mesa tube/valve amps vs. solid state

[mesaluckystrike]

Ok, I have been reading some on the debates over tube vs. solid state/modeling amps. I have owned (and still own) a couple solid state amps; currently I have a roland micro-cube and I previously had a Vox Valvetronix AD30VT. I then switched to a Fender Deluxe, then a princeton reverb, and finally my mesa express. One of the major things that got me hooked on tube amps is the more natural feel when playing, how it responds to picking and the smooth overdrive. I don't care what anyone says, you just can't get that in a modeling amp/solid state amp.

Does anyone else have similar experience going from a solid state amp to all tube? What is the use in solid state amps?

 

[jdurso]

Ok, I have been reading some on the debates over tube vs. solid state/modeling amps. I have owned (and still own) a couple solid state amps; currently I have a roland micro-cube and I previously had a Vox Valvetronix AD30VT. I then switched to a Fender Deluxe, then a princeton reverb, and finally my mesa express. One of the major things that got me hooked on tube amps is the more natural feel when playing, how it responds to picking and the smooth overdrive. I don't care what anyone says, you just can't get that in a modeling amp/solid state amp.

Does anyone else have similar experience going from a solid state amp to all tube? What is the use in solid state amps?

the closest modeller out there to true to feel (which is the biggest difference IMO) is fractal audio's axe-fx... but then again its modelling the preamp and it does a killer job of it.... it makes line 6 and other modelling amps out there sound liek toys.... the guy who designed it took great care (and a ton of coding) to emulate tube saturation and the fact that you can pair it with a tube power amp probably has a lot to do with how convincing it is.... but at the end of the day tube amps ahve their own thing going even among themselves... take a vht vs a mesa... the vht FEELS stiff where as a recto FEELS loose.... both amps sound killer but theres a point where the feel of an amp is huge.... i find SS being good for one thing which is cleans.... i like super clean cleans which is why for a long time i used a recto for dirty and a jc120 for cleans.... in my eyes nothing touches a jc120 in terms of super clean cleans