sergiodeblanc
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- Apr 26, 2012
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They’re all authors too.All the more reason I'm glad I don't watch TV or go to movies.
They’re all authors too.All the more reason I'm glad I don't watch TV or go to movies.
Well said.The title of this thread is, 'Is It time to start considering solid state?'
The answer is no.
Sorry, solid state apologists. It's never time to start considering solid state.
That may be the case where you live, but it is not what I am seeing here in the Baltimore/Washington DC Metro Area and the Mid-Atlantic by extension. We have have a very tech savvy population of early adopters. We also have the highest concentration of college graduates in the nation. It is very difficult to compete here without a college degree of some sort. A college degree is almost like having a high school diploma in other parts of the country. It barely opens the door. I have seen crazy things like young guitarists using a cell phone for amp like with iRig.Listen, I love the convenience my modeler gives me. I see more now than I used to. But tube amps are still the thing among pro players of all ages. Modeling is making inroads to that, and the I think younger players are more open to it as an option, but it’s still a minority. Yes, it’s old technology. Like a six-stringed guitar, it still works better for what it does than anything else. That’s why they try to model it. But it’s hardly the domain of boomers and Luddites.
Good points! The education levels you reference likely do influence the tech-seeking musician scene, and it is a world away from the touring circuits of the southern parts of the country. Blues, southern rock, country, and the more blue collar heartland music are big on tradition, even in the university bands. So you’re points are applicable to your area, and mine to mine, as might be suspected.That may be the case where you live, but it is not what I am seeing here in the Baltimore/Washington DC Metro Area and the Mid-Atlantic by extension. We have have a very tech savvy population of early adopters. We also have the highest concentration of college graduates in the nation. It is very difficult to compete here without a college degree of some sort. A college degree is almost like having a high school diploma in other parts of the country. It barely opens the door. I have seen crazy things like young guitarists using a cell phone for amp like with iRig.
I knew things were changing in a big way when I saw Mike McHenry using a Quilter 101 and cab last year. Mike is fairly old school. He has been using a blackface Bassman that was installed into a 1x12 combo cabinet for a very long time. Timmy Metz also switched from using a Rockerverb to using a Katana. JD Bradshaw, a staple at Experience, has been using Quilter amps for a few years. Sure there are others who are holding on to their tube gear, but guys like me are no longer taking work because, for the most part, tube amp repair has been a side hustle/hobby for engineers and technicians for over twenty years, so finding a qualified local repair guy who will listen and do board-level repairs is becoming more difficult. The major repair shop in the area usually does entire board swaps, which can be costly. More and more bands who gig the Annapolis area are doing so with silent stages. It no longer matter of if solid-state and digital modeling will replace tube-type gear, but more so a matter of when.
In my humble opinion (and it is just that), Russia is not coming back from this fiasco any time soon. They will be a pariah on the world stage until things change in a big way in that country, which means that I would not bank on new production tubes coming out of Russia any time in the next two years at least. We still have a lot of old and new production stock, but that stock is being hoarded like toilet paper, flour, and yeast was during 2020. Guitar Center has pulled all of their tubes from their shelves. The remaining stock that is for sale will command a premium price. I will give JJ five years at most before the cost of labor makes tube production too expensive in that country. That is part of the problem Mike Matthews has been facing, the rising cost of labor. Labor arbitrage only works as long as the country in which labor is being arbitraged has limited options for workers.
So, reading between the lines, what I'm hearing is that one of the big boys like say Fender, needs to open a tube production plant in Mexico. I'm all for that.It no longer matter of if solid-state and digital modeling will replace tube-type gear, but more so a matter of when.
It is not going to happen. Vacuum tube production has an entire metallury ecosystem that is not easily replicated due to the fact that the equipment has not been manufactured for decades. I cannot believe how tightly people are holding onto outdated technology. Musicians were not this conservative in the late eighties/early nineties when musical equipment manufacturers were moving away from tube-type gear.So, reading between the lines, what I'm hearing is that one of the big boys like say Fender, needs to open a tube production plant in Mexico. I'm all for that.
I'm only holding on to the tone. As soon as anything else is "as good" I'll gladly move on.I cannot believe how tightly people are holding onto outdated technology.
You seem to have a real issue understanding that people have opinions that differ from yours, and that there’s not one thing “wrong” with them if they do.I cannot believe how tightly people are holding onto outdated technology.
Noting that like Steve, I play my modelers 95% of the time. So while I don't have a "lifetime stash" of tubes, hopefully this makes them last longer.I'm only holding on to the tone. As soon as anything else is "as good" I'll gladly move on.
My Kemper and Headrush get 95% of my playing time these days (and I have some nice tube amps).