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In Reply to: SET Power Tubes and Music Preferences posted by Budrew on August 8, 2005 at 16:51:08:
A pretty interesting question.I think the 45 is perhaps best for vocals. I've seen it preferred by someone who specialized in listening to vocals.
I think the 45 and the 300b play jazz well.
I feel like the 45 is a reality tube and the 300b is the mystic tube. The 45 is a little more direct and the 300b is a little more spacious. The 45 is like a Picasso painting, bright, bold and right there, and the 300b is like a Monet, a little more impressionistic.
Perhaps new age, space music, and electronic mood type of music might be more interesting with the 300b.
A little bit of arbirtrary distinctions. The sense of immediacy and clarity and forthness is right there with sets, and it makes all music more enjoyable. The sense of involvement is also there very strong with a good set, this is primarily what sets it apart from nonsets, and both my 45 and 300b amps do it even if differently. The 45 is a little more straight there and the 300b is a little more roundabout. The 300b can perhaps pull you in a little more, but the 45 is very grabbing in its own way.
A while back I played the "Supreme Al Green" cd for months and months. The I played the Jazz Messengers live at the Cafe Bohemia(?), and Donald Byrd live somewhere, I forget, for a couple of months. Now for two weeks, I'm playing two reggae cds that I picked up in Jamaica.
You just don't tire of playing the same thing over and over. Because it's compelling. It's interesting, and you hear it fresh each time. If the music is good, but then you eventually move on to something else.
Follow Ups:
The difference between 45 and 300B is to me there is a "thickness" or "bloom" in the upper bass/lower midrange with the 300B that becomes boring over time. I think if a source is somewhat bright, the 300B would be a great complement. But with refined sources, the 45 is the tube. In contrast to the 300B system I once had (with basically the same amplifier), I only power down the 45 system because it's past my bed time.
I cannot deny that I also favor the 45 tube. It seems to proportion the sound, in other words, put the proper weight to the lead instruments, as well as can be done. Probably another way to say this is that it is almost perfect in the midrange.The lead guitar, or voice, or a trumpet or sax solo sounds almost perfectly weighted among the instruments and music. Just the way you would want it to be
I have limited electricity in my house right now. I basically have been playing just one 45 amp. I fired up a 300b for the first time yesterday and I was a bit stunned at the harmonics. I was playing an Anour Brahem cd, kind of a new age/acoustic, with radian drivers, and each note seemed to linger in the air. Nuance and decay was remarkable.
A 300b doesn't quite proportion the sound the way a 45 does. But it is also quite remarkable. The proportion of sound is just more widely dispersed, less midrange focus, and it seems to offer more harmonics.
It takes the 45 for comparison maybe to be less inclined to the 300b. But it really takes a good 45. Previous to my friend building them, I had some diy's at my desktop that I couldn't keep there for over a half hour. They were off in some way, and I basically keep a 300b in this nearfield.
Plus the 45 being more of an upfront sound doesn't allow for a certain type of immersion in the sound like an aural matrix effect as the 300b. Similarly, full-range drivers also being more upfront, don't allow the listener to fall into the sound and speakers the way some 2-3 way speakers do.
Your contrast makes some sense for some 300B amps, especially if the associated preamps are a bit soft. But the better 300B amps coupled with dynamic preamps, can turn this bloom into a virtue by refining and firming it up a bit, creating a detailed and spacious image that is very pleasing and not at all artificial.I do wish Budrew were getting some better answers to his question. There is a perception out there that 300B's are for classical and acoustic only because of their reputed softness. Given the number of 300B amp owners, it would be helpful to hear from some of them how they feel about this matter...?
*But the better 300B amps coupled with dynamic preamps, can turn this bloom into a virtue by refining and firming it up a bit, creating a detailed and spacious image that is very pleasing and not at all artificial.*Many 300B amps are soft but there are few that actucally sounds more *neutral* ( oxy moron, eh? ) with a spacious and hollographic see-through midrange without losing any bass agility at all!
This is when I understood why the 300B is so popular. Hard to beat their tonal purity and what a beautiful bass delivery.
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