I love this. I would love to see a few more solid state power amps compared. Specifically: Boss Katana 100, Orange Cr120, and a Quilter. The Quilter is most interesting because it is Class D but designed with reactive properties and speaker feedback. Hopefully someone can loan some good examples for you
Unfortunately, those things are out of reach - BUT: you may contact Quilter and let them know about me. It needs people wanting me to check out stuff and let the companies know, so that they think about approaching me to begin with. :-)
love to see this sort of deep dive and to hear the results and differences , especially seeing some similarities in some of those power amps or sorts of 'family of tone' if that makes sense, and also which ones appealed more to me with the tone you were getting, and the TSL JCM2000 would be my pick, maybe there's some magic in having the amp head vertical instead of horizontal 😄 thanks for taking the time to do this 🙌
Haha, the vertical alignment DEFINITELY shaked up those tone molecules 😛Thanks for lending the Orange Pedal Baby, it actually was the inspiration for this entire video 🙂
Great video ! BUT when doing the A/B comparisons : - instead of doing : A B C D E F G - you should do instead something like A B A C A C B C E ... etc (something more random where we don't only 1 poweramp after another, because then you can't really compare them with each other, and BA is as important as AB btw). Of course it would be a PITA to determine the exact sequencing, and requires a way longer video and editing work :)
Thanks for the feedback! I was actually thinking about this, but did not want to play the video length out of proportion, and I had the issue of "What amp should then be A?" But that brings a good point - I will try to remember tonight to add time stamps for the single amps, that way at least one can plow through that and thus making the video more helpful :-) Thanks!
@@PippPriss Of course what i suggested to do is relatively easy when you have few things to compare (like A B C), but the more you add, the crazier it can get ;) I think the dude from Sonic Drive studios (excellent TH-cam channel if you don't already know it) makes some great A B A C A C B C things in his videos, but he only compares like 3 things max IIRR so that's why :) EDIT : the crazy comparison thing where all the comparisons possible are made could be in a separate video
Yeah the Bugera 1990 really stood out, it was very subtle compared to the other Marshalls. Maybe exactly one of the reasons why the JCM900 is associated with being so different than other Marshalls.
Awesome! My personal favorite is probably the 6505, though this vid actually confirms I'd probably go with the Harley Benton GPA(s) for a NAM based setup. Oh and I definitely did the vintage Hi-Fi thing out of necessity with an ENGL E530 that one time I blew up the power amp I was normally using just a week or so before a contest, sketchy setup but it worked. There might be bootleg vids of that gig floating around 😅
To me, the vintage HIFI thing was thankfully just a curious experiment and no necessity 😀 If price is no issue, then the KSR PA50 would perhaps be the best choice. But yeah, for the price the GPA-100 is a MONSTER, hard to beat. Thanks for watching!
Thank you, I enjoyed your video. In my experience, I would send a preamp capture into a tube power amp and a preamp+power amp capture into a SS power amp. Otherwise, I get double the power amp speaker impedance hype through my speakers. I’d say the SS sounded better imo here. Thanks! Subscribed!
You are right on the money. To be honest, in this case I sent a full amp capture each time into every amp, because it only was meant to emphasize the differences. That's perhaps why the solid state power amps sounded "more natural". I am eventually planning on another video going more into detail on exactly this aspect, where I try to match a capture running through a SS rig PERFECTLY onto the actual rig, which EQ matching and all that jazz. Thanks for checking the video out!
I contacted them a few weeks ago, and they wanted to eventually send one over for demo-ing, but nothing thereafter. I don't want to get on their nerves by constantly asking about sending me gear, so that'll have to wait. There would anyways be a dedicated video on the unit (eventually with some comparisons), if they'd send me one over :-)
What I noticed is that the Tube amps with the Resonance/Presense controls were a little more boomy, darker, or brighter. The striaght up transistor based power amps were just more linear and true. The feedback loop in tube amps is the biggest factor here. I did a similar video, and more or less, it just showed that the power amp is A part of the sound, but not the predominate part of the sound. I think the power amp is more a factor when it is operating in it's linear range. There you can clearly hear what its impact is. When it distorts, all bets are off as to how it will actually sound. Feedback loops make the biggest change. The function of the feedback loop is to linearize the amp, but as you introduce more or less of it, with additional controls ( Presense & Resonance ) it becomes an even bigger question mark as to how it will react and sound relative to another amp.
Exactly my thoughts as well. The tube amplifiers through the negative feedback loop impair "their own signature" onto whatever comes through them, which makes it hard to make a generalized statement for or against using one of them to amplify the signal of your modeler. Solid State power amps, no matter if Class A/B, are much more linear, and making it easier to shape the tone to where you like it. I will say however though that playing through the power amp of a tube power amp can have a really nice touch, and is definitely more exciting especially using preamp pedals which have no power amp emulation or anything. It's really a matter of what setup you are using. In my case, my amp captures often have the impedance curve of my Marshall 1960AV baked into them as well as EQ matching to make for a perfect replica of using the real rig instead of my NAM Player into the Harley Benton GPA-100, so I can utilize the EQ of the GPA-100 fully to my convenience. If I'd only have a preamp capture, then there would be a serious lack of oomph and sizzle when pushing that into the GPA-100. Thanks for checking out the video :-)
I'd say the feel was a bit smoother than through the GPA-100, but due to the strong 3-band EQ soundwise I think the GPA-100 could get closer to the valve amps with their presence/resonance settings. If I'd just play for myself, I think I'd ultimately feel attracted more to the Orange Pedal Baby, but due to the pedal-board friendly size in conjunction with the still good sound and EQ, I prefer the GPA-100. But, it has to be said - nothing beats the immediacy of plugging into a high quality tube amplifier like my US made Peavey 6505+ or EVH5150 III or the Marshall JVM410H JS here. It's just heralding to my idols to plug into those amps and ripping off some riffs 🙂
@ Thank you for the reply! I understand, I usually use a tube amp because I did not like the class d power amps so I was not surprised the 6505 sounded so good. But I am looking for a portable power amp like the Orange so I appreciate your input!
I tried a Class D-based Spark Cab for a while. Every time I played through it, I would get a bad headache that even two ibuprofen wouldn't dull. It was also dull, honky, and woofy sounding. Hard to believe it has two tweeters.
Unfortunately, I do not have the Orange Pedal Baby with me anymore, since I only borrowed that for a few days. I will see if I can make another installment of this though without the Orange Pedal Baby with rock-tones, but I do not want to overpromise and under-deliver. Thanks for still checking out the video!
![For The Love Of Marshall Amps [1959 Modified & Studio Jubilee 2525]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RymFDIX-b9Q/mqdefault.jpg)
Nice job! Thank you for taking the time to share this very useful information with all of us.
You are most welcome, pleasure of mine! Thanks for watching!
Wow! Cool stuff! To my ears that Bugera 333 sounded the best
This pleases TOJB. Good job
If it pleases you, then I made my due dilligence in making sure I made a concise and proper testing. Thanks for checking it out!
Picked the NAM pack this morning. Working on something with them for this coming week. They sound great with my Jackson 7 String in Drop G 👊🤘
Thank you for supporting the channel and what I do here, I appreciate ya buddy!
I liked the power amp the best.
Yeah, the power amp certainly had one of the tones of this world!
Power amps are overrated
I love this type of videos, you go in deep of characteristics and tonal differences or not of the power amps. Thanks Pipp !
Thank you for checking it out, my pleasure 100%!
Nice way to start the new year! Great vid. Loved the TSL 🤣
Thank you! TSL stands for I guess "T(ilted) S(trong) L(ow-end)", I believe ;-)
@PippPriss 💯
I love this. I would love to see a few more solid state power amps compared. Specifically: Boss Katana 100, Orange Cr120, and a Quilter. The Quilter is most interesting because it is Class D but designed with reactive properties and speaker feedback.
Hopefully someone can loan some good examples for you
Unfortunately, those things are out of reach - BUT: you may contact Quilter and let them know about me. It needs people wanting me to check out stuff and let the companies know, so that they think about approaching me to begin with. :-)
Outstanding video, really useful comparison
Thank you a ton for checking it out, appreciate it!
Great video, enjoyed it
Thank you for the kind words!
love to see this sort of deep dive and to hear the results and differences , especially seeing some similarities in some of those power amps or sorts of 'family of tone' if that makes sense, and also which ones appealed more to me with the tone you were getting, and the TSL JCM2000 would be my pick, maybe there's some magic in having the amp head vertical instead of horizontal 😄 thanks for taking the time to do this 🙌
If you rotate your head 180 degrees, you'll have double the volume 😂😂
Haha, the vertical alignment DEFINITELY shaked up those tone molecules 😛Thanks for lending the Orange Pedal Baby, it actually was the inspiration for this entire video 🙂
Pipp, you beautiful mega-nerd! Thank you for putting this together 💪
Thank you for this beautiful comment, made my day!
Great video !
BUT when doing the A/B comparisons :
- instead of doing : A B C D E F G
- you should do instead something like A B A C A C B C E ... etc (something more random where we don't only 1 poweramp after another, because then you can't really compare them with each other, and BA is as important as AB btw).
Of course it would be a PITA to determine the exact sequencing, and requires a way longer video and editing work :)
Thanks for the feedback! I was actually thinking about this, but did not want to play the video length out of proportion, and I had the issue of "What amp should then be A?"
But that brings a good point - I will try to remember tonight to add time stamps for the single amps, that way at least one can plow through that and thus making the video more helpful :-) Thanks!
@@PippPriss Of course what i suggested to do is relatively easy when you have few things to compare (like A B C), but the more you add, the crazier it can get ;)
I think the dude from Sonic Drive studios (excellent TH-cam channel if you don't already know it) makes some great A B A C A C B C things in his videos, but he only compares like 3 things max IIRR so that's why :)
EDIT : the crazy comparison thing where all the comparisons possible are made could be in a separate video
cool video
Thanks for the kind words!
BUGERA 1990 suprised me, Very tight!
Yeah the Bugera 1990 really stood out, it was very subtle compared to the other Marshalls. Maybe exactly one of the reasons why the JCM900 is associated with being so different than other Marshalls.
Awesome! My personal favorite is probably the 6505, though this vid actually confirms I'd probably go with the Harley Benton GPA(s) for a NAM based setup. Oh and I definitely did the vintage Hi-Fi thing out of necessity with an ENGL E530 that one time I blew up the power amp I was normally using just a week or so before a contest, sketchy setup but it worked. There might be bootleg vids of that gig floating around 😅
To me, the vintage HIFI thing was thankfully just a curious experiment and no necessity 😀
If price is no issue, then the KSR PA50 would perhaps be the best choice. But yeah, for the price the GPA-100 is a MONSTER, hard to beat.
Thanks for watching!
Thank you, I enjoyed your video. In my experience, I would send a preamp capture into a tube power amp and a preamp+power amp capture into a SS power amp. Otherwise, I get double the power amp speaker impedance hype through my speakers. I’d say the SS sounded better imo here. Thanks! Subscribed!
You are right on the money. To be honest, in this case I sent a full amp capture each time into every amp, because it only was meant to emphasize the differences. That's perhaps why the solid state power amps sounded "more natural". I am eventually planning on another video going more into detail on exactly this aspect, where I try to match a capture running through a SS rig PERFECTLY onto the actual rig, which EQ matching and all that jazz.
Thanks for checking the video out!
@@PippPrisssounds good!
Thanks for the video. It would be interesting to see the Lichtlaerm PandorA in comparison.
I contacted them a few weeks ago, and they wanted to eventually send one over for demo-ing, but nothing thereafter. I don't want to get on their nerves by constantly asking about sending me gear, so that'll have to wait. There would anyways be a dedicated video on the unit (eventually with some comparisons), if they'd send me one over :-)
What I noticed is that the Tube amps with the Resonance/Presense controls were a little more boomy, darker, or brighter. The striaght up transistor based power amps were just more linear and true. The feedback loop in tube amps is the biggest factor here. I did a similar video, and more or less, it just showed that the power amp is A part of the sound, but not the predominate part of the sound. I think the power amp is more a factor when it is operating in it's linear range. There you can clearly hear what its impact is. When it distorts, all bets are off as to how it will actually sound. Feedback loops make the biggest change. The function of the feedback loop is to linearize the amp, but as you introduce more or less of it, with additional controls ( Presense & Resonance ) it becomes an even bigger question mark as to how it will react and sound relative to another amp.
Exactly my thoughts as well. The tube amplifiers through the negative feedback loop impair "their own signature" onto whatever comes through them, which makes it hard to make a generalized statement for or against using one of them to amplify the signal of your modeler.
Solid State power amps, no matter if Class A/B, are much more linear, and making it easier to shape the tone to where you like it.
I will say however though that playing through the power amp of a tube power amp can have a really nice touch, and is definitely more exciting especially using preamp pedals which have no power amp emulation or anything.
It's really a matter of what setup you are using. In my case, my amp captures often have the impedance curve of my Marshall 1960AV baked into them as well as EQ matching to make for a perfect replica of using the real rig instead of my NAM Player into the Harley Benton GPA-100, so I can utilize the EQ of the GPA-100 fully to my convenience. If I'd only have a preamp capture, then there would be a serious lack of oomph and sizzle when pushing that into the GPA-100.
Thanks for checking out the video :-)
Nice video!! How would you say was the feeling in the room playing through the Orange pedal baby against some of those valve amps?
I'd say the feel was a bit smoother than through the GPA-100, but due to the strong 3-band EQ soundwise I think the GPA-100 could get closer to the valve amps with their presence/resonance settings. If I'd just play for myself, I think I'd ultimately feel attracted more to the Orange Pedal Baby, but due to the pedal-board friendly size in conjunction with the still good sound and EQ, I prefer the GPA-100.
But, it has to be said - nothing beats the immediacy of plugging into a high quality tube amplifier like my US made Peavey 6505+ or EVH5150 III or the Marshall JVM410H JS here. It's just heralding to my idols to plug into those amps and ripping off some riffs 🙂
@ Thank you for the reply!
I understand, I usually use a tube amp because I did not like the class d power amps so I was not surprised the 6505 sounded so good.
But I am looking for a portable power amp like the Orange so I appreciate your input!
I tried a Class D-based Spark Cab for a while. Every time I played through it, I would get a bad headache that even two ibuprofen wouldn't dull. It was also dull, honky, and woofy sounding. Hard to believe it has two tweeters.
Damn, I heard only bad things about the Spark, so I can easily imagine that being an unpleasant experience 😀
Can you do the same comparison with a classic rock sound?
Unfortunately, I do not have the Orange Pedal Baby with me anymore, since I only borrowed that for a few days. I will see if I can make another installment of this though without the Orange Pedal Baby with rock-tones, but I do not want to overpromise and under-deliver.
Thanks for still checking out the video!
@@PippPriss thanks
The JCM2000 TSL100 has the best power amp sound of all you gear
It definitely is super beefy! Loved it!