Dynamic Crunch Sound

Tubes vs. Modeling

In a german forum a user looked for the possibility to control his Hughes and Kettner Tubeman 2 by his Boss GT-8. He said that he is using the Tubeman in the external effects loop of his Boss GT-8 especially for crunch sounds the Boss GT-8 isn't able to produce.

But is it true that the Hughes and Kettner Tubeman 2 produces a more dynamic crunch sound?

I own both, the Tubeman and the Boss GT-8. After buying the GT-8 I used both units with an A/B box because I looked for a quick solution to get my favorite Tubeman sound out of the Boss GT-8. This sound is in between a classic AC/DC rock sound and the Van Halen brown sound. More gain than AC/DC but less the Van Halen. I still know that I had no problems to get the desired sound (and quality) out of the Boss GT-8.

After reading the forum article a second time I took both units and connected them again to an A/B box.

The used guitar is a Lag Roxane Prestige with a SH-4 bridge pickup.

Settings

	Tubeman	Boss GT-8 MS 1959 I model
Gain	1 o'clock	between 60 & 70
Bass	4 o'clock	50
Mid	1 o'clock	53
Treble	1:30	57
Presence		26

With the above settings both units still sound a little bit different, especially the mids. But both produce a good old fashioned rock sound. Both react on volume pot changes or on your playing.

Conclusion

The only reason to use tube amps is that it much easier to get a good sound or it's almost impossible to get a bad sound out them whereas the amount of available amps in a modeler makes the choice of the right one to a challenge.