KVR Audio

PurpleCatfishBettie · Post by **PurpleCatfishBettie** » Tue Oct 04, 2016 6:18 pm

In my case, there is definitely a G.A.S. component. To say the pursuit of solid state is based solely on the idea of reliability and generally low price in comparison to tubes; it would be dishonest. There's definitely a gas component.

Now, if there were no G.A.S., and I had no amp, and say $500 for an amp(s); for me the clear choice is not necessarily tube. There are definitely some great solid state options. YMMV

BTW, I like the older Bandits, but this new Bandit which arrived today also sounds awesome, and is built like a tank.

Check out this document on Transtube: https://peavey.com/support/technotes/ha ... pter_3.pdf

tapper mike · Post by **tapper mike** » Thu Oct 06, 2016 3:58 pm

I played Peavey Amps in the 80's and sorry. I'll never go back.

With regards to Rolands... Yeah okay but you really don't hear the eq untill the volume is way way up. Yup I've got a cube sitting in a corner waiting for someday. The day I sell it on ebay. or the day I feel like turning it on again. I don't like the whole "What roland thinks an amp should have or could have been" thing. It's a lot of close to but no cigar.

Honestly with regards to solid state / sim amps I'm most impressed with the Yamaha THR series.

That being said I'd take a straight forward tube amp and leave the whistles and bells sim any day of the week.
For two very simple reasons. Variety can be an interruption. Unless you have everything set up on a pedal (Helix) then you'll be constantly tweaking and not playing. I used to play through a modified traynor yba and it was right as rain.

PurpleCatfishBettie · Fri Oct 07, 2016 10:57 am

I agree though that Transtube doesn't quite sound like a tube. As a matter of fact, it makes me wonder if that story about those people at 'NAMM' being fooled by Transtube versus several tube amps in a blind test being a sort of myth.

So yeah, I don't think it sounds like a tube, but it does sound cool. I had one of the '90s versions and felt the same way then. I've heard though that the original, '80s version Bandits sounded awful. And then you have all of the other Peavey solid state amp models, many of which reportedly sounded very bad, up into the '80s and beyond.

Anyway, disagree that Transtube sounds bad, but agreed that it doesn't really sound like a tube. I'm going to have to create some blind tests and see what happens.

Next up, the Blackstar ID30. Now, right off the bat this one seems a bit complex for my tastes. I agree with you, Mike, about having simple controls. I'd prefer to do my FX through pedals and in the box. That's another reason I dig the Bandit; simple controls without so many 'amp models' and FX.

Anyway, I have high hopes for the overall sound of the Blackstar.

As an aside, I'll give you an example of a solid state which sounds bad to these ears; the Randall RG-80. It's got 'ok' cleans i guess, but the drive sounds like 'sand/pebbles'. Outside of fuzz pedals, i like a driven sound that's more or less 'butter' or 'nylon' or 'talc'.

So far, I find that Transtube amps sort of have this 'nylon' texture which I like. Also, it's sort of got that 'lag' that you find with tube amps, and not the type of 'immediacy' a player might expect from solid state.

Everybody's mileage varies...

PurpleCatfishBettie · Post by **PurpleCatfishBettie** » Sun Oct 09, 2016 6:09 pm

Here's a test session with two Transtube amps mic'd up at the same time; Bandit and Rage 258: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... gLjZIupY3Y

CapnLockheed · Post by **CapnLockheed** » Mon Oct 10, 2016 8:01 pm

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Mon Oct 10, 2016 9:14 pm

Tech-21

tapper mike · Post by **tapper mike** » Wed Oct 12, 2016 3:43 am

Hink wrote:Tech-21

I used to have the original sans-amp and it sounded "fair" for direct recording.
I'm more impressed with the power engine 60 from Tech-21 it's extremely transparent as is the Line 6 FR-FR powered monitor.

Still for solid state amp sims.... Yamaha THR100
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NuNIAM7y-E

For clean jazz, country, blues and rock....The Quillter MicroPro wins the day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOjXBLlFn38

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Wed Oct 12, 2016 6:14 pm

I was actually talking about the amps, I really liked the original Trademark a lot. I always loved my Sansamp GT2 for direct recording and fair imo is less deserving than I would give it. The thing is with sansamp is people forget the tone controls are active with "0" being in the center, they tend to treat them like a standard guitar pedal and have a hard time. The controls are quite sensitive and a little goes a long ways and the switching possibilities I found gave me a ton directions to go in. I went from there to a Line 6 POD 2.0 and then an XT live, both of course with good sound and really more convenient for extremely overdriven guitar, but the Tech-21 stuff simply had the warmth most digital sims then lacked.

I remember getting the trademark 60 in when I worked at a small mom and pop store on the subway just outside of Boston (still Boston/Cambridge just not Boston proper...Somerville/Davis SQ). I had a lot of street musicians as well as students, many were like me, just blown away by the tone and the warmth.

Of course now all that is kind of moot for me, but recently I pulled out my GT2 to mess around and it still amazed me, like the day I bought it. (the day I bought it was one of those real "holy cow" moments after a long time of trying to find a way to use my Marshall 9000 tube pre-amp direct). I plugged it into the power amp in on my single ended Frenzel (Champ Super Sportster, the one that lets me use different power tubes) and it was really still pretty amazing.

I find solidstate Peavey amps as well as many other solidstate amps to have a plastic like sound which I just cannot tolerate, not so with the Trademark amps from Tech 21

PurpleCatfishBettie · Post by **PurpleCatfishBettie** » Tue Oct 25, 2016 2:53 am

whoah... i hadn't seen this from stagg before: https://www.amazon.com/Stagg-solid-2-ch ... B00BK9U1JA

looks pretty tight

PurpleCatfishBettie · Post by **PurpleCatfishBettie** » Tue Oct 25, 2016 2:14 pm

How about the Nu>x Mighty series amplifiers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5oU7gSeFB0

PurpleCatfishBettie · Post by **PurpleCatfishBettie** » Sun Nov 20, 2016 8:31 am

i guess the Nux Mighty series are technically digital. has anyone checked the Boss Katana?

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Kata50

anyway, was reviewing the thread. lots of 'research' to do on the basis of recommendations here.

Mister Natural · Post by **Mister Natural** » Sun Nov 20, 2016 4:16 pm

BOSS = Roland

PurpleCatfishBettie · Post by **PurpleCatfishBettie** » Sun Nov 20, 2016 7:00 pm

right. word is that the 'brown' setting on the Katana is straight from the Roland Blues Cube.

PurpleCatfishBettie · Post by **PurpleCatfishBettie** » Tue Nov 29, 2016 2:19 am

...the Blackstar ID30 is impressive. with OD2 channel, and TVP set to EL84, this thing was pushing air, even at a low volume. very robust tone at that setting. overall, it seems like one of the better, solid state tube emulations.

Solid State Guitar Amps: Peavey Transtube versus Kustom Max Drive versus?