Hybrid amps ???

Jayhell

I have a question...

The louder you turn a tube amp the more saturation/distortion you get, right?

The louder you turn a solid state amp, it still sounds the same just louder?

So with a Hybrid amp with a tube pre amp and solid state power amp, the louder you turn the Volume knob the sound should stay the same unless you turn up the Gain knob?

Is this true? If been looking at amps with attenuators like the Laney Cubs and Ibanez TS etc. I want something that can play a tube sound at bedroom levels and play the same sound at gigging levels. Since I can not pump up my AVT 50 to full volume to compare the sounds (it's too loud to compare anyway) I need a more logical explanation. I haven't playd a gig in years and wil start soon and when I was a kid i never paid attention to what I sounded like, It was just a matter of being loud enough.

So the question is; will my amp sound the same if i crank it up to the max?

aja

Jayhell wrote: I have a question...

The louder you turn a tube amp the more saturation/distortion you get, right?

Yes, but it also compresses more. Distortion only occurs past a certain point.

Jayhell wrote: The louder you turn a solid state amp, it still sounds the same just louder?

Yes, but the speakers will start to work harder so you will eventually get a slightly different sound at higher volumes.

Jayhell wrote: So with a Hybrid amp with a tube pre amp and solid state power amp, the louder you turn the Volume knob the sound should stay the same unless you turn up the Gain knob?

Hmm, maybe. The problem is that the beautiful tube tone we all love comes mostly from power amp valves driven hard. The preamp distortion can be had with a hybrid amp, but the tube "tone" with all its warmth and compression comes from the power amp valves! I would rather use a good amp modeler with a PA or solid state amp than use one of these new hybrid amps laced with marketing fountain of youth potion.

Jayhell wrote: I want something that can play a tube sound at bedroom levels and play the same sound at gigging levels.

That has been the focus of all tube amp research since the 80's!

Jayhell

I see...

I actually dug up my amp's manual last night. And it says something about recreating the tones of the full valve marshall at higher levels in the power amp stage, so the louder it goes, the more Saturation/Compression/Distortion it will get, "just like" a full valve amp. I still got GAS for a full valve amp, but I'm actually very interested to see what my 10 year old amp will sound like at full volume. Can't wait, gotto make a plan.

aja

Look at buying two full valve amps that use similar circuitry and the same type of valves, especially the power amp valves, ie both with EL84's for example. One amp 5W for bedroom and the other 20 or 30W for gigs. That way you can dial in similar tones on both amps depending on what you need.

The amp manufacturers are already doing this, like the vox little night train, the marshall 5W, the Blackstar 5W and so on...

Jayhell

I'm thinking of just getting something small for home and then using the Marshall for gigs. I would like one amp to do it all, but I guess its realistically just not possible. How about running a small valve amp head thru the marshalls speaker? Could that be a solution for not having two amps and then If the head is to soft for a gig, the marshall is there as a backup.

Sebber

Yeah I agree with aja: hybrid amps aren't where it's at for tube tone purists. Depending on your budget, there's all sorts of amps now available with variable power switching that will cover various bases when it comes to bedroom-practice-gigging use, and you may be surprised at how loud something like a 5W amp can be.

Also I personally question the "quest" for a bedroom volume amp sounding great like an amp tearing it up at full tilt, I don't think it's truly possible (unless your budget extends to the cost of a Kemper Profiling Amp)... there's just so many things happening with a decent quality full tube amp, through decent quality cabs and speakers, when it's properly opened up, that just aren't happening at bedroom-don't-wake-the-neighbours volume (even at 5W). If the aim is to have pretty decent tone at those levels, then get a modeling amp (which are mostly hybrids, I think)... even with a modeling amp through a 12" or 10" speaker set at pip-squeak levels, you're not going to get anywhere near the desired bass response.