I have had an SVT and an 8 x 10 for the last 30 years. I used to use them all the time, but now Im in my early 50s, I have to be careful with my back. That said, I took the Ampeg rig out on a gig for the first time in years last Friday, and it really is unsurpassable, and as many others have said here, it makes the actual playing just so much more pleasurable. You want to grin with the sound, it's so musical. And crucially, it changes how you play. The sustain makes you want to play less, because you don't need to play so much! The way the valves compress naturally and react to the light and shade of how you play makes it as if you are playing another instrument. Of course, now Ive played it again, I want to be using it all the time!