Are Vaccumm tubes TRULY the best technology for guitar amps? Or are they merely dying relics from a nolstalgic past? I put the best tube amps up against a Solid State upstart & I want YOU to put those amazing ears of yours to work and tell me: When is the SOLID STATE AMP playing? Get the Northern Mauler at: https://smgpedals.com/
Check out the Super Crush 100 at this Thomann Affiliate link: https://www.thomann.de/gb/orange_super_crush_100_head.htm?offid=1&affid=200
Disclosure: Orange sent me the amp for this shootout. They don’t get to see or hear the video before it’s release.
0:00 To Tube or NOT to tube!
1:14 Unbox
2:32 Hold the Phone!
3:27 the “experts” chime in
5:29 the setting
7:32 Full Mix Shootout!
8:29 Examples of GREAT solid state sounds!
About Spectre Sound Studios:
I’m Glenn Fricker, engineer here at Spectre Sound Studios. I love making records, and after doing it for sixteen years, I want to pass on what I’ve learned. On my channel you can find tutorials on how to record guitar, bass, real drums and vocals. There’s reviews and demos of tube amps, amp sims, drums, mics, preamps, outboard gear, Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, and plugin effects.
We’ve covered Moon on the Water, played Bias FX, given you the absolute best in Stupid Musician Texts, ranted & raved about bass guitar, and this channel is where The Eagle has Landed.
Everything you’ve wanted to learn about recording Hard Rock & Heavy Metal can be found right here on this channel!
I also respond to your comments & questions: The best make it into the SMG Viewer’s Comments series of videos. Loads of fun, lots of laughs.
Thanks for checking out my channel & please subscribe!
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Somewhere around the middle the guitar the guitar got deeper swampier, less cut. I'd figure that was one of the tube amps.
I loved my H&K Black Spirit 200 Floor, can't say I miss tubes at all. It sounds amazing and so versatile.
OK. Rule #2 here(sorry)
Just for the record sometime guitarist and vocalist/songwriter….
Nope, don't see it. Ultimately ido t give a flying fuck. If it sounds good then it sounds good
Mr C from Scotland
I’m convinced that people who shit on SS amps just can’t stand that someone can get an as good or better sound on something that usually cost a fraction of a tube amp or they just live they’re whole life’s on Internet forums hearing that SS is bad and just parrot that sentiment to anyone that will listen lol
I used to use a 600W Genz Benz solid state bass amp with tube preamp for my guitar rig as a power amp. It was small enough to fit in my backpack. It was the shuttle 6.0. I used it with a 4×12 Randall cab. Got rid of it because I got tired of lugging around the big ass 4×12 cabinet and opted for a pair of 2×12 combo amps that are set up in stereo.
I couldn't tell an amp difference/swap at all for the duration of the song. Although the mix sounds very good there is something I dont like about the bass and rhythm "sound" (not tone). I wouldnt say there is fizz but there is an unpleasant coarseness to the sound.The lead is 98% there and sound near on perfect. It could also be the fact that Im listening through my shitty laptop onboard sound card. I am using DT770's that Ive been using for years.
I’m using Bluetooth earbuds for this video and ngl but I can’t tell where the change in amps are. 😮💨 All sounds great though. But that lead sound? Holy hell that sounded amazing!
I could hear the typical difference between tubes and solid state which is faster response on high end content and midrange response with solid state and smoother high end on tube amps . Is not a night/day difference and honestly in a mix or in a live situation NO ONE will tell the difference. For me the Orange amp starts at @7:45 briefly
Ha, boomer opened an actual box, with an actual amp in it!
Kewl kids Download the clone
I could hear differences between the amps but honestly no clue which one was the Orange. All sounded good
Ok, I’ll take a crack at it. I’m counting the half time feel. Bars 1-2 SS, 3-4 tube, 5-6 SS, 7-8 tube, 9 is bridge to the solo I think its SS, 10-11 SS, 12-13 tube, 14-15 tube, 16-17 SS, 18 ends on downbeat not sure…ok I’m sure I’m wrong as fuck but I’m listening on an iPad so go ahead and flame me to death…I’m not calling one or the other “better”, just trying to differentiate wherever I think I can hear that undefinable tubey piano low end sweetness vs the papery-thin no-balls ass-clown sound of the solid state amp… (j/k the whole track sounded great except for the bassist who had a great tone but kept stepping on the beat, sounded like a guitar player playing bass 😂)
Commenting at 7:30 before the teas to say that there are some solid state amps I’ve played that sound killer
I think I can hear changes/swaps at 7:37, 7:44, 7:49, 8:00 and 8:23. Maybe also at 7:55 and 8:19, too, but I'm not sure… at least the five former were the most obvious to me. I might be completely off here and there might have been more along the way, but I certainly won't claim to have a "superior" hearing, so… I don't really care whether I'm right or wrong, in the end.
Now, as for which amp is which… I have no freaking clue 😅! All I can say is that I like the one at 7:44–7:49 the best, because it has the most mids. But that's just my personal opinion. BTW, I'm a solid-state amp user myself, so that was definitely a fun challenge for me to do! Thanks, Glenn!
I can hear changes in playing there are four distinct changes . There is the first part then it gets lil muddy before the shift then the solo then lite at the end. It sounded amazing as a track swear they were the same amp just different playing styles or guitars. I would say the third part the solo was the orange but honestly would be happy with any of one them. Working with a Peavy xr 400b i an a b52 four speaker cab with with who knows what in them i got on the cheap lol. If i ever get time to be half as good as Glenn id be happy…. its a killer track
My perspetion on the biggest diference on it is that Tube amps tend to kick harder when the gain is up, the volume of it just snaps! But the counter part is that if trying to get a real crystal clear sound while at top volumens, it'll get a bit crunchy… That's where the Solid State helps a lot to control the diference between distor and clean chanels… I love small Tube amps with '12 speaks 'cause they really kick!
The warm feeling of Tubes, I think it comes more from the EQ of the amps… ¿But maby Bulbs do tend to warm a bit more the signal?
Fractal 😁
I've come here as a fan of modelling and solid state to give this a go…. Not a clue, wouldn't surprise me if they're all the orange with different cabs or mic placement 😂
I'd take a punt at the Orange being at 7:44, but they all sound good to me!
I would have to guess the very first riff was the orange. It seemed to have that "fizz" to the muted parts that are traditional of solid state, although if your using the northern mauler then that tone can be tweaked out of a tube amp for sure, so I really have no idea.
Cheers!
I am a classic rocker, although if you look at my guitars, you will presume I am a thrash metalhead, I have a Solar S1.6 with Floyd Rose 1000 and a Seymour Duncan Jupiter Rails Wes Hauch signature ser, Hipshot hardtail Solar AB1.6 with Seymour Duncan Jupiter Rails Wes Hauch signature Brudge humbucker and Hot stack in the neck position and a custom handmade Explorer with Fishman Fluence Modern set. They are all just good searing mid focused pickups that I like for my rock sound, I am not using any distortion only mild overdrive and two classic boosters in fornt of the overdrive, Maxon OD808, classic settings, gain to zero, volume to max, tone to 12 o'clock and Dallas Arbiter Rangemaster with gain at 3 o'ckock, for extra push on solos. I've been a long time subscriber of yours, firstly for entertainment purposes, but to gain some knowledge on everything in bits and pieces, and you helped me a lot. I got a perfect 2×12 box for my perfect 50W tube head, I got rid of most of my pedals, now I have a mini pedalboard with 5 pedals – Crybaby Mini, TC Electrinic Politune 3 Mini, Maxon OD 808, Rangemaster and an overdrive – Hermida Zendrive, with Marshall Origin 50 that I run clean and a Marshall JVM212 with Celestion V30 And Celestion Heritage that sounds amazing and the tone masters on gigs love me for my sound and don't have a problem with my volume levels cause of my guitars and amp setting that are mid focused, not too much bass (mud or booming) and no schreeching highs, I can cut through any mix to hear myself without uping up the volume and fit in the mix so easily because of my settings, and for solos, the boosters give me a bit more volume but a lot of midrange so I can pop out the mix without tearing the PA system with overloading on volume. So thank you Glenn for your entertainment and wisdom you shared so loudly!
That said, with my Adam A8V monitors blasting, I could not hear shit in the difference in the tone of a tube or solid state amp in this video. Also, I am always bringing to my gigs a 20W solid state Joyo Bantamp Zombie II head for backup, and been using Joyo head with matchin 1×8" Bantcab for home practice, since it first came out. When it's a bit cranked (clean channel gain on max – still clean as a whistle and master at 10 o'clock) with my mini pedalboard it doesn't sound the same as my Marshall but it does provide a really good tone and I've been recording demos with it because of it's IR loaded XLR output and it serves me so well.
Thank you and fuck you Glenn! 😀
I just switched my live rig to an Orange Super Crush and a Crush Pro 4×12 cab loaded with Eminence Texas Heats and Swamp Thangs. Now, I did add a couple of pedals to my pedalboard to help the Super Crush. I did a blind test to my band and soundman during soundcheck. They all loved my tone! The true test was to my soundman because he is a Marshall JCM800 snob when it comes to tone. Needless to say, he told me that my tone sounded awesome through the PA in the mix. He was surprised when I told him it's a solid state amp.
ahhh taht ML250 was a small beats with massive tone.
A connoisseur in tube amp sounds is a superhero with super hearing powers, who's powers suddenly disappear when he/she can't see anything on the screen. Tru dat.
I’m gonna try to take the bait and not give a dumb answer with stupid terms.
When we’re looking at high gain amp heads with a lot of power, I think the biggest difference between solid state and tube amps is the tube amps perform better at absurdly high volumes where the solid states will go muddier sooner. At least that was the difference I noticed between my Orange Crush 120 and Marshall JVM as both amps sound great for what I need them for. So if you’re playing in like an arena that doesn’t have enough mics to use one on your cab, the tube amp will probably outperform the solid state.
Using an attenuator on a cranked tube amp would be an interesting test but COME ON that’s throwing another piece of gear in that probably costs more than the solid state anyway.
I think what leads to the tube diehard perception is that manufacturers always pair solid state amps with crappier speakers so many people think the amps are lower quality.
I love my tube amp but I’m not buying another one unless I hit the lotto.
I also hate the jump in volume when the tube amp heats up because there’s not enough time in a soundcheck for it to get hot. And they’re absurdly expensive and I’m not into the idea of sitting in an alleyway before bar gigs with the third most expensive thing I own to play it in front of a couple dozen drunk people.
But no, I can’t tell the difference in a studio mix
I always thought tube amps were better because they could be more easily repaired. Circuit boards? I don't think so. Alexander Dumble stated "the more fragile harmonics can survive in a vacuum tube, where they seem to be eliminated or squashed in a solid state crystal lattice. It just comes down to that. The physics of it: electrons can survive in a free space vacuum, where they have trouble in a crystal lattice…"
The solid state amp was used in the guitar solo 🙂 Great mix!
It all sounded fantastic to me. I honestly believe if you spend time to find the sweet spot you can make any amp sound good. A buddy of mine has a late 80’s/early 90’s Fender 80 watt solid state amp that sounds killer when it is dialed in for heavy tones…and it is wall rattling loud!
Solid state isn’t bad, it’s the digital modeling side of things that don’t FEEL good. I can’t audibly discern any of it in a full mix, but if I had to choose to play something between modelers, SS and tube, I’d rather have the latter two options.
Four amps with four channels for each so theoretically I just heard 16 guitar tracks in 2 minutes? That’s a good nothing burger lol
The guitars are pretty low in the mix and there's too many to choose from, it would really take an effort to listen to this and try to guess which one is which. Not enough time for that unfortunately.
You have now destroyed almost all the guitar myths. I’m selling my heavy, back breaking tube amp before it becomes worthless.
Thanks Glenn.
Orange did a great job with that amp.
Tube snobs are weirdos. Solid state amps are more than capable of achieving sick tones. Personally I love the 90s death metal solid state tones from vh140s or crates as much as I love modern tube amp recording tones, everything is subjective.
Yeah solid state is so shitty, that almost all guitar players fap to Pantera 😉
I love 5150s as much as Randalls.
Well – I can argue tubes are great high-impedance devices to build easy pre-amps – and solid state devices are great for low-impedance drivers … but … who cares. It's about the music and the sound done with whatever. Sure, good equipment matters – but it's no replacement for actually learning to play well. So maybe all I should have said here is that I really enjoyed the Full Mix Shootout – and thanks again. Cheers.
I wonder if transistor/solid state amps were out there, famous and admired before tube amps, if we would now talk down tube amps, because they don't sound as harsh and clean as solid state amps 😅
I own an Hughes and Kettner Attax 100 combo amp from the late 90s. It is solid state and I love this amp. It's perfect for my needs. I can play it at home, without blasting out the windows, but it can be loud enough to rehease. It takes pedals well so I can boost the shit out of it, to get the high gain sounds I am looking for.
And the best about it: I just had to pay 85 € on the Used-Market.
I woud say 7:44–7:48 is the rythm tone i like the least. This and the low whamy bar note in between 2 sections…. now is it the solid state amp? I can not tell!
For the lead part, my least favorite tone goes from around 8:12 to 8:16 but again, it's probably more a matter of taste.
It all sounds like noise to me. What difference would it make if it was ss or tubes. Just frickin noise.
Straight up, tried out a Fender GTX 100 and yep, it's solid state, and yep, it's super computerized, but dang, that thing can make good sounds if you TRY to make it make good sounds. Even the heavy sounds can be good if a little basic effort is taken.
I couldn't hear any difference, sounds good all around. I am with everyone else, I want a tutorial on that bass tone, that is amazing.
Had the same experience as listening to the 10 guitar comparison — some parts sounded slightly less bright than the rest, but less different than all the same amp with someone farting near the presence knob between takes. 😆
Was this posted out of sequence? I could have sworn you already put up a video about the Crush a month or two ago.
🤣🤣🤣 I wonder if your playing it lifeless because you see it as a solid state not as a amp to use, you play so much tube amps and even use pedals to get your tone you don't even know how the original sounds because of that you need to stop being biased and actually hear instead of just saying yeah that sucks
My most recent band was a stoner doom project. I had a model T, he had a Crush, we both had orange 412s. Great combination, as he could cut through my low end. No complaints on "toan"
I don't fkn know, I've never used a guitar tube amp. I'm converting an old philips disc jockey major early 50's record player into a tube guitar amp though and when it's done I might have some idea of what sort of sound a tube amp makes with guitar. The amp I use is a Park G10R that I've had since the early 90's. I have no idea how it compares to a similar output tube amp.
One of my favorite solid state amp is the Ampeg SS and the VH140c. The Valvestate 8100, Peavey xxl, Not sure if the ISP Theta was solid state but that one was killer as well. Pair these amps with good speakers and you are set.
Can u sing out to orange amps again and ask them to send me one please. (Tubes of course)
Without being there and how it pushes air it's fairly hard to tell . Tubes are more feel . U want a metal master get an old traynor yba 1 pair it with a good cab an old boss super distortion maybe a tube screamer and u would be hard pressed to fund better than that old dinosaur