Are Cheap Tube Amps Better than Digital? #guitaramp #tubeamp #guitartone
Is A Cheap Tube Amp STILL better than an Amp Pedal?
Full Video: https://youtu.be/SEdW2Sau40U
Woah. Who would’ve thought we’d be aggressively trying to replace amps in 2023? Sure, we’ve been making the bass player ditch their amps forever, but guitarists too? I never thought I’d see the day…
I remember in high school, the year was 2007 and all I wanted was a massive amp. I didn’t care if it was solid state or tube. It just needed to say Marshall and it needed to have a 4×12 cab. And it needed to be… LOUD. I never ended up getting that Marshall, but I did settle on a tiny little tube amp for most of my high school and college years. Let me introduce to you the Vox AC4TV.
I’ll be real, I didn’t pick an AC4 because it was my dream amp. I got it because I really wanted an AC30 but I wasn’t about to spend 1800 bucks on an amp in high school. And if you’ve ever used an AC30 you know that sweet tone comes at a price. They are ridiculously heavy and loud. The AC4 solved a lot of issues for me. It was around 400 bucks, it was all tube, and had this cool feature where you could control the wattage, so you could get those more saturated tones at a low volume.
Did people laugh when I showed up with my little vox? yeah- but they stopped once they heard the way it sounds. Or at least that’s how I remember it… I could reminisce for hours but rather than just talk about it, I want to test this thing out after all of these years and see if it’s really as good as I remember… and more importantly, since this tiny tube amp will run you about the same amount as leading amp replacement pedals, we should see if having a real tube amp, even a tiny practice one, still sounds better than modern amp replacement.
To start our experiment I first dialed in clean tone for both that sounds good to my ears.
So right off the bat, they are super different and they feel really different. The ACS1 has a lot more low end, and it’s smoother. The AC4 is brighter, grittier, it kinda jumps off of the speakers a bit more. And I’m a huge fan of the ACS1, but there’s just something a little more tactile about the real amp. It feels a little more dangerous… look I know that sounds ridiculous, but if you’re a guitarist you know what I mean.
Back to high school, my first experiences playing in a band were at church, and our band leader told me: you have to listen to u2. That’s how you want your guitar to sound like. And I was like u2, the band my parents have a cassette from? Yeah that’s the one- see if you can make your guitar sound like that. Well, it took me years to get some cool U2 tones, though if you asked me in high school, I’d probably say I had it figured out back then haha. It only seems right to play some U2. It is a vox, and it is a beautiful day.
Something I love about the ACS1 is how well it takes pedals. And I stand by that, but clearly there is a difference between how the pedals react going into the ACS1 vs the AC4. The reverbs and delays are more prominent on the ACS1. And the stacked drive sound I have going on is much more compressed. Look at the difference in waveforms. This is the exact same pedals and settings for both, but clearly stacking the drives does something to the amp. I like elements of both of these actually. And real, quick, be sure to subscribe and drop a like on this video if you haven’t yet already! So now that we’ve done the pretty stuff, it’s time to rock. Let’s hit it with the bender and see what we get.
I’m just gonna say it now, if the AC4 had a little more low end, I think it would be the runaway winner… I’m still tempted to pick it over the ACS1 just because the experience of playing on a tube amp was so much more fun than I remembered. I felt worried about the volume, cause even this little guy is pretty loud, but otherwise, I actually really love this amp. Maybe I’m going back to amps now… Which did you prefer?
Other Videos To Check Out:
Is The Quad Cortex Better Than My Pedalboard: https://youtu.be/0d0jnVIXHiY
Should You Buy a Quad Cortex: https://youtu.be/tT_iMMd2J-k
I Was Wrong About the Fender Telecaster: https://youtu.be/49Y4VeL18RA
Gear:
Gibson Les Paul 2008 Standard
Fender Stratocaster Standard
Jackson Audio Belle Starr
Strymon Timeline
Strymon Big Sky
Vox AC4
Walrus Audio ACS1
Apogee Duet 2
Logic Pro X
#vox #tubeamp #tubeamps #guitaramplifier #fakeamp #virtualamp #guitartone #guitarpedals #walrusaudio #ACS1 #amppedal
#tonex
#Cheap #Tube #Amps #Digital #guitaramp #tubeamp #guitartone
Originally posted by UCDwaZa0wrIPVaY9znjPpTPA at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIFkkQ87Bj8
Full Video Here: https://youtu.be/SEdW2Sau40U
I've got one of those vox.Sounds great and loud enough to use in small rooms and even practicing with my band.
Dude I saw a guy run three of those vox amps mic’d. Sounded absolutely garbage.
The tube amp sounds like a cheap fender champ.
Get a super cheap head and get a 200 dollar cabinet. It will sound 10x better and will be only a bit more expensive
U2!!!!
What delay was used? Sounds stellar
Modeller was too fizzy which is the case for most digital modellers. It could probably be fixed with a LPF but if you don’t wanna deal with that faff then tube amp all day
I have a Vox Ac4tv and I love it!
sounds like a cheap amp.
Love more the mini in this video. Walrus sounds kinda fake IMO
Since I banned my Pedals mostly into the Storage, I only play Tube…Or okay, not only…for Teaching and fast recording stuff, I like things like Bias FX and Bias Amp, that's like an digital amp…but on your PC…but I hate the Delay I got from Digital Amps…and yeah, I know it's a very small delay, but I can feel it, not hear. It feels so much more direct and wired to the Sound…so Big Tube Amps for bigger Gigs, middle sized Tube-Amps for smaller Gigs and small Tube-Amps for practicing or holidays and so on! 🙂
That tube sounds like ????
I have a ‘digital’ tone master twin reverb that will beat most tube amps.
You can’t beat moving air
So a crappy pedal vs a crappy tube amp. Hmmm….
Intentionally dialing in the walrus to sound like garbage ????
That sounds like shit
That's a nice riff you played there!
I would love to merge a cheap amp with digital in a hybrid set up. Imagine running that small amp into a reactive load with IR speaker simulation (Captor X) for endless tonal options.
Both sound fabulous
I bought my AC4 used for $200. For the price of a pedal it is a bargain. I don’t use it much but it is fun to play with from time to time.
Vox
beautiful day
Tube beats digi cheap or not
Vox for sure, sounds great!
But you could add the room back into the digital. Really depends on how it was recorded here.
Agree
Well I think you hey can both be great for different situations
I have that amp. Fine for practice but does sound like crap by itself. A pedal or two really help
Both sound like ???? through my shitty phone speaker lol. Much love from Indiana bro ❤❤
The tube amp sounds like how you hear guitars in a live concert. The pedal sounds closer to how the recorded tone sounds, especially if its hi-fi.
if you want that u2 sound with the delay through a vox its better i guess.. the Walrus sound like shite
Jaja los gringos diciendo que es barato me da mucha risa porque aquí en Latinoamérica es caro jajajajaj
“Tube amps beat digital.”
Who decided that
yeah me too but also the others.
Absolutely beats the pedal in my opinion
VOX for sure!!!