Three Words: Vintage Solid State Amp

DinoMikeSr

DinoMikeSr

I have the box
Ok 4 words. I crap you not, I just read it. Sorry, I just never associated value lifting language with old solid state amps before. All hail the crystal lattice.

Note: I don’t hate tubes, I just don’t have any tube amps and because of my usual venue, my house, I don’t shop for them. I do shop for solid state amps all the time.
 
It was bound to happen. There have been SS amps that went through periods that they were quite popular, so having those come around again had to happen. Heck, BB King's classic tone was from a SS Lab Series amp. Ty Tabor used to use the same amp.
 
"Vintage" has to do with age not value, but I get your drift.

Still, there were solid state amps way back when, and that makes them legit "vintage" and some might ascribe some value to that that has nothing to do with the fact that they are solid state.
"I had one when I was a kid."
"<Insert famous artist name here> played one back in the day."
 
dodgechargerfan said:
"Vintage" has to do with age not value, but I get your drift.

Still, there were solid state amps way back when, and that makes them legit "vintage" and some might ascribe some value to that that has nothing to do with the fact that they are solid state.
"I had one when I was a kid."
"<Insert famous artist name here> played one back in the day."
Click to expand...


Technically, ye olde dictionary definition of vintage in this context is intended to indicate of a time when quality was a hallmark of a thing.

But marketers gonna market.
 
Lerxst said:
Technically, ye olde dictionary definition of vintage in this context is intended to indicate of a time when quality was a hallmark of a thing.

But marketers gonna market.
Click to expand...

Fair enough.

Taken in that context though, if the best quality of a thing is something that is relatively new, then that's "vintage". Yes?
So my not-quite-2-year-old Positive Grid Spark 40 is "vintage". It might not be the best solid state amp out there, but it's the best that it's ever been.

I'm just playing, here. It's all just word salad and marketing.
 
dodgechargerfan said:
"Vintage" has to do with age not value, but I get your drift.

Still, there were solid state amps way back when, and that makes them legit "vintage" and some might ascribe some value to that that has nothing to do with the fact that they are solid state.
"I had one when I was a kid."
"<Insert famous artist name here> played one back in the day."
Click to expand...
In the 70’s there was no vintage market, it was old or antique. I remember when vintage started appearing in advertising and shops we would say it was just old used stuff. We didn’t have pawn shops, just 2nd hand stores or junk shops and the legit antique stores. Vintage came along and added price increases to 2nd hand stores and/or other he junk shops and with that the names of junk and 2nd hand goods began to be called Vintage and then it became cool. With that prices at increased.
 
dodgechargerfan said:
Fair enough.

Taken in that context though, if the best quality of a thing is something that is relatively new, then that's "vintage". Yes?
So my not-quite-2-year-old Positive Grid Spark 40 is "vintage". It might not be the best solid state amp out there, but it's the best that it's ever been.

I'm just playing, here. It's all just word salad and marketing.
Click to expand...

Depends on more context if it refers to a period in the distant past or if it's just an especially high quality example of a specific thing produced over multiple years, which can be recent
 
I'd really like to find a Tech 21 Trademark 30. I have tube amps that do one or two things well, but I have never ever had an amp that did so many things well as my Trademark 10. I could get soaring cleans, just-on-the-edge breakup, and very creditable Fender-ish or Marshall-ish or Mesa-ish distortion out of that one amp.
 
A friend (and sometime bandmate) had an original solid-state Vox Super Beatle that I thought was pretty cool. Looked cool, at least. He traded it away for some silly Line6 amp without letting me know first.
 
tiger roach said:
I've never played through a SS amp that I did not hate, but that doesn't mean there aren't good ones out there.
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I’ve played through some I don’t like too. On the other hand I’ve played through tube amps I don’t like too.
 
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Depends on what you’re looking at. Old Polytone amps are pretty prized by jazz guitarists but are useless for rock and blues sounds.
 
I think all it takes is for some famous/respected players to use a particular bit of old SS kit and it can become prized.

The doom metal people love Sunn Betas, they're quite sought after.

The Roland Jazz Chorus has a lot of fans, though I never liked them.

The red-knob Fender Deluxe 85 is the 'Radiohead amp'.
 
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I'd wager that you'd be happier with a modern SS amp than a vintage one. A lot of those old ones sound pretty sterile. I'd look at a Boss Katana or Line6 Catalyst before I made up my mind on something vintage. They're all pretty affordable brand new, and can be steals on the used market.
 
Kustom, Vox, Teisco, Lab, and other SS (and hybrid) amps pre-dated the industry trend of limiting SS amps to RMS. As a result, they could be over-driven into a square wave and contributed some pretty classic\ fuzz to some legendary psychedelic, funk, and blues revival albums.

Then Roland and Polytone pretty much put SS cleans on the map.
 
As far as the relatively new SS offerings,
I think Orange has done a great job with the SS Crush series. I have a Crush 35rt thats a great little grab n go.
Honestly I could be happy with just a CR60 combo as my only amp, I was gonna buy one when my little Vintage Club went down, but the Mrs surprised me with the Carr.
 
The old '80s Marshalls (technically the solid-state side of the JCM 800 Series), with the model #s in the 5000s, kick all kinds of ass for that basic Marshall sound. They're super simple no-frills amps, but that's actually how I like amps to be. Prices are slowly climbing, as they will, but I've owned 4 of these, and only the biggest (100W 2x12) was more than 2 Benjamins. I actually sold that biggest one, but only because it was really more amp than I needed (proceeds also partially funded a DSL 40C).

Here's the foursome of solid states, before I sold the 100W 2x12 on the bottom (others are, from top: 20W 1x10, 75W 1x12, 50W 1x12).

48788457031_40f4fe2dba_w.jpg
 
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