Tube vs. SS Power Amps for Ultra/II

broken_sound

broken_sound

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I've been devising up my setup for the II I'm on the waiting list for, or the Ultra I decide to buy when I can't wait any longer.

I'm going to run the unit stereo out of my 2 Emperor 2x12's with weber 65's.

What I was wondering was, what is my best bet for power amps when dealing with the axe-fx? I'll be using the cleans, crunches, and distortion amp models equally most likely. I want to have faithful recreations of each amp the unit models, so should I go with something like a VHT two-fifty-two (etc.) or an Art SLA1 (etc.)
 
If you have a budget for a VHT I would look at the Matrix GT800FX, SS single space and only weighs 8 Lbs and cranks out 250 watts @ 8 Ohms stereo, 800 Watts Bridged @ 8 Ohms. Not the sexiest looking amp but the lack of weight and power it has makes it easer to forget about it.

If a tube amp is a must I might look at the New Atomic 50/50 rack mount, very sexy looking when racked with the Axe. Though I haven't personally heard ether one a lot of guys here are liking what they are hearing out of both.
 
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+1 for the above. Having used the VHT 2/50/2 and the Art SAL in the past, and now using the Matrix, if you have the money for the VHT then:

SS solution the Matrix is a no brainer. GREAT dynamics, smooth tone, light, powerfull. Better than the ART by quite a way IMO.

Tube - the VHT was great, but the Atomic is cheaper, lighter (though not by that much in either case) and have the benefit of being designed to be tonally flat which the Axe really needs (and the reason why the VHT is the choice - its the flattest of the guitar valve power amps).

Personally Id go Matrix, but then Im 44 with back problems :( . Ultimately its up to you - but as stated those would seem to be the 2 "premium" options at present.
 
The atomic 50/50 does seem pretty awesome from what I've gathered but a lot more than I'd want to spend on a power amp after dropping the cash on the axe-fx.

Does anyone know the waiting time for the gt800fx? It looks like my best bet for a SS poweramp. Also what is the voltage requirement for them when ordering 110 or 240. I know USA runs at 120, so would I want to order 110?
 
broken_sound said:
The atomic 50/50 does seem pretty awesome from what I've gathered but a lot more than I'd want to spend on a power amp after dropping the cash on the axe-fx.

Does anyone know the waiting time for the gt800fx? It looks like my best bet for a SS poweramp. Also what is the voltage requirement for them when ordering 110 or 240. I know USA runs at 120, so would I want to order 110?
Click to expand...

Isn't the gt800fx similar in price to the atomic 50/50?
 
There a two factors to consider when looking at power amps..
1. How much output power do you need (what is your speaker cabs RMS rating)
2. Do you want transparent sound or not (tube amps will add SOME color, SS will not)

#1 - is VERY important. The Rule-Of-Thumb for a power amp driving speakers is that it should produced 1.8 to 2.25x the RMS rating of your cabinets speakers. RMS is also called Program or Continuous power rating - depending in manufacturer.
Thus, a 300w RMS 8-ohm cab should be powered by an amp that can produce between 540w and 675w at 8-Ohms. This will allow the amp enough headroom to reproduce the peak transients that occur in music - without doing physical damage to your speakers.

**WARNING ** - when using a power amp and speaker cab, impedance matching (checking that your amp/speakers both run at same Ohm rating) and gain-staging your system (I put up a long post about gain staging SS amps a while back) when hooking it up, are important parts to ensuring you don't damage speakers or amps.

Also, keep in mind that the "controls" on the front of the amp are NOT "Volume" levels. They are input attenuators. Meaning, they control how much input voltage (level) is required to get the amp to produce it's FULL rated power. If the output level of your Axe-Fx is high enough and the level controls on your amp are almost "off", that amp can still produce FULL power!! Be AWARE that it just takes more input level (voltage) to make it happen than if the knobs on the amp are set wide open. If you have a 500w amp, that 500w can be produced whether the level controls are almost off, or wide open. The delineating factor is the signal strength being fed into the amp.

#2 - while often open to major debate, fact is that a tube amp WILL add some color to your end result, whereas solid state is more transparent. The color may be slight, it maybe a "warming" (or other descriptor) but it will affect your end tone.
 
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The cabs I'll be running it through the most are 2 Emperor 2x12's with Weber 65's in them, so basically 130w per cab.

The only other cab I'll run it through is my 6x12 that runs 375 watts.

I've ran tube amps for as long as I've played, so obviously I'd lean towards a tube poweramp, but I figure with the Axe-FX you'd want the most transparent sounding amp possible because the Axe-FX is supposed to have all of the voicing (pre & power) built into it.
 
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