Do Tubes Sound Better Than Transistors ?
The great debate continues…. I guess if you want an original sound from the 60’s and 70’s then it’s difficult to beat a tube guitar amp. New transistor designs are quite clever these days though, but don’t get drawn into thinking you’ve bought a tube amp because it’s called something like ‘Transtube ®’ which is a Peavey product and even has a logo including a picture of a tube. Transtube ® is a semiconductor circuit designed to emulate a tube amp sound. Then there’s modelling amps which synthesise vintage tube sounds. These aren’t bad but they can have that harshness associated with digital effects. Tubes (which in Europe are also called Valves) produce a more mellow, easy listening sound. A sound that isn’t so harsh or so tiring on your ears. Not that there aren’t some great sounding transistor amps out there of course. But why do tube amps and transistor amps sound so different?
