#13 Buy a real tube amp

  • Well, the guy basically reinvented the way we look at amps, and even guitars to a great extent through his own personal experimentation. Let's not try and downplay this.


    The Peavey 5150 was around for 12 years, same so far as his EVH brand through Fender. I've seen other artists go through endorsements with much greater frequency.


    I think it hasn't helped that many who've done business with Ed cite his being an impossible asshole to work with.

  • Eddie Van Halen, the most notorious tone chaser, might disagree with that.

    EVH always sounds like EVH regardless of what he plays through. As a matter of fact, a quote by him once said that when Ted nugent played through his rig once, he didn't sound like EVH, he sounded like Ted Nugent. thanks for playing. ;)

  • Sure, the fingers and style control a lot, if not most, but to pretend each amp doesn't have its own nuance is pure silliness.

  • Now things start to get funny..


    @Nemo


    Name me one "pro" out there who is NOT a "tone chaser"..would you be so kind;Just one;

    Nikos, you missed my whole point. That's ok, beginners usually rush before thinking. ;) It doesn't matter if you are a tone chaser. I have been a tone chaser for 30+ years. End result? NO amp changes the way I play. I will play just like me on any amp. So will you, so will all the rest. I've had some of the best tube heads since '85, currently have a Diesel, an Engl, etc., they are fun to play but I sound like me on all of them. Only to all in your head top cork sniffery could you tell between the amps, because ultimately, everyone usually dials in their favorite perceived tone on every single amp. No amp ever progressed my playing or gave me my signature tone. My guitar and fingers do that. The tiny perceived fractals of difference between a real tube amp and a Kemper are so small it is pointless to argue unless you simply suck at playing or have ears like a cat and will never be satisfied. Tube amps have been moved to nostalgia. Some can stay in denial, I've seen it before, but the big bulky dinosaurs are really no longer needed. To create guitar sound? The new tech now or in the future can bring you beyond a tube amp circuit could dream of doing. So that is the point. Magical amps are really just different sounds you get excited about for a month or two. You keep looking. ALWAYS. Same with effects, how many distortion pedals are out there? How many have most tried? 10? 20? a booster? a secret delay? a star wars eventide overkill? I was in that group for a while, and had the sound sculpture type gear for my switching needs, but now with Kemper effects and internal switching? Gone. I have one pedal left, a dimension C. I still sound like me and my 'tone' without any tubes. If I can do that, anyone else should be able to as well. If you choose to believe otherwise that is fine but you are wrong. Time will teach you.

  • Also, let me add, allllll the JUNK gear, cables, mikes, amp connections, soooo many things that physically wear out and give problems, feedback, hum chasing, etc..etc.. GLAD TO SEE IT GO! Even other gear, look at drums, some of those electronic kits sound pretty damn good, and the ability to set the volume? everyone running direct you could practice anywhere. I envy the young, to never have to be disappointed with all the garbage we older guys wasted money on and the trials and tribulations of finding a place to play.

  • You should not call someone a "beginner" if this person is a professional musician since the age of 17.To all other stuff you said I will not answer because it is obvious you´re out for provocations.


    btw..did you ever earn a dime with music dear @Nemo;

  • Nicos and Nemo13 - discuss your personal issues elsewhere. your are posting off topic.

    Mine is dead on topic, the topic of tube amps. And as for me needing to expound to educate, that is what a forum is for. Explain exactly where you see that I er on this.

  • Mine is dead on topic, the topic of tube amps. And as for me needing to expound to educate, that is what a forum is for. Explain exactly where you see that I er on this.

    technically you might be on topic. i hoped you'd understand what i mean. i will not have you both fight in this thread about who's a beginner and who's not. because that's off topic. so please stop that.

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  • @G String


    Please try "next time" to step in when one person does the provocation (calling some one you dont know a "beginner" is not nice..ist it;) and not when the provocated person feels the need to respond himself.


    greetings

  • technically you might be on topic. i hoped you'd understand what i mean. i will not have you both fight in this thread about who's a beginner and who's not. because that's off topic. so please stop that.

    Fighting? I think you misinterpreted. I refer to debate. You gather before you challenge. I have no interest in fighting anyone. My retort is to expound on the time line of my tube amp journey, which is a common tale, and how terrible it really was tech wise as compared to today.

  • F tube amps


    i already have enough of them IN MY MOFO KEMPER


    :D



    Ash

    Have a beer and don't sneer. -CJ. Two non powered Kempers -Two mission stereo FRFR Cabs - Ditto X4 -TC electronic Mimiq.

  • there is neither a need to provoke nor to respond to it in public. i would appreciate if we could continue to post on topic.


    There is never a need to provoke but always a need to react on it.Not by the offended members of the blog but by its mods.Otherwise it is a kindergarten and the trolls win while members who like to discuss in a respectfull way loose as does (maybe,I dont know) the blog.


    cheerio..

  • I disagree. I think people who chase tone too hard simply are not satisfied with their playing.

    Yep, you nailed it. Exception to this rule is superstars like Bonamassa.. but a) you never know if he is ;) b) he just tries things because he can.
    BTW Kemper has killed the last 5% of tweaker/tone chaser I had in me. Not that I am satisfied with my playing.. but I can't remember spending more than 5 minutes setting up "my tone", but I do remember to practice every day (practice, not noddle in headphones in front of TV) to have better chances of not sounding like shit. Tube amp or not.


    It's worth to have tube amp just to have fun with profiling. It's really eye opening process.

    Edited 2 times, last by mdeeRocks ().

  • Yep, you nailed it. Exception to this rule is superstars like Bonamassa.. but a) you never know if he is ;) b) he just tries things because he can.BTW Kemper has killed the last 5% of tweaker/tone chaser I had in me. Not that I am satisfied with my playing.. but I can't remember spending more than 5 minutes setting up "my tone", but I do remember to practice every day (practice, not noddle in headphones in front of TV) to have better chances of not sounding like shit. Tube amp or not.


    It's worth to have tube amp just to have fun with profiling. It's really eye opening process.

    thats great that you found what you guys are looking for in your tone but its silly to say that people who chase tone are not satisfied with their playing except "superstars". i personally enjoy chasing tone.trying new pedals, amps ,modelers,guitars ect...all good to me and am always learning new ideas on the guitar as i bet some "superstars" do too .

  • I'm pretty sure Stone Temple Pilots early stuff used AC30's through Marshall 4x12s with V30s in them and I think they had pretty decent tone...

  • I think what's important to point out from the previous comments is that an amp absolutely changes your tone and some guys, including myself, hear a tone inside their head that they just haven't been able to completely capture. Perhaps it's unattainable, but it's nonetheless a preoccupation.


    I spent years being content to play through any amp that was put in front of me. And I mean any amp. I was of the mind that my hands would compensate for the sound and would make everything sound "like me". While this was helpful in many ways and I certainly got by, there came a time when I got tired of fighting equipment. What I realized is that each different amp responded differently and thus my playing responded differently. There's no denying that when I pull up a profile of a Mesa Dual Rectifier, I play completely different than I do with an AC30 or even an old Plexi.


    It's symbiotic. Your playing and your amp create your tone. If the amp weren't so consequential, there'd have been no reason EVH fried the tubes in his old Marshall's over and over to try and capture the sound he heard in his head. The Brown Sound we know today wouldn't have existed were he playing with a Fender Bassman. Likewise, the most expensive tube amp in the world won't save you if you can't play guitar for shit.


    I'm grateful that for years I worked on my playing to compensate for my lack of equipment. It taught me a lot as a player. At this stage I bought a Kemper because I hear something in my head that I want to try and find and it's a great tool to experiment with.

  • I've still both - tube amp (Boogie MarkV), whcih I will never sell (most probably) and I love my Kemper.
    ... and now, I'm going to have a coffee - Cappucino double shot - coffee beans are from Andraschko, a small manufactory from Berlin.
    I compare the beans with a profile, which I run through my espresso machine (Kemper) into my cup (FRFR). All togther gives you the great taste. Pretty like the kemper - the better the profile you use, the better your sound ...
    This analogy is just fun - Live is great ... with or without a tube amp :)