On a lighter note...
A few weeks ago, my little Fender Vibro Champ XD stopped working. It just faded out in what should have been the middle of an epic rock noodling session. But, since it was pretty cheap when I got it, and it was probably out of warranty, I thought it would cost more to fix it than to replace it. (plus replacing meant I could go spend money at the guitar store!) So, I replaced it with a Fender Mustang I.
Like the Vibro Champ XD, it's a modelling amp - there's a digital processing section before the amplifier that can simulate a bunch of other amps and tons of effects - including some really fun things like auto-wahs, stepping-modulators, pitch-shifters, harmonizers and more delay/echo/reverbs than I could ever use. Unlike the Champ, the Mustang doesn't have a tube amp output section - it's all solid state. But, the Mustang's amp simulation is good enough that it doesn't seem to matter - and I had to really crank the Champ to get the tubes to show themselves, anyway.
It has 24 preset amp/effect combos. And it also has a USB port so you can plug it into your computer, and using the Fender software, create new combinations of amps and effects or download other people's creations. And you can control the amp's settings from your PC, live, while you play. You can even record audio from the USB port into your PC, live.
It has a headphone jack, built-in tuner, and an aux-in port, so you can plug your iPod into it. Being solid state, it weighs almost nothing.
It's really an amazing little thing - especially for just over $100.
And, one of the coolest features is the volume knob's calibration. Unlike any of the other dozen amps I've owned, this volume knob seems designed for home use - the useable low-volume range starts at '1' and goes up until '3' or so. All the other amps have had a low volume range that started at '1' and went to 1.2 or maybe 1.3, with a sharp jump up to HEY, COULD YOU TURN THAT DOWN!? at 1.4.
As an experiment, I bought some new tubes for the Champ, plugged them in and... it works again. So now I have two little Fender modelling amps. I should probably sell the Champ...