Re: Amplification

[pvallado@waynesworld.ucsd.edu (Paolo Valladolid)]

>       I would love to be proven wrong about this, but you should realise 
>that I
> tried talking myself into exactly that position for almost 20 years. I 
>am not an
> anti-transistor luddite who refused to even consider the possibility you
> mention. In fact I use a digital reverb-delay as a supplement to the 
>tube sound,
> to get both digital brittleness and tube warmth. Part of it maybe that 
>the
> stick, not having a body, needs that extra tube tone.
[snip]
> Teed Rockwell

Why not have both?  That is, the full-range setup _and_ the tube tone?
A number of well-known players have insisted that the tube amp sound
requires not only preamp tubes but power tubes as well.  So what if you
want the full-range sound of modern effects/looping devices but still
crave that tube warmth?  As far as I am aware, there are two workable
types of solutions:

1. Tube head as preamp. Plug the speaker out into something like a 
Holdsworth
Harness, a device that converts the signal from teh speaker out to a line
level signal. Now you can use this signal for processing.  If you like,
split the signal so that you have one "pure" signal path and another for
processing.

2. Small tube amp as preamp. Mic it into your mixer then use your mixer's
effect loop(s) for processing. Why a small amp?  Basically it's just for
better portability and being able to get the overdrive you want without
damaging your hearing.  Again, maybe you want to split the signal for
parallel processing.  

This way you have 100% of the tube amp sound _and_ the full-range setup.
Use the full-range setup to get the volume you need.  If you're lucky 
enough
to be gigging at a venue with a decent in-house PA, all you will need is
your little amp/head and your effects setup.

Again, just a thought.

Paolo Valladolid
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