The ESP Guitar Company

idk bout that dude. my hughes and kettner warp 7 solid state combo held up pretty well against a Trip Rect...did i get the great tones i wanted...no, thats y i added a PRE-Peavey Damage Control Demonizer.........i find that solid states are plenty loud...i just prefer the warmth and tone to a tube amp....as for it getting hot? that im not to sure how to answer

Solid states tones remain pretty much the same at either low or high volume. With tube amp's come the opposite. They sound better usually cranked and sound different at higher volumes vs. low. Dimebag used solid state amps for years and swears by them, before he switched to Krank. So yes, they're great for any gig depending on what solid state amp it is of course.

Solid state amp's were made famous for their reliability on the road. No failing tubes to worry about or whatever. No warming up the amp, you can just turn em on and rip then turn em off (obviously). My jam amp is a Randall RH100 (the model before the G2's), and it sounds better cranked than at lower volumes (in vintage gain mode, modern gain makes you invisible, not enough mid)

People probably assumed that the difference in volume between tube watts and solid state watts meant that SS amps are not as good in loud situations. That just isn't true. I've NEVER had a problem with my Randall not being loud enough, ever.

The power amps that are used in P.A systems at huge concerts are solid state. No problems there.

solid state keep their tone regardless of volume, and neither SS or tube last longer.

SS do not get as hot, but that doesn't mean anything if you don't mind heat. they also don't require as much maintainence. they usually weigh less and are more road durable.

SS do lack warmth however and can sound harsh.

Bottom line is that you can get both SS and tubes to sound good and both can get loud enough to practice and to ply live.

Check out my "family picture" thread to see my Marshall stack. It does everything I need it to do ... I have never had any problems with SS amps. I would therefore agree with the above assessments.

the first thing is definetly not true if you have a nice SS amp and you mike it up it'll blast the house just as good as any tube amp. and yeah i think SS amps would last longer at least on the inside but it depends on whether the outside is built like a tank but i guess that doesnt matter AS much. and yeah they dont get hot

The general idea with the SS/tube watts thing is that -

300 watt solid state amp = 100 watt tube amp.

100 watt solid state amp = 33.3 watt tube amp.

etcetera.

I remember reading that (atleast tube) amps aren't putting out their full wattage until they are at max volume. So max volume = 100watts but with saying that, it doesn't fold down to half volume = 50 watts.

I've always had solid states. Line 6 for the past 10 years or so. To be perfectly honest...I don't even know how to turn on a tube amp!