One thing I do like about solid state amps is that generally speaking you can get them to break up at a lower volume than tube amps (not categorically, but generally). However, I think the best word to describe the distortion of solid state amps is “sterile.” It just seems kind of cold–a wash of sound without much character.

I occasionally run a hybrid Vox Cambrian twin which uses a solid state power amp, but I believe the preamp is run by a couple of AX12’s. It breaks up very nicely, but there’s not much headroom there. But the distortion has plenty of character–very dark and brooding. The clean sound is really bright and chimey, somewhat reminiscent of the old Vox Super Beatles. Nice, but not loud enough for big venues.

My personal axe to grind on this whole subject is amp modeling, in which the manufacturer takes the solid state circuitry and sets up digital programming by which they claim they can simulate not only different amp configurations such as Marshall, Fender, Orange, and the like, but also different speaker configurations. I find these claims woefully inaccurate. I remember when the AX-6 came out in the 90’s from Line 6 and a guy was demoing it for me. The claim was that one of the patches simulated Ritchie Blackmore’s Strat tone. Now I am a huge Blackmore fan and he has influenced my playing greatly over the years. That tone wasn’t anything like Ritchie! I just had to laugh and say “next.”

My take on it is this: particularly in terms of dollars spent–Why spend thousands of dollars trying to make your Les Paul running through your multi-thousand dollar amp modeler sound like a Tele through a Fender Champ? Why not just go on eBay or Craigslist and get a Tele and a Champ? I don’t get it. In general I think amp modeling solid states fall woefully short of the goal.

Another solution is to try out different stomp boxes. I see where Sans Amp is now making a series of amp modeling stomp boxes to emulate the old Fender Tweeds, the Vox AC-30, and West Coast style amps such as the 5150–worth a shot I think, and a darn site less expensive. Sans Amp is really making a comeback. I use ProTools v. 8.0 in the studio and they now offer a Sans Amp plug-in with the Pro Tools package and the presets are awesome–much more accurate than any amp modeling I’ve ever heard. Plus you can tweak them and save them as your own presets. I would have never thought of using a guitar plug-in until this came along. If you’re cramped for space in your studio, it’s a nice solution. My favorite presets are the Schanker and the Fender Champ–you can get a great simulation of UFO with the Schanker and a great Michael Campbell/Tom Petty tone with the Champ.
That being said, I still like to park the Deville in the next room from time to time, hook up a Sennheiser and move some serious air–accept no substitutes!

Or better yet–go talk to Keith and Val at the Temple of Tone and they will custom build something for you. At the risk of sounding like an apple polisher, these guys are close to the best I’ve run across in the business and I’ve toured nationally and internationally for around 35 years. I’m getting ready to redo my pedalboard–I’ve pretty much been a Fender/Boss guy for most of my life. But the brand names will only take you so far. If you want to tweak for the ultimate tone, I believe you have to delve into the boutique field, and I’ve tried a number of Keith’s in-store prototypes and there is some serious tone exploration going on there, plus they are all user friendly.

I know I’ve gone a little over the top in response to this question, but it’s a disease I have–too much information. If anyone out there wants to correspond, please go to my website listed above. I have sound bites, gear listings, and a contact page.

Go hard or go home!

JM