Hmm, I was drunk earlier, and I was going to let out a big rant, lamblasting noodles for dissing the SE, but I got a little bit of sleep, sobered up, and avoided what could have been a very embarressing situation with me getting totally owned.
Anyway, just thought I'd share that for the lulz.
So, on to a more reasoned argument. I had sickening amounts of GAS for the SE not so long ago, because it really is a fantastic amp, 'plastic' would certainly not be a term I'd use to describe it, nor would I say it's processed or artificial sounding. What I would say is that it's very tight, very focused, very high gain and very compressed. So while I don't agree with the terminology used, I can totally see why a few people here don't like the amp. I was going to say that noodles probably hasn't had enough time with the amp, and considering the labyrinthine amount of sound shaping controls and options, it would be like someone trying a Mark IV for the first time, and being unsatisfied...
But there are certain qualities to the amp that you're just not going to be able to dial out, so I can very much respect that noodles probably wouldn't be happy with the amp no matter how long he spent with it.
(Although, I do feel that if you can't get some lower gain tones out of an SE, you're doing something very wrong, just listen to some of Steve Morse's more recent live clips, he was using the EL34 SE, and getting some absolutely gorgeous tones that aren't ultra high gain death metal stuff. It's there, you just gotta tweak.)
The SE is definitely cut from the same cloth as the Powerball, and while it has far, far better lead sounds, and a hell of a lot more mids on tap, it's still got that same kind of quality to the EQ, it's voicing and the gain. Compressed, compressed, compressed is definitely the most accurate criticism, because the aforementione Powerball, the Fireball and the SE all have this really focused EQ, and there isn't as much 'wiggle room' to work with, as if all the frequencies are tightened in together. There's that lower midrange that you're not really going to be able to dial out, so if you're after something with more of a higher or neutral midrange, then it's not really going to work for you. Likewise, if you're after dynamics, the response isn't going to make you happy.
However...
With all that said, I can totally understand why Joe would want to go for an SE, in spite of it's critics. Any of the criticisms of the amp can easily be looked at as positives here, one man's lack of dynamics can be a great plus for another player, and there is a certain sound that it excels at like no other amp. Now, I'm 110% happy that I bought the Invader, rather than holding out for an SE, because I feel that in the last year or so, my needs have changed considerably, and my current amp suits those needs better. I'd been playing much lower gain stuff, kinda like
this, and that kind of quality of gain and dynamics, the Invader lends itself to.
The two amps are just like apples and oranges, the whole voicing, dynamics, response, everything about them is vastly different. I'm still in awe of how easily I can vary my picking to achieve a light crunch to a Megadeth style high gain sound, without even touching the gain knob. But, it's something I'm still getting used to with rythms, and I do miss the response the Fireball had in that respect, it was tight as hell and didn't really take much notice of your pickng hand. I think that's often where the 'processed' criticism comes in. With the Invader, I have to keep my picking much more consistant to keep the rythm sound tight. (The tubescreamer helps me out greatly with this aspect!) A lot of people would say the amp has a lot more feel, or more '3D' so to speak. So yeah, they're both truly great amps, but vastly different. I know that if I had the SE now, I probably wouldn't be as happy with it, it just doesn't have the same capacity for low gain applications as the Invader.
I can see completely why Joe (or anyone else for that matter) would want the SE over the Invader though. There still is no greater amp in my mind for those tight, focused and brutal, ultra high gain kinda sounds, and if that's your thing, then there is no amp on the planet that can deliver that as good, or come anywhere close to it.
Sometimes I think I'd like to have both an Invader and SE, and get the best of both worlds, but I doubt that'll ever happen.
Also, whoa, long rant!
