My favorite is when tube amp players complain about the sound of solid state amp distortion, and then subsequently use a solid state distortion pedal as their main source of distortion.
@@Jack655321 I do agree 100% as I used a 1972 Marshall Bluesbreaker for the majority of my gigging career but you really need to have a decent volume to get the best out of most valve amps in my experience which simply leads to complaints from the sound engineer and the singer lol. Of course there are ways around that problem but now I do most of my recording at home I rely on a Marshall BB2 pedal to get as close as possible without having the neighbours calling the police on me haha. All this being said, some of those amps sounded pretty darn sweet for solid state
Who are these tube amp players? I can tell you for a 100% certainty that you do not need any pedal in front of a 5150 or a Laney GH100ti. My 5150 has so much gain that I have to use the low input jack and the rhythm channel. Not sure what EVH was thinking but he certainly wanted an amp that didn't need a single pedal in front of it. It is why that amp was adopted by the Death and Black Metal Community.
@@fullclipaudio High gain amps are different, those can definitely do it all by themselves. But I’ve heard this countless times from people using a Boss DS-1 (which I think sounds awful) into a Fender-style tube amp.
I used to go to this guitar repair store. The guy had a vintage vox on display. He made people play trough the vox and they all agreed it sounded absolutely fantastic. Well, in reality, the vox was dead. it was actually an Ibanez solid state amp with the vox as a cab. Everyone fell for it.
@@billpugh58 i own a vox too. if you put them side by side there is no possible comparison. But in this case most people just didn't think twice and they just found the sound to be good.
Because tube is so fun. Replacing tubes, carrying all that weight, being extra careful transporting them. Oh, and playing super loud all the time because you think your neighbours and family should enjoy your playing too. There is nothing worse than getting decent tone at low volumes on a Tuesday night and having zero complaints.
Yeah I’ve been changing tubes, adjusting bias and lugging amps around since ‘78 and still do but. Some of us actually care about our tone regardless of the extra effort I own 32 rigs. 7 are solid state, 1 in my Axe Fx 3 mkii and that sucks as far as tone compared to my Mesas, Marshall’s, Friedmans, Fenders and Vox I did pick up Engl Powerball and a 5150 but I don’t play them often I am good with my primary Marshall 410 C mainly. But I actually enjoy my Roland Chorus, Galen Krueger 250rl, Ada mp1 and my old sunn beta lead but nothing holds a candle to the tubes on stage But most of you clowns are bedroom posers so all the fx and pretty lights on the axe have you cummin in you boxers
@@gitarman666 you’ve been gigging on guitar since ‘78 and you’re still such an immature clown that you say things like “it has you clowns cummin in your boxers?” Forgive me if I don’t take your judgement very seriously…
I once had another guitarist actually get pissed off at me for lying when he complimented me on my dirty, dirty tone and I told him it was a solid state amp. He was so convinced it HAD to be tubes that he went behind the amp poking around looking for the glass thingamabobs. Then he was even MORE pissed off. Funny shit.
More wishfulness tho overall It's like Squier Or Specials, Performers Great stuff Unfortunately it does you no good Just sounds super wooden compared to American Standard or better through tubes Oh well, maintenence, want to be wrong
I completely agree: ANYTHING solid state sucks. I even recently upgraded to tube wifi, so actually I haven't been able to watch more than the first 3s of this video... But man, it just looks and SOUNDS so much more 3-dimensional! When the video finishes downloading in a few months, I'll be back to give my full comments.
@@TheSimonarne just finished downloading the first few letters of your comment, but it's a very smooth 'how' with a little breakup and 'spank.' Can hardly wait till next month when your next word rolls in!
I had a VOX Pathfinder and used it to record quite a few songs during my senior year of high school (2001). I still listen to some of those songs, and the tone is awesome. I also made heavy use of the DOD Grunge pedal - it was a huge part of my sound.
The other thing about solid state is they don't weigh enough, so you don't get the exercise trying to move them around. And of course with solid state you don't have to keep buying and changing and balancing tubes and warming it up and all that, so you get bored just switching it on and playing it. Finally, they are too quiet, so you don't get the permanent ear damage all true guitarists are proud of - they're truly rubbish!
Yeah so you have to buy 2 of them to excercise each arm the same. Solid state amps also are so light the heavy duty pickup truck with reinforced suspension that carries no other cargo or passengers (other than guitar) is no longer needed either. Oh the humanity!
Plus, solid state amps rarely give up their souls unexpectedly as tube amps do. Contributing further to the boredom of owning and playing solid state amps 😐
Josh’s master-plan: Drive up the prices of every other brand so JHS becomes the most affordable and therefore biggest selling brand. It’s a long game but a good game, like Final Fantasy 7 or Shenmue 2.
The fact JHS has an entire staff dedicated to making informative and yet comedically niche videos for guitar players is just really nice Most people wouldnt pick up on 75% of the jokes
As someone who mostly uses tube amps, I must admit that I'm a massive fan of the Sunn Beta/Concert series and the old Peavey amps of the 70's. They're some of the best discrete transistor solid state amps I've ever heard in my life, if not some of the best guitar amps I've heard. You can't go wrong with a Jazz Chorus either.
I had a Peavy Renown and I put that thing through hell. It was a gig rig and was dropped by our roadie on more than one occasion. It held up to everything and was sooo loud! Having said that I now have a Bugera Infinium 333xl with twin cab and whilst I doubt it would stand up to the punishment of the Peavy it sounds awesome. Also had transistor Marshall but sold that too, but it sounded decent, just not as good as the 333xl.
As guitarists, most of us arent encouraged to find OUR sound but to sound like everyone else and that means buying expensive tube amps and expensive guitars. How many sounds have become iconic by folks using discarded and overlooked gear?? The sound is in your head and hands.
It's like the Digitech "Grunge" pedal. In the 90´s it was cool and everyone and their sister had one. They 15 years ago tone snobs declared it bad so everyone hated it. And now finally the youtube community has labeled it cool vintage pedal so everyone who sold it 15 years agos now buy it again but this time it's more expensive. Meanwhile the Danelectro version of tje same exact pedal can be bought brand new for $30 and no one cares.
I think it's about finding sounds that inspire you to play. That's how you get a unique sound. Can't ever get there if you listen to gear snobs as a beginner.
Van Halen was musically illiterate and Jack White recorded his best songs on a plastic guitar. People replace gear for talent, dedication, and practice. The gear will never be enough if they simply just don't play enough.
Gear snobs are annoying. I’m just glad that there is someone out there that knows what they are actually taking about that is as sarcastic as Josh. 🙏🏽 ❤️
@@Arthur_My_Dear I'm surprised at all the tolerance for people who are always calling others loosers. That seems to be the most misused word/comment I've seen yet the grammar police rarely comment on it.
@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 My neighbor has a Crate with 4x10's that actually sounds good. I hadn't heard it next to a tube amp though. To me, SS amps can sound thin in the mix with tube amps.
Definitely Sunn was horrible, especially their Beta series, and people need to be warned away from the reverb and trem on the early Acoustic brand heads. And Peavey Solid State amps were intolerable. And Kustom. And Tech 21.
@@jkf9167 Tech 21, exactly after I bought the Bass driver, and Para Driver, I bought GT2. And after I use them, I use them again and again....because they suck so bad. When will I ever learn?
Watch out for Norlins(Gibson and Moog colab) Lab Series especially that pesky L5. I can't believe B.B. King and Ty Tabor of King's X used it to sculpt their very different signature tones for decades! Horrible,I tell yah!
I've been using a solid state amp for so many years, that explains why I never had a girlfriend because my tone sucks!! my gosh!! thank you josh for enlightening me. I'll never lay my hands on solid state amps ever again!
He's full of shit. The Vox VBM1 is a very toneful amp and produces a Vox AC30 sound in a small package. btw I've never had a girlfriend because I'm MGTOW
Josh's gift is helping people realize that gear of all value levels is valid to use for creating art and you shouldnt feel bad if you don't have a $3,000 rig.
I spent $1600 on a Mesa Boogie Mark V last year. It’s okay, I loved it at first. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still very happy with it and it’s amazing. But first “big” amp, a Behringer solid state amp, was plenty good in retrospect. It couldn’t do everything, so I’m glad I’ve tried other things to get them out of my system. I appreciate the Behringer a lot more in retrospect though
@@drpelliper5818 heard that. Pedal collecting will get you there if you cannot just say "Guitars and amps, stop collecting stomps Cai, it's not gonna turn out to become a shiny, unicorn of a collectible like a Klon, it'll be the Grunge at the end of the day..." stopped me from buying a trillion 300 dollar to 700 dollar stomps. At that money, I'd wager a guitar or amp at this price point, is the thing that might actually improve your playing, as a guitar with better tuning stability and fit and finish tends to make you meld with it better. The amp being powerful, clean, and at least one or two usable effects that can actually nail what they're trying to do, with a footswitch, is great for also making your playing step up.
I have a studio full of stacks, matched fender reverbs, custom built cabinets, etc, but nothing has ever sounded more enormous on record than a friggin hiwatt 10w solid state combo mic'd with a 57 close and an mk4 further back. blew the doors off of a soldano super lead II through an orange cab. I still have my roland CUBE30 from 2004-5 and still find new, useable, repeatable tones out of it. AND I was able to carry it to high school an hour on transit every day.
meh, the TH-cam effect isn't so severe anymore. The prices will go up for 2-3 months now, then they settle right back down. Or, just get a Katana and stop chasing tones...😁
Been trying to snipe a lead 12 for months and I'm here to tell you they didn't need to show up here to be overpriced used! Great amps though! I've been a booster of those Vox SS amps for years.
I have been playing electric guitar and bass for 36 years now and arguing these same points for 30 years. This is channel is new to me, and I love it hard.
I used to love the sound of a Roland Jazz Chorus until I heard it was a solid-state. Haven't listened to The Police since. Talking Heads are also out the window.
Same here. Pretty much everything good from 80-87 seems like it was tainted with the JC-120. I just removed the whole of the 80s from my world. Life is pretty empty without everything new-wave brought but at least I’m 10 years younger.
I remembered playing it like 20 something years ago and thinking it was one of the best amps I ever played, never thinking of it being a solid state or tube. Sometimes not knowing it a good thing. But the Jazz Chorus is a great amp. Did the Andy Summers of the Police use that amp for his clean tones? That would be a game changer for me since he had some of the best clean/flanger/chorus tones ever.
He’s the worst for that kind of thing. Also, even if you get on reverb etc within an hour of the episode airing, whatever cool pedal you’re looking to snag is sold out.
While there's truth to this, another thing to remember is that all the reasonably priced items are going to get snatched up quickly, so only the overpriced or super nice ones will linger. A bit of extra momentum to the whole snowball.
Funny story: this guy who was renting my studio for recording came one day with the Fender Deluxe 85 and asked me if I wanted it for free. I asked "What's wrong with it?" and he replied, "It sucks, it's a solid-state amp... you can have it, it works." This is the amp that Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead uses fucking everywhere.
Yeah but, it's solid state so it definitely sucks. Just kidding, that's very generous and cool of that dude, whether he knew it or not. I play a Boss nextone as my #1 for 2years now lol.
@@mrredritehand He really believed that tubes > solid-state... but it's like comparing an electric guitar with an acoustic guitar. it makes no sense. I've used that Fender Deluxe 85 on almost every Fake Furs track.
I recently learned that on most of the Machina album, The Smashing Pumpkins used a dinky solid state Crate gx-15r, and you can get the right sound with just the amp! Billy sold the original on Reverb for 6K and you can find a nice write up on the listing.
That's hilarious. For ages my favourite setup was using the FX out on my Crate GX-10 (15 maybe?) into my AVT as a power amp. The stock speaker from the AVT was replaced with whatever had been installed in my (very used) Fender 112. The new speaker made the amp a lot tighter and the GX sounds like 90s death metal in a box running through it.
It's miked and running through a board. The problem with SS amps is not that they sound bad, it's that you can't hear them as well without larger wattage. People used the same scale for tube and SS and it just didn't cut through. As you go up in wattage, SS starts to shine.
I freaking love you and your sense of humor. You always drop knowledge bombs that noone else even touches on. It's informative, and you keep it hilarious. Killing it.
I love and will forever evangelize my Roland JC-22. Best amp for at-home players/practice of all time as far as I'm concerned. If I needed more power, I'd just get a bigger JC.
I absolutely love this guy. So many guitar centric TH-camrs aren't genuine and honest. That's not the case here. He even admits when there are better pedals than his brand...who does that?
I must say Josh, that that Quilter sounded so horrendous you better send it my way ASAP so that I can properly dispose of it in a way that it can't, ever again, assault' anyone's ears.
And while you're at it, I'll help get that horrible JC 120 outta your life. Just think of how much extra space you'll have for your tube amps after you send it my way!
I'm a slight valve amp snob but I won't argue with that. When I did most of my gigging back in the 80's and 90's, I rarely played in a band without at least one of. The guitarists playing a bandit. They sound great, loud enough for any venue, and they're damn near unbreakable. It's amazing how many of them are still knocking around.
bandit 65 here too. I've considered buying my buddy a clone pedal of the 112's distortion because he can never get his blackstar to sound like he wants it to.
I love watching him play because he makes it look so casual and effortless. Sometimes it's like the guy is paying attention to everything in the room but his drums but doesn't miss a beat.
I'm so happy that someone respectable in the business is pointing out what so many of us in the guitar community feel is an unjustified hatred of solid state circuitry! For years I thought other guitar players were hearing something that I was missing because I thought that my solid state amps sound nearly as good as my more expensive tube amps!
the hate is justified, it's just it's not primarily just because something is solid state, it's because a lot of companies put toilet paper speakers and cheap components in a lot of products to cut costs and it ends up sounding cheap and nasty, which is fine if that's the vibe you're going for, the jazz chorus for example is good because Roland didn't skimp on the air movers and they've got some pretty hefty and responsive drivers and the transformer is decent, try the distortion section though it sounds awful, same on the new reissues, likewise another thing that gets lost with guitarists is that a lot of solid state amplification is not explicitly designed just for guitar, keyboardists etc will likely be potential users so some of the features (like the bright switch for example) will make no sense unless you've got a really dark rhodes mk1 that you're trying to get some semblance of sparkle out of.
@@123Andersonev you do realize a roland jc is one of the single greatest pedal platforms ever made? Always have been and always will be… and there are also cheap tube amps out there where manufacturers scrimp on parts and they sound like shit. Marshalls origin series is one of them and the whole bugera line is crap. Id much rather take a higher end analog solid state than either of those and there more out there. When u have good a good circuit and a good speaker you get a good amp no matter whether that be solid state or tube. You’ll also pay the price for a good solid state amp as well they’re not all cheap pos amps. A jc is well within fender reissue prices and justifiably so. The orange super crush line is not cheap either nor is the head and cab. The one thing they have in common is that they both sound great and make fantastic pedal platforms. Back in the 80s Marshall also made some great solid state offerings but stopped… those have reached cult status and they are going up in price. Solid state is not bad at all it’s a mere matter of getting what you pay for. Although, these days, it’s becoming easier to get great sounding stuff for good value in the solid state market. The boss stuff is well priced and sounds great, and blackstars debut 50r is a good sounding amp as well. Hiwatts crunch 150 can go head to head with most tube amps. Solid state amps can also be great pedal platforms because they are super clean. Not all of them but like tube amps a lot of them. They’re ideal for an always on pedal to shape core tone followed by everything else.
@@chancehowes “post 2008 with brown cover “? Is that when they changed it from black ? I wonder were there other changes too When did they stop making them ?
That Deliberately Unnamed(!) microphone is obviously being “warmed up” using an expensive “boutique tube preamp,” which is the reason for the pleasing “tube-like” “complex harmonics.” Solved.
Josh you are so funny and a very good talker at explaining things. I've learned so much from this channel its unreal. Thank you a lot for helping me understand these pedals and what I need.
I currently use a Fender Champion 100 and I like the versatility. I use Boss Super, overdrive, Morely Power Fuzz Wha, and Electro Harmonix LPB-1. I add a digital reverb pedal in the effects loop. It's loud and has great tone.
I have used an Award Session Sessionette 75 for 38 years now. Solid state. Only one repair in that time. Serviced by the builder and an amazing, full warm sound. Much admired and known as the British Boogie. Current Blues Baby model is outstanding. No, I have no connections to the company but they are worth checking out.
A few years ago I was invited to a jam by my best friend with a prospective drummer and some of his buddies. I brought my Line 6 Spider IV 150, and setup in the spot. It was certainly loud enough to keep up with a drummer, and I honestly never had any trouble getting the sounds I wanted out of it. I really wasn't into tubes or pedals at the time. I'm a metal dude, and it was to be a metal jam, so of course I was aware of the reputation solid state and Line 6 had, especially when it comes to high gain, but I liked the idea of my Line 6 being an all-in-one amp and it was working for me, so I had no burning desire to invest in anything else. So we're hanging out when this kid walks in and asks the drummer to help him bring in his gear. They leave and a few moments later, the same kid walks in with a Mesa Dual Rectifier head and the drummer is lugging a 5150 cab. Immediately I was furious. This CHILD has pro-level equipment?! How the hell did this kid get a $3000 rig?! But even worse, just glimpsing his setup gave me terrible tone envy. I was almost embarrassed to kick my combo on. There I was, trying to take myself seriously with my guitar plugged into the laughing-stock of the metal community, up against the quintessential metal stack. I felt despair. But then the strangest thing happened. We started to play and I couldn't believe it. My tone was absolutely crushing his. I looked to my friend for confirmation, and saw him scowling, nodding his head. We should all know by now that a good metal guitar tone causes ones face to curl up into a scowl, very similar to the facial expression that often follows smelling a bad fart. In terms of sheer loud he had me beat, so the kid tried to compensate by increasing his volume, but was met with complaints from the other musicians. He started dialing knobs, panicked and struggling, his hands dashing across the controls. He was muddy, I was crisp. His bass was flubby and rumbling, while mine was tight and articulated. When he struck a chord, it moved the air, but when I struck a chord it cut right through it. He became more and more visibly frustrated. As he was franticly cutting his mids and boosting his highs to try to match my ferocity, I was carelessly riffing and shredding away on my custom designed preset. After a short while he put his guitar down in frustration, and the session ended. His flex had failed, and I had won. But in all seriousness, I have pondered this happening since, because it taught me a valuable lesson that is sometimes easy to forget. Maybe the kid JUST got his stack, and really didn't have a feel for it yet, while I'd spent YEARS with my Line 6. I don't recall him having any pedals... maybe his tone would have killed me with a boost. Maybe if he'd boosted his mids instead of cut. Whatever the reason, it taught me that our guitars, pedals and amplifiers - tube or solid state, boutique or cheap, name brand or otherwise - these things are all nothing more than tools to aid us in our human expression. If it helps you achieve your vision, then it is valid. It is said that the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. I'm no master by any means, but on that day I think my laughable tools worked better for me than his pro tools did for him. I've since gained a love for pedals and tube amplifier technology, and I've invested more money than is probably healthy on these things, but that's just part of my journey. That's the coolest thing about music and gear. It's all about YOUR sound and YOUR voice, and experimenting to find it. And if you find your voice in a solid state amplifier, that is perfectly fine.
Truest statement ever bruh. Gear is a novice's excuse, and a pro can make anything work given the time. I had 40k worth of studio gear and was blaming my mic pres and converters for stuff not sounding like I wanted, and then I recorded on a friend's x32, and it turned out great. I then stopped making excuses for myself and found the real problem with my knowledge of how to work the gear. Never made anymore excuses.
The rectifier line of amps are probably the worst amps I’ve ever run across as both a player and a tech. While a great musician can make any amp sound good if you choose the right things to play for whatever gear is available. If want to figure out how to turn a guitar into white noise a triple rectifier is your best bet.
@@heywoodfloyd9989 well, i beg to differ. but i agree it's not an easy amp. it definitely has a place in metal tones, and there is a reason why it is and was widely used in the studio. but big part of the sound is cranking up the amp, driving the power amp and the speaker cabinet into saturation. but on a trirec with 150w power that's a deafening experience and certainly does not work on small stages.
@@fitzeflinger yeah, we all have different experiences for sure. Over the years I’ve been in several bands that used trirecs, recorded with them, as well as worked at a studio that dealt with lots of metal bands. I’d say 9 times out of ten the trirec tracks weren’t used in the final recording and often replaced by a vintage marshall, sunn, or a plugin with much better results. I actually can’t think of a record that actually used them with success. I guess the earlier meshuggah albums got debatably good results from dual recs but I actually think those tones are much worse than when they started using plugins more, plus they never use mesas live, that tells you something too
I had a Johnson Millennium stereo 250 half stack. My parents bought it for me for my high school graduation gift. I loved that amp and used it from 1999 all the way until November 8th 2018 when we lost our home in the “Camp Fire” in Paradise CA. Wish I still had that bad boy! It was a great and very versatile amp. You can get some surprisingly nice tones out of it. Oh well, maybe I can replace it one day. Great video as usual 😊
I feel your pain. My twin sister developed severe chronic tinnitus from the horrible shrieking of her solid state amp, rendering her incapable of performing everyday tasks. She now has to undergo tube amp therapy 3 times a week ($$$), which of course her insurance doesn't cover.
I'm a gigging bass player I exclusively use Solid State Amps & always have they sound great & you can throw em about no breakage & very reliable for the next gig.
I read an old interview with Jimmy Page where he stated he preferred valves for guitar but, and I'm not sure I'm quoting exactly "apparently transistors sound better for bass'. It could be that it's much easier to get fast rising edges - dynamics - from transistors rather than the slight lag you might get from tubes which produces a tighter sound. This lag, in corporation with the lower frequencies probably tends to create a mushier tone. Notice I'm not using absolutes, there are some great tube bass amps out there. Most of them weigh a lot also.
Same, I love the sound of a warm tube bass amp, but for the most part I really like that transistor amps have a great clean sound -which is what I rely on 90% of the time anyway.
You left out the "worst" solid state amps, Oranges! When I started getting back into guitar, I quickly decided to get a digital Marshall Code 50. It was okay at first and I enjoyed playing around with the different sounds, but once I found that the Silver Jubilee mode was my favorite, I didn't use most of the other features and it started sounding worse to me after comparing it more closely to other amps. I decided to switch earlier this year to a solid state Orange CR60 after demoing a lot of different amps in stores. I grew to hate scrolling through the Code's menu and analog generally sounded better to me (I'm not sure how much that has to do with a lot of digital amps cutting costs with the speaker and cabinet design, though), but I didn't want to have to worry yet about possible maintenance issues with a tube amp. The Orange got close to the Jubilee sound, didn't involve scrolling through menus, and had a variety of inputs and outputs on it. I still intend to get a Jubilee one day, but I am blown away every time I play the CR60. It is so responsive and sounds super smooth and velvety, and it looks gorgeous. Next time I see a Jubilee in a store I definitely want to compare it closely to a CR60 - I might end up not even wanting a Jubilee the CR60 is so good!
I, a tube purist, played a 1970 Ampeg V4 and custom built Plexi clone for years. When the whole tube shortage happened I considered solid state to give it another shot. Picked up the Hughes and Kettner Black Spirit 200 and was blown away. Touch response, tone, overdrive cleaning up from vol roll off, all there. Tone is absolutely phenomenal, circuit is all analog, and it has become my most played amp to date.
Ah yes the “any old crap” theory. I believe you can get usable tones out of just about anything, especially in a mix. There are plenty of great sounding solid state amps. I think they get a bad rap because beginners often play solid states, a beginner playing a solid state is gonna sound way different than a pro who knows how to dial in their sound. So next time you hear a “bad sounding” solid state, try to keep an open mind and remember we all started somewhere.
Entry level SS amps are bad no matter how good of a mix engineer you are. I have tried to get usable clean tones and usable dirty tones out of my Fender Mustang and it just absolutely sucked.
@@SleepingLionsProductions I find it very hard to believe you cannot get any unable tones out of a fender mustang, especially no usable clean tones. There's nothing wrong with those amps
Back in the early 90s I started playing bigger venues and my small amp wasn't up for the job... well according to my band mates at least. I'm a fan of keeping volumes pretty low on stage and letting the PA do the work. (I'm an ex audio engineer) So, I went out looking at dozen of tube amps, and the one that I liked the best, by quite a lot actually, was an Ampeg SS-140C. You'd think that maybe the SS in the model number would have tipped me off that it was "Solid State" but you'd be wrong. 😆 It wasn't until I got it home that I noticed... there were no tubes! THE HORROR! How could I have done such a thing?! Actually, I didn't think that at all. It was more like, "oh, solid state. Huh. I guess I won't have to worry about replacing tubes." I went on with my life and frankly I loved that amp maybe more than any tube amp I've ever owned, and I've owned a fair amount of them over the years. I know this makes me a bad person, but I have accepted that it is my job to play this role.
I got the crush 20rt and its the best amp I've ever owned. Works great with pedals and the distortion on it is pretty good too. Considering getting one with an fx loop.
Thank you for posting this. I've been there - started with "sucky" solid state and was happy with them. I went down a tube rabbit hole when some douche I used to play with felt my tone would sound better. It didn't... well, it sounded good, though the amp was always breaking down and blowing fuses. I had a few tube amps going and the one that sounded best (Blues Junior) would literally die at gigs and I BOUGHT IT NEW! The Fender Twin was a bit more reliable though it was stupid heavy and didn't sound good to me. I sold both and went back to the amps I was playing 20 years ago: Roland Cube 60s. I use them for jazz, for heavy rock and blues gigs and acoustic gigs. They are versatile and consistant and don't "blow fuses". Also, contrary to the popular idiom: nobody knows what I'm playing. I played a heavy gig with it a few years ago. Used it's clean channel and boss MT2 for most of the night. At the end of the show a friend of mine (who plays heavy music) asked: "What were you using on 'Man in a Box'?" I said "A Roland Cube and a metal zone - and don't act like you don't like it now!" LOL We both laughed because that's a thing. Play solid state - they sound good, they are good. Edit: also the bass sound on "Stack of Cash" is killer. Also: I love that most "decent" solid state amps have "line outs" that make them super versatile on large stages. Most tube amps don't... which is what REALLY sucks.
Cubes really are like the most solid, solid states you can get. They really do sound great. I don't own one myself but I've had friends with them and they always impressed me.
Yeah my 2001 Blues Jr. hasn’t worked for years. It ate power tubes at first until I added adjustable bias. Now just looking inside makes something else go wrong.
@@chipsterb4946 My belief is the Blues Junior is the best sounding amp Fender has made... but every corner was cut to make it so which hinders it's ability to be taken seriously. Even the NOS version I had with the "upgraded" speaker could likely benefit from a further upgrade. People used to do the "Bill M Mods" though I struggled to invest so much in a breadboard amp. Also while some like to change the bias it still gets hot which makes it's parts unreliable. Mine used to blow fuses just being plugged into the outlets in my apartment. It also blew a fuse at a gig one night and I had to sit out for it. I never gigged with it again. To me, Fender should be embarrassed to sell that amp. It really needs a redesign and some serious tweaks and it'd be perfect... though that's like saying: "He'd be as good as Lebron if only he were 6'8!"
I have a question about the part where you said you would often blow the fuses. Was it from rough treatment of the amp, did you ever replace the tubes? How often would it happen and what was the lifespan of your average tube
One of the best guitar tones I've ever heard live was a Sunn Beta Lead into a 1000w solid state power amp. Monstrously loud, crunchy, gnarly, amazing and no tubes in sight.
@@ThisIsNeUserNamo ha, it was the Melvins w/ Big Business. Red Fang uses them too I think? Either way it sounded amazing. I think most of the stigma around solid state is because everybody's first amp is a cheap solid state practice amp like a fender frontman 15 or something. I know mine was, and I didn't want anything to do with solid state amps for a while after that...
@@PostalDude667 The Fender Frontman line has an OK gain sound if you ask me (owner of a 10 watt one, friend has a 25 watt one he's gigged with). It's not tasteful blues crunch or chunky death metal chug, for sure, but if you just want to thrash out some punk rock power chords you could do a lot worse.
Just got to this video - can we have a moment of appreciation for Nick's drumming? I feel like he grew substantially as a drummer while doing JHS Pedal show. :) Cool stuff!
Once watched a show where guitarist's amp was this sort of retro looking tube* amp. His tone was absolutely amazing so I went to talk to him afterwards. It was a line6 with a face lift. Taught me a real good lesson of 'if it sounds good it is good"
I think the lesson here is just because you think you can't get a good sound out of a piece of gear, doesn't mean it Sucks. I had a circa 1982 Crate 112 solid state guitar amp. I originally got it for a keyboard and then started using it when I first started learning the guitar. About 7-8 years later I had it at a band practice as a backup amp and another guitar player was interested in it and borrowed it and then bought it. A while later I saw him playing with his band and he was using it and had an amazing tone (think 80's hair band with lots of pinch harmonics and whammy bars). I realized then he could find a great tone there that I could not. But I found mine in a Gallien-Krueger 250ML (series II). Take note that both amps are solid state and suck! :)
The drummer is so talented. His timing is beyond perfect, always right in the pocket. I obviously love my marshall origin 20h head- but I have played some really good solid state amps in the past. With each passing year, the solid state amps are just getting better sounding. **Edit** I actually just grabbed this sort of generic solid-state from Amazon last week for $93, in a natural wood casing, 10", 60w speaker..nothing special but the sound was beyond perfect for a practice amp. No regrets on that one. I think the brand was Lyx..they don't seem to be super popular, but that was a helluva deal. They run for like $149 but I applied for an Amazon card and caught some mean savings then paid that shit right off proper. Only used one pedal so far out of it, just a joyo digital delay, not the aquarius, the cheaper one..and it actually handles very well. Just saying...
I fully agree. I have an old crate g120c head and no it doesn't sound like a dual rectifier, but it doesn't sound bad, it just sounds like a crate, which I think is a pretty sweet tone when the riff calls for it.
The Jazz Chorus amps are lovely. Surprised I don’t see more of them in the wild. Guy I knew had one and every time he turned it on it sounded beautiful.
So are yamaha's G-series solid state amps from the late 70s/early 80s, designed by Paul Rivera to compete with Roland, also the professional line of solid state amps Fender came out with when Paul Rivera was their marketing director in the 80s were damn good, as well as the Gibson lab series and the Polytone minibrute which are legendary among jazz players
@@jasondorsey7110 I have a 1980 Peavey Pacer that sounds beautiful. As much as I love valve amps, solid state amps can sound absolutely beautiful. I don’t care what makes the sound if I like the sound.
Dude !!! This video was so funny !!! I love it !!! Im really intrigued with the “Roland Jazz Chorus” I play my acoustic guitars through solid state. It’s a pretty old, “Peavy Acoustic 110” (With a mic input) My home amp is a Vox AC4C1. My stepping out amp is a Fender Deluxe Reverb (RI) For Fender Tele & Epiphone Studio DOT.
Yeah but he should've used a ribbon mic like the Royer 121, it would've given it a lot more whomp in the low end and a soaring, pillowy sparkle in the highs.
Had a Roland JC-50 in the later eightys. Had a Boss DS-1 distortion with it and wasn’t that cool with the other guys with their Marshall stacks and tube screamers. Still have it and love it!
"let's play this Les Paul, the gold paint sounds best" never before have I ever agreed with someone so much in my life. The paint makes a tremendous sound difference guys,
Have you ever heard of Orgonite? The gold paint or brass particles along with mica (a 2d quartz) in a organic matrix of polymerized cellulose attract Orgone energy which affects the player holding the guitar over their navel Chakra. The vibrating Orgone field interacts with the magnetic field in the pickups and change the way the wires conduct alternating current in the pickups which makes the low level detail and sustain of the guitar exceed other finishes. Also the maple cap under the "gold" is plain not interlocked grain maple which has less self dampening characteristic. The Orgone field allows the guitar to "merge with your intent" it becomes an intent amplifier. So now you all know why the gold top is best, no kidding.
This proves/reinforces one MAJOR thing. “Average band with a great drummer sounds great, great band with an average drummer sounds average.” Same goes for a lot of guitar TONES used by many artists. In isolation, many tones sounds horrid or out of place. But in context with a good rhythm section, everything becomes a lovely painted picture. Hence why you see MANY pedal companies taking this approach. Check out pedal demo videos without a good backing band or track and you’ll see a rise in complaints about tone or playing style.
The Cure is legendary. It brings me such joy that you spotlight the impact they have made musically. Their albums "Seventeen Seconds" and "Pornography" are some of my favorite
I have 2 Vox Pathfinder amps - one in a head version. The combo has a speaker out jack though. I played that 15 watt solid state amp through one side of a Vox 4x12 cab (so think 2x12 vertical cab) - played that in an 8 piece band and never had issues with clean volume. Crazy. The other guitarists figured it was a tube amp and commented how good it sounded with my Strat.
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It's important we keep saying these amps suck so we can keep the prices low!
excellent point
Absolutely! Haha
That's the most valid excuse I have ever heard on any guitar related topic ever, Josh should compensate you for that statement.
Brilliant idea.
turrible
My favorite is when tube amp players complain about the sound of solid state amp distortion, and then subsequently use a solid state distortion pedal as their main source of distortion.
In front of a tube amp though. Distortion pedals through a solid state amp? Come on, unless you like a lifeless sterile sound no one prefers it.
@@Jack655321 I do agree 100% as I used a 1972 Marshall Bluesbreaker for the majority of my gigging career but you really need to have a decent volume to get the best out of most valve amps in my experience which simply leads to complaints from the sound engineer and the singer lol. Of course there are ways around that problem but now I do most of my recording at home I rely on a Marshall BB2 pedal to get as close as possible without having the neighbours calling the police on me haha. All this being said, some of those amps sounded pretty darn sweet for solid state
Who are these tube amp players? I can tell you for a 100% certainty that you do not need any pedal in front of a 5150 or a Laney GH100ti. My 5150 has so much gain that I have to use the low input jack and the rhythm channel. Not sure what EVH was thinking but he certainly wanted an amp that didn't need a single pedal in front of it. It is why that amp was adopted by the Death and Black Metal Community.
@@fullclipaudio High gain amps are different, those can definitely do it all by themselves. But I’ve heard this countless times from people using a Boss DS-1 (which I think sounds awful) into a Fender-style tube amp.
@@fullclipaudio Twin reverb players.
I used to go to this guitar repair store. The guy had a vintage vox on display.
He made people play trough the vox and they all agreed it sounded absolutely fantastic.
Well, in reality, the vox was dead. it was actually an Ibanez solid state amp with the vox as a cab.
Everyone fell for it.
CHECKMATE
@@daniellebrown1916 ha
I wouldn’t, I own an AC30 and no solid state Ibanez gets near. But….cool story dude.
@@billpugh58 i own a vox too.
if you put them side by side there is no possible comparison. But in this case most people just didn't think twice and they just found the sound to be good.
Nobody noticed you didn't have to wait for it to warm up?
Josh sporting the legendary Hanson/Nirvana t-shirt is a sign that this show will be full of sarcasm and comedy. I salute you sir.
Way to be😎
Contrary to popular beliefs, it's actually Silverchair.
"the gold paint sounds the best" is probably the most guitar player thing I've ever heard
"This is my tone jacket"
The problem is that i always tell my friends that i feel the gold tops have a different sound 😂😂
And mr jhs just subtly indicated that im insane
Adam Jones said that silverbursts change the polarity of the sound. I think he was half serious.
yeah- if you don't chuckle at that comment... (;
Same folks argue to the death that woods don't affect anything and strings are strings
Because tube is so fun. Replacing tubes, carrying all that weight, being extra careful transporting them. Oh, and playing super loud all the time because you think your neighbours and family should enjoy your playing too. There is nothing worse than getting decent tone at low volumes on a Tuesday night and having zero complaints.
tbh though ive had 2 tube amps and a solid state bass amp. only my solid state bass amp caught on fire
Yeah I’ve been changing tubes, adjusting bias and lugging amps around since ‘78 and still do but. Some of us actually care about our tone regardless of the extra effort
I own 32 rigs. 7 are solid state, 1 in my Axe Fx 3 mkii and that sucks as far as tone compared to my Mesas, Marshall’s, Friedmans, Fenders and Vox I did pick up Engl Powerball and a 5150 but I don’t play them often I am good with my primary Marshall 410 C mainly.
But I actually enjoy my Roland Chorus, Galen Krueger 250rl, Ada mp1 and my old sunn beta lead but nothing holds a candle to the tubes on stage
But most of you clowns are bedroom posers so all the fx and pretty lights on the axe have you cummin in you boxers
@@gitarman666 Righto, mate. Settle down.
@@gitarman666 lol your audience doesnt give a poop about that so in the end it doesnt matter that much.
@@gitarman666 you’ve been gigging on guitar since ‘78 and you’re still such an immature clown that you say things like “it has you clowns cummin in your boxers?” Forgive me if I don’t take your judgement very seriously…
I once had another guitarist actually get pissed off at me for lying when he complimented me on my dirty, dirty tone and I told him it was a solid state amp. He was so convinced it HAD to be tubes that he went behind the amp poking around looking for the glass thingamabobs. Then he was even MORE pissed off.
Funny shit.
People are so close minded 🤣
I don't understand people like this. I bet you they use a solid state dirt pedal to get their dirty sound anyway.
Sounds like it really hurt his pride.. or he hurt his wallet buying a tube amp lol
More wishfulness tho overall
It's like Squier
Or Specials, Performers
Great stuff
Unfortunately it does you no good
Just sounds super wooden compared to American Standard or better through tubes
Oh well, maintenence, want to be wrong
Don't get me wrong. Slamming hoity toity stuff is an internet must
Specially from this gamgee of a dude
It's all the chords in the mix part wiseacre
I have a Vox Pathfinder... But that's because I suck :(
us too
What really sucks about the Pathfinder 10 is how well it works with pedals......I hate that about mine.
How much for?
Literally what the hell is Brandon Carter doing here
I have one too, we all suck!
Pedal fans are a funny breed. We LOVE transistors, just not when they’re IN the amp. 🙄
When I saw the thumbnail I thought the same haha
You've just made me want to run a tube-driven pedal into a solid-state amp.
@@davedavem mate I was thinking the same thing! The English muffin pedal looks like the ticket
@@tylerdurden5122 yes! Needs to be done
@@davedavem - That's not like divide by zero is it? I hear that's a bad thing.
The amps sounded fine...
Maybe it was just a good mic? Did the mic use tubes?
They add tubes in the mix later on
@@tonridesbikes2147 ...and check the phase in Mono ;-)
The jokes on you, he used DSP valve emulation! BOOO YAAAH! Av some of that! Hah! Didn't like that did ya? :D. 🤣🤣
😂
I dont think it's the mic.I think they put the tubes inside the neck just behind the guitar's fretboard.
I completely agree: ANYTHING solid state sucks. I even recently upgraded to tube wifi, so actually I haven't been able to watch more than the first 3s of this video... But man, it just looks and SOUNDS so much more 3-dimensional! When the video finishes downloading in a few months, I'll be back to give my full comments.
The orange crush line, my $250 amp almost sounds like a tube amp and sounds great on low volume too
Nice top end roll off too, very smooth and warm.
how is the download going about halfway?
@@TheSimonarne just finished downloading the first few letters of your comment, but it's a very smooth 'how' with a little breakup and 'spank.' Can hardly wait till next month when your next word rolls in!
@@Jh0st hope you replaced the electrolytics with film capacitors aswell
I had a VOX Pathfinder and used it to record quite a few songs during my senior year of high school (2001). I still listen to some of those songs, and the tone is awesome. I also made heavy use of the DOD Grunge pedal - it was a huge part of my sound.
Could you post a couple songs plz
@@furrycircuitry2378 Hell yeah bro, drop that shit
still waiting the shit to be dropped
The other thing about solid state is they don't weigh enough, so you don't get the exercise trying to move them around.
And of course with solid state you don't have to keep buying and changing and balancing tubes and warming it up and all that, so you get bored just switching it on and playing it.
Finally, they are too quiet, so you don't get the permanent ear damage all true guitarists are proud of - they're truly rubbish!
Yeah so you have to buy 2 of them to excercise each arm the same. Solid state amps also are so light the heavy duty pickup truck with reinforced suspension that carries no other cargo or passengers (other than guitar) is no longer needed either. Oh the humanity!
Solid state are nowhere near expensive enough
@@zodiacbluesbaby Yeah how terrible it is having the extra money for pedals ;-P
Plus, solid state amps rarely give up their souls unexpectedly as tube amps do. Contributing further to the boredom of owning and playing solid state amps 😐
Plus, who likes spending less money? We all have it to burn, don't we?
Josh’s master-plan: Drive up the prices of every other brand so JHS becomes the most affordable and therefore biggest selling brand. It’s a long game but a good game, like Final Fantasy 7 or Shenmue 2.
Or Donkey Kong Country
You may be on to something here, Simon.
@@bradlivey7867 It's actually infinitely long, since that's how long it takes to build up the courage to traverse the spoooopy Blackout Basement.
My dual Wangs are over in the corner weeping.
dude is a genius...he has successfully driven prices up on all behringer pedals..
The fact JHS has an entire staff dedicated to making informative and yet comedically niche videos for guitar players is just really nice
Most people wouldnt pick up on 75% of the jokes
There’s jokes here?
They are deadly serious
I think the drummer and bass players are actually skilled pedal guys
What jokes?
As someone who mostly uses tube amps, I must admit that I'm a massive fan of the Sunn Beta/Concert series and the old Peavey amps of the 70's. They're some of the best discrete transistor solid state amps I've ever heard in my life, if not some of the best guitar amps I've heard. You can't go wrong with a Jazz Chorus either.
Yeah I had the occasion to play one once and it soubded great.
Had the beta 4x10. Is a great amp.
I have some peaveys if you want to buy any😂
@@chrisbarriere101 How much? lol
I had a Peavy Renown and I put that thing through hell. It was a gig rig and was dropped by our roadie on more than one occasion. It held up to everything and was sooo loud! Having said that I now have a Bugera Infinium 333xl with twin cab and whilst I doubt it would stand up to the punishment of the Peavy it sounds awesome. Also had transistor Marshall but sold that too, but it sounded decent, just not as good as the 333xl.
As guitarists, most of us arent encouraged to find OUR sound but to sound like everyone else and that means buying expensive tube amps and expensive guitars. How many sounds have become iconic by folks using discarded and overlooked gear?? The sound is in your head and hands.
It's like the Digitech "Grunge" pedal.
In the 90´s it was cool and everyone and their sister had one.
They 15 years ago tone snobs declared it bad so everyone hated it. And now finally the youtube community has labeled it cool vintage pedal so everyone who sold it 15 years agos now buy it again but this time it's more expensive.
Meanwhile the Danelectro version of tje same exact pedal can be bought brand new for $30 and no one cares.
Yeah, sure we can take advice on good quality gear.. but developing your sound is infinite in potential.
I use a first act 222 and a kustom 5h cab and head
I think it's about finding sounds that inspire you to play. That's how you get a unique sound. Can't ever get there if you listen to gear snobs as a beginner.
Van Halen was musically illiterate and Jack White recorded his best songs on a plastic guitar.
People replace gear for talent, dedication, and practice. The gear will never be enough if they simply just don't play enough.
Gear snobs are annoying. I’m just glad that there is someone out there that knows what they are actually taking about that is as sarcastic as Josh. 🙏🏽 ❤️
I find gear snobs more humorous than annoying...they make me laugh!
Most gear snob don't know what the hell they're talking about
You used "they're" correctly! You are now my favorite person on the internet!
@@williammckeown4768 that’s a very low bar
@@Arthur_My_Dear I'm surprised at all the tolerance for people who are always calling others loosers. That seems to be the most misused word/comment I've seen yet the grammar police rarely comment on it.
So sad that there wasn’t a “He has the VOX!” jingle.
Wonder if he has the Vox box?
@@rodgereyre6640 "I've got the hots for the Vox in the box!"
@@rodgereyre6640
If not I hear that the selling of “vintage” boxes is starting to get very popular on Reverb.
@David Wang He was, but he never seems to stay in it.
@@imagesofstyle Cat's out of the bag. Wait, I did it wrong. Shoot.
Absolutely love the tone he got from the mic placement on the LCD screen of the Johnson amp!!!
Omg that made me laugh - you win the internet today! Thanks for this comment. Today I learned WHERE the tone comes from : - ]
This episode needs a sequel because there's more solid state amps that I need to be warned against.
Ampegs, Crates and Peaveys. Definitely stay away from them. I don't need them to start costing more than two-four of cheap beer.
@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 My neighbor has a Crate with 4x10's that actually sounds good. I hadn't heard it next to a tube amp though.
To me, SS amps can sound thin in the mix with tube amps.
Definitely Sunn was horrible, especially their Beta series, and people need to be warned away from the reverb and trem on the early Acoustic brand heads. And Peavey Solid State amps were intolerable. And Kustom. And Tech 21.
@@jkf9167 Tech 21, exactly after I bought the Bass driver, and Para Driver, I bought GT2. And after I use them, I use them again and again....because they suck so bad. When will I ever learn?
Watch out for Norlins(Gibson and Moog colab) Lab Series especially that pesky L5. I can't believe B.B. King and Ty Tabor of King's X used it to sculpt their very different signature tones for decades! Horrible,I tell yah!
I've been using a solid state amp for so many years, that explains why I never had a girlfriend because my tone sucks!! my gosh!! thank you josh for enlightening me. I'll never lay my hands on solid state amps ever again!
He's full of shit. The Vox VBM1 is a very toneful amp and produces a Vox AC30 sound in a small package. btw I've never had a girlfriend because I'm MGTOW
Good that you've realised..😂
@@user-zq9su8jv2k Audio interface is better than tube amps in terms of fidelity.
Josh's gift is helping people realize that gear of all value levels is valid to use for creating art and you shouldnt feel bad if you don't have a $3,000 rig.
I spent $1600 on a Mesa Boogie Mark V last year. It’s okay, I loved it at first. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still very happy with it and it’s amazing. But first “big” amp, a Behringer solid state amp, was plenty good in retrospect. It couldn’t do everything, so I’m glad I’ve tried other things to get them out of my system. I appreciate the Behringer a lot more in retrospect though
heh. i step on more than 3k worth of shit. throwing money doesn’t make you play better or make your song better. trust me.
@@drpelliper5818 lol okay neckbeard.
But the line six spider has different voice sounds such as metal and clean and also you can connect your phone to play along records 👍
@@drpelliper5818 heard that. Pedal collecting will get you there if you cannot just say "Guitars and amps, stop collecting stomps Cai, it's not gonna turn out to become a shiny, unicorn of a collectible like a Klon, it'll be the Grunge at the end of the day..." stopped me from buying a trillion 300 dollar to 700 dollar stomps. At that money, I'd wager a guitar or amp at this price point, is the thing that might actually improve your playing, as a guitar with better tuning stability and fit and finish tends to make you meld with it better. The amp being powerful, clean, and at least one or two usable effects that can actually nail what they're trying to do, with a footswitch, is great for also making your playing step up.
I have a studio full of stacks, matched fender reverbs, custom built cabinets, etc, but nothing has ever sounded more enormous on record than a friggin hiwatt 10w solid state combo mic'd with a 57 close and an mk4 further back. blew the doors off of a soldano super lead II through an orange cab. I still have my roland CUBE30 from 2004-5 and still find new, useable, repeatable tones out of it. AND I was able to carry it to high school an hour on transit every day.
Whatever Roland did with Jazz Chorus is pure magic. To this day one of the best sounding clean amps.
A friend of mine moved to Texas and left his Jazz Chorus behind at my house. He came back for it last year. I miss it.
I have the 80 watts Roland Blues Tube. Great clean, nice creamy distortion and you can even blend the two, and it sounds amazing.
The Micro Cube also has the Jazz Chorus dna. Great clean sounds even though its solid state.
you are not allowed to like solid state amps - it is a rule! Play a fender, hate on solid state amps.
@@danherrick2310 I hate my solid state Blues Cube. It sounds great but it sucks! How am I doing Dan?
Can we all just take a moment to acknowledge how CLEAN the drums sound
Transistor drums is why.
The need to always compliment these awesome drums almost exhausting... EVERY TIME.... PHEW. Such awesome... GOD!
Nope. Also crap. Everything was crap. Tube drums only.
I saw in a Q&A that he uses one overhead mic for the drums.
@@MirlitronOne I don't know what you mean by "transistor drums." He said in a Q&A he mostly uses a a single overhead mic.
The impending Reverb bump means I won’t be able to afford tube AND solid state amps!
meh, the TH-cam effect isn't so severe anymore. The prices will go up for 2-3 months now, then they settle right back down. Or, just get a Katana and stop chasing tones...😁
Go to a local music store.
They still make new cheap solid state amps my dude.
Been trying to snipe a lead 12 for months and I'm here to tell you they didn't need to show up here to be overpriced used! Great amps though! I've been a booster of those Vox SS amps for years.
Orange is priced well
or Hanson shirts
I have been playing electric guitar and bass for 36 years now and arguing these same points for 30 years. This is channel is new to me, and I love it hard.
I used to love the sound of a Roland Jazz Chorus until I heard it was a solid-state. Haven't listened to The Police since. Talking Heads are also out the window.
Same here. Pretty much everything good from 80-87 seems like it was tainted with the JC-120. I just removed the whole of the 80s from my world. Life is pretty empty without everything new-wave brought but at least I’m 10 years younger.
Yeah, and forget The Cure.
The JC-120 is solid-state?!?! Nooooooooo! (Glares at James Hetfield)
Bro, you shouldn't be breakin the law man..
I remembered playing it like 20 something years ago and thinking it was one of the best amps I ever played, never thinking of it being a solid state or tube. Sometimes not knowing it a good thing. But the Jazz Chorus is a great amp.
Did the Andy Summers of the Police use that amp for his clean tones? That would be a game changer for me since he had some of the best clean/flanger/chorus tones ever.
Me: "waiting for a good deal on DOD grunge pedals"
Josh: "DOD Grunge..."
*DOD Grunge prices instantly double*
He’s the worst for that kind of thing. Also, even if you get on reverb etc within an hour of the episode airing, whatever cool pedal you’re looking to snag is sold out.
I have the Hot Pink DoD Thrash Master
I’ll sell ya my Digitech Grunge pedal ;)
While there's truth to this, another thing to remember is that all the reasonably priced items are going to get snatched up quickly, so only the overpriced or super nice ones will linger. A bit of extra momentum to the whole snowball.
Lol my Roland phase 5 sat for a long time til he made that video
Funny story: this guy who was renting my studio for recording came one day with the Fender Deluxe 85 and asked me if I wanted it for free. I asked "What's wrong with it?" and he replied, "It sucks, it's a solid-state amp... you can have it, it works."
This is the amp that Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead uses fucking everywhere.
Yeah but, it's solid state so it definitely sucks. Just kidding, that's very generous and cool of that dude, whether he knew it or not.
I play a Boss nextone as my #1 for 2years now lol.
@@mrredritehand He really believed that tubes > solid-state... but it's like comparing an electric guitar with an acoustic guitar. it makes no sense.
I've used that Fender Deluxe 85 on almost every Fake Furs track.
I had one of those and it was my first nice amp. I absolutely loved it and unfortunately it’s broken now but I’ve been very close to buying one again.
@@LMurphyMusic Naaahhh.... just fix it! :-)
@@RogerBarraud I would but it’s essentially totaled. Our exbassist knocked it off of a counter top fucked something in it up royally.
I recently learned that on most of the Machina album, The Smashing Pumpkins used a dinky solid state Crate gx-15r, and you can get the right sound with just the amp! Billy sold the original on Reverb for 6K and you can find a nice write up on the listing.
that.....was not a good smashing pumpkins album
That's hilarious. For ages my favourite setup was using the FX out on my Crate GX-10 (15 maybe?) into my AVT as a power amp.
The stock speaker from the AVT was replaced with whatever had been installed in my (very used) Fender 112.
The new speaker made the amp a lot tighter and the GX sounds like 90s death metal in a box running through it.
@@patrickderp1044 Its my favorite sp album :(
I'm more impressed he found a drummer who understands dynamics and can play along with a 15W amp. :D
It's miked and running through a board. The problem with SS amps is not that they sound bad, it's that you can't hear them as well without larger wattage. People used the same scale for tube and SS and it just didn't cut through. As you go up in wattage, SS starts to shine.
That drummer is a keeper for sure.
We call that a drummer that isn’t shitty.
Some genre's or songs call for heavy hitting and in those cases the guitarist is at fault if they show up with a 15w amp.
@@joshshultz1250 unless you're gigging in a coffee shop
The video that nobody was asking for but everyone needed
I freaking love you and your sense of humor.
You always drop knowledge bombs that noone else even touches on.
It's informative, and you keep it hilarious.
Killing it.
The Roland JC amps are my favorite. All the sizes are good if you don't want a JC120. One upon a time they even made head units and separate cabinets.
I love and will forever evangelize my Roland JC-22. Best amp for at-home players/practice of all time as far as I'm concerned. If I needed more power, I'd just get a bigger JC.
I absolutely love this guy. So many guitar centric TH-camrs aren't genuine and honest. That's not the case here. He even admits when there are better pedals than his brand...who does that?
I must say Josh, that that Quilter sounded so horrendous you better send it my way ASAP so that I can properly dispose of it in a way that it can't, ever again, assault' anyone's ears.
How very public-spirited of you! I will personally volunteer to dispose of the Mike Matthews in a similar manner
And while you're at it, I'll help get that horrible JC 120 outta your life. Just think of how much extra space you'll have for your tube amps after you send it my way!
I was so horrified by the quilter I wound that part back and rewatched it 3 times, just to make sure I wasn't having some sort of nightmare
“No, I don’t like anything!” - That one guy on literally every gear forum
and then you check his scrap recordings that are like the mellowest blues
That’s why I avoid guitar forums these days. Cesspools. Lookin’ at you, MyLesPaul....
@@corneliuscrewe677 I feel like we can trace back most of our unnecessary hate to guitar forums.
Except all the gear he happens to have, of course.
It’s all terrible in the eyes of a doctor and dentist or whom ever is buying all these goddamn PRS guitars at 5k a pop
The Peavey Bandit is one of the all time classic SS amps. It is worth trying out.
I'm a slight valve amp snob but I won't argue with that. When I did most of my gigging back in the 80's and 90's, I rarely played in a band without at least one of. The guitarists playing a bandit. They sound great, loud enough for any venue, and they're damn near unbreakable. It's amazing how many of them are still knocking around.
Agreed.
My Bandit 65 is STILL my go to amp, and I own a lot of amps.
bandit 65 here too. I've considered buying my buddy a clone pedal of the 112's distortion because he can never get his blackstar to sound like he wants it to.
Still rocking out on a pair of KB300s and a pair of 215s driven by Mk3 and Mk4
Blue knob peavey bandit 65 is the Amp. Swapping the OG speaker for a swamp thang very soon.
Does Nick get enough praise for his drumming skills? I think not. Just nails it every time. #TeamNick
Epic Drumming!
I love watching him play because he makes it look so casual and effortless. Sometimes it's like the guy is paying attention to everything in the room but his drums but doesn't miss a beat.
@Ricky Anthony Good point! Anyone care to explain!
an old weekend warrior musician here in my town once summed it up so nicely: I've never been booed off stage because I don't have tubes in my amp
That's just because he stubbornly refuses to leave the stage when I start shouting "HEY, THIS GUYS GOT NO TUBES!"
@@charlesrense5199 hahahaha
@@charlesrense5199 damn stubborn guitarists
I'm so happy that someone respectable in the business is pointing out what so many of us in the guitar community feel is an unjustified hatred of solid state circuitry! For years I thought other guitar players were hearing something that I was missing because I thought that my solid state amps sound nearly as good as my more expensive tube amps!
I’ve had a couple tube amps but honestly I had an Orange Crush 20w solid state amp and it was a nice little bedroom amp.
@@DoktrDub yes, that's my current amp now! 🍊
You have to be a Bat to be able to discern the sounds that so many valve snobs spout on about!
the hate is justified, it's just it's not primarily just because something is solid state, it's because a lot of companies put toilet paper speakers and cheap components in a lot of products to cut costs and it ends up sounding cheap and nasty, which is fine if that's the vibe you're going for, the jazz chorus for example is good because Roland didn't skimp on the air movers and they've got some pretty hefty and responsive drivers and the transformer is decent, try the distortion section though it sounds awful, same on the new reissues, likewise another thing that gets lost with guitarists is that a lot of solid state amplification is not explicitly designed just for guitar, keyboardists etc will likely be potential users so some of the features (like the bright switch for example) will make no sense unless you've got a really dark rhodes mk1 that you're trying to get some semblance of sparkle out of.
@@123Andersonev you do realize a roland jc is one of the single greatest pedal platforms ever made? Always have been and always will be… and there are also cheap tube amps out there where manufacturers scrimp on parts and they sound like shit. Marshalls origin series is one of them and the whole bugera line is crap. Id much rather take a higher end analog solid state than either of those and there more out there. When u have good a good circuit and a good speaker you get a good amp no matter whether that be solid state or tube. You’ll also pay the price for a good solid state amp as well they’re not all cheap pos amps. A jc is well within fender reissue prices and justifiably so. The orange super crush line is not cheap either nor is the head and cab. The one thing they have in common is that they both sound great and make fantastic pedal platforms. Back in the 80s Marshall also made some great solid state offerings but stopped… those have reached cult status and they are going up in price. Solid state is not bad at all it’s a mere matter of getting what you pay for. Although, these days, it’s becoming easier to get great sounding stuff for good value in the solid state market. The boss stuff is well priced and sounds great, and blackstars debut 50r is a good sounding amp as well. Hiwatts crunch 150 can go head to head with most tube amps. Solid state amps can also be great pedal platforms because they are super clean. Not all of them but like tube amps a lot of them. They’re ideal for an always on pedal to shape core tone followed by everything else.
The Grunge Reverb jam was unreal. I'm buying the pedal now after hearing that opening riff for approximately 0.2 seconds.
Vox Pathfinder amps are now going for $5000 on reverb. Way to go Josh.
I will sell you a vintage one for $2k right now, fair condition with typical gigging wear n tear...
@@mrredritehand $8000, take it or leave it
I just made $US15M shorting SS amp stocks!!1!!!!
;-)
I have the Vox Pathfinder 15R post 2008 with the brown grill cloth, excellent condition, NEVER giving it away!
@@chancehowes “post 2008 with brown cover “? Is that when they changed it from black ? I wonder were there other changes too When did they stop making them ?
That Deliberately Unnamed(!) microphone is obviously being “warmed up” using an expensive “boutique tube preamp,” which is the reason for the pleasing “tube-like” “complex harmonics.” Solved.
In addition, I believe you'll find the gold plated connectors on the mic cable are warming the signal and adding additional tonez.
Also the Hanson t-shirt
@@MehYam2112 i had to scroll for 20 minutes to find mention of this epic shirt.
Even with that the Mike Mathews EHX & the Marshall both sounded pretty cheesy to my ears. They should have a "cheese off" between them.
@@zopepope I admire your work ethic
This was a solid video
@skbzk was it made from someone in the States?
I definitely had a solid movement after watching it.
Solid state of the art.
@@kudokudami16 yeah this video is solid... A solid piece of crap that is.
Also quite stately.
Josh you are so funny and a very good talker at explaining things. I've learned so much from this channel its unreal. Thank you a lot for helping me understand these pedals and what I need.
Ok, The Jazz Chorus is actually one of the best amps ever
yes i came looking for this comment, legendary amp! i’d choose it over most tube amps any day of the week!
Metalica plays them..you can hear them on "one"
@@aprilschauer4864 Well technically, at this point Metallica is 100% solid state. At least live. They use nothing but Fractal products. :)
Often copied, never equaled!
I hated plugging into this in jazz stage band. Now i want one.
Josh’s top tier Patreon should be him finding a way to talk up gear you’re trying to sell on Reverb.
haha could be useful! I’d just like to watch him attempt to find nice things to say about bad gear I’m selling
Oh that’s brilliant. $50 a month and he could pimp my gear so Reverb prices go nuts for it. Nothing I own is worth anything on Reverb... yet.
Uhhhh if he does that plz take my money
I really need this right now.
Me, looking at my vox pathfinder 10 from across my room: “Don’t listen to the bad man, you sound great.”
gee, I was sayin' the same thing to my Peavey Special
That is a good sounding amp. Unfortunately it can’t get any volume
Vox Pathfinder 10 and Marshall MG15. Both sound decent, if you know dialing in both.
I bought one on reverb that had the led mod and a few other mods...as well as an speaker out jack....it is awesome and i feel I got it for a steal
....and no, the few extra watts don't make you look fat either!
Roland JC120 is a Solid state amplifier. Classic sound. Engineers can simulate tube sound in electronic design.
The JC series are the greatest amps of all-time (in my opinion)
I've owned a JC-120 for 24 years. Great amp
that DOD Grunge Reverb was just Soundgarden in a box, that ruled
I remember seeing this amp back then and thinking “it can’t sound good.” I wish I would have gotten it. It does sound pretty awesome.
Amen
It does sound surprisingly good for what it is and is supposed to do. Especially relative to the cheaper/smaller SS amps he played.
I thought the same thing!
My exact thoughts too
Josh has just made solid state amp prices go to the roof. Josh, please stop the guitar gear inflation.
LMAO, no.
On the other hand, what if that in turn drives down the prices of tube amps?
@@charlesrense5199 They suck even worse then ss
man good. its so hard to sell a SS amp.
@@mrredritehand all amps suck. And all guitars and pedals too. But the ones that suck worst of all are the ones on my wantlist.
Sitting through this was absolutely agonizing. At least he warned us first.
For real. You usually have to go to a “special” club and pay a lot of money to get that kind of torture
I currently use a Fender Champion 100 and I like the versatility. I use Boss Super, overdrive, Morely Power Fuzz Wha, and Electro Harmonix LPB-1. I add a digital reverb pedal in the effects loop. It's loud and has great tone.
Don't play it at full volume for long. It will blow up. It's the digital Fender way.
This was supposed to make me want a solid state amp, but all it did was make me want to get a DOD Grunge pedal.
a little bit of room reverb and you got yourself an in utero esque dirty tone
I'm in this same boat on the Grunge Pedal
I want that pedal now
Damn I had that pedal back in the day.
I have one of those. They're fucking wild
For real tho those Roland Jazz Chorus amps are delicious.
I use mine more than any of my tube amps if running many pedals.
One of the best amps ever created.
@@riffmondo9733 SAME
@@riffmondo9733 me too plus it’s probably the best amp I’ve ever used for my synths it’s so responsive
I love love love my JC-40.
Been Jonesing one for so long
I hate how you made us all think those amps sound good. Shame on you, Josh.
Don't forget to visit Johan Segeborn's channel and scold him for his Peavey Bandit video.
I have used an Award Session Sessionette 75 for 38 years now. Solid state. Only one repair in that time. Serviced by the builder and an amazing, full warm sound. Much admired and known as the British Boogie. Current Blues Baby model is outstanding. No, I have no connections to the company but they are worth checking out.
Josh’s sarcastic tone is to the ears, both confusing yet totally logical at the same time.
The "That Pedal Show" snobs would have a heart attack watching this
@@shankrl1 but we aren't snobs, we just like cool switching systems
@@ileutur6863 I mean Dan haha snubs his nose at anything that isn't "sPeCiAL"
Finally he did it !! What a hero !
-sent from my Roland JC-120
A few years ago I was invited to a jam by my best friend with a prospective drummer and some of his buddies. I brought my Line 6 Spider IV 150, and setup in the spot. It was certainly loud enough to keep up with a drummer, and I honestly never had any trouble getting the sounds I wanted out of it. I really wasn't into tubes or pedals at the time. I'm a metal dude, and it was to be a metal jam, so of course I was aware of the reputation solid state and Line 6 had, especially when it comes to high gain, but I liked the idea of my Line 6 being an all-in-one amp and it was working for me, so I had no burning desire to invest in anything else.
So we're hanging out when this kid walks in and asks the drummer to help him bring in his gear. They leave and a few moments later, the same kid walks in with a Mesa Dual Rectifier head and the drummer is lugging a 5150 cab.
Immediately I was furious. This CHILD has pro-level equipment?! How the hell did this kid get a $3000 rig?! But even worse, just glimpsing his setup gave me terrible tone envy. I was almost embarrassed to kick my combo on. There I was, trying to take myself seriously with my guitar plugged into the laughing-stock of the metal community, up against the quintessential metal stack.
I felt despair.
But then the strangest thing happened.
We started to play and I couldn't believe it. My tone was absolutely crushing his. I looked to my friend for confirmation, and saw him scowling, nodding his head. We should all know by now that a good metal guitar tone causes ones face to curl up into a scowl, very similar to the facial expression that often follows smelling a bad fart.
In terms of sheer loud he had me beat, so the kid tried to compensate by increasing his volume, but was met with complaints from the other musicians. He started dialing knobs, panicked and struggling, his hands dashing across the controls. He was muddy, I was crisp. His bass was flubby and rumbling, while mine was tight and articulated. When he struck a chord, it moved the air, but when I struck a chord it cut right through it. He became more and more visibly frustrated. As he was franticly cutting his mids and boosting his highs to try to match my ferocity, I was carelessly riffing and shredding away on my custom designed preset. After a short while he put his guitar down in frustration, and the session ended. His flex had failed, and I had won.
But in all seriousness, I have pondered this happening since, because it taught me a valuable lesson that is sometimes easy to forget. Maybe the kid JUST got his stack, and really didn't have a feel for it yet, while I'd spent YEARS with my Line 6. I don't recall him having any pedals... maybe his tone would have killed me with a boost. Maybe if he'd boosted his mids instead of cut.
Whatever the reason, it taught me that our guitars, pedals and amplifiers - tube or solid state, boutique or cheap, name brand or otherwise - these things are all nothing more than tools to aid us in our human expression. If it helps you achieve your vision, then it is valid.
It is said that the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. I'm no master by any means, but on that day I think my laughable tools worked better for me than his pro tools did for him.
I've since gained a love for pedals and tube amplifier technology, and I've invested more money than is probably healthy on these things, but that's just part of my journey. That's the coolest thing about music and gear. It's all about YOUR sound and YOUR voice, and experimenting to find it.
And if you find your voice in a solid state amplifier, that is perfectly fine.
Cool Story, Bro ;-)
Gear is no advantage unless you actually know how to use it properly.
Here's to many more years of N00b-pwning :-)
Truest statement ever bruh. Gear is a novice's excuse, and a pro can make anything work given the time. I had 40k worth of studio gear and was blaming my mic pres and converters for stuff not sounding like I wanted, and then I recorded on a friend's x32, and it turned out great. I then stopped making excuses for myself and found the real problem with my knowledge of how to work the gear. Never made anymore excuses.
The rectifier line of amps are probably the worst amps I’ve ever run across as both a player and a tech. While a great musician can make any amp sound good if you choose the right things to play for whatever gear is available. If want to figure out how to turn a guitar into white noise a triple rectifier is your best bet.
@@heywoodfloyd9989 well, i beg to differ. but i agree it's not an easy amp. it definitely has a place in metal tones, and there is a reason why it is and was widely used in the studio. but big part of the sound is cranking up the amp, driving the power amp and the speaker cabinet into saturation. but on a trirec with 150w power that's a deafening experience and certainly does not work on small stages.
@@fitzeflinger yeah, we all have different experiences for sure. Over the years I’ve been in several bands that used trirecs, recorded with them, as well as worked at a studio that dealt with lots of metal bands. I’d say 9 times out of ten the trirec tracks weren’t used in the final recording and often replaced by a vintage marshall, sunn, or a plugin with much better results. I actually can’t think of a record that actually used them with success.
I guess the earlier meshuggah albums got debatably good results from dual recs but I actually think those tones are much worse than when they started using plugins more, plus they never use mesas live, that tells you something too
I had a Johnson Millennium stereo 250 half stack. My parents bought it for me for my high school graduation gift. I loved that amp and used it from 1999 all the way until November 8th 2018 when we lost our home in the “Camp Fire” in Paradise CA.
Wish I still had that bad boy! It was a great and very versatile amp. You can get some surprisingly nice tones out of it.
Oh well, maybe I can replace it one day.
Great video as usual 😊
You're doing god's work, Josh. My mother choked to death on a transistor
I feel your pain. My twin sister developed severe chronic tinnitus from the horrible shrieking of her solid state amp, rendering her incapable of performing everyday tasks.
She now has to undergo tube amp therapy 3 times a week ($$$), which of course her insurance doesn't cover.
I ded
When I was young I didn’t mind hauling Marshall amps around. Now the two 100 watt stacks sit in my music room… just being heavy. Look kewl still ;)
@@michaelg.294 Tragic af
How was the tone tho
The Hanson t-shirt just caps the whole thing off.
With Nirvana logo
ya!
I'm a gigging bass player I exclusively use Solid State Amps & always have they sound great & you can throw em about no breakage & very reliable for the next gig.
I read an old interview with Jimmy Page where he stated he preferred valves for guitar but, and I'm not sure I'm quoting exactly "apparently transistors sound better for bass'. It could be that it's much easier to get fast rising edges - dynamics - from transistors rather than the slight lag you might get from tubes which produces a tighter sound. This lag, in corporation with the lower frequencies probably tends to create a mushier tone. Notice I'm not using absolutes, there are some great tube bass amps out there. Most of them weigh a lot also.
Same, I love the sound of a warm tube bass amp, but for the most part I really like that transistor amps have a great clean sound -which is what I rely on 90% of the time anyway.
Uhm like so what? The adults are talking, now shush.
My setup is a 1w Ruby Amp and 1x8 cab DIY job. Maybe I dont have "the ear", but it sounds great to me!
I can't believe how bad these perfectly good amps sounded I am outraged by how badly good these terrible solid state amps sounded good.
Sounds like the miked cranked Peavey backstage punk amp scenario.
bad to the bone.
That Johnson was so bad, I had to sign up to tik-tok!. I feel so dirty going to such desperate measures for a horrible amp!.
Oh hello Steve! Nice to see you here!
@@ZeEduardo95 hai 👋
I want a Zoom background that consists of the JHS 'pedal museum', and Nick perpetually playing drums in the background, animated in a loop.
I wanna burn a doobie with him lol
"the gold paint sounds best"
Alright William Corgan.
William *Patrick Corgan excuse you
Pretty sure that's the TonePlexi... :-)
Reading this after just watching his interview talking about his different guitars and the sound of paint
Was he always such a crackpot, or did he really go off the deep end in the last 10 years?
@@AintNobodyAtAll yes
You left out the "worst" solid state amps, Oranges!
When I started getting back into guitar, I quickly decided to get a digital Marshall Code 50. It was okay at first and I enjoyed playing around with the different sounds, but once I found that the Silver Jubilee mode was my favorite, I didn't use most of the other features and it started sounding worse to me after comparing it more closely to other amps. I decided to switch earlier this year to a solid state Orange CR60 after demoing a lot of different amps in stores. I grew to hate scrolling through the Code's menu and analog generally sounded better to me (I'm not sure how much that has to do with a lot of digital amps cutting costs with the speaker and cabinet design, though), but I didn't want to have to worry yet about possible maintenance issues with a tube amp. The Orange got close to the Jubilee sound, didn't involve scrolling through menus, and had a variety of inputs and outputs on it. I still intend to get a Jubilee one day, but I am blown away every time I play the CR60. It is so responsive and sounds super smooth and velvety, and it looks gorgeous. Next time I see a Jubilee in a store I definitely want to compare it closely to a CR60 - I might end up not even wanting a Jubilee the CR60 is so good!
I, a tube purist, played a 1970 Ampeg V4 and custom built Plexi clone for years. When the whole tube shortage happened I considered solid state to give it another shot. Picked up the Hughes and Kettner Black Spirit 200 and was blown away. Touch response, tone, overdrive cleaning up from vol roll off, all there. Tone is absolutely phenomenal, circuit is all analog, and it has become my most played amp to date.
I just love that he's wearing a Hanson shirt.
I hope it says "Nirvana" on it. Those shirts rule
even better, i think it says "nirvana" on the bottom.
@@DaDamuse it does!
I have the same one with Nirvana on it. When I wear it in public, the looks of confusion are beyond priceless.
When I was in high school in the mid 90's I had a shirt that said "Hanson Sucks" and my dad threw it away. LOL!
Ah yes the “any old crap” theory. I believe you can get usable tones out of just about anything, especially in a mix. There are plenty of great sounding solid state amps. I think they get a bad rap because beginners often play solid states, a beginner playing a solid state is gonna sound way different than a pro who knows how to dial in their sound. So next time you hear a “bad sounding” solid state, try to keep an open mind and remember we all started somewhere.
Bro, don't you get it. It's a joke video😂
@@tonyp9161 Obviously. Doesn't make his comment any less true
Entry level SS amps are bad no matter how good of a mix engineer you are. I have tried to get usable clean tones and usable dirty tones out of my Fender Mustang and it just absolutely sucked.
@@SleepingLionsProductions I find it very hard to believe you cannot get any unable tones out of a fender mustang, especially no usable clean tones. There's nothing wrong with those amps
Back in the early 90s I started playing bigger venues and my small amp wasn't up for the job... well according to my band mates at least. I'm a fan of keeping volumes pretty low on stage and letting the PA do the work. (I'm an ex audio engineer) So, I went out looking at dozen of tube amps, and the one that I liked the best, by quite a lot actually, was an Ampeg SS-140C. You'd think that maybe the SS in the model number would have tipped me off that it was "Solid State" but you'd be wrong. 😆 It wasn't until I got it home that I noticed... there were no tubes! THE HORROR! How could I have done such a thing?! Actually, I didn't think that at all. It was more like, "oh, solid state. Huh. I guess I won't have to worry about replacing tubes." I went on with my life and frankly I loved that amp maybe more than any tube amp I've ever owned, and I've owned a fair amount of them over the years. I know this makes me a bad person, but I have accepted that it is my job to play this role.
Those old Ampegs are absolute legends now.
Orange Crush amps are fantastic amps as well.
Love my 35rt! Little thing can roar!
Yet you're never going to find a forum that will agree, fucking tone snobs man.
I got the crush 20rt and its the best amp I've ever owned. Works great with pedals and the distortion on it is pretty good too. Considering getting one with an fx loop.
WORD
I picked up a 12w a few weeks ago, it is a great little amp.
Thank you for posting this. I've been there - started with "sucky" solid state and was happy with them. I went down a tube rabbit hole when some douche I used to play with felt my tone would sound better. It didn't... well, it sounded good, though the amp was always breaking down and blowing fuses. I had a few tube amps going and the one that sounded best (Blues Junior) would literally die at gigs and I BOUGHT IT NEW! The Fender Twin was a bit more reliable though it was stupid heavy and didn't sound good to me. I sold both and went back to the amps I was playing 20 years ago: Roland Cube 60s. I use them for jazz, for heavy rock and blues gigs and acoustic gigs. They are versatile and consistant and don't "blow fuses". Also, contrary to the popular idiom: nobody knows what I'm playing. I played a heavy gig with it a few years ago. Used it's clean channel and boss MT2 for most of the night. At the end of the show a friend of mine (who plays heavy music) asked: "What were you using on 'Man in a Box'?" I said "A Roland Cube and a metal zone - and don't act like you don't like it now!" LOL We both laughed because that's a thing. Play solid state - they sound good, they are good.
Edit: also the bass sound on "Stack of Cash" is killer.
Also: I love that most "decent" solid state amps have "line outs" that make them super versatile on large stages. Most tube amps don't... which is what REALLY sucks.
Cubes really are like the most solid, solid states you can get. They really do sound great. I don't own one myself but I've had friends with them and they always impressed me.
I got a Roland BA-330 PA for busking with BASS and I’ve never regretted that decision.
Yeah my 2001 Blues Jr. hasn’t worked for years. It ate power tubes at first until I added adjustable bias. Now just looking inside makes something else go wrong.
@@chipsterb4946 My belief is the Blues Junior is the best sounding amp Fender has made... but every corner was cut to make it so which hinders it's ability to be taken seriously. Even the NOS version I had with the "upgraded" speaker could likely benefit from a further upgrade. People used to do the "Bill M Mods" though I struggled to invest so much in a breadboard amp. Also while some like to change the bias it still gets hot which makes it's parts unreliable. Mine used to blow fuses just being plugged into the outlets in my apartment. It also blew a fuse at a gig one night and I had to sit out for it. I never gigged with it again. To me, Fender should be embarrassed to sell that amp. It really needs a redesign and some serious tweaks and it'd be perfect... though that's like saying: "He'd be as good as Lebron if only he were 6'8!"
I have a question about the part where you said you would often blow the fuses. Was it from rough treatment of the amp, did you ever replace the tubes? How often would it happen and what was the lifespan of your average tube
One of the best guitar tones I've ever heard live was a Sunn Beta Lead into a 1000w solid state power amp. Monstrously loud, crunchy, gnarly, amazing and no tubes in sight.
Let's see, who has used Sunn Beta amplifiers...
The Melvins
Cliff Burton
Nirvana
Big Business
@@ThisIsNeUserNamo ha, it was the Melvins w/ Big Business. Red Fang uses them too I think? Either way it sounded amazing. I think most of the stigma around solid state is because everybody's first amp is a cheap solid state practice amp like a fender frontman 15 or something. I know mine was, and I didn't want anything to do with solid state amps for a while after that...
@@PostalDude667 The Fender Frontman line has an OK gain sound if you ask me (owner of a 10 watt one, friend has a 25 watt one he's gigged with). It's not tasteful blues crunch or chunky death metal chug, for sure, but if you just want to thrash out some punk rock power chords you could do a lot worse.
@@ThisIsNeUserNamo frank navetta of descendents too
The one you said you like was the worst of the lot. I loved the Jazz Chorus 120, biggest mistake I ever made was selling mine.
This video is what the entire world of guitar needed.
Just got to this video - can we have a moment of appreciation for Nick's drumming? I feel like he grew substantially as a drummer while doing JHS Pedal show. :) Cool stuff!
Once watched a show where guitarist's amp was this sort of retro looking tube* amp. His tone was absolutely amazing so I went to talk to him afterwards. It was a line6 with a face lift. Taught me a real good lesson of 'if it sounds good it is good"
I still have my Roland Jazz Chorus that I bought in 1983. Still love it.
I think the lesson here is just because you think you can't get a good sound out of a piece of gear, doesn't mean it Sucks. I had a circa 1982 Crate 112 solid state guitar amp. I originally got it for a keyboard and then started using it when I first started learning the guitar. About 7-8 years later I had it at a band practice as a backup amp and another guitar player was interested in it and borrowed it and then bought it. A while later I saw him playing with his band and he was using it and had an amazing tone (think 80's hair band with lots of pinch harmonics and whammy bars). I realized then he could find a great tone there that I could not. But I found mine in a Gallien-Krueger 250ML (series II). Take note that both amps are solid state and suck! :)
The ONLY reason that Johnson even sounded PASSABLE is because of the engineer's careful placement of the '57 at the perfect spot on the LCD screen!!
Took some real sound engineering skills
The Roland JC-120 is one of the best sounding amps I've had the pleasure to play with!
Yes, and don't discount its little brother, the JC-40, for when you don't want to wake up all neighboring counties.
last year I traded a multicab with a JC120... I'm so proud having one right now!!
Agree. I used two JC77s for many years.
You mean, "worst" sounding amps right????
I got mine for 75.00 from a pawnshop. I’ll never sell it.
Your absolutely right Josh. I've only kept my '95 Peavey audition with spring reverb all these years to remind me of how terrible these things can be.
I’ve done the same with my Fender (non-DSP) ultimate chorus. Terrible thing.
Let me say this: Nick is a good drummer.
Kudos, Nick.
Yeah, I most vehemently agree with you
No, take it back. Dont praise the dummer, he'll feel needed
Yeah, but solid state nick sucks!
@@vincet68 True, I can live with digital Nick though and he doe what I say
Yeah, I really like the fact that Nick has a volume control on his drum set. Most drummers don't and that is why he is such a good drummer!
I knew Josh was tall but seeing him next to that Marshall half stack… Just wow. What a beast of a man.
At least 12’ tall.
The drummer is so talented. His timing is beyond perfect, always right in the pocket. I obviously love my marshall origin 20h head- but I have played some really good solid state amps in the past. With each passing year, the solid state amps are just getting better sounding.
**Edit** I actually just grabbed this sort of generic solid-state from Amazon last week for $93, in a natural wood casing, 10", 60w speaker..nothing special but the sound was beyond perfect for a practice amp. No regrets on that one. I think the brand was Lyx..they don't seem to be super popular, but that was a helluva deal. They run for like $149 but I applied for an Amazon card and caught some mean savings then paid that shit right off proper. Only used one pedal so far out of it, just a joyo digital delay, not the aquarius, the cheaper one..and it actually handles very well. Just saying...
I fully agree. I have an old crate g120c head and no it doesn't sound like a dual rectifier, but it doesn't sound bad, it just sounds like a crate, which I think is a pretty sweet tone when the riff calls for it.
"The gold paint sounds the best" 😂 new shirt idea
Tone paint is actually a thing, Its been proven fact actually !! Lol
YES!!!
Damn I've been wanting a gold top LP. Bucket list guitar.
The gold paint should be the name on the next JHS pedal.
The Jazz Chorus amps are lovely. Surprised I don’t see more of them in the wild. Guy I knew had one and every time he turned it on it sounded beautiful.
So are yamaha's G-series solid state amps from the late 70s/early 80s, designed by Paul Rivera to compete with Roland, also the professional line of solid state amps Fender came out with when Paul Rivera was their marketing director in the 80s were damn good, as well as the Gibson lab series and the Polytone minibrute which are legendary among jazz players
@@jasondorsey7110 I have a 1980 Peavey Pacer that sounds beautiful. As much as I love valve amps, solid state amps can sound absolutely beautiful. I don’t care what makes the sound if I like the sound.
Neal Schon used a Peavey Mace for Escape and Frontiers
Dude !!!
This video was so funny !!!
I love it !!!
Im really intrigued with the “Roland Jazz Chorus”
I play my acoustic guitars through solid state.
It’s a pretty old,
“Peavy Acoustic 110”
(With a mic input)
My home amp is a Vox AC4C1.
My stepping out amp is a
Fender Deluxe Reverb (RI)
For Fender Tele &
Epiphone Studio DOT.
I appreciate you mic'ing the LCD screen of the Johnson. That was extremely insightful! LOL
Yeah but he should've used a ribbon mic like the Royer 121, it would've given it a lot more whomp in the low end and a soaring, pillowy sparkle in the highs.
@@JalenRawley right on…pillowy sparkle! Love it!
Had a Roland JC-50 in the later eightys. Had a Boss DS-1 distortion with it and wasn’t that cool with the other guys with their Marshall stacks and tube screamers. Still have it and love it!
"let's play this Les Paul, the gold paint sounds best" never before have I ever agreed with someone so much in my life. The paint makes a tremendous sound difference guys,
The tone paint wars are brewing.
🤣🤣🤣
Have you ever heard of Orgonite? The gold paint or brass particles along with mica (a 2d quartz) in a organic matrix of polymerized cellulose attract Orgone energy which affects the player holding the guitar over their navel Chakra. The vibrating Orgone field interacts with the magnetic field in the pickups and change the way the wires conduct alternating current in the pickups which makes the low level detail and sustain of the guitar exceed other finishes. Also the maple cap under the "gold" is plain not interlocked grain maple which has less self dampening characteristic. The Orgone field allows the guitar to "merge with your intent" it becomes an intent amplifier. So now you all know why the gold top is best, no kidding.
This proves/reinforces one MAJOR thing.
“Average band with a great drummer sounds great, great band with an average drummer sounds average.”
Same goes for a lot of guitar TONES used by many artists. In isolation, many tones sounds horrid or out of place.
But in context with a good rhythm section, everything becomes a lovely painted picture.
Hence why you see MANY pedal companies taking this approach.
Check out pedal demo videos without a good backing band or track and you’ll see a rise in complaints about tone or playing style.
The Cure is legendary. It brings me such joy that you spotlight the impact they have made musically. Their albums "Seventeen Seconds" and "Pornography" are some of my favorite
I have 2 Vox Pathfinder amps - one in a head version. The combo has a speaker out jack though. I played that 15 watt solid state amp through one side of a Vox 4x12 cab (so think 2x12 vertical cab) - played that in an 8 piece band and never had issues with clean volume. Crazy. The other guitarists figured it was a tube amp and commented how good it sounded with my Strat.