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 It doesn’t solve your inquiry completely, but Modwright released his Analog Bridge about nine months ago. I was one of the beta testers for the unit. It is meant to be placed anywhere you desire, especially between preamp and amp if applicable, or just between a source and preamp. It’s not cheap, but it is very high quality and offers a good amount of flexibility in the three tube types it supports. |
In pro audio there are any number of devices and even more software products that emulate tube distortion. Some actually use tubes, but most use DSP to achieve their sound. They are widely used as an effect. A company call Line 6 has a very well received line of guitar amps that DSP model a variety of tube based guitar amps. They might not exactly nail a specific amp, but they get pretty close and can sound quite good in their own right. |
