Love tubes, but hate noise created from clipping?

[A Former User]

I do. Or, paraphrasing Allan Holdsworth: I use something I don't like to get something I somewhat like.

The solution as I've long seen it, is to determine the harmonic content the tube generates by how the tube behaves. An idealized kind of tube. This might also mean a totally different type of circuit, including a parallel set of stages all summing up to become somthing different, akin to pulling stops on an organ. Another approach might be looking at the boundary region of clipping.

I've asked about this kind of thing, and was answered with, 'ahm, seems interesting, perhaps.....', but desire motivates. So if the above and the like appeal to you, chime in.

[A Former User]

A practical example would be a high gain tone with no shhhhh in the treble. People are used to clean and 'distorted'. While distorted has a range, one basic quality is noise, and however 'glassy' that noise might seem, the ssss over-shadows the tone. Imagine a (whatever you think is) heavy tone - with all the feel, the chunk, grind, the sheer kapow! an over-driven tone can be - yet clear.