I got a good deal on a Fender amp, its a Stage Lead 212 transistor amp, 100 watts, excellent clean channel, so-so gain channel. I payed only $245 Canadian for it ($175 US) because the reverb doesn't work.
How can I (if at all) get a good tube amp sound out of it? Any good pedals? Processors? Preamps?
Simulating a tube amp sound
Moderator: jingle_jangle
The Tech 21 brand of analog effect pedals and preamps are highly rated. Check out the Harmony Central reviews. I use the SansAmp RBI preamp for bass, and it sounds great. The SansAmp PSA-1 preamp and SansAmp GT2 pedal are highly rated for guitar, and the most popular. The PSA-1 is multi-purpose and digitally programmable, but maintains analog signal circuitry. The GT2 allows Fender, Marshall, and Mesa-Boogie tube amp emulation. There are other pedals, such as the Tri-A.C. which is geared toward live performance, and the SansAmp Classic which has more versatility in tone shaping than the GT2. I have seen the GT2 go for less than $100 on eBay. It costs $170 US from Musician's Friend, and MF gets $150 US for the Tri-A.C. The $300 I paid for the RBI is a bargain because a 5 pound emulation preamp is a lot easier to carry than a 100 pound Peavey BAM 210 bass modeling amp (not to mention an SVT), and a lot cheaper if you already have a good basic amp (stereo, PA system, clean bass or guitar amp, organ/keyboard amp, etc.).
I plan on at least getting a GT2 or Tri-A.C. for guitar when I get through experimenting with the RBI, but since I own a tube amp already, there's no big hurry. The build quality of my RBI seems fairly high for the price, and it really sounds like a tube bass amp.
I plan on at least getting a GT2 or Tri-A.C. for guitar when I get through experimenting with the RBI, but since I own a tube amp already, there's no big hurry. The build quality of my RBI seems fairly high for the price, and it really sounds like a tube bass amp.
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toneman
Ah.. the old dilema of trying to make a transistor amp sound like a tube amp. This has been something that amp manufactures have been trying to do for the last 38 years.
Personally, I don't think it'll ever happen. No amount of germanium, silicon or digital modeling can ever make any amp sound like a tube amp. To my ears nothing has come close. There's a few tube powered pedals out there that can warmit up a bit. Make sure those pedals run on high voltage and not some wall wart that provides 12-18v to the tube. you need at least 200v to a tube for it to work right.
Personally, I don't think it'll ever happen. No amount of germanium, silicon or digital modeling can ever make any amp sound like a tube amp. To my ears nothing has come close. There's a few tube powered pedals out there that can warmit up a bit. Make sure those pedals run on high voltage and not some wall wart that provides 12-18v to the tube. you need at least 200v to a tube for it to work right.
I agree with Don, if you MUST get that tube amp sound, get yourself a tube amp! However, analog tube amp emulators such as the SansAmp RBI that I have sound so good that they should be judged on their own sound merits. Forget whether it is solid state or hollow state. Let your ears be the judge. If you think the Fender amp you have has an excellent clean channel, then it's an excellent candidate for something like a SansAmp unit.