Solid-State Amplifiers VS. Tube Amplifiers

Buying a guitar or bass amp can be a daunting task, especially if you've never done it before. Here are a few tips to help you with you purchase!

1. Quality of sound: Tubes and transistors (solid state) amps have different tonal qualities. Tubes have a history reaching as far back as the beginning of the 20th century. When warmed up, tubes have what is described as a "warm" tone. Their abilities to make minute distortions (in the third and fifth harmonics) is what we as humans attribute to a good tone. Some report that guitars plugged into tube amps will "sing" more and have more sustain, possibly due to the response in the higher harmonics.

Solid-state amps do not activate these higher harmonics in the same way as tube amps. What they will do though, is produce a "clearer" tone, giving a true representation to the sound without any coloration, as tubes do.

2. Size: Tubes are made of glass and are very delicate. They also are quite heavy when stacked together. Transistors are very small and can fit into tight spaces, making solid-state amps lighter in general.

3. Warm-up time: Solid-state amps are ready to be played as soon as the on switch is flicked. Tube amps will be ready to play in about 20 seconds after turning it on, but this will not result in the best quality of tone. The tubes need anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes to warm up in order to give the best sound.

4. Price: Solid-state amps are generally cheaper because transistors are more commonly used today than tubes. Many beginner amps are solid state and can start as cheap as $30 and go upwards to thousands of dollars. Tube amps rarely start below about $400, however it is usually even more expensive. Most quality tube amps will not be less than $1,000.