I just sold my last tube amp (goodbye gear of yesteryear).

[Pacafeliz]

+1
Having been a tube addict/snob for years, I've become a mainly solid state amp player ever since I discovered the amazing old HH amps. Been planning on making a proper thread forever now.
Good, cheap and so reliable, without breaking the back/bank.

Ok I'm still obsessed with the old Sound City amps and I guess I'll keep my old Twin forever, too. But just cuz I grow attached to stuff, too. And well yes it sounds phantastic too.

[Unicorn Warrior]

I just came here to say that I’m in the same boat. The Strymon Iridium has essentially replaced any need for me having a tube amp. In the situations I do find myself needing a tube amp, I use the Iridium through a JC-120.

I’m actually getting ready to take it a step further and unload the 120 in favor of the smaller cube 20 that I have. Roland is still making great solid states. With that said, If I ever got another guitar amp, it would likely be one of the new Fenders that have the excellent tube voicing. Those things are as light as a feather.

Then again, I’ve always had a soft spot for Mesa Boogies, so there you go. Perhaps my tube love will never completely die.

To put it another way, if I found myself in a situation to where the luxuries of all valve wasn’t inconvenient and money wasn’t an option AND just decided to go in another direction with my sound, then I could see myself doing it. But seeing as how I don’t make my living playing music, the iridium really does approximate the Vox thing so well

[blunderbuss]

Been lurking for awhile but first time post. I picked up a Fender Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb earlier this year and I love it to death. Sounds good at any volume, which my neighbors appreciate and it’s light as a feather.

[UlricvonCatalyst]

My H/H love is no secret round here, but I've been moving in the opposite direction when it comes to recording: after years of mostly using Line6 amp models, I've been recording real amps with real microphones recently. I can't honestly say it's a noticeable improvement, but the sounds are good.

Also, there's one thing I've never been able to pull off convincingly with amp modelling - feedback. It's not that I'm working on Psychocandy mk. II, but it seems to me that if you want that sound you have to make some noise to get it.

Furthermore, researching how some of my favourite guitar sounds were made, it seems high volume is a common thread running through them. That said, loud amps of either variety are strictly for the studio. At home, even my Epi Valve Jr. scares me if it goes past 11 o'clock.

[marqueemoon]

I still like tube amps, but lately I’ve been recording direct out of necessity and don’t hate it. I like the low noise floor and being able to get a subtle stereo image out of my Neunaber Iconoclast.

I wouldn’t rule out going ampless for live in the future, but the appeal for me is consistent sound, not in having a zillion options.

[cdwillis]

I don't have anything against the modelers. They've all sounded good to me. I used to use a PODxt back in the day for practicing and really enjoyed it. Nowadays I'd rather have an amp, personally. It seems like the people that use Kempers or Axe FX have some kind of elaborate home studio setup with a computer to tweak the modeler. I like to turn on my amp and just play. If I need to tweak the sound I can look over and turn a knob. I don't need to have that many sounds available. Honestly, it'd probably give me decision paralysis.

[marqueemoon]

I like to turn on my amp and just play. If I need to tweak the sound I can look over and turn a knob. I don't need to have that many sounds available. Honestly, it'd probably give me decision paralysis.

Exactly. The amps I like most have no master volume and a single tone knob.

I put in the time with the Iconoclast in software to make sure everything sounds good with the knobs at noon. I do like the interface in that it encourages you to make your decisions on adjusting the various parameters based on listening.

I feel like often models present an idealized version of tbe thing being modeled, when what is great about amps is the ugliness and weirdness.

[sunburster]

I have two solid state amps and I love them both: Roland JC-40 and Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb. Might get a small vox tube amp some day, but the more I play this duo the more I think I really don't need any more than this. I use the JC-40 at night through headphones with its stereo inputs (which is really nice to have because I run a stereo pedalboard).

I had a JC-22 previously but found it didn't pair well with the large Tone Master Twin. The JC-40 is much better in this regard, and still has the great headphone output. I set the Twin to 40 watts to match the JC-40. Sounds awesome this way.

[MrJagsquire]

I've got a few heavy amps/cabs, but I have a little Fender Champ clone for a grab and go amp (it lives in my kitchen the rest of the time due to the nice natural reverb in there ).

I've got a Mooer Pre Amp live, which is a very poor man's Kemper, but it has some weird quirks with the boost buttons that means I can't rely on it for gigs, plus it's so fiddly getting into the various menus using a phone app that I've barely bothered trying to tweak the sounds to try to improve them.

I mostly use my Marshall SV20H and 2x12 at home, because I have it going through an attenuator and it takes seconds to dial in a good sound: I bought a Jaguar this week and had been playing my Esquire through it the previous time...a few tweaks of the brightness volume (it's a '4 hole' amp and I jumper it) and I was away. I'd have spent half an hour trying different settings in my Mooer. In fact I think I'll sell the Mooer and buy a mid sized combo amp to go between the Champ and my '64 Custom Deluxe reverb: I realised after I bought the '64 that I could have bought a Kemper for less money, but then I figured that I'd just spend time fiddling about instead of playing. I always wanted a really nice Blackface amp and vintage amps are hard to come by over here, so it was my big treat to myself as I usually buy the budget or at most mid range version of most gear (hence my MIM Player Jaguar).

I think maybe those new Fender 'Tonemaster' amps might be a better way of approaching the modeling amp idea: Less is more sometimes and the sooner you can dial in a sound you like and get playing the better (at least IMHO). I'll get to hear one soon as a friend is hoping to get one once he sells some amps, like the OP has done.

I think in my case it will be a toss up between my back saying 'enough' and me having enough patience to learn how to edit and fine tune a modeling amp as to whether I give up on valve amps (or just have them spread out around the house to use as the mood takes me ).

[DeathJag]

Just some stray thoughts: I think this has gone beyond people who just play music. This is about moving further into a culture of convenience. It’s a slow but steady rate of conversion. Some people using tube amps are not just using them because of the legacy, but also to uphold traditions that are not centered around convenience. To feel more like an individual who is resisting the high current of mainstream convenience. I count myself in that category, resisting technology in general.

I also cannot stop thinking of the question “ How repairable are these things?” They have been out for two years, and so far they have held up. Will we be able to say that in 10 years?

Just some stray thoughts, no judgment. My arms have recently been injured and I actually cannot lift the Twins or even the Showman cabs anymore. I can push them around on wheels though, and have friends who can help me lift them. If they did big blonde Tonemasters voiced (modeled?) to those circuits, I’d probably get one for gigs. In fact I would instantly get a 6g5-A Pro!

Dan

[mackerelmint]

^^^

Oof. Sorry about your arms.

You're probably right about this being larger than just musicians and is part of the overall migration to convenience. Personally, I'm on the convenience wagon all the way here as I don't gig and don't find that choosing convenience has any drawbacks to how I play or sound.

As for your question about repairability, that's a really good point. I'm assuming surface mount componentry as the standard here for really small heads, and that's a pretty big difference to through hole tech. I'm kinda looking at putting together something stereo with two class D amps, and the truth of it is that if one were to go out, it would probably be replaced as a unit rather than fixed, because I know for a fact that surface mount is what's going on there.

[postchrist]

just had a conversation with my bandmate yesterday about the axe fx, and audio plugins, digital room models, etc... we both came to the conclusions that we haven’t avoided these things out of doubt. i know for a fact that a kemper/axe fx rig can sound every bit as good as(and better than) my rig does. they’re really cool, powerful, impressive, massively efficient tools, and i think have finally put great options on the market in terms of modeling tech. one of my favorite guitar sounds i’ve heard live to date was josh martin of little tybee running his axe fx straight into the pa. the root of it for me lies, i think, in how these things are designed and meant to be used. out of all the amps i’ve gone through, the one i keep returning to is the musicmaster bass amp... it’s a small, well designed, well built, and most importantly, very simple piece of kit. i think that’s what has kept me from most solid state gear, is the marriage of that tech with digital menus, extensive and overwhelming digital modeling(option paralysis), onboard effects, etc... it’s all so overwhelming to me, and way more than i want or need. i just don’t have the brain capacity for menu dives and endless capabilities, i’m far too stupid.

that all said, i LOVE the jc-120. i wish it could be pushed to breakup in a pleasing way, but for clean sounds i absolutely adore it. so much in digital and solid state tech attempts to mimic the gear of yesteryear(and some, like the kemper, just nail it)... but independent of that, i think there’s a gap in the market for people like me that light, simple, and well made solid state amps would fill very nicely.

all that said, congrats on going the way of the sane! give it a few years and i might be there too.

edit: on repairability - i think that’s kinda just a factor when it comes to any digital gear. if my clarett interface stops working, i’ll send it in to focusrite. if they say i’m fucked, i’ll buy another, lol. but you’re right - it extends beyond music, and into the landfills. shout out to the toy harmonica repair thread in “other instruments”.

[Ohioisonfire]

I just made a similar decision about my pedals. Sold most of them off to buy a digital multi FX guy. Have been considering selling off most of my tube amps and doing the same thing.

[Maggieo]

This is like the late 80's-90s all over again!

[SAVEStheDAY]

You'll be back.