Tube vs Solid state for guitar; the ultimate thread. Ok, maybe not ;-)

I have both; a Carvin SX100 SS that's my main amp when I play with my work band, a modded Fender 600 Champ which is just lovely, and a piece of E36 M3 Crate V5 that I bought on a lark and needs to modded or liquidated. Trying to decide on whether to replace the Carvin with a tube amp.

The Carvin is a nice sounding amp, most of the time. The clean channel is warm for SS and the reverb is pretty damn good. The dirty channel is OK, but can sound pretty muddy or like a cheap SS amp when you're trying to go heavy blues crunch with out getting into full on rock-to metal noise. On the plus side it was cheap and a buddy recently went over it and cleaned up the pots and added to the solder for some of the joints. It also works well when paired with the 600 via a stereo chorus. All of the above is at house volumes. Playing with the guys, at band volume, it kind of falls apart. Still sounds nice for clean, though a bit sharp. The crunch kind of falls apart.

So I'm looking at other options. Up front, I'm a cheap bastard and don't want to spend more than $300. I've found what looks like a good deal on a Crate V50 America made that was re-tubed recently. There are also others in similar configuration for about the same money (no Fender or other big brands at that price though).

Right now I'm waffling between getting the tube amp or playing with the SS to make it sound better (speaker swap and overdrive pedal). The plus side? tubes and if I can sell the SS and crappy Crate I'm out about the same cash (though at some point I'll want the drive pedal). The minus side? The V50 will be big and heavy compared to the SS, I'll have to sell the other gear which is a slow and soul sucking process to get even, have the tube maintenance issues, and it might not make that much sound difference or require tube/speaker swaps to get what I want. The SS plus is I know I've got a bulletproof set up and I just need to tweak it with a speaker and maybe a pedal. Down side? It's still a SS amp.

Thoughts? BTW the band I play with is mostly blues/classic rock. My own tastes lean more to Lyle Lovett John Haitt alt country kind of stuff. Guitars are both MIJ vantage; Strat copy does most of the work, but have an LP copy as well.

After years of trying out amps and playing in groups and solo, most recently just in my living room, I have learned that the only way to get the sound I want is with tubes, and the maintenance is a small price to pay. I play through a 2 channel Marshall JCM2000, as it is the cheapest way to get all the sounds I want in one package without using any pedals. Knowing that might be out of the specified price range, I'd say find something that you like the driven sound of, at reasonable gain levels your cleans can come from just rolling off the volume knob on the guitar a bit. 

If you like your current rig at practice levels but not at full bore maybe you can run it through a PA? The little Orange micro amps sound pretty good an house volumes and can be had cheaply, but my experience is that they thin out when you ask for too much. A buddy has a real gem of an old Randall, 75w 12" combo, ss, reliable and sounds great, and through an extra cab it always kept up with the rest of the band.  I'd also suggest hitting up any local shops that deal in second hand gear, or even just pawn shops, and try everything out, there are a ton of awesome amps out there.

I like the PA idea. What I've mostly run into between my Carvin X100 and especially my Twin Reverb, is that they're too loud; at a venue the sound guy wants to mic them and run them at a volume where he still has mix control, and in the practice space, they're still too loud if turned up past 2. I'm puzzled that any 100W amp isn't capable of making too much sound with plenty of headroom.

There are few places where it's large enough to turn the Twin up to where it sounds great that aren't also big enough to use their own PA for everything.

My next amp will probably be a tiny Marshall clone, which is only useful here in that I'm leaning toward a small amp and using something else to make it "bigger" when I need more volume.

To further Ransoms point. I gigged with a 130 watt musicman throughout the 90's and lost a lot of hearing doing so. Back then most venues only ran the drums and vocals through the PA. 

The last few shows i have played were with 8 watt amps mic'ed and run through the board.  In one occasion during sound check the sound guy said "OK, guitar" I played a bit, adjusted to what I wanted and heard "umm, is that what you want?" Through my monitor.  I said "if you are ok with it, need anything more from me?"  There was a pause and he said "don't take this the wrong way, but..." about then my preshow jitters take control and I'm expecting criticism about my playing or sound or whatever and he continued "I love you"

During the gig stage volume was eerily low. Like no earplugs needed quiet. Really comfortable.  Bianca was playing a cocktail drum kit at the time which was a pretty reasonable volume. I'm told in the venue it was normal club volume.

After we played and I cleared the stage for the next band he came up and said how easy it was to get a great sound out of our band and couldn't believe how easy we were to mix. Every guitar player in the crowd complimented me on my huge sound. Folks were guessing which tweed bassman circuit I had. It was just a single ended 6v6 running at its sweet spot. 

I will never go back to a loud amp. I'm not playing Wembley and if I did I would assume they had an even better house system than the two bit clubs I have played recently.

I say choose an amp based on how much clean headroom you need at practice or if you are a disciple of Johnny Thunders like me what gets you the sound you want at practicing with a drummer volume and let the sound guy take care of the rest 

Also, don't buy a tube amp just because it is the tube amp you can afford.  There are vastly different styles that you may or may not like.  I have played through crates and bugeras and peaveys that just didn't jive with me and my fistpicking style. For some a mesa is what works, others a blackface fender is the only choice. The owners of the amps I didn't get along with loved them. It is such a personal preference.

I also find that sounds I love listening to on albums dont work with me. I love the jam and Paul Wellers cranked ac30 sound is phenomenal but when I play one I wish it had a more meaty midrange.

I was just  at L&M in the Toronto picked up a used Boss SD overdrive for $40. We'll see how that sounds/fits in with what I've got.

Just to clarify to; by work band I mean guys I work with in my day job as a chemist. We are not a working band. Not even close.

For what it's worth, I love my Fender Blues Jr. I bought it used for about $250. Sometimes I'll add a pedal, but I'm happy without.