[Thom B]

I have a question, I´ve been looking at a marshall artist 3203 head.It has tubes in the power amp but not in the preamp. I´ve seen peavey amps with this setup. My question is ,Can you get a "tube" sound out of an amplifier like this or do need tubes also in the preamp ??

[technomancer]

The majority of the 'tube sound' comes from the preamp. The tubes in the power amp will make it a bit warmer than straight solid state though.

[ohio_eric]

I've heard it argued that if you're going to go with a hybrid amp you're better off having tubes in the power section as opposed to the preamp section. I tend to think most of the reason like tube amps is the power amp not the pre amp.

Think about it. There are far more guitarist who are anal about their power tubes than their pre amp tubes. Plus a lot of guitarist pre amp their tube amps with solid state distortion pedals and boosters, but very few who use a solid state power amp to amplify an all tube pre amp. Also changes in the power amp tubes are usually more dramatic than changes in the preamp. Such as switching from el34 to kt88 tubes.

So to answer your question, yes you should get decent tube amp tone from that Marshall assuming it's a good amp. I've never heard one so I can't say.

[Drew]

Originally Posted by ohio_eric

I've heard it argued that if you're going to go with a hybrid amp you're better off having tubes in the power section as opposed to the preamp section. I tend to think most of the reason like tube amps is the power amp not the pre amp.

Think about it. There are far more guitarist who are anal about their power tubes than their pre amp tubes. Plus a lot of guitarist pre amp their tube amps with solid state distortion pedals and boosters, but very few who use a solid state power amp to amplify an all tube pre amp. Also changes in the power amp tubes are usually more dramatic than changes in the preamp. Such as switching from el34 to kt88 tubes.

So to answer your question, yes you should get decent tube amp tone from that Marshall assuming it's a good amp. I've never heard one so I can't say.

+1. I'm a total tube snob. I've NEVER understood the traditional "hybrid" tube amps, where you stick a single 12ax7 in the preamp (and, with two gain stages max, that's not NEARLY enough to generate the sort of distortion these things have, so you know there's a certain amout of solid state diode distortion, too), then run it into a solid state poweramp, and charvge near-tube prices for the result. It's assinine, one tube won't make that muchof a difference.

This, however, is a much more intelligent design. Sure, a tube preamp is nice, but the real benefit of tubes is in the output stage, where you get a bit of natural compression and warmth as they begin to distort.

I've also heard good things about that particular model - Iknew a guy with a 50-watt version, I believe, that he swears by.

Do it, I thinkit's the most intelligent "hybrid" design I've seen.

[Thom B]

Thanks. I think it´s worth trying out.

[Donnie]

I can't say that I've even heard of these amps. I'd like to check one out.

[technomancer]

Guess I was thinking more along the lines of a real tube preamp, like a Triaxis, with a solid state power amp as opposed to a hybrid with a single 12AX7 which is pretty much pointless.

[ohio_eric]

One note. The old Music Man amps I think used to have this design, a solid state pre-amp and tube power amp.

[OzzyC]

Originally Posted by ohio_eric

One note. The old Music Man amps I think used to have this design, a solid state pre-amp and tube power amp.

vox valvetronix is like that

[Dylan7620]

Originally Posted by OzzyC

vox valvetronix is like that

the valvetronix uses the 12ax7 for something like a 1 wat power amp, then it feeds it to an even bigger solid state power amp. different than a full tube output section like on the artists.