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Post by allthumbs on Apr 9, 2016 19:01:17 GMT
I'm in the run down to my final Open uni exam in June but thoughts are turning to what to do with all the free time I'll have when it is over. My background is radio and electronics and even though they were before my time, I learned about 'valve's mainly due to the fact that transistors can't thump out kilo watts of oomph in a HF transmitter. Anyhow, aside from playing a lot more, I need something else to do and have decided to resurrect some old projects involving hi-fi valve amps, HF valve receivers etc. My thoughts have thus turned to an acoustic amp for my uke. My question is simply this: do valves have a place in an acoustic instrument amplifier? I don't for a second think I could achieve a distortion level akin to a solid state amp, but I've tried my uke through all sorts of amps and pre-amps and it never sounded that good until I dug out my old Fender Performer 1000 and played it through the valve pre-amp channel with a tad of overdrive. It suddenly sounded a bit nice. I've had no time to determine if it is more to do with plenty of juice through a genuine Fender speaker or the colour added by the valve ( or both). My mind works better with transistor technology but I'm prepared to have a stab at a valve amp if people think there might be something worth exploring? Opinions please
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Post by dave100 on Apr 9, 2016 19:18:06 GMT
I prefer a valve amp sound for my account. I put my collings through a wienbrock
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Apr 17, 2016 19:06:05 GMT
I don't really know if a valve acoustic amp would be better for a uke. Hi-Fi gurus suggest that a good transistor amp outperforms its valve competitor in terms of pure, clear sound, and that guitar players like valve amps because of the 'warm' sound and the ability to overdrive them. This is just what I've read, mind, so I have no evidence of my own. Good luck with your exam!
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Post by grayn on Apr 18, 2016 11:29:29 GMT
People are amplifying Ukes!!!!!!!!! ?? OMG!!!
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leoroberts
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Post by leoroberts on Apr 18, 2016 12:33:13 GMT
People are amplifying Ukes!!!!!!!!! ?? OMG!!!LOL!
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Apr 18, 2016 13:01:28 GMT
People are amplifying Ukes!!!!!!!!! ?? OMG!!!Yes indeed - mine sounds heavenly through our church PA system!!! Keith
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Post by grayn on Apr 19, 2016 11:45:37 GMT
People are amplifying Ukes!!!!!!!!! ?? OMG!!!Yes indeed - mine sounds heavenly through our church PA system!!! Keith Is that the broken PA? Anyway God hates ukes, that's why he stunted their growth.
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walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on Apr 20, 2016 8:42:02 GMT
There's definitely a subtle sense of warmth and expansiveness in tubes that you don't get from solid state. Having said that, I used to carry both a Vox AC 30 and a Vox AC 100, not for scale of sound but because one or the other would always fail at some time. Admittedly I worked mine hard, but with a valve amp you automatically increase heat and vibration issues and you will have to replace the tubes somewhere along the line.
If I was buying an amp now I'd go solid state, simply to avoid having to visit the grubby little electrical shop behind the Odeon. It is still there, isn't it?
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Post by lavaman on Apr 20, 2016 10:40:58 GMT
If I was buying an amp now I'd go solid state, simply to avoid having to visit the grubby little electrical shop behind the Odeon. It is still there, isn't it? I keep clean by shopping on-line www.karltone.co.uk/.
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walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on Apr 20, 2016 12:33:33 GMT
If I was buying an amp now I'd go solid state, simply to avoid having to visit the grubby little electrical shop behind the Odeon. It is still there, isn't it? I keep clean by shopping on-line www.karltone.co.uk/. I know what you mean, but it wasn't just the valves that went wrong in the fluff-shrouded, volcano-like interiors of those boxes, as our bass player once discovered seconds before he was due to play through a live episode of New Faces. (He got away with playing the bass lines on a quacky SG. Nobody seemed to notice.) Do you think valve amps are more reliable now though? My experience was in the days of burgundy-coloured platform shoes and the useless things K-tel made out of really odd poo-coloured plastic, back when something fell off practically everything within days of purchase, so I may well be talking through my blowhole.
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Post by lavaman on Apr 20, 2016 14:50:52 GMT
The best valve amp I ever had was a used Hiwatt. It was built like a tank and all the components were hand wired. I gigged with it for 15 years and never had a problem. I sold it at enormous profit to a collector in the USA. My current valve amp is a used Marshall where the valve holders are fastened direct onto the printed circuit board rather than the chassis. So, I think modern valve amps are probably less reliable, but cheaper in real terms. Please, never remind me of platform shoes again.
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