When trying to consider the best guitar amp for you, it’s easy to get confused with all the information on the Internet. If you’ve done your research, however, something you’ll come across is the debate: tube amps vs. solid state.
Guitar amps are all built using vacuum tubes (if you haven’t yet, check out our Tube Buyer’s Guide here), solid state technology, or a combo of the two. There are also amps that incorporate digital effects as well.
As you research guitar amps, vacuum tubes and solid state amps, you might also come across the term “valves” — adding to the confusion of the initial research. This is just another term for tubes. There is no difference other than that.
Here are a few differences between tube amps and solid state amps: