... Besides that LM3886 is equipped with protection circuitry (SPiKe) that isn't very ear-pleasing when it happens to kick on. I have heard several comments on LM3886's trasparency and i do not doubt them but the truth is that those comments have come from people who use their amps at "normal" listening levels. Granted that with a good and efficient speaker cabinet 60 watts might be adequate for stage use, but transparent? No way.

For guitars, These are the kind of things I would like to see blind tested.  Does the protection circuitry cause distortion people distinguish and find negative?  Based on that, what are the components of the distortion they don't like, and can it be counteracted with a simple filter?   

When I was saying transparent SS amp I guess I was thinking of a couple of hundred watts.  With limiting to prevent it's own clipping.  Which means it'd compress which isn't transparent, but this purpose close enough.  It could also be a transparent tube amp.  What I was interested in was down stream components - amp and speaker, being transparent and reproducing the signal processing/preamp and giving people a sound they can't distinguish from another combination colored amp.

When I think about it, I guess it can because I can play back a recording of a good sounding guitar through a transparent amp, and it sounds like a good sounding guitar.  I just need to get that signal to the transparent amp in the shape that it's what I want out.  I think this is possible.   

Some people could still probably tell the difference, but a blind test may prove otherwise. 

I ran across this study
http://milbert.com/articles/TvsT/tvtiega.html

The amp in the study was a standard old BJT.

If you've ever been on the edge of thinking SS wasn't good enough you'll appreciate that 25 years later, SS has only got better. 

I would love to see a new study done.