Cool though the Brown Microphone Amplifier is, it’s no more “solid state” than a magnetic amplifier is. In fact, I can make a better case for the mag-amp being solid-state.

You can turn on a solid-state amp, and it'll be ready to go. Tube amps, however, need a few minutes before they can offer their optimal sound quality and tonal character.

The British amp makers have used analog gear to, the company says, recreate the sound and feel of tube amps with this trio of ...

They can also be made more cheaply as everything is housed in one cabinet. The popularity of integrated amps really took off in the late 1960s as solid-state technology (smaller and cheaper with less ...

Carbon microphone amplifiers may be rare today, but for all that we’ve touched on them before. Continue reading “A Hundred Year Old Solid State Amplifier” → ...

If you want a little more tonal flexibility, consider a solid-state amplifier like the Yamaha THR30 II Wireless that’s built to model several different types of cabinets and preamps.