Guitar World/Guitarist article - seriously?

[screamingdaisy]

IMO, it seems like in most industries there's generally room for two major technologies.... the best, and a cheaper/more convenient alternative. It's why we have vinyl and streaming, yet 8 tracks, cassettes and CDs now belong in museums.

All digital has accomplished is that they figured out how to make something that sounded better than the shitty solid state amps they used to sell, which is why everyone sells tube amps yet it's near impossible to find a shitty solid state amp anymore.

[Beef]

I feel like some version of this article been written over and over again the past 20 years (and probably longer).

[Guitarbilly]

I feel like some version of this article been written over and over again the past 20 years (and probably longer).

Yep. SS amps then rack systems then the 1st Gen modelers everything was going to kill the amps until they didn't.

[macaronisalad]

Everything will become a "Pod" in the end. Tubes will reign supreme.

[Guitarbilly]

IMO, it seems like in most industries there's generally room for two major technologies.... the best, and a cheaper/more convenient alternative. It's why we have vinyl and streaming, yet 8 tracks, cassettes and CDs now belong in museums.

That's a very interesting observation. I think you're right about that.

[spawnofthesith]

Play what you like and nothing wrong with modellers....


but dorks who drop dumb takes like in the article clearly never get out to seeing live music on any level very much, nor ever step foot in a professional recording studio



The tonemaster shilling is amusing too, because as far as I can tell from digital guys its far and away the worst option out there and its release was a disappointing flop

[DFGrueban]

I think tube amps are losing footing overall. The younger generations are more likely to grow up in an apartment and not be able to afford both a tube amp, overdrive, and a cab in addition to effects and a place to play them. I think the playing field will be more leveled out now that there are things like the Friedman IR-X or the Bad Cat Rubicon. Basically tube amps that have IR loaders.

Fluff did a video on why we shouldn't make guitar amps sound like plugins. Basically the overall message is tone shaping is what makes tube amps so great. You have a platform and can mold it as you see fit. Younger generations want to go from one extreme to another with a click of one button which is more difficult on a tube amp natively.

I think it's less unlikely for the average 25 year old to have the multiple 50-100 watt tube amps like must of us did at that age. I think traditional tube amps might become more of a muscle car hobby in the next 10 years. I don't see tubes dying out anytime soon but I can see the tube amp industry needing to change drastically to keep up with the demands of generations younger than millennials.

[Guitarbilly]

I think tube amps are losing footing overall. The younger generations are more likely to grow up in an apartment and not be able to afford both a tube amp, overdrive, and a cab in addition to effects and a place to play them. I think the playing field will be more leveled out now that there are things like the Friedman IR-X or the Bad Cat Rubicon. Basically tube amps that have IR loaders.

Fluff did a video on why we shouldn't make guitar amps sound like plugins. Basically the overall message is tone shaping is what makes tube amps so great. You have a platform and can mold it as you see fit. Younger generations want to go from one extreme to another with a click of one button which is more difficult on a tube amp natively.

I think it's less unlikely for the average 25 year old to have the multiple 50-100 watt tube amps like must of us did at that age. I think traditional tube amps might become more of a muscle car hobby in the next 10 years. I don't see tubes dying out anytime soon but I can see the tube amp industry needing to change drastically to keep up with the demands of generations younger than millennials.

I think it depends on what you're doing. I play original hard rock music and my local scene is still 90% tube amps.

For the most part, the musical scenes that I see moving away from tubes are:

Cookie monster metal
Legacy bands like Journey/Metallica and their respective tribute acts etc
Cover/bar bands
Church

Other than that it's really business as usual for blues, rock, punk, jam bands, hipsters, country etc etc they're all using amps.

Look how many young blues players are coming up, Marcus King, Kingfish, Jared James Nichols, Samantha Fish etc they're not modeling players. The whole hipster/alternative scene like The Black Keys is all about lo-fi/analog. Doom/stoner rock is all amps... so is contemporary hard rock bands like Mammoth, Dirty Honey, DeWolff etc

So idk, there are some styles that are moving away from it .. but for the most part, amps are still out there.

There is definitely a move from bigger 50w/100w amps to smaller 20w lunchbox amps... Marshall, Friedman, PRS, Victory etc etc have all taken notice of that. And that makes sense since PAs are more efficient than ever. But as far as completely switching to digital, I don't see much of it except for very specific music styles/scenes....

[DFGrueban]

I think tube amps are losing footing overall. The younger generations are more likely to grow up in an apartment and not be able to afford both a tube amp, overdrive, and a cab in addition to effects and a place to play them. I think the playing field will be more leveled out now that there are things like the Friedman IR-X or the Bad Cat Rubicon. Basically tube amps that have IR loaders.

Fluff did a video on why we shouldn't make guitar amps sound like plugins. Basically the overall message is tone shaping is what makes tube amps so great. You have a platform and can mold it as you see fit. Younger generations want to go from one extreme to another with a click of one button which is more difficult on a tube amp natively.

I think it's less unlikely for the average 25 year old to have the multiple 50-100 watt tube amps like must of us did at that age. I think traditional tube amps might become more of a muscle car hobby in the next 10 years. I don't see tubes dying out anytime soon but I can see the tube amp industry needing to change drastically to keep up with the demands of generations younger than millennials.

I think it depends on what you're doing. I play original hard rock music and my local scene is still 90% tube amps.

For the most part, the musical scenes that I see moving away from tubes are:

Cookie monster metal
Legacy bands like Journey/Metallica and their respective tribute acts etc
Cover/bar bands
Church

Other than that it's really business as usual for blues, rock, punk, jam bands, hipsters, country etc etc they're all using amps.

Look how many young blues players are coming up, Marcus King, Kingfish, Jared James Nichols, Samantha Fish etc they're not modeling players. The whole hipster/alternative scene like The Black Keys is all about lo-fi/analog. Doom/stoner rock is all amps... so is contemporary hard rock bands like Mammoth, Dirty Honey, DeWolff etc

So idk, there are some styles that are moving away from it .. but for the most part, amps are still out there.

There is definitely a move from bigger 50w/100w amps to smaller 20w lunchbox amps... Marshall, Friedman, PRS, Victory etc etc have all taken notice of that. And that makes sense since PAs are more efficient than ever. But as far as completely switching to digital, I don't see much of it except for very specific music styles/scenes....

True, but that is just the gigging musicians which is not the entirety of musicians. Producers, bed room guitar heros, and people that play more than one instrument are moving to other forms of tone generation. Even people that own tube amps have tubeless travel rigs since they are less cumbersome to travel. I see tube amps as slowly becoming a more luxury item. Remember 10 years ago when 5150's, laney's and a majority of mesa boogies were under a grand in good shape? I just saw a laney GL50 for 1200 dollars in music go round. Since 2020 having a good amp and a decent backup is a lot more cost prohibitive.

I don't see guitar amps going away completely, but I do see them as becoming more of a niche item. Sort of like analog synthesizers in the synth world. Which I think is great because there are a tone of different options, and if you want one sound and for it to be loud and you have the space for it great! If you need more then there are options for that as well. Besides the good ol days when a jcm800 was under a grand I think we are in a great place as far is tone is considered. Tons of options for every budget and need. No more having to buy a plexi and a attenuator to play hack EVH riffs at whisper quiet levels like a majority of middle aged guys. Unless that is something someone enjoys and wants to spend their money doing that then no judgement from me.

[Guitarbilly]

Yeah I think tube amps have been a niche item for a long time. Even back when I started playing in the 80s, SA amps like Peavey Bandits, Crates outsold tube amps by a lot.

And yeah man, prices are still crazy for a lot of used gear. And supply is low too. Taking the Laney GH for example, I remember when they were 500 and easy to find in the used market. Now they're like 800-1000 and hard to come across even at those prices. Which probably means people that own them are not letting them go.

I also agree that tube amps are geared towards gigging musicians. If I was retired from gigging I'd be more than fine using some kind of SS or digital device for home playing.