The Real Battle Isn't Tone

 

 

A Completely Subjective Opinion

Every digital amp, whether a modeler or a profiler, imitates a tube amp. It's part of the basic value proposition of them. In fact, for most players, the most significant measure of success for a digital amp is how well it imitates tube amps. 

By comparison, have you ever heard a tube amp company tout its product's ability to emulate a digital amp? Of course not. Because nobody wants that. Nobody aspires to sound like they use a digital amp. Even if they play a digital amp, they still want it to sound and feel like it's a tube amp. 

Now, how many times in life have you encountered an imitation that is genuinely indistinguishable from the real thing? For me, very very few. Almost zero. The imitator might be very close. Heck, it might even have practical advantages over the original. But in my experience, an imitation is almost always discernibly different from the original, and only rarely is that difference for the better. All other things being equal (Spoiler Alert: they're not), I'd rather eat crab than Krab.

So, in my opinion, tube amps are the no-compromise best choice when it comes to tone.

But The Deciding Factor Isn't Tone

It was a very different musical world when I got into guitar. In the 40+ years since I started playing, there's been a steady decrease in stage volumes, touring budgets, setup times, stage sizes, and venues supporting live music. At the same time, there's been a steady increase in silent stages, fly dates, and home recording. Nowadays, social media and video are more viable revenue streams for musicians than club dates. 

In light of these changes, the requirements for amplifiers are very different today and tube amps are a poor choice to meet them. A 100-watt full stack is a comically excessive choice for fly dates, home recording sessions, and YouTube videos. Heck, even a 15-watt tube practice amp is a pain. If this is the future of music – and let's be honest, it is – tube amps have become woefully impractical, no matter how much better they sound and feel. It's like wearing combat boots to a track meet – they might be the highest quality boots ever made and perfect for going to war, but they're just not the best shoes for the job.

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