Why are there no valve acoustic amps?

[stehay]

OK, I am an electric guitarist at heart, but even so I have been playing acoustic guitar (Taylor 714CE) for a good few years. I am plugging the Taylor into a LR Baggs Para DI, which has stopped the PA making my guitar sound like a banjo... but it's still not as warm as I'd like.

 

It seems that all acoustic guitar amps are solid state? I appreciate that an acoustic amp has to deal with a much larger frequency range than an electric guitar amp, but why are valves not used?

 

 

Thanks.

 

Steve

[ThudMaker]

Probably because an acoustic guitar signal is supposed to remain clean, and tubes are all about breakup (well, not always). Solid State is cleaner and when you turn the volume up it remains clean, unlike tubes.

[denvertrakker]

Here's one:

 

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Rivera-Sedona-55-Doyle-Dykes-Signature-Combo-with-ES-Option?sku=486322

 

Not cheap, but hey....

[Chirpy_72]

The purpose of an acoustic amp is to reproduce the character of the guitar it is amplifying. Tube amps add a certain amt. of "color" to a signal ... and it varies depending on the maker of the tube ....

[Pascal]

Some electric-acoustic guitars have a built in tube preamp, though (Takamine...)

[Bernie P.]

I tried playing through a Fender 65 reissue Deluxe twin and it sounded better to me through my SS and hybrid bass amps.

[EvilTwin]

 

The purpose of an acoustic amp is to reproduce the character of the guitar it is amplifying. Tube amps add a certain amt. of "color" to a signal ... and it varies depending on the maker of the tube ....

 

 

Bingo.

 

With an acoustic, you'd ideally like to plug in and have your guitar's sound reproduced exactly.

 

A solidbody electric guitar needs a different type of amplification (you wouldn't plug one straight into a PA like an acoustic) to fatten up its sound. The amp can have as much an effect on the sound you're making as the guitar.

 

That said, even the best acoustic pickups don't get all the mojo of an acoustic guitar, so maybe you'd want an amp that adds some character.

[AndrewGG]

Some of the best and most expensive hifi (and I'm talking stratospherically expensive!) is valve (tube) based so there is no reason other than cost that good, clean tones with masses of headroom cannot be produced by valves.

Of course big valve power needs big transformers so weight is a big issue as is heat.