2) As a (VERY) part-time harmonicist, endeavouring to recreate as nearly as possible the sound of the first generation of electrically-amplified harmonicists, I will readily admit to intentionally driving my amps into the distortion range... in fact, I intentionally use low-power amps (single-ended if possible) which are miked into the PA...so that I can reach distortion levels without blowing the audience into the rear wall! This is, in fact, how I discovered the noticeable difference between overdriving tube amps and solid-state amps...