Any solid staters here?

[Cernunnos]

I'm new here. As is the case with most amp forums, the majority of the threads are about various tube amps and related subjects. Which is understandable; there are good reasons why they are more popular than transistor powered amps. The fact that most cheap/beginner amps are solid state apart, however, I think we can agree that the choice between tube and solid state is a matter of taste, although for most people it's an easy one.

Not sure where I was going with this so straight on to the topic - do any of you guys use transistor amps (other than for practice/travel)? Which amp(s), why, and how did you come across them? Are you a "converted" tube amp user?

I recently came to the conclusion that my 100 w Carvin amp was a bit too loud and big for my needs, so I decided to look for something smaller. I accidentally came across a Roland Jazz Chorus JC-50 in an ad that was primarily for a Musicmaster, looked it up on the Internet and decided to have a go at it because of all the good reviews I found. And I don't feel I could've made a better decision. It suits my needs perfectly and after having sold the tube amp I ended up some $500 richer (which was immediately spent on pedals, heh).

So, what about you?

[noisepunk]

I like the rolland jazz choruses, my bass amp is a solid state yamaha, and have found a few other solid state amps that haven't made me want to gouge my ears out, but the common theme among all of them is that they sound very close to tube amps to my ears.

[s_mcsleazy]

theres a guitar shop in glasgow with the jazz chorus and i've been meaning to try it for a while. theres another amp in the same shop i am desprate to try. i think its called a fal cestral or somthing. its only £80 so ill give it a go

[weed_killer]

I use a Traynor TS-25. Not a very expensive or sought after amp, but it works well for me.

[mykul]

I use old Yamaha solid state amps: a couple of G100 heads, a G100 212 combo, B100 115 and a Roland Studio Bass 100 1x15. Mainly use the G100 combo and the Roland. I had a Lab Series L5 for a while but didn't like the sound of that at all.
2 outputs on my guitars, neck p'up to bass amp and bridge to guitar amp. Separate effects chain for each.
Miles of clean headroom, I can throw any pedal(s) i want at them, which they handle with ease and they're pretty cheap.
Valves just didn't seem to agree with what i was trying to do.

[M.Hiltz]

I have played some good solid state amps, the jazz chorus being one of them.

A lot of players I know strictly go the tube route because of bad experiences w/ their first SS practice amp.

I think the only issue in this debate these days is consistency. I have played good and bad SS amps, just like i've played some good and bad tube amps.

I would gladly take a good JC over a bad tube amp any day.

[countertext]

I play bass through an old Acoustic 140 head, totally solid state. I love it, but it's an acquired taste, I think. Distorts in a strange way very easily.

[SurfGreenGibby]

Johnny Greenwood uses a solid-state amp for his distorted stuff (a Fender Eighty-Five, I believe), so even big-name guitarists use solid-states over tubes. He probably likes the weird, unnatural distortion solid states get.

Jazz players sometimes prefer solid-state over tube because of sonic stability and clarity, as well.

I use a Pignose a lot. Some might count it as a practice amp but enough professional players have used it that it sort of sits in a no-man's land. It's the only solid-state amp that I've heard that I really like. Makes a good fuzz pedal in any case.

[Jazzerstang]

I WANT MY VOX PATHFINDER 15R BACK. That thing was outstanding.

[itcamefromiowa]

I've got a Danelectro Dirty Thirty that I really enjoy, especially with P90's. Even with the baritone, sometime's it's just right.

[kalipigeon]

I use a Crate powerblock as a backup to my Egnater in case I blow a tube or fuse. I also have a Fender M80 head that does a great ultra clean. I most prefer solid state for bass though, especially with a tube preamp like on my Ashdown ABM 500

[i love sharin foo]

I have an old Acoustic 150 on top of Acoustic 1x15 and 4x10 cabs. I use it mainly for bass and it sounds great for that... Thick and clear and nicely balanced. I occasionally use it for guitar or baritone too. The "feel" is what separates it most from a tube amp IMHO. The tone sounds real nice. You just don't get the sag on attack and the other tube break up characteristics that you get with a tube amp. It just sounds the same all the time regardless of volume. Not a bad thing, just different. Every dirtbox sounds entirely different through it also. It makes it interesting to try out different things because you don't know what will work.

[UlricvonCatalyst]

I've been having a love affair lately with my H/H IC 100L head hooked up to my H/H VS Musician Combo's 2 x 12 speakers. I'm going to swap the head sections over, actually, as The VS is pretty much surplus to requirements since I got its higher-achieving cousin.

H/H amps can be had for cheap in the UK pretty much 366 days of the (leap) year and are a far shrewder purchase than a Roland JC (unless the Roland's going for about £50).

On the subject of JCs, I used to play a lot through my bandmate's original Roland Cube - this was way back when they were made in Japan, probably at the same place the JCs came from - and I remember it being a pretty good little around-the-house amp too. I used the line out for demos quite a bit, not having access to a chorus pedal or reverb unit by other means.

Carlsboro and Laney produced decent transistor amps in the '70s and early '80s too, which can also often be found for about as much as most people wouldn't think twice about spending on a pedal. The ones with a tremolo circuit tend to be most fun.

Well-behaved valve amps are wonderful things indeed but, to my mind, solid state also-rans are not so much inferior as different.

[SurfGreenGibby]

Here's Alexander Dumble explaining why "tubes are better":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVTj08qT ... ideo_title" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's some mystical stuff, right there.

Also of note, the guitarist is Henry Kaiser, the only man who can make a Dumble amp sound bad.

[Cernunnos]

Yeah, I think you're spot-on about too many solid-state amps trying too sound valve-like. Another thing that annoys me is this built-in effects obsession. I mean, why not just try to build a good amp instead of a half-good amp and a dozen less-than-half-good effects units. If it wasn't for those factors there'd be a lot more for the serious guitarist to choose from in the solid-state department.