Well, I appreciate your advice. I'm happy for all the input I can get. On the other hand, I feel an argument could be made for getting a modeling amp, especially since many of them are are so reasonably priced, to learn what your preferences are, then go for the real deal which, if a tube amp, will probably cost you a pretty penny.

Your response reminds me of another question, are pedals better than or comparable to the emulations of them (e.g., if you want know you like the Big Muff sound when you've heard it on recordings, are you going to be more satisfied with a real Big Muff, so to speak, or the version simulated in the Katana software).

As I armchair shop, one of the problems I've encountered is finding a good small tube amp that fits the bill for someone like me that will be a low-volume bedroom type player. I think the Fender clean type tone is what I'm after. Do you feel that the Fender style tube sound compares favorably to a Fender model. As per another post I posted recently, much of what I have heard vis-a-vis advantages of tube amps has to do with how they break up when driven. So I am left wondering if when playing at pre-breakup volumes (which I gather from your post is a much wider range on the volume knob than say a Marshall amp), is the difference between tube and solid state / modeler (or even between Marshall and Fender amps) not as noticeable. You did say that the Vox has a distinct "chime" to the tone. I know that learning how sound adjectives relate to sound is a long learning curve but is there any way you can further describe or define or give me an idea of what "chime" means. I presume it's more than just something you could get with a different amp by setting the EQ knobs differently.

Thanks,

Dave