is to buy an external adaptor transformer to step down the local voltage to 115 VAC. There is an additional advantage in that such transformers isloate your system from the rest of the club's wiring, giving you improved safety.

Here, in Canada, Hammond makes their 172 series (http://www.hammondmfg.com/172.htm), which is a basic transformer with two cords and plugs wired into it. For a suggested retail price of $US100.09 the 172B (200VA) should do just fine, with a little left over for some stomboxes :) . For $US122.73, you could get the 172D, which at 550 VA rating, is much more than you really need.

The same page shows the 289C (250VA, $US114.55) and the 289D (500VA, $US131.20) which are enclosed in a vented steel box. A little more money, for a tidier package.

I'm not familiar with US manufacturers, but I'm sure similar stuff is readily available.

VA means Volt-Amps, which is not quite the same as Watts. As a rule of thumb, you should get something with about 20% more VA rating than the number of Watts you need. For example, a 200VA rating will comfortably handle a 160 Watt load.

Click the 'View' button to check the specs on the Blues Junior (http://www.fender.com/gear/gear.php?partno=0213205000). Tube amps draw a lot more power from the AC mains than what they put out to the speaker because of things like running the tube heater filaments. This amp has three 12AX7 and two EL34 tubes so I would expect to see something like 60 to 80 VA for that amp.

[Zeppelin]

hmm
I have an american stereo system which i use with an adapter.. not an expensive one as those that you are talking about but a simple one.
the question is: can use one of those simple adapters with the amp as well?

[Lordathestrings]

If its a transformer, rated for enough power, yes.

Some cheap, small, traveller's adaptors are solid state switching devices that only pass part of the AC waveform. This reduces the amount of power drawn from the output, but the waveform is an ugly thing, with a lot of strange harmonic content that usually causes a lot of hum or buzz. This kind of adaptor is meant for use with electric shavers, or laptop computer 'wall warts' that don't much care what the power 'looks like'. I wouldn't expect to find this kind of adaptor working well with a stereo, (much too noisy), so yours may be OK. You still need to consider the power rating.

The Fender web page didn't show the VA requirenent of the Blues Junior, but I expect it is something like 60 to 80 VA. When you don't know for sure, its best to be on the safe side with your estimate. I recommend at least 100VA.

[Lordathestrings]

By the way...

I saw a Blues Junior in a pawnshop here a few months ago for less than $CDN200. That's about $US130! With a bit of luck, and some careful shopping, you should be able to keep most of your $US1000 for other things, like having some fun during your visit :)

[Zeppelin]

Thank you for the help
somehow the stereo works alright so hopefuly the amp will work as well..
yeah i should leave some money for other things.. i want to go to chicago to watch some real blues action :>

[pstring]

Hey Zep, I checked out the schematics on the Jr.& the Deluxe, Fender still uses two different power transformers, I guess that explains the high conversion price, but the good news is you can go the route Lordathestrings posted, I played for 1&1/2 years on a step down transformer, and had no problems, Have fun in Chicago, I lived there for a year, and as far as I'm concerned it is America's best big city..

[Zeppelin]

i checked out hammonds site and it turns out that my friend who bought boss's gt3 uses that kind of adaptor..
so i guess it will be the best sollution to get one of these
thanks for your help again

chicago should rock :)
b.b king and buddy guy and koko taylor and many others live there so i guess i'll enjoy it.. :)

[Lordathestrings]

..I'm especially fond of tunes from Manny Others! LOL

...that's an old Country song... sigh...

[eric_montgomery]

Allright folks,

as is see the bleus junior is very good! But the difference
with the Hot rod 212 and the Hot Hod deluxe ? Is it only louder or give's you
more options or maybe an other sound circulation?
I've checked

http://www.musik-produktiv.de/shop/shop03.asp?wgfein_id=3223&sid=29072002155401638943-R8DRS2C3F2F7916JM16N9

But can someone tell me more of it? I wanne be sure of it.
And ik can learn from it thnx!

[fendermonkey77]

Big, loud, Soooooo warm. Gotta have tubes. Hey...there's a good slogan for an amp company.... "Got Tubes?" You heard it here first.