Modeling gear, too cool or for fools.

[danelectro]

So what are your thoughts on modeling gear? At first I avoided it not because I am an analog snob or purest but because the early stuff was pretty bad. Over the years it's gotten better and some of the new stuff is freakin' amazing. I find I like the convenince of it and it's cheap too. I have some nice hand wired boutique amps, Fargen and BadCat, a few Silver Face Fender's and a nice pedal board of boutique boxes but I find myself using my PC and modeling software more than anything.

The big thing of me is ease of use when recording. It's so easy to get a good sounding result and it takes all the fuss out of it, mic placement and set up etc. Even with great gear it can be tough for the home recording musician to get a good sound unless you have a somewhat functional home studio, just slapping a 57 in front of speaker each time you want to lay down tracks doesn't yield great sounding tracks.

Above all I love the cool stuff you can do with it, some of the whacky plug-ins out there are too cool. Even the free stuff is amazing. I have one that gives the effect of an old recording. You can add vinyl pops and crazy stuff like the sound of a warped record to tracks. Not something I use every day but awesome for taking blues stuff and making it sound like an old 78 disc. The vocal stuff is cool too, I have a few that do the telephone and bullhorn thing and it was a free download.

I think some people have issues with because they consider it cheating. Not me I like that I can plug in a Tele and make it sound like Les Paul being blasted through a wall of Marshall's at a volume low enough to watch TV at the same time.

[JimmyPage1977]

I've had a Line6 AX2-212 hooked up to my recording console for the last 4 years. Instant direct in stereo input....it saves me hours! I'm buying a Line6 Spider III 75 for using at rehearsals, because my tube amps are killing my back. I'm still going to use tube amps at live shows, but those modeling amps can come in handy.

[danelectro]

I had a Vox AD50VT for a while, thought it sounded pretty good. I really wasn't using it so I sold it. One thing that bugged me was it was somewhat limited in what you could do with the foot switch, you couldn't access all the effects. I still have a Roland Micro-Cube and I love that thing, good effects. It has a line in that I can run my Walk-Man CD player into, great for jamming along to backing tracks on the patio while BBQing.

As cool as the amps and stomp box modelers are it's the software that peaks my interest. I've used Line 6 and IK Multimedia (Amplitube) stuff and loved it. I may take the plunge and buy myself the Stomp I/O for Xmas. That thing is powerful and the models sound great. May even part out my pedal board to buy it, my days of playing out are over.

[huw]

I'm buying a Line6 Spider III 75 for using at rehearsals, because my tube amps are killing my back.

Exactly why I bought my old POD. At least, to start with...

What I wasn't expecting was that, cranked through a loud power amp & a cab no-one could tell the difference between it & my Marshall...

I have a different rig these days (Fender Super) but that Marshall has never been used again since I got the POD.

Ignore these things at your peril...

[Freethinker]

well, to me, there's nothing like a good analog setup..

the computers nowadays make things a lot easier, but it kinda gets you disconnected from the real thing (imho).

A lot of these digital interfaces come with preconfigured effects, so what I think you'll get over time, is a lot of people using the same preconfigured (high-rated, downloaded) effects, and everything will sound alike.

I like to compare it to a painting..

You can make awesome stuff with photoshop, everything is a mouseclick away, and you can get some very nice results.

But nothing beats an old oil painting, you can feel the texture the painter has put on the canvas, you can feel the many hours of hard work that he has put into it, his heart and soul..

I'm not saying it isn't fun.

It's just not real enough to me, I guess I'm a romantic type when it comes to art.

[danelectro]

well, to me, there's nothing like a good analog setup..

the computers nowadays make things a lot easier, but it kinda gets you disconnected from the real thing (imho).

A lot of these digital interfaces come with preconfigured effects, so what I think you'll get over time, is a lot of people using the same preconfigured (high-rated, downloaded) effects, and everything will sound alike.

I like to compare it to a painting..

You can make awesome stuff with photoshop, everything is a mouseclick away, and you can get some very nice results.

But nothing beats an old oil painting, you can feel the texture the painter has put on the canvas, you can feel the many hours of hard work that he has put into it, his heart and soul..

I'm not saying it isn't fun.

It's just not real enough to me, I guess I'm a romantic type when it comes to art.

See I had a completely different expereince with it. It opened up possibilites I wouldn't have had due lack of gear. When all I had was an amp and a few effects that was that. With modeling software I had the equivalent of a studio full of effects and different amp possibilites. It's not like had exhausted every possibility with my amps and pedals but I certainly was limited by what I had on hand.