![]() ![]() It is unpredictable in a good way and has a natural “life” to the sound.Īs each amp is designed to break up at different points, some tube amps are more susceptible to distortion than others. This is what’s known as natural distortion. When you crank the gain or increase the volume of a tube amp, the sound produced by the valves breaks up and provides the harmonic distortion that guitarists covet. With tube amps, the tubes/valves offer a warm, rich and harmonically diverse tone and sound quality. The tonal characteristics of tube amps vs solid-state amps are (until recently) where guitarists often split into two camps. What’s the difference in tone between tube amps and solid-state? In addition, if you have a distortion effect in the amp it is not affected by the volume, meaning you can have a full-on heavy metal sound at a very low volume. Keyboard players and Jazz players love solid-state amps as they can be very loud whilst remaining very clean. You get a cleaner, more reliable sound at higher volumes with zero natural distortion. This has an effect on the sound when compared to tube amps as the tone does not change no matter how hard you crank the amp. Solid-state amps replace tubes with transistors. SOLID STATE AMPS EXPLAINED (Compared to tube amps) You can also gig comfortably with low-wattage tube amps too! Tube amps also use a transformer to drive the speaker. This is the key benefit and quality guitarists look for as each amp has its own harmonic distortion quality depending on what tubes it uses. When you crank the gain or volume on a tube amp, depending on what controls you have, an electric current pushes the tubes into overdrive, resulting in a “break-up sound” otherwise known as harmonic distortion. The preamp is where it gets the tone, the power amp is the volume. Tube amps or valve amps as their otherwise known, use glass vacuum tubes in the preamp and power amp section of your amplifier. TUBE AMPS EXPLAINED (Compared to solid-state amps) The number one physical difference between tube amps and solid-state amps is the components used and how the amps achieve their sound. Components – Transistors vs Tubes/Valves.In this article comparing the two styles of amp, we’ll break down the main differences focusing on: Tube amps distort pleasingly and musically at high volumes and solid-state amps do not.īoth types of amps are perfect for all styles of players and environments and there is no”better” option, technically speaking. What’s the main difference between a tube amp and a solid-state amp?Īnswer: tube amps use glass vacuum tubes to get their sound and solid-state amps use transistors. Are solid-state or tube amps better?Īnswer: Tube amps are generally regarded as “better”, more dynamic, responsive and pleasing on the ear in terms of sound quality at high volumes, but solid-state amps have more functionality and built-in features and are often cheaper and need less maintenance.īut as always – there’s no golden rule when it comes to amps. So, in this article, we’ll compare solid-state vs tube amps, talk about the key benefits, upsides and downsides of each amplifier and show you why you don’t have to choose between the two different types of guitar amps as the Laney LA-Studio is the perfect option for tone snobs and the discerning musicians out there. But with so many options on the market, it’s not easy to know which one is right for you or what the benefits of solid states over tube amps are. Whether we’re new to the world of amplifiers, unsure whether we need a tube or solid-state, or we’re considering upgrading our practice amp and wondering whether we should change from/to tube/solid-state, it makes sense to understand what you’re buying. Who wins when it comes to Solid-State vs Tube Amps, and do you really have to choose?Īs guitarists, we know deeply that the right amplifier can make all the difference when it comes to our sound, and the decision between solid-state vs tube amps is not one we take lightly. ![]()
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