Cast out again - the big boys will not let me play in their backyard !!
Have been trying to contribute to the title of this thread - Solid state/class d vs tube amps
Seems you technocrats have determined there is no "versus" at all
Am glad to learn there is no BS in the music amplifier industry - only in the hi-fi mob
When I was first learning upright, my teacher, who was principle bass for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, told me that I needed to be more like the Jazz guys. I was obsessing over shifts and pitch at the time. I asked him what he meant by “being more like the Jazz guys;” because I was actually doing Jazz gigs at the time. He says to me, “well, if you say to a Jazz player that they missed a note or had a bad shift, they will simply turn to you and say ‘so what, what’s it to you!?’” He was originally from New York.
This thread has somewhat unfortunately dissolved into parochial/partisan and unconstructive exchanges, to some extent.
The reality is that every amp out there, regardless of class of the power supply, has a particular voicing that was chosen during the design process; and which will typically suit the instrument used in that design effort. But, no amp does everything better than all the others.
The older tube amps were generally designed for a P Bass with flats. The P Bass with flats is a very nice instrument, and is currently enjoying a deserved resurgence of interest among players. Since the old tube amps were voiced for that instrument, one should not be surprised that they still work for it.
Meanwhile, Leo Fender added a second pickup to the bass in 1959, and a little later round wound strings came along. Those changes had some interesting features; but, bringing them front and center has led in a somewhat different direction than P Bass with flats. It turns out that the two pickup basses with round wound strings are most expressive with a lot of clean power. They work just fine with the big tube amps; but, they really sit up and dance with a lot of power behind them.
The thing that amazes me in these TB amp discussions is few who post frame their remarks in the context of what kind of instrument they are playing. So, taking this thread, for example, we’ve got P Bass with flats players exchanging heated discussions with two pickup Bass with rounds players; and its kind of like two ships passing in the night.
Now, regarding tubes vs transistors; they are both amplifying valves for electrons in the circuit. They both perform similar functions. They are both analog signal functions. Yes, they have differing spectral character, which a player can hear, and may have preferences for one way or the other. Again, dependent on the instrument and sound goals. But the solid state versions are NOT digital emulation devices. So, comparisons to digital storage media are just completely uninformed and not germane to the discussion.
As to Class D and how did we get there? First of all, Class D simply indicates the way that the wall voltage is transformed to provide the bias voltage on the transistors. “D” does not stand for digital. The bias voltage on the circuit is ideally a constant. But, when drawing large amounts of power, that reference voltage can fail in its support. Class D is a switching architecture designed to provide a more constant bias voltage at high power levels with more efficient conversion. The signal going into the transistors is still analog. There isn’t some boogie man in there recreating the input signal in some non-authentic manner.
It is good to exchange different experiences with these different amps. It helps us make decisions about what to try next. We all play differently and have different gigs with different needs. But, it is more useful to both post and read than to take sides.
There is a lot of interesting development and progress going on. I’m all for it.
Records ain't going anywhere... neither are tube amps. 
