Quote Originally Posted by Ascension
I have owned a buch of different rack rigs over the years. My favorite preamps are
#1 the Carvin Tone Navigator
surprisingly it's a SS unit but sounds and feels REAL like a good tube amp. It does have built in effects but they are pretty basic and primitive it's more or less just a KILLER stand alone midi pre. Right now Carvin is blowing the last of these out on ebay for $270 + $30 shipping!!
With a pre power amp set up a GOOD TUBE POWER AMP IS ESSENTIAL FOR REAL AMP TONES!!!!
Thanks for the heads up on the Tone Navigator. I've been lusting after one of those since they came out. $300 shipped is a killer deal for one of those. BTW, have you ever tried Carvin's SX-300R? Carvin blew a bunch of those out about 2 years ago, dirt cheap. They still sell the SX-300H, which is the 100w head version which uses that preamp.

Quote Originally Posted by Ascension
With a pre power amp set up a GOOD TUBE POWER AMP IS ESSENTIAL FOR REAL AMP TONES!!!!
I agree 100%. Nothing but tubes sound like tubes. However, I will say that the Tube Works MosValve power amps sound very good, especially if when on a budget.

tung