I am new to this forum. This is my first post.

I am in the market for another amp. Currently, I am playing a Telecaster via a Peavy Vegas 400. The combination is excellent except that the Peavy weighs in at 80 pounds which I finding to be a bit heavy to carry to gigs in small settings. I, also, have a all tube V 30 made by Crate that weighs 44 pounds but it does not produce the sound that I need for the Bob Wills/big band swing that I play although it does have ample power.

Solid state units and processors have come on the market since I have shopped for amps and I know absolutely nothing about them. I wonder if either of these is a viable option to my needs.

Can someone here describe the differences between tube and solid state amps regarding sounds, durability prices etc. or whether or not a processor may be available that will tease the VSeries into producing a sound suitable to the music that I play. The sound that I am seeking is a clean sound with no distortion other than a decent reverb.

Thank you in advance.

George



[Edited on 8/13/2005 by The_Dummy]

Tube amps are better sounding amps overall. Tubes are moody and react to every note you play as a solid state is always the same. The down side the tubes need to replaced about once a year if your playing the amp alot. You will get a cleaner sound with solid state as tubes break up the more you crank the amp.

Look into a tube amp with EL84 power tubes not EL34 as the EL34 are best known for the crunch in a Marshall etc...

6L6 tubes are not bad but I get better clean results with EL84s

Hope this helps

Thanks, Brian. Your reply did help. It, also, stimulated more questions.

The Crate V Series has three 12AX7A pre amp tubes and four EL84 power amp tubes. The manual says that by changing the tubes around the tone can be changed. I exchanged the three AXs for ATs and the tone did change but not enough. I wonder if these tube can be mixed, like using two AXs and one AT. As much as I want to get a different tone, my desire to not harm the amp is stronger.

Do you have any thoughts on this?

Thanks again.

George

Are you using Groove Tubes,Telsa????? 12AT7's are cleaner then the 12Ax7, ECC83's etc.. Try putting the 12AT7's in the pre section and 12AX7 in the post or vice versa.

Hey man, if you want a warmer, smoother tone then my suggestion is tube. But i have played on some sweet solids. If you're going for a Big-Band sound then try out a Fender tube. Go to Guitar Center or something and test one out. And i can't stress it enough: play it before you buy it. Find what you like.

Brian: I was in the little darlin' today and changed the pre amp tubes around every way possible using the AKs and ATs. I did not notice the brand of the tubes. The rearranging of the tubes did indeed produce different tones but the sharpness or brightness in the small string octaves were still present. The best combination was the three AKs and they are just too bright.

It looks as though I probably need to replace the EL84s with 6L6s as that is what some of the larger amps use that have no overdrive functions. Right now, I am not inclined to lay a couple of hundred more into this amp for tubes, especially on the come because I do not really know if the 6L6s will solve the problem. This is why I am asking about solid state units. The Fender FM 65 R can be had for a couple of hundred and it should be strong enough for my needs if the clean channel is soft enough tone wise. If this turns out to be true, the V 30 will sell for more than enough to cover the Fender. It is time for me to go music storing and disturb the tranquility of their atmospheres while trying out amps.

Thank you very much for your interest and comments in trying to solve my problem.

FireFret: I agree with your thoughts on a Fender tube. However, they are a bit pricey for a guitar that is not earning its keep. I already have the V 30 and was hoping to make adjustments to it that would deliver the sound that I want. Turns out that dog won't hunt. What I need is some insight into some of those "sweet solids" that you mentioned. My need is for something that produces as close as possible absolutely no distortion whatsoever beyond that of a decent reverb.

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate your thoughts.

George

Here is a post script to all of the above.

I bought a Peavy Envoy 110 solid state 40 watt combo new for $200. Both the clean and the lead channels can be adjusted to acceptably clean tone levels. The volume is adequate for my at home and small gig needs. I credit the input from this forum for my success in this effort. Thank you all!

George

And That Is how a forum thread should go. In my years of browsing forums on various topics, i found this one the most sane, reasonable and intresting thread i have read.
Some others are great too until some idiot comes along saying this is the best...... ...ummmm okay I'll shut up now.

[Edited on 8/25/2005 by ZeldaMentalEvil]

[Edited on 8/25/2005 by ZeldaMentalEvil]

I agree with you brother. Every forum post/thread should end on a good note.

You can't just replace EL84s with 6L6s, they have completely different voltages and pin locations. Anyway, the power Tubes are not your primary problem, they simply amplify the Preamp signal. Sounds to me like you need a Tube amp with a great Clean channel[Fender, etc]
The Wanka