2. amps-preamps
  3. 185385-2439

A Black Box to Solve Everything

Tubes vs. solid state?? There's a thread out right now about this exact question (there always is), but I didn't want to take it off subject. So my question is; is there a device that could go between the preamp and amp that has variable harmonic distortion capabilities? I know there are tube buffers, but they are not really addressing the point because they use line level signals and don't have the distortion of a good 300B tube being pushed beyond its limits. My thinking is that of a black box with switches and knobs to adjust harmonic distortion to mimic different tube types. It would also have to have a bypass switch so we could readily and quickly A/B the thing. Any ideas?

koestner

Showing 1 response by knotscott

knotscott's avatar
knotscott
1,076 posts
 

Tubes for guitar and tubes for hi fi have very different objectives. Audible distortion for a guitar amp is a desirable feature, not so for a hi fi amp. Two different worlds for the same technology.

Adding anything in the path of tube gear for hi fi runs the risk of masking the transparency that many hi fi tube lovers crave. It’s not uncommon to hear of SS hi fi amps that emulate the tonal balance of a tube amp (aka "tubey"), but they don’t necessarily have the same level of transparency that a good tube amp has.

Does your black box idea pertain to guitar, hi fi, or both?

 

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