Author Topic: 30 watts valve vs. 30 watts solid state=? (Read 3775 times)

sambo · « **on:** January 31, 2006, 07:10:08 PM »

not really sure where to put this but its kind of to do with amps so ill put it in here....

anyway... just wondered... how much louder would a 30 watt valve amp be than a 30 watt solid state amp??? i know that volume isnt directly dependant on watts and that so much stuff differs between amps that its hard to give an exact figure but i was just interested cause i now have a laney lc30 and wanted to see how much louder it would be than my old 65 watt crate....

MDV · « **Reply #1 on:** January 31, 2006, 07:13:42 PM »

A lot louder. To the human ear. about 3 times is the rule of thumb I've heard, and my expierience is consistent with that (though valves matter too: eg, 6l6s sound louder than EL34s)

big steve · « **Reply #2 on:** January 31, 2006, 07:17:19 PM »

the reason is that SS amps produce more odd order harmonics (3rd, 5th etc) and valve amps produce more even order harmonics (ie 2nd harmonic, 4th harmonic...), and the even order harmonics are much more apparent to the human ear

Hell Hound · « **Reply #3 on:** January 31, 2006, 07:56:25 PM »

The other reason is the power rating for SS are given for full power, and you never achive that in reality but something like 30% of that (mainly because transistor only achive their full potential in a switching state, like in class D amps, never seen any for guitar yet).
On the other hand tubes always give 100% of what they got, master volume just reduce preamp out, not the actual power :)

indysmith · « **Reply #4 on:** January 31, 2006, 08:06:37 PM »

Quote from: Hell Hound

On the other hand tubes always give 100% of what they got, master volume just reduce preamp out, not the actual power :)

So how comes valves die quicker when yu use them with full master volume? :?

Hell Hound · « **Reply #5 on:** January 31, 2006, 08:17:25 PM »

I'm not a tube amp expert but it seems when you drive the input of a power tube harder, it dies faster. it also depend on how the tube are biased, a colder bias extend the life of your tubes but give less even harmonics...

HJM · « **Reply #6 on:** January 31, 2006, 09:09:12 PM »

A 30w transistor amp is as Hell Hound says given it's rating at 30w is as much as it will hope to give out - any more and it'll sound really nasty. Valve amps ratings are given clean, and when the power valves distort they are producing more power. That and the harmonics.

Basically....he says trying to make this make some kind of sense.....amp power ratings should be given by the manufacturer as a wattage the amp can produce before clipping (distortion). When transistors clip you need to turn down because it sounds cr@p and transistor amps have a tendency to dump DC to the speakers that fries them fast. Valve distortion sounds great so you keep turning up!

:) :twisted:

Hell Hound · « **Reply #7 on:** January 31, 2006, 09:48:02 PM »

Hahaha just say i'm crazy :lol: