its pretty much like that when i was playing it. there are a few functions about that makes things more interesting, theres like a bright channel and a mid boost which made things cuter. but nothing that touched the awesomeness of a bassman.
well i plan to buy a good amp, so have to scout around mar. you dont want to make a bad purchase, gotta find the best amp that suits me. thus far of all that i tired the bassman is the one that i loved the most,

i hope to try a JMP one time but thats later when i get closer to my decision

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Added on January 24, 2011, 11:38 pm

tubes

cons
-fragile
-needs huge huge amounts of maintenance (bias, cleaning the tubes)
-expensive, a 4watt tube amp with nothing on it needs more money than a roland micro cube
-warmups, tube amps need like a short time to get warm
-cannot off and on, if yuo want to on it keep it on for a while, when off it keep it off for a while. (thus the standby)
-heat, tubeamps can overheat causing the tubes to crack which causes buzz
-tubes have a limited lifespan, while its easy to replace them you will have to put money in to fix it.
-exploding lulz, well not that bad lar. tubes are like bulbs and they can break
pros

- gain, tubes are known for gain. period - they control gain far better, clips better and if anything tube amps are TEH gain machines.
thats why strangely you see no gain channel on some tube amps and yet people love it for the gain (ie: early Marshall JMP)

- tube amps handle high volumes better, they can drink power like water.

-unlike solid states, tubeamps get better with higher volumes (cranking the amp)

-natural overdrive, every rock album in history was built upon this.

- dynamics, because they handle power better tube amps produce very good dynamic range. add more axe volume = overdrive, reduce volume on your axe = clean. play harder = overdrive, softer = clean. (buddy guy uses it )

- tube warmness

-tube rollin, dont like your tone? lets get soem NOS ELETROHARMONIX TO BOOT!!!!

-TEH SwEET SPOT, every tube amp has this, at one point when the volume gets high enough the amp makes epic sweet tone.

in simple terms, tubes are like the cranky wife, she needs heaps of lovin, but she is sensitive to all your needs. she knows all the right buttons and a slight touch she will squeal in delight. owh and importantly she loves things hard and loud.

THE SS

cons

- does not handle high volume well, as they dont clip gradually but rather roughly so gain kicks in like a slap in the face. if you want to test this get your practice amp, put the volume on high and you notice after a certain point the amp becomes terrible. this is the direct opposite of tubes

- dynamics, because Solid state gets worse as volume goes up you cannot increase volume on your axe to make a slight overdrive nor can you pick harder for it. when a SS is clean, its clean all teh way.

- gain, they dont handle gain well almost all teh distortion on amps you hear by big names are made from tubes driven loud. there are  a few users of Solid states like dimebag, but majority are tube lovers, angus young, buddy guy, etc etc

-tone, in general sense most people love tube tone. some call it snake oil (made worse with the recent hybrids) but tube purists will stand by that SS amps are not as good.

- unlike tube amps, when a solid state breaks - it breaks. tube amp might need a change in the tubes

pros

- reliable, they cannot die! SERIOUS!
- clarity, well thats what they do very well. things are said to be clearer on a solid state
- no/little maintenance at all! all components nearly last forever!
- you dont need to warm it up, in audio listening equipment you dont need to wait 20 mins till it gets sweet lol.