What do you use to warm up a solid state amp?

Ron Whitworth · From: Yuma,Ariz.USA Yeah they say it's a DRY heat !!

If you like the sound of tube amps & are using a solid state amp, what do you use to warm it up?
What sounds closest to a tube amp to you?
Is it a stomp box pedal or a black box or what?
Thanks .. Ron
_________________
"Tone is in the hands. Unless your wife will let you buy a new amp. Then it's definitely in that amp."

We need to turn the TWANG up a little

It's not what you play through, it's what you play through it.

They say that tone is all in the fingers...I say it is all in your head Smile

Some of the best pieces of life are the little pieces all added up..Ron

the value of friendship. Old friends shine like diamonds, you can always call them and - most important - you can't buy them.

Steve English · From: Baja, Arizona

caja negro de Sarno.

Ken Fox · From: Nashville GA USA

My all new tube reverb unit will do the job as well and give you a variable input impedance, a tube buffer with gain from just below to above unity gain and a great tube reverb to boot!

Nicholai Steindler · From: New York, USA

I've completely fallen in love with Electroharmonix line of pedals that use actual 12ax7's. They make my tube amps sound more like a tube amp, doesn't really matter what I use, really nice products. I even plug-in my little AC 30 amp plug so I can listen to headphones through one of them with the good tube sound.

Of course I'm sure Ken's unit will do the same, but since I haven't played one I won't swear on a Bible. Feel like sending me one for free Ken? Looks delightful, be happy to endorse it then. Mr. Green

bottom line is run through a tube product that is not a piece of junk that puts proper voltage to the tubes and lets you get a somewhat clean sound you'll be okay probably.

Ken Fox · From: Nashville GA USA

Gosh, I was hoping for an endorsement from Buddy E. but maybe you might be the man!

Ron Whitworth · From: Yuma,Ariz.USA Yeah they say it's a DRY heat !!

Hello Ken;
Those new tube reverb units look great!!!
Thanks for the info on them.

Has anyone tried/used either of the newer Fender/Boss
pedals?? They have one for a '65 Fender Deluxe Reverb & one for a '59 Fender Bassman amp.

Or has some one used something else that could get the Fender clean sound out of a ss amp?

Thanks for reading & any input you have.. Ron
_________________
"Tone is in the hands. Unless your wife will let you buy a new amp. Then it's definitely in that amp."

We need to turn the TWANG up a little

It's not what you play through, it's what you play through it.

They say that tone is all in the fingers...I say it is all in your head Smile

Some of the best pieces of life are the little pieces all added up..Ron

the value of friendship. Old friends shine like diamonds, you can always call them and - most important - you can't buy them.

Jason Hull · Posted 20 Jul 2010 4:49 pm

I use a hot plate to warm them up, and a MAPP torch when I need them really hot Winking

Brad Sarno · From: St. Louis, MO USA

Shameless plug:

http://www.sarnomusicsolutions.com/products/sgbb.html

A good sonic example of how the Black Box's tube circuit warms up a solid state amp can be heard on Willie Nelson's "You Don't Know Me: Songs of Cindy Walker". This is the sound of Buddy Emmons using a Black Box into a Nashville 112. Soon after that, he switched to the Revelation Tube Preamp as a full tube preamp front end but still using the Nashville 112 as the power amp/speaker combo.

Personally, I'm still kind of drooling over Ken's new tube reverb box.... Either way, tubes are the very obvious solution to your query. Besides vacuum tubes, I don't know of any other means of truly achieving a nice, musical warmth while retaining a sweet and clear treble. Many devices try to emulate or fake the sound of tubes, but nothing really pulls it off like the real thing.

B

Mike Neer · From: NJ

I've always liked solid state amps and I find that experimenting with different speakers really helps me take control of the amps sound and warm it up in place where it may be a bit harsh. Also, sometimes using a less efficient speaker will bring out some of the lower mids, something that will instantly warm up your sound.
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Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links

Kelvin Monaghan · From: Victoria, Australia

I have used Vox AC 30 tube amps almost exclusively since the mid 60's but in the last few years the weight got to me,I now use a 70's Roland Super Cube 60 modded with a Celestion Vintage 30 speaker the amp uses fet transistors and is very tube like.Not to be confused with those horrible digital cubes.Now after trying all types of tube preamps,reverbs etc they all sort of warm up the tone but not quite,enter my newly acquired Blackbox,this has to be the best piece of hardware everyone should own,all the sparkle I am used to with my Vox is there even that nice touch sensitivity,plenty has been written about this wonderful gadjet so I won't repeat.If you want tube sparkle ,touch and tone from a SS amp just get a Blackbox you won't be dissappointed.I mostly play a B6 Ricky and Tele both sound wonderful. Kelvin

Ken Fox · From: Nashville GA USA

For simplicity the Black Box is the way to go for sure. I compared it to the tube reverb on the scope and both do pretty much the same as a buffer. Also, kudos to Brad on a fine product!

Another way is to slow roast the solid state amp over a bed of nice bed of coals with with some Hickory chips for better flavor!!!

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

Some years ago Peavey made a unit called the "Tube Sweetener".
It was designed to do just what you are wanting, to warm up the sound of a solid state amp.

William Lake · From: Ontario, Canada

Quote
Has anyone tried/used either of the newer Fender/Boss
pedals?? They have one for a '65 Fender Deluxe Reverb & one for a '59 Fender Bassman amp.

I bought one off eBay and will be here in a day or so. I'll let you know what I think. It is the Deluxe Reverb emulator.
_________________
Bill

Don Drummer · From: West Virginia, USA

Rev Pre for me Very Happy

Dennis Wallis · From: Arkansas

Blue Tube !

Tom Wolverton · From: Carpinteria, CA

I tried the Boss bassman pedal. Not so warm to me. OK, but not great. I like the Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Classic pedal for tube warmth on the bandstand. Its a bit dirty. For clean, warm steel, I'm guess the SGBB is the best best. I gotta get one soon. For recording direct into a board, I've had decent results with one of those cheepo ART Tube preamps, but no luck live with one.
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To write with a broken pencil is pointless.

Dan Tyack · From: Olympia, WA USA

Ray McCarthy · From: New Hampshire, USA

I've been using a Behringer modeling preamp called the "Tube Ultragain Mic200". It uses the same 12-ax7 tube the Black Box uses. I've been using the "warm/keyboard" setting and really like the results.
Costs about 60 bucks.

William Lake · From: Ontario, Canada

The Boss Deluxe Reverb pedal arrived today, finally. Now I know why they call it snail mail Laughing

I am underwhelmed. The reverb, which is why I wanted it, seems ok. Very spring reverbish.
The rest of the features are less than exciting. It preamps too much and overdrives my input unless I keep the gain WAAAY down. It seems to have that raunchy tube sound if that is what you want. I don't.
Kinda think it is going back on eBay.
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Bill

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

I think the problem we're having here is the confusion about the different Boss/Fender stomp boxes.
The pedal that we need to be looking at is the Boss FRV-1 Fender '63 Reverb pedal. This pedal just digitally recreates the reverb from the original Fender free standing spring reverb unit.

The Boss FDR-1 Fender Deluxe Reverb pedal recreates the sound from a '65 Fender amp, the Deluxe Reverb.
A tube amp of that era and not necessarily a good steel amp.

Likewise with the Boss/Fender FBM-1 '65 Bassman Pedal.

Rich Hlaves · From: Wildomar, California, USA

At present all my amps are tube. Back in my SS days I used an Art Tube MP ($29 w/ wall wart) to put a tube in the signal path and warm things up a bit. You have good control of the input and output signal.

I like these little boxes because they are quiet and can also be used as a direct box when plugging into a PA. Sent the Hi Z output to your amp and the Lo z to to a mic channel on the board. These work great for home recording as well.

+1 on what Irv said about the FDR pedal. Not very usefull for steel. I think it does get confused with the newer FRV-1 reverb pedal.

I have a rack unit with an original Butler Real Tube unit in it. That worked very well when driving a power or SS amp directly. The now also discontinued Real tube pedal was pretty good too.
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On man....let the smoke out of another one.

Dave Grafe · From: Hudson River Valley NY

Mr. Randall's solid state amp for stage power
Mr. Sarno's Black Box for tube sound
Me bloody little fingers for tone
"Sometimes the Magic Works..."

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