The distortion introduced by particular electronics is considered an inherent part of the instrument's musical quality by some musicians. Swapping out a high f

The distortion introduced by particular electronics is considered an inherent part of the instrument's musical quality by some musicians. Swapping out a high fidelity modern class D amplifier for an old tube amp is kind of like putting steel strings on a classic guitar or violin, instead of catgut or at least a modern plastic meant to emulate catgut. The instrument would never have sounded that brilliant to the musician who wrote a piece before steel strings were introduced. From an engineering perspective, guitar tube amplifiers are horrible at fidelity. But in terms of accurately reproducing what 1950s rock-and-roll sounded like live, they're ideal.