TH30 vs. TH100 - strictly a difference in wattage?

[Carnelust]

I'm just going to put this question as bluntly as I can:
What, if any, are the differences between the TH30 and the TH100 aside from the wattage?

[Jondog]

I've only played the TH30, but naturally besides the volume, I'm guessing you'll get a little more oomph in tone with the EL34's.

[a.hun]

I believe the differences are all in the power amp. So different power valves, different biasing system, different power levels.

Channel preamps are the same, so if you like, yes the effective differences are just the wattage, plus weight, cost...


Andy.

[Hubaxe]

Yes , the main difference is the TH100 runs on EL34. But both have tone brotherhood.
The main difference is the headroom allowed by the 100w.

[Slartibartfarst42]

A slightly different flavour from the EL34 valves in the 100w would be about it I would think. You'd have more headroom on the 100w but I honestly can't see it being an issue on the 30w as it's the loudest amp I've ever owned and the clean channel is significantly louder than the dirty channel so if you have the volume on the dirty channel set to noon, you'll need it much further down on the clean channel.

[thinspirits77]

I assume you are asking because you are in the market for one or the other... If so consider what you are using it for. How many people really need 100W of tube power in an amp?? I'd say not many. I never intended to get the TH100 and kind of got mine by accident - love the sound but it is extremely heavy (I think it's over 50 lbs) and inconvenient to move (thankfully for the last year it hasn't had to leave my practice space) and I run it on 50W exclusively anyway. So if you are looking for a good tube amp for hard rock and are playing gigs at small venues especially with PA systems where you are micing the cab anyway, there isn't going to be enough tonal difference between the two to justify the added cost and inconvenience IMO of having the 100W version.

That said, I really like my TH100, the various wattage options are nice and the clean channel couldn't be cleaner. If you play a lot of cleans and don't want to worry about possible break up on the clean channel, that's a bonus of the 100. But you also would have an easier time driving the clean channel for a crunch tone with the TH30 on half power - you can only knock the TH100 down to 35W at it's lowest and I've still never turned the clean up loud enough to get any grit out of it. Kind of all depends on what you are looking for in an amp - but as far as tone/gain stages/functionality they are very similar (except as mentioned by others, EL34 in the 100, EL84 in the 30, probably a little more low end with the 100, I've played both but have never A/B'ed them).

[Randy Bass]

Most people that buy 100-watt tube heads anymore don't buy them for the volume. It's about the huge low end and clean volume that you can get from them. You could set the controls the same on TH100 and TH30 and match volume levels and they would still sound different due to the differences in transformers/tubes. If you don't play doom/stoner stuff or use a lot of drop tunings, you may not need the extra low end. Conversely, don't expect to hear power tube saturation from the TH100 unless you are ear raping the entire neighborhood.