Members zesty brick Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 Please explain. Is it all that tone packed in there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BeeTL Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gspointer Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 transformers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members catphish Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 transformers More than meets the eye! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted July 28, 2008 Moderators Share Posted July 28, 2008 transformers ^^^ For those that don't know it when they see it, this is the answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bholder Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 It's all those picofarads. And some henries, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WynnD Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 Transformers. Just not the kind that saves the world. If it weren't for the switching power supply, your computers would weigh just as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bholder Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 Transformers. Just not the kind that saves the world. If it weren't for the switching power supply, your computers would weigh just as much. Are you saying tube amps didn't save the world??? HERETIC! :cop: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thumper Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 Heavy tone = heavy amp. Tubes and sockets weigh more than solid state bits. Oh, yeah, and transformers add a bit of weight, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flatcat Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 Picofarads. HA HA HA HA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 it's all the mojo in them. mojo and killer tonez are heavy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BeeTL Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 This picture is shown to scale: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WynnD Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 Used to play through a 70 watt Sunn tube amp. Loved the tone. (Acoustic 301 single 18" cabinet. Very efficient.) That one didn't weigh a lot. (There's a price to be paid for high output tube amps.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Texas Noise Factory Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 You're gonna need a transformer with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zesty brick Posted July 28, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 I just realized that my title lacks a question mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members der oxenrig Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 Used to play through a 70 watt Sunn tube amp. Loved the tone. (Acoustic 301 single 18" cabinet. Very efficient.) That one didn't weigh a lot. (There's a price to be paid for high output tube amps.) Sunns are still 45 pounds minimum. At least they aren't as heavy as similar-vintage Ampegs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WynnD Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 The Sunn amp wasn't mine. (May have been the only time I borrowed an amp for playing through.) I really don't think it weighed 40 lbs. May look on the internet and see if specs are available. I'm not a loud bassist, and it really was enough for the places we played. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members L. Ron Hoover Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 The exact answer isn't 'transformers' because all amps have transformers. Tube amps have an extra one or two as compared to most solid-state amps. In addition to the standard power transformer that all amps have, there's also an output transformer and a filament (heater) transformer in a typical tube amp. The size and weight of a transformer at a particular power rating is directly related to its low end frequency response, so OTs in tube bass amps tend to be pretty big and heavy because they have to accurately couple low frequencies. Amps like the SVT are especially heavy because they're built on heavy gauge steel chassis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WynnD Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 Not all amps have transformers. Some of the new amps are using the same switching power supplies that you find in computers. Much lighter. Similar to those speakers that use neodyne magnets. (Hope I didn't kill that spelling.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Real MC Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 Bass amplifiers are much more demanding than guitar amplifiers. The low frequencies and extra power required to reproduce them put extra strain on the components, especially the output transformers. They must be extra beefy to compensate and that is where a lot of the weight is. You can get away without an output transformer with a solid state amp (which is why they are lighter), but they are necessary with tube amps because the output impedance of tubes doesn't come anywhere near matching the impedance of speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members misterhinkydink Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 You don't have to use output transformers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jackcheez Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 Why are tube amps so damn heavy. To separate the men from the boys ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hasbeen Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 man, you guys are all missing the answer. Did anyone see Jurasic Park?...the seen where the kid picks up the binoculars. The guy says "are those heavy?" The kid says "yeah". He says "then put them down, they're expensive". Ergo, tube amps are heavy because they're expensive. When you carry it home, at least you know you bought something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members L. Ron Hoover Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 Not all amps have transformers. Some of the new amps are using the same switching power supplies that you find in computers. Much lighter. Similar to those speakers that use neodyne magnets. (Hope I didn't kill that spelling.) Switched-mode power supplies have transformers in them, just not very big ones. Switching the incoming AC up to a couple hundred kHz allows them to use much smaller transformers than you can use at 60Hz. But they still have them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members L. Ron Hoover Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 You don't have to use output transformers. OTL amps are really cool, but you need a zillion tubes to get any amount of power out of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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