bigheadstocklover
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- Sep 23, 2022
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Great amps for sure, but literally the opposite of SS, which is the title of the thread. All of us could go off on a tangent about great tube amps.
the solid state amps thread
- Thread starter GibsonMarshallGuy47
- Start date
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Carl M
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- Dec 6, 2019
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I have been using and have owned old Marshalls since the week before my 13th birthday when I bought my '67 Super PA head for £120. It was the cheapest 100 w amp I could find at the time and I thought that I needed all that power to be heard...
Since growing up with old small logo Marshalls I have been underwhelmed by most amps I have tried, especially solid state amps.
But my habit of using big Marshalls also meant that I had to spend decades to getting them to sound great at useable volume levels. About 20 years ago I found a distortion pedal called FETTO which could replace the distortion which I lost when turning down the volume of my old 100w Marshall head to usable levels. I had finally found a way to get the sound I wanted at the volume I could use on stage and at band rehearsals.
Last year the FETTO designer and manufacturer Himmelstrutz Elektro Art released a small solid state 8w discrete Class A/B amp - "Himmelstrutz 8". I listened to some demos, I wasn't convinced, but frankly I am rarely impressed by anything demoed on online.
But since I really like the Himmelstrutz pedals I had to try one for myself, so I ordered one even though I didn't really needed another guitar amp. After adjusting the internal settings to suit my speakers I was surprised to hear how it sounded and responded. It felt and sounded like it was full of tubes and was made in England in th 70's. I tried it at the next band rehearsal and the band didn't realize that I didn't use the Marshall I normally use. Not even the other guitar player noticed anything, until I showed them the little pedal sized amp...
8 watts isn't much, but since I have different sizes of similar sounding cabs I can just change cab depending on how much volume I need and with a Marshall full stack (2 x 4x12) it's actually louder than I can use in the band. One 4x12 is fine though.
It's really strange because it feels and responds like a good tube amp and it breaks up like tube amp, when it's pushed. It's a great little amp. Too bad that most people will never get to try one.
Himmelstrutz 8
Since growing up with old small logo Marshalls I have been underwhelmed by most amps I have tried, especially solid state amps.
But my habit of using big Marshalls also meant that I had to spend decades to getting them to sound great at useable volume levels. About 20 years ago I found a distortion pedal called FETTO which could replace the distortion which I lost when turning down the volume of my old 100w Marshall head to usable levels. I had finally found a way to get the sound I wanted at the volume I could use on stage and at band rehearsals.
Last year the FETTO designer and manufacturer Himmelstrutz Elektro Art released a small solid state 8w discrete Class A/B amp - "Himmelstrutz 8". I listened to some demos, I wasn't convinced, but frankly I am rarely impressed by anything demoed on online.
But since I really like the Himmelstrutz pedals I had to try one for myself, so I ordered one even though I didn't really needed another guitar amp. After adjusting the internal settings to suit my speakers I was surprised to hear how it sounded and responded. It felt and sounded like it was full of tubes and was made in England in th 70's. I tried it at the next band rehearsal and the band didn't realize that I didn't use the Marshall I normally use. Not even the other guitar player noticed anything, until I showed them the little pedal sized amp...
8 watts isn't much, but since I have different sizes of similar sounding cabs I can just change cab depending on how much volume I need and with a Marshall full stack (2 x 4x12) it's actually louder than I can use in the band. One 4x12 is fine though.
It's really strange because it feels and responds like a good tube amp and it breaks up like tube amp, when it's pushed. It's a great little amp. Too bad that most people will never get to try one.
Himmelstrutz 8
Goldsmithmill
New Member
Yes, that little Himmelstrutz 8 amp is ridiculously good if you want the tube feeling and responsivness.
