Decisions....tube or solid state power amp?

Flat SS Power > Tube for AxeFx. IMHO. Tube is just going to collide with the Axe's power amp simulation or force you to turn it off. Some people like them cascaded but I'd rather have an authentic simulation and clean, flat, power with high headroom to get the most from the sims. Plus you get the weight and maintenance benefits of SS.

YMMV
 
Do you need to sound like tens or hundreds of different amps, or do you just settle on "your" couple sounds and leave it? The tube power amp could be part of what colors and makes up "your" sound, but it could end up making all of your hundreds of different amps sound more similar.
For the first couple of Axe-years I ran a Mesa 50/50 (that I'd been using w/ my previous Boss GT-8) and it was fine. Yes, it added a bit of Mesa tone, but I didn't mind. I switched over to the Matrix GT800 mostly to save weight, and can't imagine going back. The Matrix supplies the volume, the Axe supplies the glory ;-)
 
I've found following product description on the Fryette website about the upcoming LXII, which seems to have been updated recently:
http://www.fryette.com/lxii-stereo-power-amp/

Is this total nonsense then?

I also noticed some people, like Yek, do prefer a tube power amp for the "natural feel" so I also am still wondering what the best solution would be.
Currently I am still using the power amp section of my triple rectifier. (I no longer use the pre amp as the Axe-Fx has taken over this duty :)).
I am planning on buying a power amp to replace the amp but am still undecided on which route to take...

The LXII has been coming soon for quite a few years. It will be cool when it eventually does get released but I wouldn't expect it to be soon.

For what it's worth, the Powerstation is supposed to be one side of the LXII but with a reactive load box also built in, so if you like the idea of the LXII but don't want to wait, the powerstation has been out, and people do like it.

I've been very tempted to try one... Those of you that have or have used the powerstation, do you think you still get the benefit of the tube feel of real tubes at non-gig volume? I'm mostly a bedroom player (generally in the ballpark of 95db according to my phone) so I'm just wondering if it would be worth getting over one of the many quality SS solutions.
 
Anybody got their hands on the Seymour Duncan Power Stage yet?

Having tone controls on a power amp is quite interesting ...... I'm assuming it can go flat response with the tone controls set to 0 ?

 
Anybody got their hands on the Seymour Duncan Power Stage yet?

Having tone controls on a power amp is quite interesting ...... I'm assuming it can go flat response with the tone controls set to 0 ?



I have the 170 and tried the 700 at Sweetwater. At 0, its flat. It's nice to have the EQ on the power amp because you can fine tune between rooms without changing your patch. You can see more of my feedback on it here:
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/seymour-duncan-powerstage-power-amps.128871/
 
I think it will be up to you to decide. And it may depend on whether you are going to use it in the studio, home, or live. For me the
Matrix GT1000FX just doesn't cut it for live. For studio, probably better. I use a new voiced Mesa 2 Fifty for live, going into a 4 12 guitar cab on stage with amp and speaker modeling on. I go direct to FOH, bypassing the Mesa and cab. So I think it will be up to you to A/B, because you will get both sides here.
 
Anybody got their hands on the Seymour Duncan Power Stage yet?

Having tone controls on a power amp is quite interesting ...... I'm assuming it can go flat response with the tone controls set to 0 ?


It's a shame they didn't make it 2" narrower, so that you could stick 2 of them side by side in a rack.
 
I have a VHT 2/90/2, a Mesa 2/100 and a Matrix GT1600 and I like the VHT the best but now that I have FRFR I'm done with amps and cabs. Thank goodness!!!
 
The Mesa 50/50 and then the Fryette 2/50/2 both came and went, replaced dutifully by the ever reliable Matrix GT1000FX.
It's the Axe-Fx that creates all the tone, with no further colouration required downstream. The power amp then has the simple job of making it louder. Once I'd acknowledged this, it was a no brainier.

I had a Fryette 2/50/2 when I first had an Axe FX. The GT1000FX was definitely better than that amp for the Axe FX. The Power Station was designed with modelling preamps in mind and it is very neutral for a valve amp. Its in a different league for Axe FX use in comparison to a 2/50/2.
 
I really liked the VHT 2/90/2 I had for live use - sounded great and left power amp sims on in the Axe-Fx.
Got a Matrix because of the weight but the tone compared unfavorably to the Fryette so I got rid of it.
Now running the Carvin power amp previously mentioned and it is great.
A neutral enough tube power amp still lets you run power amp simulation on in the Axe Fx with good results.
 
Started with a Mesa 290 (with NOS Mullards), then a Peavy 50/50, then a Tube Works MosValve 1160, and now a Matrix GT1000FX in the rack. I actually think the MosValve sounds best, and I am damned glad I held onto it. Actually, I still have all of the other stuff in a storage unit.
 
I think a tube poweramp would probably sound and feel amazing, and interact with the cab more. However, everything will kind of tend to sound and feel the same, which I think defeats the purpose of the Axe-FX.

I have a GT1000FX that I like, but have considered the Freyette Power Station. I have used the power section of my Triple Rectifier many times though. The Recto sounds and feels amazing, but it also makes everything in the Axe basically sound and feel like a Recto, which seems pointless to me.
 
How about something different? Just get your hands on the old Atomic FR combos with a tube poweramp. The tube poweramp in those is very neutral sounding, to the point that I didn't notice much difference to my Genelec active monitors when played at the same volume and distance. Which of course means that there is really no point in having a tube poweramp there if it doesn't impart an effect on the sound. ;)
 
For me, the thing about tubes has always been more about the feel than the sound. There's a certain liveliness to tubes that isn't there with solid state. But it's always something I've been aware of as a feedback between my fingers and my ears. I know how hard I hit the strings and the amp responds in a certain way to the dynamics. I'm as certain I could identify that difference if I was just listening, and not playing the notes coming out of the speaker.

I think we know it's a real thing because the advice from FAS is not to use a tube power amp. Which means that there has to be some tangible difference between the two.

So the question (to me at least) is whether or not the modeler is providing that some feel that I get from tubes. Honestly, it's been months since I fired up one of my tube amps but I'm not feeling like I'm missing anything with my AxeFX.

There's no right answer though. What ever sounds good is good. YMMV.
 
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