bharper, i agreed that those are both good amps. i just dont like when people have a closed mind and wont consider SS, thats all. to each his own, we all have our opinions and nobody is right or wrong.
You know what? I'm seriously tempted to try one of these
Citing Smith, Estrin, Piazza etc demonstrates very clearly the kind of harp sound you favour (absolutely no criticism implied) - for that sound, grounded in the 50s style, 50s technology is the authentic choice. If that's the only sound the OP is interested in making then I guess a tube amp is the preferred option and the VHT the best bang for your buck (is it really hand wired p2p that cheap? wow!)
i find it fascinating that most every kind of technology, but especially computer technology, has advanced by leaps and bounds over the last 50 years. yet somehow, magically, the state of the art in amplification technology remains stuck in the 50's. they should fire all those amp engineers and hire a couple of computer geeks, try and catch up.
more seriously, i find statements like "SS will NEVER sound as good..." to be ludicrous. even if you don't feel they sound as good now, to make a blanket statement that such a thing will never be possible seems presumptuous, at best. we can model complex weather systems, nuclear explosions, the state of the universe in the first few microseconds after the big bang, but a 12ax7 is beyond our reach, ever? if you know that for fact, vs. opinion, you should be publishing in information theory journals, not on MBH.
"Since, the original poster wants a distorted tone, it's probably easier to buy a tube amp and learn how to use it than to spend time hunting for equipment that will provide the sound of a tube amp."
Playing through darn near any amp is going to be a discouraging thing for a beginner. Until a person has learned some skills and practiced a lot, sounding good amplified is highly unlikely.
I learned stuff the hard way. I wouldn't recommend traveling this route.
My first amp was a solid state Yamaha JX50. I spent a lot of time trying to working on microphone technique and my harp tone in an attempt to recreate the sounds that I was hearing on records. Getting some decent sound out of that amp required a lot of work and a lot of experimentation. In retrospect, it was a worthwhile exercise for me.
I had some experiences which also schooled me on equipment and playing skills very early on. Those experiences would be reinforced later as well.
Garry, digital technology has not replaced the piano, or the horn, or the strings, or the human voice. Emulations are getting better but most working musicians prefer the real thing, I think.
The 12AX7 is not the tone generator in your tube amp. The power tube, rectifier, and phase inverter have a lot more to do with the tone, and the interaction of all the components is a tricky thing to digitally duplicate. Good tube amps are designed by artisans, similar to master luthiers. I don't see computers building great guitars. Maybe someday, but not now.
hmmm What I am hearing is that Good Acoustic tone, Then buy a Small good amplifier. especially a Tube Amplifiers. i could always buy Solid state later. honestly. I just want to blow on my harmonica, nothing else. I think that is important. just to have fun with our harmonica playing regardless how we sound, amplified. Acoustically obviously we need to sound good.
"I learned stuff the hard way. I wouldn't recommend traveling this route."
I agree totally with Joe. I wish we'd had the internet when I started playing harmonica. I could of learnt lots of things that took me years to discover by myself and saved a load of money in the process.
Pakman450 - There is a lot of good advice on this thread from some very knowledgeable folk. I'd suggest taking your mic to the local music stores and trying out the different options available in your price range and see which you prefer the sound of. Also try getting some local harp players to let you try playing through their rig so you can get a feel for things.
Regarding the Solid State vs valve debate. There will always be people who prefer one over the other. To me though the fact that the overwhelming majority of players both professional and amateur who prefer to use valve amps, speaks volumes about which is better for the instrument. This applies to the modern stylists as well as though of us stuck in the old school style of playing.
Last Edited by on Aug 18, 2011 10:13 PM
i think part of the problem is that there are really 3 types: tube (vht), solid state (peavey bandit), and modeling amp (vox vt-30 or fender mustang). i think that some of the complaints against SS amps are based on old technology, and may not apply to the current generation of modeling amps.
i used to play through a peavey bandit. good aA3-E0C2-C556-17C4BA8D511877DD
I've played through a lot of technology over the years. Including a lot of the new modeling amps and multi effects systems. Some of them do indeed come close to the valve sound, but still not close enough. The differences are subtle, but they do exist. There are certain things that valves do to the amlified sound of harmonica that the modern technology still can't recreate at this time. Even though it's admittedly getting closer. This is why valve technology is still the first choice for the vast majority of harp players.
Every modeling amp (inc Peavey, Fender, Line 6, Vox) that I have played through with harp only has about two settings that work well for harp (for my style/taste). I would only buy one if I played guitar (which I do). The modeling amp to me are more of a toy. Fun to play with and you can get a nice tone. There are some SS amps that work well for harp and sound great. But overall still lacking. I find them a little more prone to fedback issues. That could have more to do with how I like to play though. I still prefer valve amps for both harp and guitar. I have an Epi V JR Hot Rod. I've played through a VHT and perfer the VHT.
@RT123: I'm not a a tube amp snob! But... generally speaking I think tube amps do sound better for harp and guitar, and that solid state amps make good keyboard and acoustic guitar amps!
I know a pro harp player who will play a solid state amp on smaller pub type gigs. I asked him about it and he told me that it's a lot lighter and more compact than his Super Reverb and gets the job done. That being said, he also said that his tube amps do sound better. The only harp player that I know who plays a solid state amp exclusively is Billy Branch (Peavey Special 130). He told me he does so 'cuz he was looking for a different sound (a cleaner sound) than everyone else. ----------
Kingley-are those stock tubes as well? I don't need to tell you this, of course, but for Pakman's sake, simple tube upgrades to an amp such as this can make serious and easy improvements on their own. Most amps come with the cheapest available power and preamp tubes. Spend 30 bucks or so for new tubes(if you play a tube amp, you should own spares anyway)and you'll hear a noticeable difference over the stock tubes. Plenty of threads on here cover the VHT tube swaps in particular. I think HarpNinja gets the credit for trailblazing with this amp. ---------- Todd L. Greene
Todd - Yes it's completely stock I haven't done any alterations to it at all. The stock tubes sound fine. So I didn't see the point in changing them in this instance. Yeah Mike Fugazzi (HarpNinja) has a whole lot of information on modding the VHT. Here's his blog on it: Mike's Blog
So too does a guy called Jim R. Here's his site on modding the VHT: Jimdramps VHT
Last Edited by on Aug 20, 2011 9:33 AM
You can't change the input gain easily on a SS amp. Most amps are set up for a guitar signal. Being able to change the gain can be a real advantage for us mic using players. Also,if you buy something like a VHT, you might hold on to it as your small amp, even if you buy a bigger amp.
