So, why is it that tube amphs cost more than solid state / modelers?

[Katastrophe]

I know the answer is out there! It would seem to me that tube amph design would be primarily using older / simpler technology, and would thus be cheaper to manufacture.

Educate me!

[tunghaichuan]

I know the answer is out there! It would seem to me that tube amph design would be primarily using older / simpler technology, and would thus be cheaper to manufacture.

Educate me!

The electronics manufacturing industry stopped making tube equipment on a large scale back in the late 60s. Industry is now tooled up to make SS gear exclusively. A tube amp uses a lot of now exotic parts: high voltage power transformer, impedance matching output transformer, tubes (GE closed their last factory back in the lat 80s.,) high voltage capacitors, tube sockets. These components are still made, but on a very small scale, and this costs.

An SS amp/modeller uses a low voltage/high current power transformer, no output transformer, low voltage caps and PCB construction exclusively. They are smaller, can be more powerful, and usually lighter. A lot of the amplifying circuit can be put on one or two boards, or even one or two chips.

Also there has been a paradigm shift in electronics manufacturing. Tube gear of the Golden Era for the most part was built to last, or was easy to fix. New SS gear is engineered to be disposable, and as such is designed to be as cheap as possible. This is not the best way to design/manufacture tube gear that gets treated roughly on a routine basis.

Guitar amps are a drop in the bucket compared to all other electronics.

[Katastrophe]

Ah.... I see now. Makes perfect sense. Thanks, tung!

[Bookkeeper's Son]

Retail prices aren't necessarily a direct reflection of cost. Many factors will determine the retail cost, most importantly what the market will bear. Tube amps seem to do well on their voodoo/mojo appeal, and prices reflect that, just as they do with Gibson guitars, for example.

Popularity of tube guitar amps, and competition seem to be affecting retail prices in favor of the customer (at least a little), with more models being offered, and more units being made and sold by major brand manufacturers.

[kiteman]

I would think that the components made to carry high voltages (caps, resistors, etc) cost more to make as they have to be robust.

[tunghaichuan]

I would think that the components made to carry high voltages (caps, resistors, etc) cost more to make as they have to be robust.

True. Capacitors have to be able to withstand high voltages and this makes them physically larger than those with similar values but lower voltage ratings. 1/4W or even 1/8W resistors are common in solid state amps, where you need at least 1/2W rated parts in tube amps, sometimes 1W or 2W in certain locations in the circuit. Usually, the larger the wattage rating, the larger resistor.

[Brian Johnston]

I use a Pritchard Black Dagger amp, and it's as expensive as any tube in its category (volume wise). But it's also expensive since this analog amp has voicing capabilities (Fender, Marshall, Vox, etc... it is not a digital modeler), along with many other functions typically not found on amps.

[kiteman]

Ah yes, analog amps. Great solid state stuff.

[cebreez]

Popularity of tube guitar amps, and competition seem to be affecting retail prices in favor of the customer (at least a little), with more models being offered, and more units being made and sold by major brand manufacturers.


A few years back when I first wanted to return to a tube amp I was highly disappointed by how expensive they were. I remember being but a wee lass and could build tube amps all day for pennies on the dollar. "Literally". Had boxes and boxes of tubes, caps, turret boards, testers... etc..etc..etc... Gave it all away in the mid 80's and moved headlong into the transistor world. Wish I had a fraction of it back. Here lately though I've noticed the prices coming back down at least to a halfway affordable level. Glad to see it but it's still not enough to make me get back into building them. A man only needs "ONE" tube amp!

[Eric]

I remember being but a wee lass and could build tube amps all day for pennies on the dollar.
Really?? I always assumed you were a dude.

[cebreez]

WOW! Talk about your grammatical "Faux pas"! "I had to stop and look that one up... Bet the Aussies were rolling in the floor over that one! :rollover

[Ch0jin]

Well....Not exactly :) Considering you said "A man only needs "ONE" tube amp!" at the end, I just assumed that is was for the lol's or was a typo.

Everyone knows there are no real girls on the intrawebs :)

Plus, you're wrong. A man almost always needs more than "one" of anything :)

[deeaa]

Well I have a friend (a man, and a big dude too) who likes to refer to himself as a kid with 'when I was a li'l girl' and always gets chuckles from chicks...but I always thought it was kinda derogatory, I would not appreciate it if I were a woman hearing it...also he IMO also implies that any guy weighing under 100kg or so is a 'girlie' in his book. Although he doesn't actively or maybe even consciously think or present such ideas, I think that he reveals them with the saying he so likes to use.

Sent from my HTC HD2 using Tapatalk

[cebreez]

Well....Not exactly :) Considering you said "A man only needs "ONE" tube amp!" at the end, I just assumed that is was for the lol's or was a typo.

Everyone knows there are no real girls on the intrawebs :)

Plus, you're wrong. A man almost always needs more than "one" of anything :)

SO TRUE Chojin! But to elaborate my falseness... If I could have a really good tube power section then I would simply want more of whatever goes in front of it... i.e. pedals, preamps, etc.... A more true statement would be "I have less because I can't afford more." Or "I have more guitars than amps because they were cheaper to buy or build." A more false statement would be "I have less because my wife wants more." :D

To return to the topic at hand. A buddy of mine just the other day found and bought an old transistor radio complete with leather case and was just beside himself with pride knowing he paid a mere $60 for it. The point being is that many of times prices of vintage or even "retro" gear goes up because the people buying them don't know that just yesterday they didn't cost half that much. They just buy it because its cool. Then again that does tend to spark manufacturing of vintage parts if they can get enough people thinking its cool.

Oh.. And Good Morning Everybody!!

[tunghaichuan]

A buddy of mine has a Pritchard amp. He loves his. I've never heard one in person. He's sent it back to the designer/builder (name escapes me) to have it tweaked to his liking. Apparently, the designer/builder is very good about customizing his amps to a musician's particular needs.