Effects Loop in Valve Amp - Valve or Solid State Driven?

[johnny mullet]

Other than cost difference will there really be any advantage of one over the other?

[Slowy]

Yeah. Sold state will be cheaper and way more reliable. And at the risk of starting our first flame war in years, you’ll never hear any difference.

You should know that my two main amps are a low watt el 84 amp made 55 years ago and a 10 year old 6L6 hand made masterpiece.
I have no great love of solid state amps though I have 2 very good ones and a modeller is unlikely to get through the door.

If you’re building a righteous traditional bottle amp for pleasure and bragging rights, go valve. If you’re building a functional tool to put to work, go solid state.

[johnny mullet]

Nice one slowy. I hear what you’re saying. Solid state will always be more reliable and less likely to bite back. The difference is do you want a real girl or a blow up one where you can add real hair, add some vibration and some moans etc and it feels almost the same as the real thing.

Yeah. Sold state will be cheaper and way more reliable. And at the risk of starting our first flame war in years, you’ll never hear any difference.

You should know that my two main amps are a low watt el 84 amp made 55 years ago and a 10 year old 6L6 hand made masterpiece.
I have no great love of solid state amps though I have 2 very good ones and a modeller is unlikely to get through the door.

If you’re building a righteous traditional bottle amp for pleasure and bragging rights, go valve. If you’re building a functional tool to put to work, go solid state.

[Slowy]

Nice one slowy. I hear what you’re saying. Solid state will always be more reliable and less likely to bite back. The difference is do you want a real girl or a blow up one where you can add real hair, add some vibration and some moans etc and it feels almost the same as the real thing.

You’re on to it mate!

[RectifiedAmps]

It depends on whether you want a complex buffered, active loop or a passive unbuffered one. Solid state is the way to go if you want the active+buffering, a cathode-follower tube driver works well for buffering on the 'Send'-end, or you can use the totally passive route and just insert a couple switched jacks into the signal chain for a lazy passive & unbuffered option.

I'm sure there are loads of other examples, but the SS loop on a Fender HR Deville/Deluxe is an easy one to emulate and usually works well, provided you don't overdrive either end of the loop with too much signal.