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280 Part V: Gearing Up: Outfitting Your Arsenal TEAM LinG
Valve is the British word for tube. If you’re talking to Pete Townshend and Eric
Clapton about amps, don’t be confused if they use the term valve when discussing
simply brilliant amps.
Tube technology is old, electronically speaking, and virtually obsolete,
except in amp design. But you simply can’t beat a tube for producing warm,
dynamic, musically responsive tone. You sometimes have to hunt far and
wide to find replacement components for tube amps, but it’s worth it for the
vintage and classic tone they produce.
Some potential drawbacks of tube amps include
Cost: Tube amps tend to be more expensive than other amps.
Weight: These amps are heavy, often weighing 60 pounds or more.
Burn out: Tube amps are more finicky — the tubes get old, and they
burn out more often than the circuitry in other types of amps, which
means tube amps require more maintenance.
When considering the above drawbacks of tube amps, you may need to go
with an alternative technology for practicality’s sake. (These alternatives are
covered in the next few sections.) But tubes are considered desirable for all
types of electric guitar sound — especially blues and rock. The Fender Twin
Reverb, shown in Figure 15-9, is an example of a classic tube amp.
Figure 15-9:
A tube amp.