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Sure tone exists as a set of transfer functions modifying the fundamental but no one prefers a single function until it was made pleasant by the association with a compelling message. By itself, a note, conveys no information and has no emotional impact. If you are seeking a particular tone, why did you not seek that tone before it was associated with a message that gave it weight? Same with symphonic instruments, they come and go in and out of favor based on compositions. Same has occurred with popular music instruments in the past few hundred years.
You are looking at if from the perspective of a lone musician performing songs that are not original. My whole career was concerned only with music that no one had heard before and how an audience responded to it so we approach it differently. I doubt you will find any pros who are regularly involved with creating something new who is so aligned with "tone" and less with song.
If you studied the history of instruments and composition, you would see that when equipment preferences changed, it was in response to new compositions that prompted it. When listening to Early Music, or in original arrangements, it takes finding instruments that are suitable. The current orchestral equipment is focused on a fairly narrow time of classical, non-religious, composition. I live in a city with 54 classical concert halls and opera houses, so many periods are represented every night in classical music, and I visit those as often as jazz clubs or dance clubs, as most people do here. By spending so much time in other countries and seeing how they differ in music tone preferences, it is easy to see that it is a learned cultural response to the society one finds themselves. It is just like religions, preferences are strongly associated with the accident of birth place. I am also old enough to have seen many "tone" preference shifts in my own culture, to know that there is nothing intrinsic in tone function that makes one more desirable than another. In that case, preferences are by accident of birth era and what was major influences when growing up. It is not by accident that most people searching for a specific tone function are trying to reproduce music character that was common when they were 14-20 years old.....no matter when or where they were born.
You are looking at if from the perspective of a lone musician performing songs that are not original. My whole career was concerned only with music that no one had heard before and how an audience responded to it so we approach it differently. I doubt you will find any pros who are regularly involved with creating something new who is so aligned with "tone" and less with song.
If you studied the history of instruments and composition, you would see that when equipment preferences changed, it was in response to new compositions that prompted it. When listening to Early Music, or in original arrangements, it takes finding instruments that are suitable. The current orchestral equipment is focused on a fairly narrow time of classical, non-religious, composition. I live in a city with 54 classical concert halls and opera houses, so many periods are represented every night in classical music, and I visit those as often as jazz clubs or dance clubs, as most people do here. By spending so much time in other countries and seeing how they differ in music tone preferences, it is easy to see that it is a learned cultural response to the society one finds themselves. It is just like religions, preferences are strongly associated with the accident of birth place. I am also old enough to have seen many "tone" preference shifts in my own culture, to know that there is nothing intrinsic in tone function that makes one more desirable than another. In that case, preferences are by accident of birth era and what was major influences when growing up. It is not by accident that most people searching for a specific tone function are trying to reproduce music character that was common when they were 14-20 years old.....no matter when or where they were born.
I don't know how many amplifier makers (or even woodwind, violin, didgeridoo, banjo makers, etc) are out there, but not all of them are only trying to make what works well enough to sell or copies a trend. Some are trying to make something that sounds good in a relevant and definable way. I don't believe that everyone is trying to emulate a sound they associate with someone else's art. I think there are enough that do to account for Stan's position though. Still... I do think "good tone" for amplifiers, violins, etc. has definable properties that players recognize and amp designers are honestly trying to make something good. Not something the same as X or Y. Goodness knows there are enough complaints about amp boominess, buzziness, etc. that it's clear most player know what they DON'T like. 
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