I love my Powerstage! Been using it for the last 2 years & it’s just awesome. The fact you can carry it around on your pedalboard too. It saves so much time & space for smaller shows.
The KSR sounded more lively and more fun to play. But in live venues, I'm not sure the audience will notice. Which one is easier to travel with might be considered.
On the Fractal FM3 you can engage or disengage the power amp modeling section which makes a difference when using a more flat response solid state amp. The more “correct” thing to do is plug in the tube amp then plug in the Solid state amp but you should tweak the Quad Cortex to match the tube. The tube amp always adds its own color while the solid state is more flat. Switch from one power amp to the other without any tweaking on the modeler is a bit pointless.
@@OlaEnglund Actually no, that's exactly what he's saying in the comment. When you switch to flat response solid state amp (like the seymour duncan), it would be interesting if you enabled power amp emulation to add some color that the tube amp already has as an "advantage"
@@OlaEnglund I had to fix my initial statement. The solid state amp should get some power amp modeling from the Quad Cortex but the tube amp shouldn’t to make things fair. I spent a lot of time getting my FM3 to sound like my Mesa Mark IV when the fm3 was plugged into the return of the Mark. It takes some tweaking, and with a solid state amp it takes more. But honestly i feel it’s splitting hairs. The Seymour Duncan amps are close enough that nobody in the audience is going to know or care, except for the one guitar player standing there with his arms folded waiting to be impressed…… and he’s not talking to any girls.
Noob Question: I use my Kemper Profilier for Tracking guitars in the studio. Captured my Amps (6505 / JC120 / Randall Satan) , using with IRs. I can switch pretty easy while recording and have no cab trouble. now my Question: Do I have the same problem with the Powersection? What would be the best solution? Turning one amp on, to use the power section, and what power section of amps would be best. What characteristic needs to be met? Maybe a small 50W Amp power section to keep the setup small?
I was really wondering about this for a setup.. thanks for making the video! Interestingly enough, in this example I found the SD to sound better which was unexpected.
Great Power Amp Test video, Ola!! I bought a Powerstage 700, but it was way too dark and lifeless. Then I got a KSR PA50! The PA50 is the best Power Amp for any Modeler/Capture device. I biased 2 KT77s into my PA50 and now it sounds just like the power section of my Engl Invader 2 (4 xKT77). And doing it all on the "Guitar" setting too. Love your pink version!! Go Ola!!
I cant really describe it but the low end with the tube power amp sounds more organic or alive .Digital stuff kinda is all the same in a way like if you had two Marshall JCM 800's or whatever they would not sound exactly the same where the digital stuff will. Euge Valovirta touched on this when he was demoing the UAFX Anti pedal. In the end they are very very close . I think the next gen of the Powerstages and amp modelers etc... will be 99% there.
@Ola Englund, while they sound very similar and the differences are very small, the tube power amp sounds better. If it were me, I’d use the tube power amp. It sounds more like a natural tube amp.
What you described about the low end having more dynamics is the effect of an audio transformer rolling off the high end and saturating the low end. That's what audio tranformers do, apart from adapting signals. You're hearing the effect of the output transformer, not the effect of any thermionic valve. Add an audio transformer to the output of the solid state amp (get a tech for that, though!), obtain similar results.
6:00am and I am sitting on the head taking my morning dooty, when bam, Ola comes up in my feed. I mean of course I must know what sounds better but my brain is saying, they both sound great. Pick what you prefer bro and well done on the video. Until next time.
I love my Powerstage 700 with my cab for a live setting. Absolutely gets the job done and more! However, I've never tried using the outboard IR on it. A cool video could be comparing IRs outs on certain pedals or power amps. Anyway, I have to agree. The tube power amp has a beautiful saturation and distortion that the solid state is just missing. Both sound great to me though! Great video Ola!
I went from using a SD Powerstage 700 to using the KSR PS-50. I must say the SD did sound pretty good. It got just as loud as the KSR, and the clarity was still there (as long as you weren't to retain any low end punch). But, I found the louder I got to gigging volumes the SD just started sounding thinner and thinner. The KSR has enough ton shaping options to get the original tone with little to no coloration with it's Top, Bottom, NFB knobs and the Hi-FI switch. Out of these two choices, I personally feel like the KSR just crushes the SD in terms of clarity and still retaining the punch and dynamics. I am not ready to discount solid state power amps yet though. I still would like to stumble upon an orange pedal baby or some of the quilter stuff as I hear those are really great. But KSR the tube power I have used so far does not make me want to spend money on any of the solid-state options out there. If I were to try and convert to solid state at this point, I am most curious to try the new Laney powered cabs, or maybe the Fender Tone Master cabs. With all this being said I just recently sold my KSR after acquiring a Fryette PS-100. Tone wise, the Fryette and KSR are equally awesome! I just elected to stick with the Fryette due to the functionality. It does an EXCELLENT job as a load box to be able to capture your amps direct. But If I didn't have other amplifiers that I wanted to record direct and or capture on my quad cortex, I would have just stuck with the KSR for the slightly smaller footprint.
i would think it’s about how it feels under your fingers. And this isn’t possible to hear, just a tactile experience as a player. Though i no longer have a place for tube amps and cabs, and track direct using sims now, there’s nothing quite like the feel of a great tube amp, pushing air through great speakers. My favorite amp, and one i used live for years, was a Carvin valvemaster 100. It was a great platform for pedals- huge, massive, awesome clean headroom. Stacking drive, fuzz, delay, chorus and filter pedals through that amp was amazing. My go to drive was a Skreddy pedals hybrid fuzz driver for gain, and a lunar module for fuzz face tones. Mark makes amazing pedals, with warmth and character. Run through a great clean to crunchy tube amp, you can just feel the electricity under your fingers. If i were going to run a QC live, i believe I’d go with a tube power amp; not for the sounds, because there’s not much of a difference Tbh, but rather for the feel you get from the tubes. It’s a kind of saggy, bouncy kind of feel under the fingers…..
I've using the HSR PA50 ever since I first saw you using it in one of your videos prepping for a gig. I friggin' love mine! I replaced my Seymour Duncan Powerstage 700. I've been using my Friedman IR-x into the PA50 and out to a cabinet, and that setup rules!
I feel like in power amps transparency and translation is more important if youre a gigging musician using digital to front of house and power amp for cab on stage , or else there will be a drastic difference between the sound of your cab vs the sound coming out the PA speakers using an impulse of that cab , which also effect how you dial in tones prior to arriving at the gig if what you hear on your cab and what the audience hears are different
They both sound great, I think the tube power stage might sound more... "real" to me but it also has more sub frequencies that it's just better not to have in a live scenario.
I'm not a professional guitarist, but I use a combination of the XLR out and the 1/4 out. I split the signal after all the effects and on the XLR I use a IR that goes straight into de PA's and on the 1/4 I use a real cab that is on the stage, and on that out I don't have any IR or Cab Sim
THIS! :-) I chose a Orange Pedal Baby instead of the Semour Duncan , because it sounded not so "sterile" and more as an tube amp. The orange is a A/B Class amp, and those 100w blow you away. My band mate thought it was a tube amp :-D
I think both tones sound absolutely filthy! But whatever is inside of that pink box is the secret sauce because that thing sounded absolutely deadly!!!! Thank you for making the video
I believe the problem with solid state x Tube power amp is when you get the volume very high, If it isn't clipping the signal (they have headroom enough) both powers should be similar or good enough. The problem starts when you reach higher volume, than the solid state clipping becomes annoying. But 170W should be enough for this not happen, however youn't get the "warmth" of the power tube, but nothing you can't compensate in the pre amp section.
What I hear of any difference at all - it's the "woof" of the tube power amp, which I assume is just more power and pushing more air through the speaker. I might pull the mic back, if I'm the sound guy, basically. Both options otherwise seem pretty solid and reliable. Now, if it's a question of live without a mic in a smaller venue...definitely choosing the tube power amp because that extra woof is going to help simulate a "bigger" tone, if that makes sense. It's just what I hear, of course. I'm curious to a sound man's perspective / test, now.
I listened to the Head to Head section with my screen shut off, i really couldnt tell when you switched the audio from one to the other. Its true that people listen with their eyes. Unpopular opinion, i know....
Yeah. The difference is little. Id still prefer tubes cause of how it saturates and the dynamics. But in recordings/mixes, i honestly cant tell the difference.
You forgot the fact that UA-cam compresses the sound, and the experience in the room is not perfectly replicable, as you well know the things experienced in person are always different
Hard to distinguish, and we're certainly not getting the full audio exposure since microphones, recording, compression, etc is going to alter the sound. But one difference I'm pretty sure I heard is that the tube power amp offered a bit more saturation, if nothing else.
I prefer two rigs. Get a tube head and cab for home/studio use, and a QC + Seymour Duncan powerstage for playing live! You get all the tube glory for when it matters (recording), and you get a good enough tone for the audience when they're not going to notice the difference.
I use the KSR pa 50, it’s an awesome amp, tried the Duncan and didn’t like how it sounded at gig volume. But my friend has the Orange pedal baby and I shockingly like it equally to the KSR and its solid state. The orange pedal baby sounds way better at loud volumes than the SD.
I was just about to ask if you had cabs shut off and you literally answered my question; cabs off. Perfect timing. I use an Orange Pedal Baby most of the time. But you're right, the dynamics of the tube power amp is hard to beat.
I was definitely able to tell the difference, even on my phone, with my eyes closed. You’re right, the tube power amp is more lively. That said, if I were a touring musician, I would definitely do the Seymour Duncan. In a mix, I don’t think it would matter enough to sacrifice the simplicity.
personally I still prefer tube, but the SS is getting real close. I find my self using my Orange Crush amp quite a bit & it sounds great recorded too, so don't doubt - very soon SS will bring us new abilities in the world of power amps.
Ola, I need to say that I am a tube guy . But I love the way the Solid State sounded . They both sound Kick Ass! But I think I like the Solid State in this Video test. Thanks for another Cool Video OLA. Lee on Rocking 🎸🎸😎👍
To be fair, the power stage is class D - very efficient but an A/B is generally a more accurate, articulate tone. The Pedal Baby (Class A front end, class A/B power amp) is a damn good balance between the advantages of tube and solid state.
The SD power amp together with the quad cortex is my new situation, all I added is a bad horsie wah pedal. I'm so versatile nowadays, I can do direct FOH or Backline.. all I need is a good wireless situation, for now I have a second case with my Sennheiser because it's 19"... Still missing my Herbert with 4x12 on stage... but with the rest of the band on stage this is better (9 person Slipknot tribute band)
On my 1000 dollar chinese phone there's almost no difference, on my japanese monitors the ksr rules, not by much but, you gotta love the tubes. Good video Man!!!🤘🤘🤘
I would go solid state if I am going to take it live, just for consistency and reliability. With the quad cortex you don’t even need to mic the cab, just have the cab for stage noise and feedback and send a processes signal to FOH from the quad cortex.
Hey, Ola! If you had to pick a "real" amp set-up, what would it be (Head, OD, Gate, Cabs)? *Btw, I'm currently trying to integrate the "6irth, 6rind, and 6ain" and power section of a Randall Satan (plus a Zuul) to an EVH 5150III 100S. Wish me luck...
Both sound kicka$$ to me. I'm playing around with recording my Diezel Herbert and sometimes find it hard to tame this thing to get a good recording. I find that much easier with my QC and in the final mix the difference is not so noticeable anyways. But the feeling of playing a tube amp and the live sound is unbeatable, no recording can capture this :-P
Aloha Ola, I like both sounds. At the end there are speakers of a stage. I tried many gear. I am going to stay with the Line6 Helix. I love the Revv-Stuff for high-gain and the option to switch the amp and the speaker with only one button. The Cortex is also very good. But with the Helix I can use the Variax technology. There is so much freedom. I was just disappointed with some pickups. There was a hype with the fishman fluence pickups. They are good. But I love the EMG81 and EMG60. A piezo would be nice for ambient and clean stuff. Or to combine the bridge humbucker and the piezo when the lead guitarist is playing a solo. Just to have enough sound to lift him up. I like the solar guitars. The tele version is nice. Finally something new which doesn't look like an abomination. I just wish to have 3:3 tuners because I am coming from classical guitars. A cool single cut design would be nice. And a filigree version of the inlays. Your wife did an awesome job. On the other hand I still love the Framus Dragon Head, it has many channels and is versitale. Vintage 30 speakers in old cabinets made of real wood. They are really heavy. For pedals: Tube Screamer, AMT brick (the red one), Domonizer Damage Control, Ocean Machine by Mooer, Digitech Whammy with Pitch Shifter and so on. But I should not be a guide. I also used a tube screamer for a Banjo. It just sounded better in the mix😅 I figured out, the sound demos are pretty accurate with good Monitor speakers. I must be just be careful with hypes and trends. Umbasa
Haven’t even watched it yet and KSR pa50 by far! I have the KSR and had all 3 of the powerstages, Freyette power station, magnum 44, Mooer baby bomb, and Orange pedal baby. KSR blows them all out of the water combined! Especially the NFC knob and flipping the switch up for modelers. I use preamp pedals mostly through it
I think with the tube amp sounds better with the high and low frequency dynamics. Pushes more bass and the high end is clearer. In a live setting, just the solid state would be better, more compressed in the high end that gets muddy with cymbals and vocals in a live setting. Should cut through and hit harder imo. Just my 2¢. I'm looking to actually get a nice portable solid state that I i can plug into a PA or headphones that's lower budget
I really appreciate all your efforts all the time. I was wondering if you could create a video how to nail Dimebag tone with Quad cortex and KSR power amp. Thank you.
I think I prefer the controlled sound of the solid state 170 tbh, hey solid state worked for dimebag. It sounds more focused and less messy, I just liked it more.
Awesome sound on whole unit, but i think the ksr a lil bit better. Im using a orange pedal baby for poweramp and amperium live amp modeler for a preamp and this is the closest high gain sound for a real full tube amp i can get after many years attempt.
The KSR does sound awesome! I have the SD Powerstage 200 for the stereo ability which isn't available with the KSR so for me, it's the next best thing...
Nice legs ola 🔥🔥 all these years watching you and being inspired.. i cant still get over how good your picking hand is. The way you hold the pic and chug 🔥🔥. I still cant achieve the ola hand . Love this.
I went from tsl100 into the fx in to the amped 1. Amped 1 was fantastic, i had the powerstage 200 before. The Amped1 with the preamp models just sounded warmer.
That KSR sounds like it felt better to play imo. Out of curiosity, how do you like playing through a dedicated power amp vs just using the FX loop return of some random backline amp?
Well you never know about what shape the backline amplifiers are in when you get to a stage. Stage hands ripping out speaker cables while amp is on, being thrown around and what not. At least when I bring my own I know that I’ve taken pretty good care of it.
Same here. When people get used to modern digital sounds, tubes may start sounding lesser in many measures (more noise, softer, unclear and unclean). For me, as a bassist, tube amps are also heavy, farty, not precise in low end and expensive to maintain (power tubes over 400€ for SVT). They don't also drive well some ported bass cabs which is the way to make bass cabs today. Most bassist won't use tube amps anymore, and same happens to guitar world, just a bit slower.
If you were using the same preset for both, you had one of two things happen. And yes, I know the cabinet/mic part is not enabled in the cortex as you said @1:20. 1. The patch had power amp simulation built it, so the test with the KSR had two tube power sections applied to it. And the powerstage had a tube power amp EQ applied. 2. The patch had NO power amp simulation built in, so the KSR was the only "tube eq" being applied. Then for the powerstage there was no tube EQ, leaving nothing but SS after the preamp. I don't know the quad cortex very well, so I'm not entirely sure what your patch has. This still does a great job at demonstrating how much of a difference a power amp makes to the tone either way. \m/
My 2c is that they both sound great. The tube power definitely has more low mids and sounds more round and warm - but I feel this difference would be negligible in a mix. If I may - and no disrespect intended - you played a lot more on the tube power amp in the video and voiced a preference for it. I feel this will color your result if you are looking for this to be a true question as the question becomes inherently leading. I feel that the solid state power amp vs the tube power amp in a mix would be indistinguishable, however soloed, you hear (relatively depending on the “education” of your ears) subtle difference. If you feel that via your in ears and stage mix that a decent amount of this disparity would exist, then for your purposes, you are more inspired by the tube than the solid state, then this would end the discussion. If you are inspired and feel a connection with what we are playing - we play better. However if viewed solely from the audience interpretation, I feel (in a mix) this is a wash of a question.
Hey Ola, thanks for the video! Did you run your PA-50 in “HiFi” mode or “Guitar” mode for this demo? They say that HiFi mode can be good when using digital gear like modelers.
Idk if you have tried this yet, but the Quilter Tone Block 202 is way more powerful and cleaner than the powerstage, and closer in power to the KSR I believe
The KSR sounds like ti has more treble, otherwise, near identical. Maybe play the same riff and use spectrum analyzer software to adjust the EQ controls on the power amps to match each other? I don't hear any dynamics difference, but there's probably volume compression coming from UA-cam.
Saw megadeth last week. Dave was using quad cortex into powerstage 700. Sound was awesome
They probably went direct from QC to mixing desk and use power stage for cabs on stage!
@@OlaEnglundExactly! This the best way 👍
I was at the Charlotte NC gig
@@OlaEnglund I'll bet your right!
He has gone into a Marshall dual monobloc 9200 for years.
Damn that tube power amp sounds great
I love my Powerstage! Been using it for the last 2 years & it’s just awesome. The fact you can carry it around on your pedalboard too. It saves so much time & space for smaller shows.
@@jonafernal wrong
@@The_resurrected1887Right
@@GregStraub42 double wrong.
The KSR power amp is one of the best sounding power amps out there right now. Rack version coming soon, apparently.
need the rack version
The KSR sounded more lively and more fun to play. But in live venues, I'm not sure the audience will notice. Which one is easier to travel with might be considered.
LEGS... JUST LEGS...
Hi?
@@iAmGhost187 huh?
Does he know how to use them??
smooth
...are they shaved? lol
KSR had more clarity in the top end, but the Powerstage sounded tighter (less gain) with less top end.
On the Fractal FM3 you can engage or disengage the power amp modeling section which makes a difference when using a more flat response solid state amp. The more “correct” thing to do is plug in the tube amp then plug in the Solid state amp but you should tweak the Quad Cortex to match the tube. The tube amp always adds its own color while the solid state is more flat. Switch from one power amp to the other without any tweaking on the modeler is a bit pointless.
So in the main tone of this patch I'm using in this video is a model of the Engl Powerball preamp without a power amp. So it's fair !
@@OlaEnglund Actually no, that's exactly what he's saying in the comment. When you switch to flat response solid state amp (like the seymour duncan), it would be interesting if you enabled power amp emulation to add some color that the tube amp already has as an "advantage"
@@OlaEnglund in that case, it's unfair because de tube power amp adds it's own colour, but the solid state doesn't
@@OlaEnglund I had to fix my initial statement. The solid state amp should get some power amp modeling from the Quad Cortex but the tube amp shouldn’t to make things fair. I spent a lot of time getting my FM3 to sound like my Mesa Mark IV when the fm3 was plugged into the return of the Mark. It takes some tweaking, and with a solid state amp it takes more. But honestly i feel it’s splitting hairs. The Seymour Duncan amps are close enough that nobody in the audience is going to know or care, except for the one guitar player standing there with his arms folded waiting to be impressed…… and he’s not talking to any girls.
@@BaianoPR so having the power amp modeling on and going through the SD Powerstage could work for a believable tube tone?
Noob Question: I use my Kemper Profilier for Tracking guitars in the studio. Captured my Amps (6505 / JC120 / Randall Satan) , using with IRs. I can switch pretty easy while recording and have no cab trouble. now my Question: Do I have the same problem with the Powersection? What would be the best solution? Turning one amp on, to use the power section, and what power section of amps would be best. What characteristic needs to be met? Maybe a small 50W Amp power section to keep the setup small?
I was really wondering about this for a setup.. thanks for making the video! Interestingly enough, in this example I found the SD to sound better which was unexpected.
I run a QC and a Blackstar Amped 1 on my pedalboard. Plug and play, sounds great!!
Great Power Amp Test video, Ola!! I bought a Powerstage 700, but it was way too dark and lifeless. Then I got a KSR PA50! The PA50 is the best Power Amp for any Modeler/Capture device. I biased 2 KT77s into my PA50 and now it sounds just like the power section of my Engl Invader 2 (4 xKT77). And doing it all on the "Guitar" setting too. Love your pink version!! Go Ola!!
I cant really describe it but the low end with the tube power amp sounds more organic or alive .Digital stuff kinda is all the same in a way like if you had two Marshall JCM 800's or whatever they would not sound exactly the same where the digital stuff will. Euge Valovirta touched on this when he was demoing the UAFX Anti pedal. In the end they are very very close . I think the next gen of the Powerstages and amp modelers etc... will be 99% there.
@Ola Englund, while they sound very similar and the differences are very small, the tube power amp sounds better. If it were me, I’d use the tube power amp. It sounds more like a natural tube amp.
My MAN! Its 5:50 am in the US good morning!
MORNING!
What you described about the low end having more dynamics is the effect of an audio transformer rolling off the high end and saturating the low end. That's what audio tranformers do, apart from adapting signals.
You're hearing the effect of the output transformer, not the effect of any thermionic valve. Add an audio transformer to the output of the solid state amp (get a tech for that, though!), obtain similar results.
McIntosh autoformers
6:00am and I am sitting on the head taking my morning dooty, when bam, Ola comes up in my feed. I mean of course I must know what sounds better but my brain is saying, they both sound great. Pick what you prefer bro and well done on the video. Until next time.
I love my Powerstage 700 with my cab for a live setting. Absolutely gets the job done and more! However, I've never tried using the outboard IR on it. A cool video could be comparing IRs outs on certain pedals or power amps. Anyway, I have to agree. The tube power amp has a beautiful saturation and distortion that the solid state is just missing. Both sound great to me though! Great video Ola!
I don’t know if it’s me but, I see the legs as clear winner here! What a winter legs!
Both. I have a JOYO Zombie II. Valve state goodness, absolute best of both worlds in my opinion.
I went from using a SD Powerstage 700 to using the KSR PS-50. I must say the SD did sound pretty good. It got just as loud as the KSR, and the clarity was still there (as long as you weren't to retain any low end punch). But, I found the louder I got to gigging volumes the SD just started sounding thinner and thinner. The KSR has enough ton shaping options to get the original tone with little to no coloration with it's Top, Bottom, NFB knobs and the Hi-FI switch. Out of these two choices, I personally feel like the KSR just crushes the SD in terms of clarity and still retaining the punch and dynamics.
I am not ready to discount solid state power amps yet though. I still would like to stumble upon an orange pedal baby or some of the quilter stuff as I hear those are really great. But KSR the tube power I have used so far does not make me want to spend money on any of the solid-state options out there.
If I were to try and convert to solid state at this point, I am most curious to try the new Laney powered cabs, or maybe the Fender Tone Master cabs.
With all this being said I just recently sold my KSR after acquiring a Fryette PS-100. Tone wise, the Fryette and KSR are equally awesome! I just elected to stick with the Fryette due to the functionality. It does an EXCELLENT job as a load box to be able to capture your amps direct.
But If I didn't have other amplifiers that I wanted to record direct and or capture on my quad cortex, I would have just stuck with the KSR for the slightly smaller footprint.
Wow That was night and day with the tube amp. You got a lot more depth and Complexity, which I was surprised to hear come through on my TV speaker
i would think it’s about how it feels under your fingers. And this isn’t possible to hear, just a tactile experience as a player. Though i no longer have a place for tube amps and cabs, and track direct using sims now, there’s nothing quite like the feel of a great tube amp, pushing air through great speakers. My favorite amp, and one i used live for years, was a Carvin valvemaster 100. It was a great platform for pedals- huge, massive, awesome clean headroom. Stacking drive, fuzz, delay, chorus and filter pedals through that amp was amazing. My go to drive was a Skreddy pedals hybrid fuzz driver for gain, and a lunar module for fuzz face tones. Mark makes amazing pedals, with warmth and character. Run through a great clean to crunchy tube amp, you can just feel the electricity under your fingers.
If i were going to run a QC live, i believe I’d go with a tube power amp; not for the sounds, because there’s not much of a difference Tbh, but rather for the feel you get from the tubes. It’s a kind of saggy, bouncy kind of feel under the fingers…..
KSR sounds great. Depending on your budget, Seymour Duncan ranges from $400-$700 USD depending on how many watts you need while the KSR is $949.
I've using the HSR PA50 ever since I first saw you using it in one of your videos prepping for a gig. I friggin' love mine! I replaced my Seymour Duncan Powerstage 700. I've been using my Friedman IR-x into the PA50 and out to a cabinet, and that setup rules!
I feel like in power amps transparency and translation is more important if youre a gigging musician using digital to front of house and power amp for cab on stage , or else there will be a drastic difference between the sound of your cab vs the sound coming out the PA speakers using an impulse of that cab , which also effect how you dial in tones prior to arriving at the gig if what you hear on your cab and what the audience hears are different
They both sound great, I think the tube power stage might sound more... "real" to me but it also has more sub frequencies that it's just better not to have in a live scenario.
I'm not a professional guitarist, but I use a combination of the XLR out and the 1/4 out. I split the signal after all the effects and on the XLR I use a IR that goes straight into de PA's and on the 1/4 I use a real cab that is on the stage, and on that out I don't have any IR or Cab Sim
I'd love to see Orange Pedal Baby as middleground in these comparisons
THIS! :-) I chose a Orange Pedal Baby instead of the Semour Duncan , because it sounded not so "sterile" and more as an tube amp. The orange is a A/B Class amp, and those 100w blow you away. My band mate thought it was a tube amp :-D
I think both tones sound absolutely filthy! But whatever is inside of that pink box is the secret sauce because that thing sounded absolutely deadly!!!! Thank you for making the video
I believe an old Mosvalve power amp will surprise most, but that tube amp sound awesome.
With the SS amp, both can fit in a backpack, and your good to go,
but I also use a Tube amp to power my KPA.. not the most compact for traveling.
Crazy tone and sick riffs 😯🤘
I believe the problem with solid state x Tube power amp is when you get the volume very high, If it isn't clipping the signal (they have headroom enough) both powers should be similar or good enough.
The problem starts when you reach higher volume, than the solid state clipping becomes annoying. But 170W should be enough for this not happen, however youn't get the "warmth" of the power tube, but nothing you can't compensate in the pre amp section.
What I hear of any difference at all - it's the "woof" of the tube power amp, which I assume is just more power and pushing more air through the speaker. I might pull the mic back, if I'm the sound guy, basically. Both options otherwise seem pretty solid and reliable. Now, if it's a question of live without a mic in a smaller venue...definitely choosing the tube power amp because that extra woof is going to help simulate a "bigger" tone, if that makes sense. It's just what I hear, of course. I'm curious to a sound man's perspective / test, now.
I listened to the Head to Head section with my screen shut off, i really couldnt tell when you switched the audio from one to the other. Its true that people listen with their eyes.
Unpopular opinion, i know....
same here. might be a thing where it sounds better live as apposed to a recording situation.
Or maybe you're just bad at hearing things?
Yeah. The difference is little. Id still prefer tubes cause of how it saturates and the dynamics. But in recordings/mixes, i honestly cant tell the difference.
You forgot the fact that UA-cam compresses the sound, and the experience in the room is not perfectly replicable, as you well know the things experienced in person are always different
@@AnaerobicFermentationyou’re right, us mortals don’t have GOD ears like you.
honestly and surprisingly i liked the top end of the tube amp more, there was also some more very low mids which might not be a good thing in the end.
Hard to distinguish, and we're certainly not getting the full audio exposure since microphones, recording, compression, etc is going to alter the sound. But one difference I'm pretty sure I heard is that the tube power amp offered a bit more saturation, if nothing else.
I would also like to hear the Blackstar Amped 1 in this comparison as well. Especially trying with the tube dynamics options on it.
I preferred the solid state amp in this one, though they were very close.
I feel like they could have been matched even more with some eq adjustments.
I use my Marshall 9200 Power Block 100watt power amp with my Quad Cortex . I use either 1 or 2 Marshall 2x12 1936 cabs loaded with V30’s
I prefer two rigs. Get a tube head and cab for home/studio use, and a QC + Seymour Duncan powerstage for playing live!
You get all the tube glory for when it matters (recording), and you get a good enough tone for the audience when they're not going to notice the difference.
I use the KSR pa 50, it’s an awesome amp, tried the Duncan and didn’t like how it sounded at gig volume. But my friend has the Orange pedal baby and I shockingly like it equally to the KSR and its solid state. The orange pedal baby sounds way better at loud volumes than the SD.
I used to own a boss gt100, it sounded so good through the effects loop of a 6505 120w.
Yeah, the tube sounds better, it has more presence and resonance. But both sound pretty good and somewhat close.
And you can always tweak the modeler to add more presence or resonance.
Ksr. Love tubes. I do have the fm3 turbo running out my stealth 50.
I’m literally in the middle of experimenting with this as well, good timing.
I was just about to ask if you had cabs shut off and you literally answered my question; cabs off. Perfect timing.
I use an Orange Pedal Baby most of the time. But you're right, the dynamics of the tube power amp is hard to beat.
I moved on my Orange Pedal Baby. To sterile sounding to my ear, I ended up with a Mesa Boogie 2:95 Power Amp. Sounds killer!
I was definitely able to tell the difference, even on my phone, with my eyes closed. You’re right, the tube power amp is more lively. That said, if I were a touring musician, I would definitely do the Seymour Duncan. In a mix, I don’t think it would matter enough to sacrifice the simplicity.
personally I still prefer tube, but the SS is getting real close. I find my self using my Orange Crush amp quite a bit & it sounds great recorded too, so don't doubt - very soon SS will bring us new abilities in the world of power amps.
KSR and Tubes for the win!
Ola, I need to say that I am a tube guy . But I love the way the Solid State sounded . They both sound Kick Ass! But I think I like the Solid State in this Video test.
Thanks for another Cool Video OLA. Lee on Rocking 🎸🎸😎👍
Yeah both sound great, no doubt about that
Братан, наконец-то ты открыл завесу тайны для многих, продолжай)
Dang, i wish you'd also use the orange pedal baby in those comparisons, since it sits in between tube and solid amps tonaly.
To be fair, the power stage is class D - very efficient but an A/B is generally a more accurate, articulate tone. The Pedal Baby (Class A front end, class A/B power amp) is a damn good balance between the advantages of tube and solid state.
Yeah! Tubes has more clarity, definition, dynamics and more harmonics informations 👍
Def the amplifier but with the SD it’s sound more muffled in comparison but with a para eq pedal could get closer
The SD power amp together with the quad cortex is my new situation, all I added is a bad horsie wah pedal. I'm so versatile nowadays, I can do direct FOH or Backline.. all I need is a good wireless situation, for now I have a second case with my Sennheiser because it's 19"...
Still missing my Herbert with 4x12 on stage... but with the rest of the band on stage this is better (9 person Slipknot tribute band)
On my 1000 dollar chinese phone there's almost no difference, on my japanese monitors the ksr rules, not by much but, you gotta love the tubes. Good video Man!!!🤘🤘🤘
That's some hot rod rolling thunder right there! 🤘🤘
The EQ when there is chugging is more pleasant with the tube power amp IMO
I would go solid state if I am going to take it live, just for consistency and reliability. With the quad cortex you don’t even need to mic the cab, just have the cab for stage noise and feedback and send a processes signal to FOH from the quad cortex.
Hey, Ola! If you had to pick a "real" amp set-up, what would it be (Head, OD, Gate, Cabs)?
*Btw, I'm currently trying to integrate the "6irth, 6rind, and 6ain" and power section of a Randall Satan (plus a Zuul) to an EVH 5150III 100S. Wish me luck...
Saving this for a Question of the day!
@@OlaEnglund Sweet.. I'm just gonna guess it'd be a modded Dual Rectifier or an EVH 5150III 100S (and an OS cab with Hesu Demons and/or V30's).
Very close. Fm3 should be great too like this.
Both sound kicka$$ to me. I'm playing around with recording my Diezel Herbert and sometimes find it hard to tame this thing to get a good recording. I find that much easier with my QC and in the final mix the difference is not so noticeable anyways. But the feeling of playing a tube amp and the live sound is unbeatable, no recording can capture this :-P
Aloha Ola,
I like both sounds. At the end there are speakers of a stage. I tried many gear. I am going to stay with the Line6 Helix. I love the Revv-Stuff for high-gain and the option to switch the amp and the speaker with only one button.
The Cortex is also very good.
But with the Helix I can use the Variax technology. There is so much freedom.
I was just disappointed with some pickups. There was a hype with the fishman fluence pickups. They are good. But I love the EMG81 and EMG60. A piezo would be nice for ambient and clean stuff. Or to combine the bridge humbucker and the piezo when the lead guitarist is playing a solo. Just to have enough sound to lift him up.
I like the solar guitars. The tele version is nice. Finally something new which doesn't look like an abomination.
I just wish to have 3:3 tuners because I am coming from classical guitars. A cool single cut design would be nice.
And a filigree version of the inlays. Your wife did an awesome job.
On the other hand I still love the Framus Dragon Head, it has many channels and is versitale.
Vintage 30 speakers in old cabinets made of real wood. They are really heavy.
For pedals: Tube Screamer, AMT brick (the red one), Domonizer Damage Control, Ocean Machine by Mooer, Digitech Whammy with Pitch Shifter and so on.
But I should not be a guide. I also used a tube screamer for a Banjo. It just sounded better in the mix😅
I figured out, the sound demos are pretty accurate with good Monitor speakers.
I must be just be careful with hypes and trends.
Umbasa
Haven’t even watched it yet and KSR pa50 by far! I have the KSR and had all 3 of the powerstages, Freyette power station, magnum 44, Mooer baby bomb, and Orange pedal baby. KSR blows them all out of the water combined! Especially the NFC knob and flipping the switch up for modelers. I use preamp pedals mostly through it
I think with the tube amp sounds better with the high and low frequency dynamics. Pushes more bass and the high end is clearer. In a live setting, just the solid state would be better, more compressed in the high end that gets muddy with cymbals and vocals in a live setting. Should cut through and hit harder imo. Just my 2¢. I'm looking to actually get a nice portable solid state that I i can plug into a PA or headphones that's lower budget
I really appreciate all your efforts all the time. I was wondering if you could create a video how to nail Dimebag tone with Quad cortex and KSR power amp. Thank you.
They're close. KSR has the edge, though. QC sounds more "real" through it.
Solid state for me. It's kinda more in your face but still clear. No right or wrong on it though.
I’ve been curious about the feel too because I use an amp’s return fx into a guitar cab.
I like both. It depends of the situation.
I think I prefer the controlled sound of the solid state 170 tbh, hey solid state worked for dimebag. It sounds more focused and less messy, I just liked it more.
Wrong
Awesome sound on whole unit, but i think the ksr a lil bit better.
Im using a orange pedal baby for poweramp and amperium live amp modeler for a preamp and this is the closest high gain sound for a real full tube amp i can get after many years attempt.
Maybe try another test with a SS bass amp. Lots of people seem to like some of the tc electronics stuff as a power amp.
Tube power amp for sure man. Totally agree with the way it feels. You just can't get that saturation with a solid state power amp
The KSR does sound awesome! I have the SD Powerstage 200 for the stereo ability which isn't available with the KSR so for me, it's the next best thing...
It’s hard to compete with a price like that!
@@OlaEnglund love your work by the way, bloody great 👍🏽
Nice legs ola 🔥🔥 all these years watching you and being inspired.. i cant still get over how good your picking hand is. The way you hold the pic and chug 🔥🔥. I still cant achieve the ola hand . Love this.
Ive owned tube amps my entire life.....Just recently got a 100w Boss Gen 3 Katana.....Holy amaze balls......Im blown away.
Tube and SS are both cool. IDK why people think they should be better or worse. What matters most is how you dial them in
@@jessehutchings dynamics with tubes I think
I’d be interested to see the Blackstar Amped 1 go up against a tube power amp, I haven’t seen any other solid state get close.
I went from tsl100 into the fx in to the amped 1. Amped 1 was fantastic, i had the powerstage 200 before. The Amped1 with the preamp models just sounded warmer.
Yes! I’ve been seriously contemplating the Amped 1 (mainly for its KT88 capability). But a tube power amp is hard to beat.
That KSR sounds like it felt better to play imo. Out of curiosity, how do you like playing through a dedicated power amp vs just using the FX loop return of some random backline amp?
Well you never know about what shape the backline amplifiers are in when you get to a stage. Stage hands ripping out speaker cables while amp is on, being thrown around and what not. At least when I bring my own I know that I’ve taken pretty good care of it.
The tube power amp sounds better, but it sounds a little muddy, perhaps, less dialed in.
Could u please make another vid with the new warhead amp....waiting for mine to arrive ...please!
Tubes just sound better, adds width and depth but.... the Seymour Duncan sounded great as well.
Tube is a bit more lively, but either works.
The tube power amp sounds muddy to me... PowerStage all the way, love the grittiness it brings to the table \m/
Wrong
Same here. When people get used to modern digital sounds, tubes may start sounding lesser in many measures (more noise, softer, unclear and unclean). For me, as a bassist, tube amps are also heavy, farty, not precise in low end and expensive to maintain (power tubes over 400€ for SVT). They don't also drive well some ported bass cabs which is the way to make bass cabs today. Most bassist won't use tube amps anymore, and same happens to guitar world, just a bit slower.
If you were using the same preset for both, you had one of two things happen. And yes, I know the cabinet/mic part is not enabled in the cortex as you said @1:20.
1. The patch had power amp simulation built it, so the test with the KSR had two tube power sections applied to it. And the powerstage had a tube power amp EQ applied.
2. The patch had NO power amp simulation built in, so the KSR was the only "tube eq" being applied. Then for the powerstage there was no tube EQ, leaving nothing but SS after the preamp.
I don't know the quad cortex very well, so I'm not entirely sure what your patch has. This still does a great job at demonstrating how much of a difference a power amp makes to the tone either way. \m/
My patch is a capture of an Engl preamp without power amp simulation
@OlaEnglund many thanks for the info, you sexy Swede 😘 I've always wanted to try a powerball or savage. Sadly, they aren't as common in North America
If you roll off the low end (100hz-120hz) where the FOH is going to roll it off I think it's basically identical.
I use my Badlander 50 rackmount to power my axefx. Its simply the best of both worlds
IMHO the tube amp has more clarity more dynamics 😎
My 2c is that they both sound great. The tube power definitely has more low mids and sounds more round and warm - but I feel this difference would be negligible in a mix. If I may - and no disrespect intended - you played a lot more on the tube power amp in the video and voiced a preference for it. I feel this will color your result if you are looking for this to be a true question as the question becomes inherently leading.
I feel that the solid state power amp vs the tube power amp in a mix would be indistinguishable, however soloed, you hear (relatively depending on the “education” of your ears) subtle difference. If you feel that via your in ears and stage mix that a decent amount of this disparity would exist, then for your purposes, you are more inspired by the tube than the solid state, then this would end the discussion. If you are inspired and feel a connection with what we are playing - we play better. However if viewed solely from the audience interpretation, I feel (in a mix) this is a wash of a question.
Hey Ola, thanks for the video! Did you run your PA-50 in “HiFi” mode or “Guitar” mode for this demo? They say that HiFi mode can be good when using digital gear like modelers.
6L6GC or EL34 ?
Man you're REALLY loving that model Solar huh? I mean I love it too...BUT STILL! LOL
Idk if you have tried this yet, but the Quilter Tone Block 202 is way more powerful and cleaner than the powerstage, and closer in power to the KSR I believe
The KSR sounds like ti has more treble, otherwise, near identical. Maybe play the same riff and use spectrum analyzer software to adjust the EQ controls on the power amps to match each other? I don't hear any dynamics difference, but there's probably volume compression coming from UA-cam.
Shocking difference!
They both sound great! The tube has slightly more bite & hair 🐻
I have never really been a fan of solid state but I am biased 😂 I got a Fryette power station for my Kraken preamp and it sounds huge 😆