We firmly believe that electric guitar amplification took a wrong turn in the late 1960s/early 1970s
At about that time, one of the leading manufacturers was involved in making a transistorised version of their most pivotal valve model. Transistors were big news back then, and the promise of cool reliable running, and portability, were significant selling points. However, this attempt was such a poor tonal contrast to the valve amp that transistor based amps have suffered as second class citizens to this day.
The way that valve amps work is so different from transistor amps that the change in tone should not be a surprise. Many incomplete attempts have since been made to capture the valve magic in a solid state format. Nothing has really hit the mark and musicians have become increasingly polarised toward valves for professional guitar tone.
