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→Tube vs. Solid State
== Tube vs. Solid State ==
Early amplifiers used vacuum tubes exclusively for all their amplification, including in the pre-amp section and the power amp. Later on, transistors (aka solid-state) began to replace tubes for many applications, due to smaller size, cheaper costs, and no necessary replacement or maintenance. However, their application for audio amplification operates somewhat differently than tubes. Many of the things one might find undesirable about tubes from a technical viewpoint are actually desirable to many musicians.
This is particularly true when pushing tubes past their maximum output range, which results in clipping, or distortion. Tubes' distortion is often characterized as "natural", "musical", "organic", and "warm". All that really means is that it sounds pleasing to the ear. Transistors tend to be less pleasing, with a harsher distortion. Tubes also offer aspects, like sag, that cause the technical replication of the amplified signal to differentiate from the source signal over the life of a note. Again, many find this as a positive benefit for musical purposes.
Various technologies have been developed by amplifier manufacturers to get the tube tone out of solid state technology; however, none of them gained enough traction to be considered at the same quality level as tube amps. To this day (mid-2014), the most popular amplifiers rely on tubes for both tone and power. That said, they are also more expensive, require tube replacement and occasional maintenance.
== Watts vs. Volume ==