Bangbang Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 This is an awsome amp for the money. I think I will get an Epuphone 5 watt Tube soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cGil Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Hmmm. "Tube-like tone". Sorry, not too many folks around here will be marching in that parade and praising "tube-like" simulations. Glad to hear you like it though. For the money, however, you could've bought two VJr heads and had genuine tube tone in stereo. For the discriminating ear, there is a world of difference between "tube-like" and the real thing and not even modeled simulations can fully recreate it. Even Line 6 knows this, as evidenced by their recent collaboration with Bogner. Once you experience a few truly fine examples of the real thing in all their glory, nothing less will suffice. No transtube circuit or digital model will every be able to really capture the true essence of a '59 Bassman, or a Deluxe, or a Twin, or a Plexi, or a JCM800, or a Boogie, or a Trainwreck, or a BadCat, or any of that stuff. But it's pretty easy to take a cheep Champ-type tube amp like the VJr and tweak it till it's got a voice as sweet as the top shelf boutique amps. That's why we buy VJr's and mod the snot out of 'em! Gil... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 I know how he feels though. I went through several solid state practice amps.. and each time having chosen between a few, I felt I was happy with what I had. Then I'd choose another. Then I got a VJ. Then I got another VJ! Now I want.. another VJ and a 15W Blackheart. He would have to take care of ground issues and have at least two speakers. So maybe his bandit money wouldn't quite stretch. but I've played mine together, and even as a true novice at modding, they sure do a great job. My Marshall SS was easy to resell.. hardly any loss. the behringer, which cost less and performed better, being bigger with more options, sold way cheap. I noticed Worms VJ only got two hundred bucks, and he'd made quite a few hard mods, plus upgraded tubes and OT, plus grille work, etc. Really kinda sad, that amp probably sounds really good. But there you go. If you're buying for resale value, tone plays second fiddle. Worms amp with a single twelve would probably blow the snot out of most 30 watt twin speaker solid state amps for tone and volume. with fewer bells and whistles, it still has strong options on it's tone, and use, too. so whatever a bandit goes for.. there's still what you wind up with. BUT I used those solid states, and I'll defend them, too. So easy to layer your sound to the music room jam.. so easy to flip knobs and switches and nice to have built in efx, or tons of patch access. A good little solid state amp is darned handy, practical, and can sound pretty good, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strangedogs Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 I have 3 tube amps and 2 SS - my old ROLAND (80's) DAC-50XD is an amazing SS amp. The cleans are clean as a whistle - loud as hell and when you add some chorus and delay (all built-in as well as Flanger too) it's a poor mans Jazz Chorus... I use a ME pedal with it to get some really nice METAL too - I love my tubers and my SS amps too - they all serve a purpose to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpkg Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 I love my tubers and my SS amps too - they all serve a purpose to me. I agree. I Love tube amps, but I also love the sound greg ginn gets. and he is all solid state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 I agree. I Love tube amps' date=' but I also love the sound greg ginn gets. and he is all solid state.[/quote'] Dimebag, Allan Holdsworth and Ty Tabor used SS to get a very distintive sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpkg Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Dimebag and Ty Tabor used SS to get a very distintive sound. yeah. I never really like panteras music, but the sound was awesome. BTW, your avatar scares me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 yeah. I never really like panteras music' date=' but the sound was awesome. BTW, your avatar scares me! :) [/quote'] You may not care for the music, but you can still appreciate the sound. I just realised this holds true for a lot of stuff... About the avatar...I'm sorry...in so many ways... The Bandit. I had an early version. Sounded great to my ears. Sold my Marshall Silver Jubilee halfstack. Great full up, but really a 1 trick-pony. Needed the money and The Bandit was adequate, albeit a bit lacking in the cool-department.:-) Traded the Bandit for a Fender Super112. It had tubes and a Fender label, so it had to be better, right? I think that's when the tone-hunt started... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-theory Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 SS works for some. For those that either play all clean, aren't familiar with and don't care about power tube distortion, only play at home and aren't able to get real loud, or who want the most maintenance free amp they can get, SS is the best route. They can actually sound pretty good at low to moderate volumes. It's at stage volume that they tend to get harsh, and tend to get lost in the mix. As for resale values, I personally think that amps are about the worst thing one could buy for the sole purpose of investment. If a particular model appreciates, it's generally very gradual, over a period of several years. Other than freaks like the Dumble, I can't personally think of a single vintage amp that's increased much beyond inflationary adjustments over the decades. Even the holy grails, the '59 Bassman and the very first Marshalls, go for very little above what the inflation-adjusted cost new was. Certainly not enough to be considered a valid investment vehicle. Now, if you could snag one for $100 or so today, that's an entirely different story, but that's a lottery win, not an investment vehicle. If you're buying amps and guitars in the hopes of making money when you sell them, you're most likely going to end up disappointed. Sure, you'll possibly make near, at, or slightly above what you paid for them originally, some decades later, but again, figure the inflation-adjusted net gain, and you'll most often find that you'd have been better off having money in a savings account. You want a "sure thing?" Shell out $7,000 or so for a brand new, heritage shop Les Paul with beautiful, flawless figuring and pristine craftsmanship, seal it in an environmentally neutral setting, and don't touch it for 40-50 years. You'll probably be able to retire on what you make from selling it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpkg Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 You may not care for the music' date=' but you can still appreciate the sound. I just realised this holds true for a lot of stuff... ..[/quote'] dave matthews comes to mind too. like the sound, dont like the music. solid state i understand is also very much sought after by some jazz players. it really does all depend on what you want to do. I wouldn't think of SS for texas blues, but for jazz, or maybe even funk, why not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cGil Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Oh, I won't deny there is a place for SS; fx pedals come to mind, and the Roland JC series amps are undeniably popular for very good reasons. But for me, whether clean or crunchy, the simple fact is that tubes rule when it comes to making music sound truly musical! Gil... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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