Like many of the respondents above I can't see why you have had so much trouble with tube amps. If you think back, before solid state wastubes, and everything ran on tubes, mostly, with little problem. The only difference is that now many tube amp designers are actually from a solid state background where it's standard practice to run everything at about 94% of its maximum rating as a norm. This is not good news for tubes. they prefer to run at their sweet spot, which is usually about 65% running (giving massive room for inadvertant overload, abuse etc). All the guitarists who use tube amps in the world can't all be wrong.... And do you really need all that power? I have a system which runs 12watt amps into InnerSound stat hybrids in a 20x15 room with no volume problems! As long as your amp is well built, not pushing the limits of the components, well ventilated, and of good sound design you won't go far wrong. Caps tend to go before tubes, so get any caps checked out first. My recommendations; vocale tube amps ([email protected]), or Sugden solid state, class A jobs. Don't give up; tubes are the way to go. graham
I need tube sound without the tubes
I've been running tubes for awhile and am just about fed up with all the problems that tubes entail. I've spent the past five years putting out fires...sometimes literally. Problem is I love the tube sound. Now, I'm a poor social worker with a taste for caviar and a pocket for tunafish...anyone out there have any recommendations for a great cheap amplifier that sounds sorta tubey. I need at least 75W per channel to run my speakers effectively. Cheap, my doctor and lawyer friends, means around $400. Maybe I'll be able to afford more in my next lifetime. Anybody want to make a donation to charity?