Amps vs comps

[hellsSG]

It seems most people who upload clips of their pickups here uses pods or some kind of amp simulations. Is amps becoming rare or what?  :lol:

I bought an Engl Thunder just 2 months ago and it's got by far the best hi-gain sound i've ever had. Or well i guess what i call hi-gain isnt that high anymore :P Have the gain set at 1 o clock on the lead channel. Really nice treble, sorta hairy or whatever its called :) I think most of the time when recording with a simulation the tone gets all fuzzy and muffled.

Why are so many using amp simulators?

What do you like about real amps/amp simulators?

[Transcend]

It seems most people who upload clips of their pickups here uses pods or some kind of amp simulations. Is amps becoming rare or what?  :lol:

I bought an Engl Thunder just 2 months ago and it's got by far the best hi-gain sound i've ever had. Or well i guess what i call hi-gain isnt that high anymore :P Have the gain set at 1 o clock on the lead channel. Really nice treble, sorta hairy or whatever its called :) I think most of the time when recording with a simulation the tone gets all fuzzy and muffled.

Why are so many using amp simulators?

What do you like about real amps/amp simulators?

I agree entirely that with modeller the tone gets fuzzy and muffled.

Or in the case of axe fx etc it has something weird going on in the high end that i cant quite place.

amps all the way for me.

I recently tried a palmer PDI 03 with my SLO for quieter recordings as the SLO is ridiculously loud and it made it sound like an axe fx so it went straight back

[hellsSG]

Oh yeah btw what is this Axe FX? Seems like everyone now uses it but ive never heard of it untill just recently.

[Transcend]

its just another modeller.

Granted its one of the better ones but its still not close enough to be comparable to an amp

[hellsSG]

oh okay. From what i've read it seems many ppl thinks its the best thing in the world. So there it is again...real amps people???

[Dmoney]

i prefer real amps, but sometimes if i want to jam quietly or i go stay in a hotel for a while then i might take a modeller. It's just another tool.
I can't see myself using one live out of preference.
horses for courses

[gwEm]

i use a modeller live out of preference. real amps are bloody heavy things.

[Dmoney]

If i wanted my guitar to sound 8-bit too, then I'd probably use one...  PDT_003

[gwEm]

If i wanted my guitar to sound 8-bit too, then I'd probably use one...  PDT_003

:lol:

and if i had a team of roadies it would be two full stacks all the way ;)

[Dmoney]

haha too right!

[Philly Q]

You started off mentioning people uploading clips - I think that partly answers the question by itself.  I know very little about home recording, but I expect it's a lot easier to record with a modeller than to mike up a proper amp at home.

Away from home recording, I think most people would say they prefer a real amp, when they have a chance to crank one up.  But modellers are very useful things - and although people routinely moan about them, they may not be the "real thing" but they do sound extremely bloody good (as anyone who was around 30 years ago and bought a JHS Rockbox or Tokai Magical Box will realise!)

[Andrew W]

I think everyone trades off the convenience of a modeller with the hassle of micing an amp with their relative sound qualities. The first few clips I uploaded I used a Pod XT because I had no home recording equipment but since I got an SM 57 and a Tracker Pre I've only used a recorded amp because the extra quality, to my ears, justifies the extra fuss.

I also think I play better through a real amp because it's that bit more touch sensitive. For late night mucking about and for tones my tweedy amp can't do I still turn to the Pod but it gets used perhaps 5% of the time because I just prefer playing through, and the sound of, a real valve amp.

[nfe]

Put simply, in a home studio situation, the vast majority of people will get better results with hardware or software modelers than they will with a real amp.

Not that many people plump for modelers live, in pro studios or if they're dealing with a capable engineer with the means to record loud amps in a home studio.

[BigB]

they may not be the "real thing" but they do sound extremely bloody good (as anyone who was around 30 years ago and bought a JHS Rockbox or Tokai Magical Box will realise!)

Been here, done that :lol: - and I'd probably get me a decent mod thang if I had to travel / play at bedroom level etc... Now even with nowadays modellers (at least the ones I tried), I still prefer a proper tube amp, much more natural and organic sounding - I might not hear the difference listening to the mix, but I sure do while playing.

Also and FWIW, miking an amp is not that difficult - it's nowhere near the pain of correctly miking a drumset or piano, and doesn't necessarily require hi-end static microphones.

[Crunch]

Considering the price of most modelers and the reliance modern society has on computers, I'm not surprised that they've taken off.
I, personally, have only used them when trying to get basic ideas recorded or when I was living in an apartment and worked odd hours and had to use drum tracks to practice my band's songs.

Nothing can deny the power, feeling, and tone of a proper tube amp, though- therefore, they are all I would use when I give a damn about how my playing is coming through.