Solid State and Tube together?

MixedSignals · 12th July 2011

Wondering if anyone started out with a solid state, a "starter" amp, but didn't get the kind of depth/warmth of tube, so got a tube head and either ran the line out of the solid to the tube (which i am assuming would be better) or vice-v.
I have a Marshall 15W, and had an OLD what i think was a keyboard amp and really sounded nice as well as loud rather than thru the Marshalls. Maybe it was the speaker, or was the gain staging...
Basically, it's having a little more variation/gain without having a full stack, which isn't practical as far as room and cost.
Or do i just turn the amp up louder?

Kiwi · 15th July 2011

Many of the classic rock gods used to used Treble Booster pedals in front of their tube amps. Basically, it was a transistor pre-amp with eq which helped to reduce the mud, boost the highs and boost the gain to drive the first tube in the amp. It's basically what you are doing.

To take it to the next level, you could buy a classy treble booster from Analog man or Keely.

Combining solidstate and tubes has been around since transistors were invented. Classic Fuzz boxes are solidstate - there were even some old Marshal amps that used solidstate diodes for distortion.

It would probably surprise you how many of the coveted "tube amp" tones from classic rock records were actually solid state amps or DI. Including some from the Beatles, Zep, Creedence, Def Leppard, etc, etc.

Use whatever you have that works. Running one amp into another (which would horrify most engineers) has worked for some huge legends - thinking of Ray Davies (Kinks) and Neil Young (Hurricane solo).

12th July 2011	#1
MixedSignals Gear maniac Joined: Jul 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 244 Thread Starter	Solid State and Tube together? Wondering if anyone started out with a solid state, a "starter" amp, but didn't get the kind of depth/warmth of tube, so got a tube head and either ran the line out of the solid to the tube (which i am assuming would be better) or vice-v. I have a Marshall 15W, and had an OLD what i think was a keyboard amp and really sounded nice as well as loud rather than thru the Marshalls. Maybe it was the speaker, or was the gain staging... Basically, it's having a little more variation/gain without having a full stack, which isn't practical as far as room and cost. Or do i just turn the amp up louder? __________________ www.5AMconductions.com

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15th July 2011	#2
Kiwi Lives for gear Joined: Feb 2009 Posts: 3,204	Many of the classic rock gods used to used Treble Booster pedals in front of their tube amps. Basically, it was a transistor pre-amp with eq which helped to reduce the mud, boost the highs and boost the gain to drive the first tube in the amp. It's basically what you are doing. To take it to the next level, you could buy a classy treble booster from Analog man or Keely. Combining solidstate and tubes has been around since transistors were invented. Classic Fuzz boxes are solidstate - there were even some old Marshal amps that used solidstate diodes for distortion. It would probably surprise you how many of the coveted "tube amp" tones from classic rock records were actually solid state amps or DI. Including some from the Beatles, Zep, Creedence, Def Leppard, etc, etc. Use whatever you have that works. Running one amp into another (which would horrify most engineers) has worked for some huge legends - thinking of Ray Davies (Kinks) and Neil Young (Hurricane solo).