I got tubes! A tube convert's story.

revsharp777 · #1 01-23-2005, 03:27 PM

***This is a tad long, but what the hell? I'm excited!***

I should start off by saying that I've been a diehard solid state user for many years now. Why, the purists ask? Well, I am primarily a metal guitarist & I love a very tight, focused low end. With most tubes amps, the low end is either muddy, spongy, or "woofy" sounding. <Don't you love those descriptions?> I could never get the low end to sound right. Considering that a majority of my music involves technical riffage in Low B & A tunings, this is a big deal for me. Clarity is of the utmost importance.

Flash forward to this past week...
Recently, I have decided to give tubes poweramps another shot. I have a friend who works at GC & he gives me sick deals. I called him & he informs me that they've decided to scale back their inventory of Mesa/Boogie rack gear. As we all know, you can't haggle with the sales rep when it comes to new Mesa gear. The price is usually set....BUT THAT'S NOT THE CASE TODAY! Turns out, they had all the amps severely discounted! This was great news because there's no way I would be able to afford one of these amps at their "new" price.

So I head off to GC to begin checking out the various Mesa poweramps. Considering they started me out on a crappy Line6 PODxt preamp <sorry, not a POD fan> for me to play through, all the poweramps were sounding pretty nice. As a change of pace, I hooked into their only other preamp, a Rocktron Gainiac, to see how the amps would respond to it's sound. Again, I was impressed by how the poweramps affected the preamp tones. Well, I scored a Mesa Rectifier Stereo 2:One Hundred poweramp for $650 with the stipulation that if I didn't like how it sounded in my rig, I could bring it back without any problems. $650 out the door, folks! That's about 60% off the regular price!!! Lucky for me, I had band practice that night!

So I raced home & installed it into my rack rig. My rig consists of the following...
Rocktron Chameleon (the KICKA$$ original blackface model) > BBE 482i Sonic Maximizer > Mesa Rectifier Stereo 2:One Hundred Poweramp > Behringer 4x12 Ultrastack straight cab (ran in stereo). Prior to the Mesa purchase, I was running a Rocktron Velocity 300. It is a fine amp & it delivered an absolutely KILLER tone for many years. With the Mesa in, I fired up my rig...

After adjusting the volume & presence knobs, I took my Drop-A tuned 7-string & hit my first big chord with my rhythm setting <think Meshuggah's "Destroy Erase Improve" tone>. WHAM!!!! Now's THAT's what I'm talking about! I've always had a big tone. In fact, almost a dozen local musicians have duplicated my guitar rig for their use after hearing my tone. However, now my rig is ridiculously HUGE sounding! After a few minutes of riffing, I switched over to my solo setting. In a word, AMAZING! I had tons of smooth sustain combined with incredible clarity. I loved how it was picking up the nuances of my pick attack. My clean setting was equally great. I have beautiful jazz chords that sing forever!

Just when I thought I had it all, I realized that when I was hooking up the Mesa, I disconnected my BBE. Oops! So, I hooked it up, cranked up the rig & OH MY GOD! I went from having "The Tone" to "THE GOD TONE!"

Overall, I am extremely impressed with the results. I guess a tube poweramp really does make all the difference. The tone I get from this amp just inspires me. I just play for hours on end now, which is something I haven't done in a while. Could it be the combination of my killer Chameleon tone into the Mesa? Or, does this mean I should consider a tube preamp as well? I don't know. All I do know is that this combination is a hands-down winner! I'm so glad I gave tubes a chance to prove themselves.

My new poweramp: http://mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/S...ereo2-100.html

Anyone have experiences like this?

bduersch · #2 01-23-2005, 07:12 PM

First of all... congrats! You got one heck of a deal on a 2:100, and if it's anything like the 2:90's I've had, it'll give you many years of faithful service.

I went through a similar experience a few years ago... I had been playing hybrid setups with tube preamps (e.g., Digitech 2101) through SS amps or modeling combos (e.g., Johnson JM150). For me, the main factor wasn't "tight, focused lows", but rather "versatility and flexibility"... I hadn't found anything all tube that gave me the # of options I needed.

At the time, the other guitar player in my band was also playing a JM150, and one day he got kinda fed up with how it sounded live & on recordings and traded it in on a Mesa Nomad. Immediately, the difference was noticable. A few weeks later, taking a pretty big chance, I sold the JM150 and got the Triaxis/2:90 setup I'd always wanted. It was night and day difference, and I knew I'd never go back. Since then, I've gone through a variety of tube amps (Mesa Mark IV, Nomad, Rectoverb, Marshall TSL, Egnater TOL)... all quite different, but each also pretty flexible on its own.

Love live tubes!
--B

darren wilson · #3 01-23-2005, 08:19 PM

Sounds familiar. Tubes were a bit of a minor revelation for me.

I was in the studio yesterday with my Peavey Classic 50/50 pegged on 10 in the other room, and i was getting some truly amazing tones. Like night and day compared to the rough tracks we recorded direct.

The singer/guitarist with whom i was working decided he wanted to track a couple of guitar parts as well, and we got just stellar tones running the studio's Washburn J9 thin hollowbody into a Tube Screamer reissue, then into my GT-6 with a mild Twin setting and out to the power amp and my G-Flex 212. It sounded spectacular. Even with the GT-6 bypassed, it was creamy and warm, but with a clear, "breathy" character to it.

desertdweller · #4 01-23-2005, 11:47 PM

The Rocktron Chameleon through a Mesa power amp is THE BEST COMBINATION IN THE WORLD. I have the same setup. Kickass purchase, man!

Did I need to mention again that you have great taste?

Vince LuPone
www.vincelupone.com

Drew · #5 01-24-2005, 12:40 PM

Congrats, man- good tone is one of the greatest things in the world, when you hit a powerchord and just can't keep the grin off your face.

*another Mesa devotee*

-D

revsharp777 · #6 01-24-2005, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertdweller

The Rocktron Chameleon through a Mesa power amp is THE BEST COMBINATION IN THE WORLD. I have the same setup. Kickass purchase, man!

Did I need to mention again that you have great taste?

Vince LuPone
www.vincelupone.com

Feel like trading some patches?

I'm really digging this combination...and so is my other guitar player. After hearing my new poweramp, he traded in his ancient Mesa 295 for a brand new 2:90. He had a great tone to begin with, but the 2:90 is just kills the 295. I'm thinking of upgrading to a Rocktron Prophesy soon.

The Dark Wolf · #7 01-25-2005, 01:19 PM

I always thought taking a good preamp tone (what YOU like, doesn't seem to matter if it's solid-state or tube. Myself, I prefer modelers) and run that into a good tube power amp/speaker combo, just like Darren Uses. Superior results.

revsharp777 · #8 01-29-2005, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Dark Wolf

I always thought taking a good preamp tone (what YOU like, doesn't seem to matter if it's solid-state or tube. Myself, I prefer modelers) and run that into a good tube power amp/speaker combo, just like Darren Uses. Superior results.

I always thought the same thing...until now! There's a MASSIVE differenceQ

Mo Fo · #9 02-01-2005, 06:56 PM

meshuggah? Now that's a serious band dude. With a serious sound. Try an 8 string guitar!

track7 · #10 02-01-2005, 07:16 PM

Congrats man! I wasted sooo much money on silly toys solid state processors, valvestate amps, hybrid rackmounts blah blah until I discovered that the pro's play mesa, bogner, soldano, peavey for a reason. The difference...well its already been said. I could never go back to solid state for live work.

Now in the studio..ha ha thats a whole other thing

I'm quite open to ways of getting stuff to disk. But up on stage under the lights you gotta have that glassy ooomff kicking you in the ass. No solid state or modellor has ever given me that!

RCB · #11 02-02-2005, 12:00 PM

Well, I guess I havent been converted yet. Ive tried/owned a couple of tube amps (5150, JCM800, JCM900 and a Dual Rectifier) and they always fail to impress me. I dont play Korn/messugah/new metal at all. Im more into older (but not vintage) sounds, mostly 80s hard rock sounds, distorted and clean. I never EVER used the amp distorsion, mostly because I like the versatility you get from an amp simulator/effects unit. So, I only care about the clean channel.

All the tube amps Ive tried seem to have a warmer but muddier sound. The sound "breaths", but it just doesnt sound as clear as a solid state. So, if you add the fact that tube amps are much more expensive, thats probably why I own a solid state stack.

I kinda understand that the guys that use their amp distiortion will always go for a tube amp, but if you only use the clean channel I dont think the tubes are much better than the solid state, just different.

Carlo · #12 02-02-2005, 10:30 PM

I have a Rocktron Chameleon and a Mesa 2:90......great combination for sure. Although I don't use it for heavy riffing. I mainly use it to get a very nice Holdsworth fusion tone....I love it!!

For heavier tones I use my Laney VH100R or my Bogner Ecstacy....just because it's easier to tweak and cleans up well.

wildealien · #13 02-03-2005, 12:59 AM

i went from a SS Crate 15w 1x10 to a Tube Mesa Nomad 45w 2x12, and i'm never going back!!!!

7 Dying Trees · #14 02-04-2005, 01:21 PM

Tubes are definately the way to go! There's just that snarl and power and ooomph behind them that you just dont seem to get with solid state/modellers. And especially the power amp. Tube power amps are a must

revsharp777 · #15 02-04-2005, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mo Fo

Try an 8 string guitar!

Been there, done that. Seriously. Designed it, built it, played it, sold it. Do a search for my old EKG 8-string. 7-strings are plenty for me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carlo

I have a Rocktron Chameleon and a Mesa 2:90......great combination for sure. Although I don't use it for heavy riffing. I mainly use it to get a very nice Holdsworth fusion tone....I love it!!

A Holdsworth patch?!?!?!? Dude, I must have that patch! Hook a brother up!