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[Hogisbald]

How do I know that a head suits the cabinet? i.e. I dont want to blow anything up! Is there some kind of wattage I should look out for?

(yes, I know fuck all about amps)

[The Byre]

If you are talking about a guitar head or similar, as long as the head is tube/valve, then you can use just about anything that comes within its pwer range or more. So a Marshall 100 Watt head will have no problems with a 200 Watt speaker cab. It does not have to be a guitar cab, it can be anything, PA cab, whatever.

(Watch out for hi-fis as they nearly always are made from very poor componants and the power rating is usually grossly over stated.)

The only thing to watch out for is the ohm rating. Older tube/valve amps often have a jumper or switch at the back to switch between 4, 8 and 16 ohm speakers. This switches between coils on the output transformer, so make sure that they match.

If your guitar or keyboard head is not tube/valve, sell it, junk it, throw it away. The PA amps should be obviously solid state (i.e. transistors). Guitare and keyboard amps should always be tube/valve for a whole host of reasons (harmonic distortion, compression, saturation, perceived volume etc.). For these reasons, our tube/valve amps rated at 100 Watts actually sound almost as loud as the 2 x 600 Watt PA amps.

www.the-byre.com

[Chris]

Originally Posted by The Byre

If your guitar or keyboard head is not tube/valve, sell it, junk it, throw it away.

Ignore that bit. It's bullshit.

There's nothing wrong with using a solid state amp.

[Dan Atom]

Originally Posted by Chris

Ignore that bit. It's bullshit.

There's nothing wrong with using a solid state amp.

Agreed.

Dimebag Darrell used solid state amps. His guitar sounds was just about ok I guess...

Perhaps there are a few pro players who have got a good tone using solid state amps, but they are grossly outnumbered by those who use valves.

I have a valve amp and there is just no way in the world I would go back to solid state, not a chance.

[Chris]

it's pointless saying valve is better than solid state (or vice versa). It's a personal choice. But to dismiss solid state amps completely and to advise people to throw them away or junk it is just plain wrong. Solid state amps are a perfectly good choice to get a decent sound on a budget. I doubt most users on this site could afford the best equipment, or even the equipment they really want. So we all have to settle for what will fit our needs and that we can afford. Which for me is a solid state amp.

Here's an interesting article I found on the subject: http://www.epinions.com/content_3726614660

[The Byre]

Well, I largely put that statement there to provoke a reaction, but I also meant it to a certain extent.

Firstly let me just state that I was the first to adopt modelling amps and the better ones like Line6 are very useful indeed and The Pod is a much-used effect in the studio. I also think that many of the modern tube amps are not that good. They seem (not all, but some) to have lost sight of what the guitarist of keys player is looking for. But putting a few black sheep aside, let me dispel a few myths:

1. Tube amps are very expensive. NOT TRUE! If you compare like with like, they cost about the same. Yes, if you go for a top-of-the-line Hughes and Kettner, you can spend nearly £2,000 on the head alone and a top-of the line modeling solid state amp costs about the same as well. But you have to spend about £400 on the entry level modeling combo amps that actually sound a bit like a tube combo and that is what some of the tube combos cost. A Fame Tube-84 costs about £380, the same as a Line6 Flextone III. Even the Marshall (not a company known for being cheap) JCM2000 DSL401 costs £550 and is possibly the best studio combo out there. The Laney VC30 212 twin also costs just £550. the same is true for heads. Prices for a 50Watt all-tube head start around £420 and 100Watt heads coming in at around £600.

Of course a Behringer V series is much cheaper, but it will break and sounds like what it is, cheap rubbish knocked out at rock bottom prices.

My Laney 100 Watt tube bass head cost me £120 on eBay and it sounds every bit as ballsey as it did thirty years ago when it was built.

2. Tube amps are not as loud as solid-state as they only go up to about 100 Watts. NOT TRUE! Because the tubes compress (reduce the dynamic range) of the sound, and because they introduce harmonic distortions, they appear to be much louder, Watt for Watt. You need about four times as much power with a solid state to make as much noise as a tube amp.

3. Because tubes sound softer and less harsh, they don't bite through in a mix. NOT TRUE! Those added harmonics are the real thing and not a digital calculation, so despite all the other things that might be going on, they stand up in the mix perfectly. Solid state amps just dissapear when they are too quiet and when they are too loud they screach. Tube amps are much more forgiving and so they are easier to get right.

4. But Big Jonney Rock Star uses a solid state 'XXX' I know because I read it in Guitar Magazine and in Axe. REALLY NOT TRUE! Headliners get paid to place these interviews in music mags as they know that all the punters will rush out and buy whatever they use. Looking to see what Big Jonney Rock Star uses has more effect on sales than any other factor - more than advertising. They all use tube amps.

And as for the test sited above by Chris, I cannot comment as I was not there. But I hear the difference every time, particularly when it comes to a mix. On the solid state side, the Line6 stuff is far better than the rest, but then it costs more than some tube amps and it still is not as good.

i hate people who wank over valve amps.

[HateEvent]

i hate people who wank over valve amps.

Just curious - what amp do you use?

Originally Posted by Angel Of Death

Just curious - what amp do you use?

Hughes and Kettner half stack, also have a marshall park 80 watt.