Tubes vs. analog SS: do you learn more from the former?

Gear
#1

Abstract
I’m not sure if there’s any reason besides tone preference not to go with an analog SS rig rather than tubes when I start upgrading this summer. I’ve heard things like “you hear your mistakes more with tubes” but haven’t actually heard any arguments for that assertion.

Rambling Nonsense
I’m looking at upgrading my rig from “random amp sim” to “actually moving air in the room” this summer. One of the things I’m looking at is a full pedalboard rig: solid state preamp pedal, EQ/boost/etc., and a pedalboard poweramp. I’ll be in a smaller apartment with more roommates, so something modular that I can feed into an IR loader seems to be a good idea since I don’t know what the roommate volume tolerance will be. I’m also pretty fond of old Ampeg VH140C and Randall RG100 tones, and exact or near-exact replicas of those preamps are pretty easy to find in pedal format for a steal.

Conclusions and Recommendations For Future Work
I haven’t played through an actual tube amp in ages. Is there anything I’ll be missing besides nebulous accusations of “harsh tone” from tube amp response vs. analog solid state?

Bibliography
The sorts of options I’m eyeing are along the lines of the Master Effects Vulgar, the SNK VHD pedal, or the Warhead quarter-stack. The latter of these might pose some volume issues, so I’m leaning towards the pedalboard type setup for the ability to use an IR loader, as mentioned in Section Rambling Nonsense.

#2

I’ve never heard this I think? I’ve heard “you hear more errors with lower gain” or something to that effect, but even then it’s not a tube vs ss thing, or even digital amp sim. If you want to hear more errors, just hit “record” and play it back, lol.

No. I have a similar pedalboard that’s preamp pedal into IR, and I love it. I say that with two amps at my disposal which I also love.

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#3

Sick. What’s your setup?

#4

It’s an Origin Effects Hot Rod compact / deluxe into a Darkglass Element, with a Walrus Effects Slo (?) for delay. Most all the “direct” tones I’ve posted on the forum is that.

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#5

Very cool, thanks! The Darkglass is especially relevant to my interests right now.

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#6

There are no tubes in FET-based amp-in-a-box pedals, and modern musicians use them without qualm. Here’s the mad genius behind JHS pedals explaining it, with a comical appearance by Paul Gilbert: https://youtu.be/hWHtXRYcRYI?si=7L8W4LmDL85J9kcV&t=429

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#7

If you are not planning to stand in front of a stack and let the sound waves of a tube amp lift you off the floor, I’d argue either choice is equally valid in a studio or lower-volume setting.

I’d actually favor a SS solution because it would likely be more consistent.

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#8

well NOW I am! ffs steve stop putting ideas in my head

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#9

Why? If you crank both to the same volume level, can you hear a difference?

#10

There’s definitely a difference between IRs and the sound of an amp in a room, that much I’m sure of. An IR replicates a close-miced cab. Your ears are not two inches from your speakers (I hope!).

#11

What application? For playing or recording?

For recording, IRs are pretty much identical, and adding room reverb after the fact (which is pretty much the norm now) makes them indistinguishable.

In person, IRs through a PA for a fully mic’d band would sound the same as mic’d onstage. IRs coming from a FRFR cab for a live band that isn’t being mixed for a PA (e.g. a jam sesh in a garage) would not sound the same as a real cab.

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#12

Yeah for recording there’s clearly pretty much no difference, no argument. I am mostly talking about playing for myself, cab in room.