One could well divide the entire history of amplification technologies along the lines of “tube” (or valve) and “transistor.” Starting in the first decades of the twentieth century, vacuum tubes provided the necessary boost to the electrical signal that made the modern phenomenon of sound amplification possible. Transistors emerged mid-century as a smaller, more efficient, and more resilient device to fulfil many of the same basic functions as were performed by tubes. While this chronology might suggest a clear line of progression from tube to transistor, this history has been far from linear. Especially in the sphere of electric instrument amplification, tubes were not strictly replaced by transistors. Rather the divide between tube and solid state amps has remained fundamental and an ongoing point of distinction and discrimination, with the sound of tube amps often cast as most desirable in its perceived “warmth” and “fullness” relative to its solid state counterpart. Drawing upon patent documents, print and visual representations of amplifier technology, and original interviews with amp technicians and musicians – including Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine – this presentation aims to historicize the tube/solid state divide. I will first explore the different material dimensions of these two core amplifying materials, and second, will examine how the distinction between tube and solid state technologies can shed light on broader processes of defining musical value through what Fink, Latour and Wallmark have called “the relentless pursuit of tone.”
Steve Waksman is the Leverhulme International Professor of Popular Music at University of Huddersfield, UK, where he is principal investigator on the Amplification Project. His publications include the books Instruments of Desire: The Electric Guitar and the Shaping of Musical Experience (1999), This Ain’t the Summer of Love: Conflict and Crossover in Heavy Metal and Punk (2009), and Live Music in America: A History from Jenny Lind to Beyoncé (2022), which was awarded the Music in American Culture Award from the American Musicological Society. Most recently, he completed The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar, co-edited with Jan-Peter Herbst. For more information, go to https://makeitlouder.co.uk.