need to win a bet


Tele Master
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Tele Master
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12/16/2004 2:14 am
10 watts tube is louder than 10 watts solid state?...why or why not?
Electric Guitars are the inspiration for cries of "Turn that damn thing down"-Gibson website
# 1
Lordathestrings
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Lordathestrings
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12/16/2004 3:58 am
[font=trebuchet ms]Do some research, my son.

We had a fine ol' rant session, (several of them, actually), about the virtues of small amps. IIRC, a member named educatedfilm posted a link to a website that explained the psychoacoustic response that causes the harmonic content of tube distortion to seem louder.

I suspect it's not all that complicated, though. Transistor amps tend to be rated at a low level of distortion, such as "10 Watts @ 1 kHz @ 0.001% THD". As a transistor amp goes past this point, it rapidly reaches hard clipping, and becomes useless for any kind of musical sound. A guitar amp, especially a tube amp, will reach this miniscule level of distortion long before it runs out of power.

Most of us figure a guitar amp is just getting interesting when it starts to distort. And because of the way that tubes distort, they continue to produce pleasing sounds even though the output power far exceeds the level measured at the onset of distortion.

Anyway, use the search feature to dig through the old threads. If you find something that particularly tweaks your interest, post a reply to it, and we can all have a go at it.[/font]
Lordathestrings
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# 2
Lordathestrings
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Lordathestrings
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12/16/2004 4:13 am
[font=trebuchet ms]And another thing...

I love tube amps. I own an Ampeg VT-40 that I salvaged and rebuilt into a system that makes people sit up and notice, and a VT-22 that I've tweaked into a tone-beast that can rearrange the furniture in the next room!

But do ya know what I take with me when I jam wiith my buds? I toss a pair of old Ampeg G-18 10 Watt 1x8" transistor combos into the trunk of my car, and when I get there, everone says "Hey, great! You brought those little amps!" They sound flat-out amazing, and no-one goes home with their ears ringing.

[u]Bottom Line[/u]: A great-sounding amp is a great-sounding amp. Your ears can't read the nameplate or suss out the schematics. It's every bit as possible to design and build a good transistor guitar amp as it is to build a crappy tube guitar amp.

'nuff said.[/font]
Lordathestrings
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# 3
Hammurabi
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Hammurabi
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12/16/2004 4:36 am
Originally Posted by: Tele Master10 watts tube is louder than 10 watts solid state?...why or why not?


Tube. Because I say so.

Actually I'm just guessing on this one because I know any well-built 50w valve amp can blow the knickers off the 50w solid state amp I used to gig with.
"If one has realized a truth, that truth is valueless so long as there is lacking the indomitable will to turn this realization into action!"
-A.H.
# 4
Lordathestrings
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Lordathestrings
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12/16/2004 3:47 pm
Originally Posted by: PonyOnei swear, i need to just acquire every piece of gear you own...[/QUOTE] [font=trebuchet ms]Ooooh, yeah! I'm getting some pictures taken over the Christmas break - you may decide to settle for less after you see them.[/font]
Originally Posted by: PonyOnebecause i played VT-40 a few years ago that i loved and opened up on more than any other amp i've played with in a store; it was really beat up and only $200, and when i came back with my next check it was gone...[/QUOTE][font=trebuchet ms]Mine was flood damaged to the point that only the guts of the amp could be saved. I replaced the open-back 4x10" cab with a sealed 1x15" cab that I built myself. It's a 1977 master-volume model so I can roll back the volume to play small rooms, and for tone, it just kills those wimpy lil' Fenders![/font]
Originally Posted by: PonyOne ... and then i went and played an SBG-500 the second to last time I was in Boston and got it... then returned it... because there was no way for me to bring it back home with me on the plane :( like an extra 10lbs in the cargo hold is really gonna matter.
[font=trebuchet ms]I recall you mentioned that you had tried one out, but I didn't know you actually bought it! And then you had to take it back? :eek:

Here's a tip: If you're out of town, and you find a piece of gear that you can't take home with you, take it 'round to a moving company. They'll pack it for you, and if you aren't in any hurry, you can get it shipped for about $1 a pound![/font]

[QUOTE=PonyOne]That and my bridge p/u of choice is the almighty ToneZone. Great minds think alike.
:cool:

[QUOTE=PonyOne]i'm not ashamed that while my "nice" amp, my JC120, sits in my bedroom, my 15-watt Vox Pathfinder sits in the living room for me to jam on in front of guests, or for guests to give a whirl. The tone on that little thing is great, and that's all that really matters in the long run... tone...
[font=trebuchet ms]Tone is all that really matters, [u]period[/u]![/font]
Lordathestrings
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# 5
PRSplaya
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PRSplaya
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12/16/2004 4:35 pm
I have a 4.5-5 watt tube amp and a 10 watt SS amp. guess which one is louder.......the tube amp by a very long shot. Almost too loud for a 12'x18' room.
[FONT=Palatino Linotype]Tonja Renee's personal instructor[/FONT]

>HERE'S WHERE I AM NOW<
# 6
Lordathestrings
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Lordathestrings
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12/16/2004 6:37 pm
Originally Posted by: PRSplayaI have a 4.5-5 watt tube amp and a 10 watt SS amp. guess which one is louder.......the tube amp by a very long shot. Almost too loud for a 12'x18' room.
[font=trebuchet ms]If those amps are combos, there is another parameter to consider - speaker efficiency.

I believe that tube amps are louder (for reasons listed above), but unless the amps are tested with the same speaker cabs, the results are not very meaningful for a comparison.[/font]
Lordathestrings
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# 7
PRSplaya
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PRSplaya
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12/16/2004 7:22 pm
yeah, I know. Mine isn't even a fair compairison since the 10 watter is a closed back 6.5" Marshall MG10(?), and the 5 watter is an open back 8". Either way, the 5 watter tube is sooooo much louder than the 10 watter SS it's not even funny. Plus the tube amp is 43 years old with the original Jensen "Special Design" speaker.
[FONT=Palatino Linotype]Tonja Renee's personal instructor[/FONT]

>HERE'S WHERE I AM NOW<
# 8
Lordathestrings
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Lordathestrings
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12/18/2004 4:04 am
Originally Posted by: PonyOneyeah, they wanted $300, i talked them down to $250 and gave em $150, said i'd be back the next day to pick it up, found out about all the stupid requirements for carry on, and went back with the bad news... had to give em $20 for taking it off the floor :( sucked royal. i woulda liked it.
[font=trebuchet ms]Maybe a bit out of your price range, but if I didn't already have two SBG 1000's, I'd be drooling over this baby.[/font]
Lordathestrings
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# 9
iamthe_eggman
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iamthe_eggman
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12/18/2004 6:12 am
So, did you win the bet?
... and that's all I have to say about that.

[U]ALL[/U] generalizations are [U]WRONG[/U]

[/sarcasm]
# 10
Tele Master
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Tele Master
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12/18/2004 4:00 pm
ya...the guy didn't beleive me...so we took his 60watt solid state and my 40watt tube and put them both at 2...he had to go to 7 before it was around the same volume. His goes to 10, mine goes to 12...haha...biatch
Electric Guitars are the inspiration for cries of "Turn that damn thing down"-Gibson website
# 11

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