Real amps vs modelling and plugin amps

[YnJ]

Limitations forces you to be creative. I didn't have much money for nice gear until I started working, I think finding out how to making the most out of what I had was good for me. More recently, apart from all my other complaints about plugins, I got overwhelmed with all the options you get with having literally hundreds of plugins at your hands and too often spent hours just going through different combinations instead of just playing to make music. Hardware is better for me, I spend a couple of minutes tweaking the knobs, perhaps a few minutes more if I want to try something like a different dirt pedal or effect, and then hours playing to make music instead

[YnJ]

I've returned a lot of pedals that I've tried that I didn't find to be any better than models

I have the Boss HM-2, the original purchased when it was recently released, so I probably was a tad hyperbolic. That thing is shite, only useful as a booster. The cheapest dirt pedals I have are Behringer copies of Boss pedals I'm not going to pay what they charge for the originals, like the Metal Zone, and apart from the plastic casings they are not that bad, some of them are apparently more or less identical to the originals

[zerocrossing]

No need for recordings. Just want to get info that I can pass on to IK. Are there any other expansions you need licenses for that you'd want to test?

I’ve got all of Amplitube Max 2, and Tonex Max, but no official, or unofficial Tonex expansions. Just things I’ve found to be good in the user library.

[zerocrossing]

I've returned a lot of pedals that I've tried that I didn't find to be any better than models

I have the Boss HM-2, the original purchased when it was recently released, so I probably was a tad hyperbolic. That thing is shite, only useful as a booster. The cheapest dirt pedals I have are Behringer copies of Boss pedals I'm not going to pay what they charge for the originals, like the Metal Zone, and apart from the plastic casings they are not that bad, some of them are apparently more or less identical to the originals

Gauging the accuracy of any gain-driven system is very difficult to do. The slightest change in gain or EQ can result in big differences. I definitely can’t seem to make any Tube Driver sound like my Tube Driver. Does that mean it’s impossible, or am I not really doing a good job of matching the gain at every point? Both?

Down that road lies madness. MADNESS, I TELL YOU! I think a more sane approach, if you desire to use modeling, for whatever reason, is to purge your mind of expectations. Use the model as its own tool, just like you would approach a new physical amp or pedal. I know when I did my survey of Amplitube amps, some sounded great at the default input level, some not so good. If I’d never experimented with trying different input levels, I might have just written off those models as not really sounding great.

To be honest, I don’t really find a lot of real amps and pedals to sound great to me. The harsh, gravelly sound of an overdriven Fender tweed type amp’s never sounded good to me. I always preferred the Vox amp sound. One thing I don’t do, is spent any time trying to match some Vox amp of my past, or that I’ve heard on a record. I just work on getting a sound that I like.

[zerocrossing]

Limitations forces you to be creative. I didn't have much money for nice gear until I started working, I think finding out how to making the most out of what I had was good for me. More recently, apart from all my other complaints about plugins, I got overwhelmed with all the options you get with having literally hundreds of plugins at your hands and too often spent hours just going through different combinations instead of just playing to make music. Hardware is better for me, I spend a couple of minutes tweaking the knobs, perhaps a few minutes more if I want to try something like a different dirt pedal or effect, and then hours playing to make music instead

Limitations may help you to be more creative and productive, but what works for some people is not necessarily how it works for all. Even at my most minimal setup, I was always thinking about how to make new sounds. The first Beatles song that I tried to play was I Am The Walrus. There’s not even guitar in that song. But we didn’t have a cello, and we did have a crap electric guitar and amp in the basement, so that’s where I started. As soon as I could get my hands on them, I was buying fuzz boxes, volume pedals, wahs, bbds etc. Later, digital effects, like pitch shifting, and even later still, hex pickup based guitar synthesizers.

I still love the guitar. I’ve since learned that exploring pure synthesis was a better way to get those things. My guitar is more traditional sounding because of that, but I’m still doing a lot of things that are not really traditional. Lots of Sustainiac action, etc. Heavy gain used to create sounds that are more similar to a synthesizer pad, than to a djenty sound. I like my wah after the gain stages, which isn’t something that you can do with a mic’d combo amp. Best case, you can stick it between the preamp and amp, if there’s an effect loop.

[zerocrossing]

[edit]Will redo this test with an analog source for better accuracy.

[Naillerz78]

I came across something interesting yesterday googling aliasing in amp sims.
Scuffham states it has 8x oversampling built into all its amp sims in S-Gear. Perhaps why it sounds smoother and is an often recommended sim vs some other big names re edge of breakup type tones.
Which lead me to google other sims.
Mercuriall has up to x8 oversampling option.
Kuassa sims also.
GuitarRig has a “High Quality” button if I recall which may be oversampling not sure.

Others?
Also is there a thread here that measured aliasing quantities in sims..?

[Naillerz78]

What do yous guys think of these sim tonez?
Guess the amp sim!
RIP Ozzy.

https://voca.ro/1olDN2SwJgDF

[Uncle E]

I have the Boss HM-2, the original purchased when it was recently released, so I probably was a tad hyperbolic. That thing is shite, only useful as a booster.

You no like chainsaw? That pedal is absolutely necessary for Swedish death metal and also for My Bloody Valentine. Nothing else sounds like it.

[Uncle E]

I had some time today, so I went through all the models.

Thanks! I'll send this list to my IK rep.

[vurt]

I've returned a lot of pedals that I've tried that I didn't find to be any better than models

I have the Boss HM-2, the original purchased when it was recently released,

ill give you 20 quid for it

[Uncle E]

What do yous guys think of these sim tonez?
Guess the amp sim!
RIP Ozzy.

https://voca.ro/1olDN2SwJgDF

Needs more gain! Also, the real recording sounds like it was EQ'd pretty heavily at the board.

[zerocrossing]

I had some time today, so I went through all the models.

Thanks! I'll send this list to my IK rep.

Thanks! While you’re at it, can you mention the lack of MIDI smoothing on the wah models? It’s odd that I can use one of the filter models with no zipper noise, but not the wah pedals. It’s clear when using any moderate to high gain amp, or before a distortion pedal.

[zerocrossing]

Crap. I just realized I left out fuzz models. I’ll do them and some Tonex later.

[Uncle E]

Yes, done. Which filter model is the one that works?