Alternative to vacuum tubes?

[morcey2]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URvfywUxWzk

I watched it. No sound clips though which sucks.

There have been some theories bandied about with regard to what it really is. High-voltage Fetzer valve? A pair of DSP powered by rectified heater current? (op-amps w/ clipping diodes )

What happens when you plug one of them into an odd-ball stage like the Twreck cold-clipping stage or a grid-leak biased stage?

Matt

[jaysg]

The Eric Barbour article in IEEE spectrum did a good job at showing that solid state devices will never really do what we want. Seems like people have been making this claim for a long time...Deja Vu amps? Didn't take.

[rfgordon]

The solid state stuff in a 12AX7-shaped can has been done before. Am I the only one who remembers the FETRON in V1 on the Mesa Boogie Mark I?

[Structo]

Alternative to vacuum tubes?

I think they call it a transistor?

They will always try to re-invent the wheel.

I remember taking EE classes in 77, the instructor said he would only spend a couple days on tube theory because they are obsolete and the only time we will see them is when we have to work on some old junk.

Fast forward 32 years and guess what?

[Allynmey]

The website he mentioned on the video doesn't exist

[xk49w]

There have been a number of solid state triode emulation circuits that do a honest effort at reproducing various tube characteristics, plate resistance, various nonlinearities, etc.. http://www.google.com/patents?id=iS8lAA ... dq=5734725 for example. To me it has seemed easier to simply put a tube in there and be done with it. The solid-state equivalents seem to require a lot of components.

[Ears]

This topic already active in garage talk
http://ampgarage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7686

[Ronsonic]

The solid state stuff in a 12AX7-shaped can has been done before. Am I the only one who remembers the FETRON in V1 on the Mesa Boogie Mark I?

First thing that popped in my head, too.

Is this awesome? We'll see. That's the standard here. Especially at that price. It isn't like NOS AX7s have to be replaced often, so there isn't really a price advantage over even something ridiculously dear like an NOS Mullard.

[morcey2]

I don't really care what's making the noise as long as it sound's good. I'd plug directly into a shellac-covered cow turd if it gave me the sound that I wanted. (BTW, you can get shellac-covered-cow-turd clocks, why not an effects pedal )

I'd actually be willing to give one of these a shot. But not for $130!! I don't spend that much on tubes for the 6V6 Plexi's that I build and I _KNOW_ that those tubes will sound good.

I did look up a bunch of patents on vacuum tube replacements they all seem way too complicated. It's like developing an engine that runs on peanut butter. Cool, yes. useful, maybe. Cost effective, probably not. Especially when what it's supposed to replace shows no signs of disappearing or getting significantly more expensive.

And if they're so durable, why does he have them in a padded case?

Matt

[flood]

does anybody know about the emerging technology called vacuum microelectronics? sounds intriguing to say the least.

there is a page on triodeel with links, but they've all expired, i think:

http://www.triodeel.com/area51.htm

[Kregg]

The alternative to vacuum tubes ... acoustic guitar.

[mtheory]

Dude wears a mullet.

[leleduke]

NO GLASS AND GAS…BLASPHEMY

[CaseyJones]

The alternative to tubes is SILENCE. Wif me so far? SILENCE AIN'T GOLDEN!!!!

[Wayne]

Yep.

Tube mojo should come...

FROM TUBES!!!

The end.

W