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Why do guitarists like tube amps?
Experienced guitarists don’t just play their guitar – they also play the amplifier. By striking the strings harder or softer, they can change timbre along with volume.” “The even harmonics provides the complex, warm, rich sound that so many guitarists desire.
Why are valve amps better?
In addition, valve amps give musicians more options – thanks to the physics of how valves work. If you overdrive push a little, only the top of the sound wave is flattened. If you push it harder, however, it also flattens the bottom of the wave.
Why are amps so heavy?
Guitar amps are heavy due to speaker magnets, power and output transformers, and metal chassis and wooden cabinets. Yep, those few items literally wreak havoc on your back before you can even get plugged in and tuned up.
Why do valve amps sound louder?
A valve amp will be naturally louder than its solid-state counterpart due to compression. Solid state amps may will require twice as many watts to be perceived on the same level. And finally, the venues you play will also make a difference to what you need.
Why do tube amps sound so good?
Tube amplifiers sound better because of the euphonic distortions they add to the music, as well as plenty of other reasons I’ll cover below. The ways that tubes distort when pushed to the edge are much more musical than the artificial sounds that come from transistor amplifiers when overdriven.
Why do tube amps have lower watts?
Speaker impedence, which is the amount of resistance that a speaker offers to the current that flows through it, actually depends largely on the nature of the frequencies that the speakers are reproducing, and the hard clipped signals produced by solid state amps strongly reduce the available power, giving them higher …
How do you move a heavy amp?
DO
- Transport the amp upright. When lugging it around town, that’s the best position to keep it the safest, just like when it’s in use.
- Set it on a blanket, foam or rug to provide extra cushioning from the unrelenting metal van floor or bouncing trunk that can shake valves loose.
- Lock it in.
What’s the deal with Valve amplifiers?
Add to that a valve amp’s ability to produce somewhat dissonant yet driving sounds when a guitarist attacks strings harder and turns rhythm playing into lead playing, and valve function creates just the harmonics a rock guitarist needs.” “Experienced guitarists don’t just play their guitar – they also play the amplifier.”
Why do valve amplifiers have odd harmonics?
“The shift toward odd harmonics at increasing gain is a characteristic of valve amplifiers that further explains their appeal. An electric guitar player can overdrive an amp two ways: by turning up the amp’s gain control, and by attacking guitar strings more strongly.
Why do valve amps sound better than transistor amps?
“At its most fundamental level, this is because a moderately overdriven valve amp produces strong even harmonics, which add a sweetening complexity to a sound. An overdriven transistor amp, on the other hand creates strong odd harmonics, which can cause dissonance.”
What are the advantages of a tube guitar amplifier?
Being able to dial in the amount of power sag is also useful when going for tighter, compressed, more modern tones as the power amp signature is less a vital part of that sound. In the interest of equal time, let’s break down some of the advantages of tube guitar amplifiers: