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OK none of those are new concepts by themselves, but put together they are. A lot of people having been saying they would give up their valve amps only when this circle was squared... well, now it has been. Probably - I haven't tried one myself yet (and I'm wary, after my experience with the ridiculously-hyped Boss Katana, which just sounded awful to me) - but some of the people who have, and reported that they do sound like the valve equivalent, are probably as cautious as I am.
If they really do then the only remaining question is over the long-term reliability.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Like everything we shall wait and see how they fare in terms of reliability, also much like anything else, when the excitement period is over, they will eventually start popping up in the classifieds sections, as they do, and in the end people will still be keeping their favourite tube amps
I always thought that with enough investment in R&D, analogue solid-state would end up sounding just as good as valve and would then replace it completely for the vast majority of users - in my opinion it nearly did, but was overtaken by digital at the last fence... which I think is something of a pity, as analogue is inherently more future-proof.
But no-one really worries if their old analogue TV no longer works now...
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Most potential buyers of the TMs will be people who think the more complex tech solutions are too much learning curve and faff. Their point of comparison will be ‘real’ amps. If they are convinced an alternative is cheaper, sounds as good, is as easy to use, and weighs half as much they will be interested. That only a nerd whose paying close attention will notice it looks any different from the real thing will be a big bonus for many.
As for the idea that it’s going to cost you more in the long run because in 5 or 10 years it won’t be repairable I can’t see that being a big part of of the decision tree for many. However much a section of the guitar community might wish otherwise, it’s not 1965.
I've been on the verge of buying a "real" Deluxe Reverb for a couple of years but didn't because I couldn't use it on 4 at home. Instead I'm 100% sure this will be my next amp.
It already seems to be fairly well established that the TM clean tone verges on indistinguishable. What we need more evidence of is how it compares with all the standard pedals in front of it. Do they react the same to a TS808, OCD, KOT etc? Many of these classic pedals would have been designed with valve DRs in mind. For years, Andy used a valve DR for all his premier guitar pedal demos. If you lose the tone quality with pedals, it’s a big factor.
All that said I agree with those saying the price is probably reasonable for the longevity predicted. We live in a digital, throwaway culture where we expect to replace our £2k MacBooks and £1k iPhones after a few years. If an £800 TM packs it in after 15-20 years I doubt many of us would bat an eyelid.
The Twin beat the DRRI for tone. We already know it wins on weight.
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It's not just the speakers, it's the lack of massive transformers, the solid pine cab etc.
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