Hughes Kettner

Hughes Kettner

Why is there (supposedly) so MUCH difference in today's tube amps if most of them use the same tubes?

Most of the modern day amps use a combo of 12AX7s and 6L6s or sometimes EL84s to drive the amps tone and typically the same sized speakers (for example, two 15s or four 10s). Sure, some of the speakers may or may not be higher end. Celestions, I guess, are pretty sought after for clarity. Which leads me back to my original question, if most of today's tube amps (Mesa/Boogie, Soldano, Marshall, Peavey, Hughes and Kettner, Crate) have similar components, then why does everyone claim that they all sound so much different from one another. There are little nuances in sound that make them slightly different sounding, but really, at the end of the day are they THAT much different from each other?

Absolutely!

Its not the size of your tube, its how you use it. *grin*

Seriously, though, tubes are tubes, just like transistors are transistors.... you use 'em a certain way, you get a certain result. Aside from the very different tonal qualities of different cabs and speakers, amps use gain stages and EQ in different combinations to get their tone.

Probably the biggest difference between amps is how much gain they apply to the signal, and what they do to the signal in-between all that amplification. With the understanding that each preamp tube has two sides, each of which can amplify the signal, early amps only had one tube and some tone controls. The classic Fender "tweeds" are examples of this. They're relatively clean, with a relatively tame degree of gain and distortion.

Two gain stages (one tube) became three, then four or more, over the years, as guitarists began wanting more and more gain on tap in search of even harder and crunchier tones. Mesa Boogie, for instance, has 4 or 5 gain stages in many of their amps. Other amps even go further - there's a Soldano with 6, iirc.

More gain stages means more distortion - but distortion isn't everything. The other half of the equation is what you do with the signal in between all that gain, and especially when you add more gain stages, that makes a lot of the difference in your end tone. The tone controls are pretty important too, as they impart characteristic sounds as well. A Fender/Marshall/Vox tone stack will sound different than a Big Muff style tone control, for instance! A bit of a silly comparison, as most tone stacks are based on FMV, but it paints the picture.

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Hmm. Well, if you aren't a guitarist or a musician or don't have the immediate experience of being around and/or playing with different guitar amps, you won't have the background to hear the differences either.

It would be kinda like me saying "Toyota? That's basically the same as a Mazda, right?" to a car lover! To me, they kinda are the same - I can drive them from point A to point B, and beyond that I don't really care all that much.

So I'm not sure what your perspective is, but I've given a moderately technical response. As a guitarist and musician, I absolutely guarantee that there is a vast difference between the characteristic tones of a Marshall and Mesa Boogie, for instance. In fact, the trademark tones of those brands (the JCM800 and the Dual Rectifier) are two of my favorite tones, and ones I constantly refer back to when I'm dialing in my gear.... but they're very different, from the number of gain stages to how much more bass the Marshall cuts.

Its also worth mentioning that everything starts to sound the same when you've got the gain on 10.

*grin*

Saul

Hughes & Kettner Switchblade part 1

Hughes Kettner

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