What I don't understand is this "one trick pony" idea that is frequently tossed around about tube amps. I don't want to argue about this just add another point of view.
In the end it's all about whatever floats your boat. Here is the thing, I'm here at this Blues forum because I'm interested in learning the Blues. What do you need? Are you interested in fusion jazz or metal, or synthesizers? I don't know. In the old days the Bluesmen played guitar. Acoustic, electric, whatever. They used an amp. How complicated do we need to be? Even a crybaby has it's limitation on where and how you can use one. I owned a modeling amp, I sold it. Sure it had all of those different effects. In the long run the knob had printing that was too small for me to see in a real brightly lit room. My Crate had no footswitch so whatever I set it on was how it stayed. A one trick pony. I've got another Fender 5 watt hybrid modeling amp, same thing. That amp stays at the vacation house. Then we read about these guys that have the Fender Modeling Mustang Amp or whatever only to see this array of foot pedals they use and why that rig is the best. That sounds like a one trick pony with an array of foot pedals. So I'll take my tube amp and my pedals and be happy. And when I want to record I'll either take that line-out from my Nace or I'll mic my Marshall, Carvin Vintage, or Blues Jr. I'll probably split the signal and come back with a couple amps for the mix.
So, I like the tube amps. I'm not interested in SS amps right now. Another post a while back described why some folks don't like SS amps. His post was far more technical then I will write here. It had something to do with tube amps when they get played high up or full out, they sound great with this analog natural feel that cannot be replicated without tubes. (that's what I want when I play the Blues - or Blues Rock). And then he mentioned that SS amps have this unnatural clipping tone up in those similar relative power levels.
Here is a thought, how come tube amps are the most common amp out there being played by professionals?
In the end it's all about whatever floats your boat. It's all good. Pay your money and take your choice.
