Got 3 power amps (buying is easy selling is not), a 12 watt set valve (lowther rebuild), exposure dr 4 dual mono solid state , woodside 50 watt push pull valve ,(pre is a woodside valve). Linn analogue and cheap cdp. Speakers are vintage Tannoy silver 12s in compact boxes on stands. Is there such a thing as 'an amp for all seasons' ? ie something that can do justice to all types of music ?
I recently attended a Strawbs gig in a relatively small to medium venue, 3 musicians all acoustic (via pa amps) plus occasional synth. On playing some early strawbs vinyl afterwards it became very clear that the SET amp is clearly the most accurate in manifesting the Strawbs 'sound'. I mean bang on the beauty and emotional impact of the vocals and instruments. The woodside sounds like the band are professional to a fault ie clean, clear,rhythmic refined singing but lacking 'harmonics(?)' , the exposure seems to approach the SET for emotional impact but sounds slightly 'dead' ie lacking live energy compared to the valves. I then put on John Martyn 'live at the hanging Lamp' lp, again to my ears Martyn's vocals and chatting sounds the most authentic ie conveying nervous spontanaeity etc, via the SET, conversely the woodside even made his burp sound almost refined however Martyn's acoustic guitar sounds far more authentic and tuneful /rhythmic via the woodside while the choppy electric guitar is positively hypnotic , the SET just cannot reproduce the guitar to this level sounding pleasant at best etc . Again the exposure does a very good job of combining both the positive aspects of the valves without exceeding their individual strengths.
I tried other types of music (classical ,jazz , rock,solo piano etc) with similar results , no one amp consistently excelling in all types of music, the exposure seems to be the best compromise and also appears to have a similar timbral balance to the SET, the woodside seems to bring out rhythmic dance structures/detail and refinement to the slight expense of timbre and harmony (it is 5 to 6 ohm output which may affect the tonal quality of the 15 ohm speakers).
Is there such thing as an amp that can excel with all types of music ?
I recently attended a Strawbs gig in a relatively small to medium venue, 3 musicians all acoustic (via pa amps) plus occasional synth. On playing some early strawbs vinyl afterwards it became very clear that the SET amp is clearly the most accurate in manifesting the Strawbs 'sound'. I mean bang on the beauty and emotional impact of the vocals and instruments. The woodside sounds like the band are professional to a fault ie clean, clear,rhythmic refined singing but lacking 'harmonics(?)' , the exposure seems to approach the SET for emotional impact but sounds slightly 'dead' ie lacking live energy compared to the valves. I then put on John Martyn 'live at the hanging Lamp' lp, again to my ears Martyn's vocals and chatting sounds the most authentic ie conveying nervous spontanaeity etc, via the SET, conversely the woodside even made his burp sound almost refined however Martyn's acoustic guitar sounds far more authentic and tuneful /rhythmic via the woodside while the choppy electric guitar is positively hypnotic , the SET just cannot reproduce the guitar to this level sounding pleasant at best etc . Again the exposure does a very good job of combining both the positive aspects of the valves without exceeding their individual strengths.
I tried other types of music (classical ,jazz , rock,solo piano etc) with similar results , no one amp consistently excelling in all types of music, the exposure seems to be the best compromise and also appears to have a similar timbral balance to the SET, the woodside seems to bring out rhythmic dance structures/detail and refinement to the slight expense of timbre and harmony (it is 5 to 6 ohm output which may affect the tonal quality of the 15 ohm speakers).
Is there such thing as an amp that can excel with all types of music ?
