Which one is the solid state amp? Tube vs. Solid State 

The two questions that need to be asked whenever there is a tube vs. solid state amp video is this: 1. What sound am I going for? 2. What sound works best for the style I play? 1. I am going for a razor-sharp, ultra-responsive, very percussive, aggressive and pissed off sound. I have never had any tube amp in 27+ years of playing do that for me. 2. Solid state. They have the tone I love, are reliable, cheap, lightweight, require zero maintenance & can be found in any pawn shop or guitar store very easily. This video was a lot of fun. Travis is a GREAT player, and I don't generally like any Blues stuff at all.

One thing I've learned is that if you're going for a cleanish tone a decent solid state is the way to go. I love my Roland jazz chorus.

Amp one farts out like a Texan after a burrito

I don't know, but 2 sounded the best to my ears.

I won’t bite onto which is which, but I preferred #2 overall. #’ s 1&3 the low end was not appealing, for lack of a better term. Rock on!

2-3 are the tube. For some reason they all sounded terrible

I wonder sometimes if what ppl really like about most tube amps is that they tend to run higher end speakers. I think that's what they're really noticing because if you put some really good speakers on like my little Peavey Transtube 112- it sounds amazing. I've played it through greenbacks before and it sounds just as good as any tube amp I've ever played- the bass response was great. The Peavey speaker that comes in my 112 sells for 19 bucks on eBay- brand new- it's cheap junk. I started just to buy one and mount it in the amp- but then I realized I could build a cab and make it sound way better- and it does. They're super easy to build- and the amp has a "speaker out" on the back so- made it really easy to upgrade. I just disconnected the one in the amp. I've considered rehousing just the head in a little box so I don't have to lug around the entire combo amp any more but- I may want to sell it one day.

I thought 2 was the solid state : (

Amp 1 was definitely the solid-state. I could tell by the look on Travis’ face while he was playing because he was having a blast. LOL

#1 sounds very SS to me. Very harsh clipping #2 sounds very tube. Much sweeter clip #3 sounds kinda in btw. So im not sure #1 or #3 is SS but i lean toward #1. And they seems all clipped somewhere after the miking. Great session guys! Enjoyed so much.

that Crate might have been fun to play, but is sure wasn't fun to listen to!

They all sound clipped and fuzzy. Was something wrong with the mic?

I picked 1 as the solid state amp from the first few notes. I then hoped to God that you weren't pulling a fast one and every amp was solid state! Entertaining video by the way. I'm not sure I learned anything but that wasn't the point of what you were doing was it. I smiled a lot and lightened my day more than a little.

I LOVE my Peavey Renowns, Special, Special 130, and my Marshall Valvestate. I am glad I bought these, especially with what has happened to tube prices.

I actually didn't care much about the sound. I dig Travis playing so much! Awesome player!

I've been forced into using a SS amp due to a back problem (and getting older). Since I can no longer lug a 50 lb amp around from gig to gig, I purchased a Quilter and I must say it has a decent sound and takes pedals very well. Or course I'd rather play through a vintage Super Reverb any day, but for practical reasons needed to change things up and the Quilter is not bad at all!

WOW the memories!! the Crate G40XL was literally my first amp ever!! I remember banging it around and hearing the spring and having NO earthly idea what the hell that noise was!! LMAO Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Honestly, I loved the sound of that Crate! And it was from when? I might say it was “ahead of its time” way back then.

It's all about feel and a good tube amp is all I'll ever use. Solid states nowadays do sound good though but tubes are just cool

Thinking two right now. Either way, amp one sound great, which explains why it was played longest.

2 sounded best by far to me. I picked 1 and 2 to be ss. Didnt like how the dsl was set. I feel the Marshall wasnt represented properly but ill get over it. Fun comparison.

I liked the sound of 2 best followed by 3

No idea...and do I care ? no, because how many times did the analog signal of the amp got digitalized until it finally is reaching my ears ? in my humble opinion a guitar player feels the amp and the dynamic of it ... but once its PA'ed -> i doubt that one can hear a difference... it is how the amp reacts/responds on your attack. but again just my humble opinion :-) Now i heared the fine guitar playing ... and i guess amp 2

I will probably be shunned by youtube for saying this but i actually LOVE some solid state amps. I like tube amps as well, but the Roland Jazz Chorus might be my favorite amp of all time. Cleanest cleans

My guess is that number one was the solid state. Two and three had a more iconic old school feel to it, notably with a little more distortion on the harder picks and a very clean sound on the lighter notes.

I like number 2. But what do I know? I know that I enjoy listening to Travis play. Well done guys.

Surprised at how that crate sounded! I thought amp 2 or 3 was the solid state at first till I watched the rest of the vid! Sounds great!!

1, ss.sounds very bright and clean. 2,tube. hearing softer distortion and compression . 3 ss, brittlebreakup,

No cheating but #2 sounded solid state to me :)

The crate amp has a low end quality to it which is very nice

Of course I love tube amps. But one of my favorite amps is....don’t shoot me....the old Peavey Bandit.

It seems the highs gave it away for me. I knew 1 was solid state and 2 sounded the best. I honestly thought 3 was solid state the way it put out highs. These ear tests are really good for learning to really hear tones.

I partially agree with heinblsdki. I think a tube amp responds to the dynamics of the player's attack. You can set it to sound clean low when playing softly and to roughen up and sound louder the harder you play. Solid state sound compressed to me. At least the older ones I was exposed to. I played through a Silvertone 1482 compo tube amp, My friend's Kustom tuck and roll silver metalflake 100 watt amp and my 65 blackface twin reverb into a 4-10 home made column. The Kustom was louder but tinny.

As a rule of thumb, I can sometimes pick a valve out in a blind test of with A/B comparison, rarely in a full mix. I think a lot of it comes down to response, which you only really get a good idea of when you're actually playing

the most fun I've seen Brian have?

3 sounded best to me so I'll just bet on it being the tube.

Don't care. Here's my experience: I have a Yamaha THR10 and a Laney tube amp. When I plug into either, they sound great. It's only after about 20 minutes that I start to notice something is off with the Yamaha. I can't put it into words and I don't really care to. I can play the Laney for hours without getting that feeling. I'm not saying that's going to be everyone's experience, but that's the way it happens for me - and I can't change that.

Maybe it's the YT compression or my speakers, but they all sounded shite and lacked clarity. What I love about tube amps is the clarity of the attack, even when dirty. It's in the way you set up the amp, so maybe the setup you guys were using was designed to make them all sound similar--but (when properly set up and EQ'd) a good tube amp is not mistakable.

That was easy: amp A is solid state. By the way, I loved the fact that you guys were drunk!

My initial guess post was a bit mean so I didn't post it. What I learnt is that the torpedo can make anything sound like a dog. But I really like the video and had fun! Thanks!

I love my DSL40 but Tube simulation is getting better &. better (and smaller, and lighter, etc). I think inventions like "NuTube" and "NanoTube" will keep being developed to sound even more like old tubes. Solidstate is also getting better & better. Many pedals are now sounding as good as tube amp channels. It would be foolish to think that amp technology won't keep growing. BTW, My Peavey "Transtube" sounds plenty tubey enough for me, If only it was VOICED just like a Marshall, then I could do without my Marshall tube amp. Unfortunately, it lacks that searing Marshall cut. Ive tried a couple "Marshall in a box" pedals on it but they didn't quite get me there. So, for now, I'm sticking with my DSL. Rock On!

1 is the solid state..i guess...and the one who sounded best to me...

I liked 1 the most, then 3, and then 2. Dunno which is which though, seeing that anything could be designed to sound good/bad. And crap! You went to the reveal while I was typing this. I need to get my hands on a crate circuit 🤯 Edit: the bridge humbucker sounds good on the Orange! Edit2: so the Marshall is better than the orange at clean strat, almost as good as crate. Clean via humbuckers is ugly. The humbucker high gain is a nice modern sound. But I probably like the Orange's high gain a bit more because it relates to my kind of music.

I agree 1 & 3 were flubby in the low end. #2 was a nice warm sound with a very even frequency respose. The high end for me on #1 was brittle and harsh. So, I guess #1 was the the solid state. But today's solid state amps sound VERY good compared to the junk from years ago. Solid state isn't the tone distaster it once was. So it''s hard to tell solid state by tone alone these days. The main issue with solid state is that solid state just does't push as much perceived loudness for the same wattage.

That was some kind of cloudy judgment, or should I say, smoky, what the heck man, all that laughter and all 😱 I want what you had 😏

Lots of Crate hate here but I love the clean channel on my 2x12 120 watt Crate.

Those Crate were not bad especially for the day. I had one when I was a kid and nothing came close for the gain for the price for a kids practice amp.

I agree with Travis on the chorus pedal hate

The tube amp is nr 2 , the bass response was the give away to me , the solid states are to flubby and overpowered in the bass against the other frequenties

Too bad Crate stopped making amps. They really were one of the best budget SS amps ever made. The distortion on the old 2x12's was very good. That said, I knew #1 was SS almost right away, but the other two didn't sound much better in my opinion.

They were all far too bassy and chubby for my liking, but I think 1 is the SS amp.

Tough test, as all 3 sound good enough for jamming or playing in a band. I would say number 2 was solid state. It would be easier if you were pushing the amp into overdrive that a hard clean sound.

I love the first one. How spiky and rough. Fun glitchy noises. Second one not enough high end for me. But probably great in a mix. Third amp is what I'm all about.

Just bought a Tumnus mini. Love it! Want to get the Deluxe, now. Great vid!

Orange Solid State amps with the 10" or larger speakers at 20 watts or more are killer. I am anxious to try the new SS amps by Hughs and Ketner that just came out. It has a sag control, and if SS amps are built well, with good transformers, speakers, etc, they sound great. Much more reliable, and much easier to maintain, etc. The Crate was not a good choice for a Solid State amp to compare to an expensive tube head. But, try it with one of the new Boss Katanas in 50 or even better 100 watt versions and it will hold it's own. Especially the high gain channel.

My guess would be #1 is solid state. #2 sounds warmest and best to me.

All 3 have a crispy attack, but there’s an immediacy to the pick attack on Amp 1. 2 is dark and 3 is really crispy, but you can hear the pick attack bloom just a little more. My guess is amp 1. Also, Amp 1 sounds the best to my ears.

The all sounded poopy to me. But great to have Travis back in these last few vids. Guy always gets my funny fuse.

Amp one sounds solid state or maybe voxy. Amp 2 warmer but still pretty linear sounding. I think 3 is the valve amp.

I just listened to the demos at the beginning, I think amp 2 sounds most like a tube, followed by 3, then 1 would be guess for solid state. Fully expecting there to be a twist that they're all solid or something though since he posed the question lol.

Unless you messed up the settings on purpose to trick us, to my ears the first one had different characteristics than 2 and 3. Although 3 sounded closer to 1 there was still a difference there. And to all who would say that the signal has been digitized so many times by the time it reaches our ears at home, it's true, however, the response to the guitar and pedals still shows (generally speaking). I'm not dissing solid state amps, a tiny Orange Crush 12 (6" speaker) served me very well in church 57-ed up. A very respected sound engineer couldn't tell it was a small starter amp.

Chorus pedals rock. Thickens up the sound and gives the guitar clarity at hi gain. Love it. 😜

4:58 as well as the mid 2012 retina MacBook pro speakers (left one is blown with packing tape over the sound vent to try to reduce the amount of movement in the cone) The last 6 chiclets in my volume bar create distortion from these speakers no matter whats playing.

Amp 1 is the solid state - you can hear the difference in how it handles the lighter strings.

Important things here... Brian your shirt matches the PRS perfectly, and the Strat decal placement still bothers me for some reason but Travis plays so well I quickly forget about it...

I picked 2 as the tube amp so figured 1 and 3 were s/s. Are partial points awarded? I think the MOST IMPORTANT issue is what Travis pointed out a lot. For me, it is how an amp feels when playing though it. I can get fooled by listening to an amp but not when playing through one. The feel and response of tubes and ESPECIALLY an amp with a tube rectifier is unmistakable and exactly what I want to feel when playing.

Jeez Travis would it kill ya to smile and laugh once in awhile ;)

Just can’t get the tube break up without em. SS sounds fine with fuzz and clean to me but tubes for overdrive!

I'd say 1 and 2 were the tube ones and the 2nd was the solid state.

I could tell the tube amp right away. The mellower, fatter sound and the saturated sustain are classic

What pedal can turn that Crate G40 into a high gain metal beast?

First of all, congrats for the awesome and steady work Brian.Well, in my case i prefer tubes for clean sound but i stay with SS for overdriven and distortion tones. Never tried a Glockenklang ss for cleans, and i've heard is a fantastic piece of german machinery. Ive been playing a 100w head during the last 32 years, its a clone of whatever happenned in the 80s(probably Acoustic or even a mix of original design and cloning) , made in my country, Argentina. I also have an old cream machine and a Fender passport i use as a practice clean sound amp. One thing: the major development in my tone is a 4n7 cap in the tone control of all my guitars.All of them with 50s wiring (the one used in Les Pauls, not the fenderish ones) .The rest is using the volume control , rarely on 10 unless the situation calls 4 it. That's why i prefer SS with a lil boost of middle at 500k and the distortion about 10 o'clock . Right now im looking for a Katana.

How many beers did it take to make this video HeHe!!!!

I'm guessing #2 is tube. Maybe #3. But hard to tell with recording mic overloading.

amp 1 ! believe it to be tube, 2 and 3 are solid. in the first one there is a different kind of tone. more like chrystal.

Honest guess from a metal drummer: Amp#2. But i feel like I'm going to be educated here in a few minutes.

I pretty much nailed it. I got the first one as SS right off the bat. I had a GK 400RB bass head that sounded similar if you dimed every knob cept the master and played a strat into it. Kinda liked it. Reminded me of Funk 49 James Gang. Got the 2nd as a tube amp... one I'm not a huge fan of... a bit dark for my taste. And I knew the last one was also tube... and undoubtedly a Marshall because of that tell-tale midrange splatter-roar. To me I don't care if it's SS or tube as long as it gives the sound that works for the situation.

I actually liked the crate best on first listen, then the DSL for the texas blues thing. But orange kills on distortion channel, no doubt. DSL would probably sound best with pedals on "clean" channel.

I’ve always thought that crate amps just sound terrible no matter what you do to them. Just my opinion though. Granted I’ve only tried a few. His playing on the other hand was great!

I couldn’t have told you what was solid state but I definitely liked the cleanish strat through the Crate. That VH was pretty sweet on the Orange. I think I would have used some chorus on the Crate distortion rolled off the bass and gone into sudo odd even nirvana 😆. Nice video guys!! Travis are you at all concerned about 53 passing attempts by Luck in his first game with a repaired shoulder🤔

I don't know, all sounded like electric guitar! Big sound from that cab.

#1 was a solid state amp blasted thru a speaker that couldn't handle it so that it sounded "broken up" but I wasn't fooled.

I used to not like telecasters then one day I started to like them. Same with strats they mostly bore me. I like the Yngwie scalloped fret board. I prefer strats with humbucking single coils in the bridge and neck.

the Crate sounded good on the dirty channel. I just bought a Lead 12 and it sounds awesome.

2 sounded the most different compared to the other 2, but i don think it was the solid state. Couldn't really tell between 1 and 3.

1 or 3 is solid state, leaning towards 1.

Solid state can sound as good as Tube amps BUT the real difference is in how they cut the mix in bands or records. Generally s.s. Amps need more volume to cut and I don't know if this is a good thing. About sound quality there is no objectivity, solid state can be damn good as awful.

No idea which sounded best. I'd pick the one that 'felt' the best in the room

These blind amp tests really drive me up the wall... I don't guess which is which when you've got a pedal OEM that could soften it up and loosen the brittleness of the solid state. I knew the first reverb and second reverb were real; however, the third was nothing near the first two. I was suspect of 3 and had nothing on 1 and 2's responsiveness. I knew I didn't like the second ones lack of sharpness and then I realize it was because I don't like the Orange amps without driving some dirt through the top of the head. Fair test... 👍🏼

I have no idea but 1 and 3 sound divine.

I love me some Michael J. Travis

Ok Brian. You nailed the Plexi Drive. I think it's time to take on the Jubilee. Especially the lead channel without the rhythm clip so that I can play Slash songs all day.

Ive been doing shows with a peavey bandit transtube for 3 years and it sounds great esp the clean channel and has held up better than any tube amp ive had. It really does sound like a tube amp. If you know your way around an eq pedal you can really dial in some great tone. Personally the orange amp sounded muddy and well crate is crate.

How can you possibly tell the difference if the Tube is recorded, A/D, loosy compressed with h264, transfered, decompressed, D/A and finally amplified with a cheap transistor based PC sound card amplifier? If you want to really feel and hear Tube sound you need to listen to it directly. As for the recording I prefer 1 then 3, then 2. Totally subjective.

thought amps 2 and 3 were SS, but i see that at least the first amp was SS. A friend has a Crate 2x12 combo. not sure which model, but it holds up to my champion 100 2x12.

2 definitely sounds solid state, or atleast the dist. is coming from pedal, 2 sounds a bit more authentic but I think 1 is tube.

2 or 3 .. I've been playing for over 40 years and to be honest, I couldn't really discern between the 3 .. they all had different character

I thought the crate solid state sounded the best with the strat. Same thing happened at my last gig outdoors, my fender deluxe 6v6 took a dump but I had the fender front man 212 amp and the beast pro reverb! OK now get this, the front man with Celestion 7080 speakers blew the eminence legend loaded pro reverb out of the water. I was amazed myself...

2... I think sounds the best

1 is definitely solid state, the overdrive isn’t smooth enough to be tube....and the 2nd amp had a good sounding reverb in the background, which is more common on tube amps. IMO