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in the pipeline. Wonder what they will be like
I can get analogue SS amps to work at home and in the studio, but I've just never succeeded in dialling that kind of punchy "clacky" dynamic harshness out of them at stage volume, even through my regular cabs.
I'll keep an open mind though, I really WANT them to work, and have lost good money on Marshall and Fender SS amps over the years.
It's not just about valve/solid state though, the vast majority of valve amps don't work for me either.
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I threw two HH amps in the skip back in 2003. A 212 100w combo and a five channel PA amp. Both were in immac condition and worked fine. I tried selling them for nearly a year (open to offers) and not one person asked about them.
Then one day we ordered a skip to clear some house rubbish and in they went.
I don't think bandits are just bought by those who can't afford any better. I want one, and I want the newest one because it sounds better than the older ones. I genuinely think it sounds amazing, does a half decent valvey tone (youtube video shows this) but it does loads of stuff valves can only dream of.
Frankly, the immediate sound of a solid state amp is better for funk, reggae, rock (imo - seriously, you want it to sound soft when it's rock?) - it only loses out on "taste brigade" music. I'm not saying a massive Marshall plexi wouldn't sound immense for rock, but the punters don't care, and how many of us can run a 100w plexi at full whack? No? That's an attenuator then...
Digital is for home, recording (they suck but nickelback recorded with a vox valvetronix, even on the silver side up album) and "sampling" - they're great for telling you what you like, and encouraging new genres. Solid state is for practice, gigging, recording and fun. No amp can claim they have the sheer gain of a Marshall mg (which, through a good cab, sound very good).
Valve amps are a throwback. Everyone is just reissuing classic amps, including boutique builders. The only ones who are doing things differently are high gain amp manufacturers, and they're often laughed off by valve amp purists because they sound solid state (they don't). Valve amps sound great but are not the be all and end all of amps, at all. I genuinely want a peavey bandit, not because it's cheap, but because it sounded better than most other amps in the store. The only ones that really beat it are a 6505, but that needed to get cooking, and an orange rockerverb which I'll never afford. It slaughtered every other valve amp I tried.
I think it's a little unfair to regard the blackstar ht series as an all valve amp - they're hybrids. I love them, a tad bland but they sound only like themselves, and can do a wide variety of sounds. That's more identity than any other reissue out there.
"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
I will answer yes to that as well. I owned two original Marshall plexi heads with 4x12 straight and 4x12 angled cabs. Yes it is loud flat out, but not enough to remove your tympanic membrane. If you think of it in decibels, its more uncomfortable then painful and only if you are in front of the cabs. I could never tell the volume difference between the stack flat out and my AC30 flat out (1960s AC30).
I used to gig in many London venues and in some you could run a Marshall 100 stack flat out, but the overall balance of the bands sound was terrible. It was mainly during practice you wound the volume up when your ego clashed with the drummer, or you wanted to show who had the biggest dick.
The loudest and most painful sound I've ever heard was an 18" JBL bass bin used in a small venue. You could not hear the bass player if you stood at the front or middle of the venue, but if you stood at the back the throw from that thing was bloody loud.
"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
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I was playing on reasonably-sized stages for the most part admittedly, although apparently they were still talking about us ten years ago in the Market Tavern in Hereford!
It was actually not that painful if you stood off-axis, but to paraphrase Uncle Ted, I think people did come to our gigs just to lose weight...
"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