how the myths are busted

HAMERMAN409 said:
Sounds great for SRV type stuff. If it cleans up nice I would really be wanting a good sounding reverb.

I love tube amps but the solid state can't sound good myth was busted for me years ago when I got a Tech21 Trademark 60.
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Funny, it was busted for me when I got a tech-21 PSA-1 - that was my main thang until I got my Ultra in '08... And it was great. There are still a few tones on it that I've never quite 'caught' on my Ultra.
 
funny_polymath said:
Funny, it was busted for me when I got a tech-21 PSA-1 - that was my main thang until I got my Ultra in '08... And it was great. There are still a few tones on it that I've never quite 'caught' on my Ultra.
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I agree. The PSA-1 was a nice preamp.


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This a race IMHO which analog solid state will probably lose. It it were not for the price of DSP dropping and better algorithms to represent the transfer characteristics of tubes being developed, one day some analog electronics engineer would figure out a way to use solid state devices to emulate tubes to the point where the difference in sound would be negligible. I firmly believe that.

This amp may be the basis for that design. FETs have transfer characteristics that are very similar to tubes in some ways. However, given that engineers have been attempting to do this for 30 or 40 years now without much success, I'm not holding my breath.

The more immediate problem for analog solid state amps is that cheap DSP may soon make an analog design more expensive to implement than a digital one, with a lot more limitations. Therefore we may never see the day transistors (in analog circuits) replace tubes in guitar amps. It's more likely digital signal processors will replace tubes as they are already being used in amps by many well know manufacturers who now offer both tube and much cheaper (and lighter) DSP based amps.

Fractal Audio IMO holds a firm grip on the best quality tube amp simulation in the industry. However, I don't think that will forever be the case. I DO think when they are eventually equaled, it won't be a big company that does so. The big guys think their stuff sounds good enough for the masses and I don't think they will ever "get it" that many people want something better than L6 or the stuff from the big software companies. But some man or woman who is both an expert in DSP and an avid guitar player who appreciates tone will one day (another prediction) create something that rivals the sound of real tubes. There will also come a day when the firmware that Fractal uses will run on a device that costs a couple of hundred bucks, and that's not just the processor but the cost of the entire device (measured in today's dollars). Looks what's happened in the last 20 years and think about what things will be like 20 years in the future!

The times are a changin'.
 
You know I think there is room for everything at the party.

I own an AXE and I am not getting bashed at the GP.

I make a solid state modeling amp, and a stereo power amp now that works great with the Axe and while I am getting my butt kicked for not making it cheaper
(its built at the same Texas factory that does Rupert Neve's gear)... no one is doubting that it sounds great.

Technology is a good thing but I think it all has its place.

I still believe in cabs and power amps even with the Axe because I have heard it live both ways and think that guitar speakers and a power amp still add realism that PA and monitors don't allow. This is just my opinion based on trying that approach myself, and also based on seeing The Experience Hendrix Tour, whereby Dwezil was the only player going completely direct.. and kinda sounded really small standing on the stage next to guys with a little stage volume pushing air.

Someday this will all be built into your favorite guitar and no one will use amps anymore but for now... I own an AXE, some of my own solid state gear, and I have some big loud tube amps that I still love to pieces.

I am not getting onstage next to Eric Johnson wiht a monitor wedge for my amp... but that's just me.
 
Thanks etzel for sharing.

Good luck lance with your new amp, it sounds very good.

Personally, in the AXE-FX, I like the idea of having access to many very different AMPs (+ effects) that give out tones that are very varied. One can play very different stuff depending on the tone of the AMP.
 
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