I still gig quite a bit. Anywhere between 150 - 200 gig/yr. I loved my Mesa Express and my H&K GM36 tube amps. The problem with them is even though they are low wattage, they are still too loud for most of the venues we play. When we play 1000 and above capacity venues, I could bring them and they would sound really good because I could crank them. When I finally went the digital route, I brought my Kemper to the local 1500 cap venue. The soundman immediately embraced me (I know him) and said, "finally, somebody gets it". He said it sounded glorious. I asked him about my Mesa. He said, oh, that still sounds pretty good but it doesn't sound as good as what you had tonight. I knew my tube amps were doomed. I'm getting up there in age and now I use a little board with a Kemper Player on it and I don't care where I play, how little or how big the place is, I'm always consistent and since we use IEM's all the time, I really have zero need to drag my amps out anymore. I sold off 6 tube amps last year. I'm probably going to keep the two I have now, but that's in case I get to play a stadium gig!! lol Or.... maybe just because they look cool.
Either way you slice it, my life is better because of digital gear and I'm saying that as an old guy that has loved (and hated) his tube amps. I can set up in 10 minutes and for most local shows we use the same production company so they call up our scene, take a level and we can play. The thing I don't understand with home/apartment/townhouse players is why they are bothering with tube amps at all. I used to have an OX box which did a decent job but it was still a bit of a letdown. I think if you embrace the technology and actually take the time to learn whichever piece of gear you own, you can sound pretty damn good without even a cabinet in sight. Almost any unit you pick up these days is more than capable of giving you a great guitar sound. Bedroom players should absolutely be flocking to these things!
