Anyone switch to SS Amps over the years??

[Daniel Elam]

This was my view this morning. Solid state...sort of.

I went through a bunch of tube amps and pedals over the years like most people do. For the past 4 years I’ve been able to focus my GAS on guitars. I really like the Helix. It’s a great all in one solution for me. At home I run it through a pair of 8” Mackie powered monitors.

 

[helmi]

Solid what?

 

[dmatthews]

All SS for many years.

Went to Bose L1 classic in 2005 and Bose F1 and sub in 2019. Transparent 100%. Lets the guitar
come through unadulterated.

People think I'm nuts, I'm only doing what I like. 2000w of line array and sub is fun!

I ran my Kemper and my vocals through a Bose L1 for over a year. Nice.

 

[dmatthews]

I have gone around the block a couple of times.
Various Pods through a PA, Hot Rod Deluxe, PRS H, PRS Custom 50, and Kemper.
I'll never sell the Custom 50 that's for sure, but I'm almost exclusively playing the Kemper with Kabinet right now.

 

[Wakester]

I've only used SS amps. I originally had a Roland Cube, which was an awesome modeling amp. Then I went to a Peavey Transtube, it sounded really sweet on both the clean and lead channels, but was meant to be loud and I don't need loud. And, it belonged to the Church, so I had to give it back. Now, I mostly play through a Boss Katana 100 set on the lowest wattage possible. I do have an Orange Micro Terror that has a tube pre-amp, but the Katana is my primary.

 

[Boogie]

There are a bunch of really nice tube amps in my fort, but a Kemper has been carrying me thru gigs and gig-less situations for several years. When I do play out, the Kemper is a breeze and 100% predictable.

Playing the Kemper thru HeadRush FRFR112s and have been very happy.

 

[CandidPicker]

Had been playing/practicing with HeadRush Gigboard & Expression Pedal & 2x HeadRush FRFR108s. Soon to replace Gigboard / Expression Pedal with Fractal FM3. Will wait until I saved up cash for either or both an Expression Pedal / FC6 foot switcher.

 

[LunarRock]

I am a home player and use the Helix software, either native through laptop or HX stomp on small pedal board, into a powercab

Valve amps are great but overkill for me and the ones I had required a little too much volume to sound good. I really love the Helix interface and saves me money on pedals too.

 

[zerolight]

I've gone back and forth over the years between modellers and valve amps. I sold of a Mesa Rectoverb about bough an Axe FX Ultra way back, and I enjoyed it as a home device, but it was never quite as good as the rectorverb, even at bedroom levels. I then sold the Ultra and bought a PWE Event Horizon 3, and that thing, in a practice room, was spectacular - though it's FX loop wasn't very good. But at bedroom levels it was just fine, and I'm not a stellar player, so my wife's view of the tone at bedroom levels was, I'm sure, different than mine.

I sold the PWE and went to Axe FX II XL and haven't looked back. I had a brief spell on Helix and Kemper whilst waiting for my FM3 (I sold the AxFx2 to fund it, but it was delayed a year). The Helix was terrible - funny how we all hear things differently, it just sounded digital to me. The Kemper, I loved some profiles - TopJimi LeeJackson Plexi and the TopJimi SLO100 were awesome, as were a few clean amps from AmpFactory, but for the most part I found that I didn't get on with other peoples profiles. The FM3 has me pretty happy.

If I gigged, I'd have an amp. Maybe. For home use, the FM3 covers everything I need.

 

[11top]

The original Vetta is the one solid state amp (other than Kemper and Headrush) I still noodle around with at home. Run through a George Lynch Genz Benz cabinet, it sounds relatively good, and it’s so easy to plug into for immediate tuning and sound. I keep thinking it’s going to die of old age, but it’s an ol’ warhorse.

 

[tdarian]

I really like the new Quilter Aviator Cub.

 

[GuitarJammin]

I have tried and I have failed.

 

[Barquentine]

I gigged for three years with my Yamaha THR100 Dual and loved it. It was better for my needs than my Cornford Roadhouse which was a very nice valve amp. The Yamaha is a digital amp designed for gigging. Two identical amps in one. Set it up as a two channel amp or run two different amps together. No pre-sets, no menus. Great for anyone who wants their amp to behave and respond like a traditional amp. It does the vintage to hot-rodded Marshall thing better than most Marshall amps I've owned or played.

 

[Ovibos]

Another Katana 100 user here.
.5 watts at home, 50 at rehearsals and shows. Never needed to fully unleash the beast.

 

[NBW]

I am tempted to try a DV Mark Jazz maybe the 50 or 60 head. I really only play clean.

 

[GraphicGoose]

I actually don't even own an amp these days. Helix Rack and Control through some Adam A7X's over here. I'm a home studio guy, so this works well for me and I don't need to blow my eardrums out to get a decent sound.

 

[Dicey]

I've got a Roland Micro Cube I use for improptu practicing. Been pretty happy with what I can get out of that I'm in the process of looking into something like a Strymon Iridium for headphone playing. Still trying to decide what I'd do with that setup as the idea of a dedicated preamp pedal is appealing. Other option is something like the Suhr Reactive Load on my current tune amp.

 

[Joesnewmatch]

Not all amps are created equal, solid state or tube.

My number one go-to amp is a vintage 1966 Princeton Reverb and after lots of trial and error I find that it is the best suited amp for my style of playing, which is primarily clean, with different shades of boost, drive, or dirt. I also use a Helix LT (adding all FXs and also various amp/cab/combos for added color) and find that the full-analog and digital worlds are a perfect pairing.

Over the years, I have also loved using my Roland Cube and Yamaha THR10C as a practice amps and always wanted a bigger SS amp, but never really liked the options -- at least until recently. I just added a Quilter Micropro Mach 2 8" combo as a backup, but it can serve as a primary amp and then some. The amp provides lots of options on foundational tone (lots of different basic amp flavors) that result in various shades of clean. It can also can produce very good overdrive and dirt from the boost channel, limiter, and related voicing, with a truly excellent EQ section. It also handles FX really well.

So either of these setups work for me. The SS amp is just a little less sparkly, if that make sense, but I just view that as another flavor to choose from. Shoot, I could play with just the Helix, too, but I like having an amp in the mix for feel and response.

 

[Patrick Montgomery]

I love my Kemper for live stuff, it’s just easy. But I still prefer my Mesa tube amps and the ones I build myself. Maybe because I know what’s going on inside of them and can mod them how I want, it’s a fun hobby. But I can’t imaging going back to an 80lb Mark V combo live when the Kemper is so light and easy.

 

[Aahzz]

Well, after watching a TON of comparison videos over the past few days, I have a Silver Stripe Bandit inbound, just ordered from GC Used. Still has the power amp in, differences seem to be slim between red and silver. Looking forward to its arrival....

Well, the Bandit arrived from GC today, really badly packed. Just shoved in a big box with a bunch of packing peanuts. The box was well battered in its travels as well. Pulled the amp out, it still looked great. Plugged it in, all the pots are scratchy and the volume on the dirty channel kept dropping out. So, it went right back to the local GC (due to the volume dropouts, I'd've cleaned the scratchy pots) and the search resumes...