Tube Amplifiers

Ask any musician who plays through an amplifier, and you'll probably get the same answer: no one can beat the venerable vacuum tube when it comes to tone. That's why, today, well over fifty years after they were invented, tube amplifiers are still the go-to choice for guitarists, as well as favorites of bassists and plenty of other musicians too. When you're looking for the ultimate in warmth, fullness and distortion handling, a tube amp can't be beat.

There are a few different kinds of tube amps here to choose from, so deciding which model is right for you will begin with narrowing them down to the type of amp that fits your needs best. Combo amps are some of the most popular, and their biggest strength is convenience. They're perfect for grab-and-go gigs; since combo amps are all-in-one units, setting them up is as simple as plugging them into the wall and your guitar. But if you're playing really big venues, you'll probably hit a point where the combo amps just aren't beefy enough. That's when you should start looking at tube amp heads, which give you a lot of flexibility to use big, powerful speaker cabinets for massive sound. They also work nicely for recording, since you can connect the amp head directly to a mixer. If the prospect of trying to match speaker cabinets to an amp head is intimidating to you, don't worry. Just take a look at the tube amp stacks available here - they do all the mixing and matching for you.

One of the most interesting tube amps in this section is the Hohner Hoodoo Box. A harmonica is not the first instrument that usually comes to mind when we think of tube amps, but this scrappy 5W box doesn't care about that: it just wants to make the harmonica sound better than ever. Match one of those with any of the tube bass amplifiers in this section, and you'll be well on your way to a truly soulful jazz and blues setup.

That's just a sampling of the beauty of tube amplifiers: there's no genre they're not ready to tackle, and the amazing reputation that tubes have for tone is no accident. If you want to find out just how good your performances can sound, a high-quality tube amp is a must-have piece of equipment.