-
I would love an AX8 with integrated power amp, like the bluguitar amp1 (which is great as an idea, but I didn't like the basic sound of the amp1).
-
10-12-2016 07:30 PM
-
I haven't seen any mention here of the Amplifire unit, which is quite a bit less expensive than the AX-8. Has anybody tried it?
-
If it dies after five years, most certainly. I have been the beneficiary of Fender's 5-year warranty. Not regarding a 'Stang, but my Frontman 212R. The Frontman went south after three years, but was out of production. Fender gave me my choice: A brand new Mustang III V2 or a new Champion 100? Through a shipping snafu, I got a Mustang IV V2 by accident, which they let me keep it rather than shipping an MIII and covering the return shipping of the MIV. (Sweet, I paid $250 for the FM212R after a coupon at Guitar Center and ended up with a $500 Mustang, which got a few years of enjoyment out of and then traded in for $375 towards my Super Sonic 22.)
Originally Posted by aboutIt
In other words, if you buy a "anything" from Fender, hang on to that receipt.
But back to modelling: Digging my Boss GT-100; still have my Mustang Mini for battery-powered fun.
-
I have an Amplifire. Love the effects, spring2 reverb is awesome as is the studio compressor and the filters in the cab block. Also love, of course, the IR loading. Hate the Fender clean modelling, which I already expected when I got it.... I use preamp solid state pedals in front and I'm very happy. I got mine used at a great price, would not have paid full retail price.
-
yeah, i didn't care for the fender amp either in the amplifire and a buddy of mine who plays in the George Benson style felt that the amplifire wouldn't work for him. It's too bad they don't improve the clean tones but many of the engineers who design these things are "hardcore" players and don't really understand much about clean sounds. Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
-
Agreed!
-
Always one of my favourite modellers.
-
I am toying with the (because I really liked the THR10C). Very different modeling technology concept and approach compared to Kemper and Fractal. If you don't use effects other than reverb and want interesting, exciting and usable tube amp sounds without expecting exactness in profiling a specific (high gain) amp and you don't like steep learning curve and bazillion menus, you may like it.
-
For those who claim, they are already there.
Here we have a real Super Reverb. Warm, fat, "woody".
Here we have a bunch of Kemper (supposed to be "the best") SR profiles. Thin, anemic, "plastic'y".
(listen to this, compared to 4:50, a TS into the SR, no comparison)
So please, spare me the "most people here can't hear the difference". The difference is stark. The day modelers do, warm fat and woody instead of thin and anemic (and covered in effects to hide the fact), I'm there. And before I get characterized as a "tube snob", Polytone's are some of my favorite amps. I still have 3.
-
i hated the THR100HD. Very grainy and not natural sounding IMO. Originally Posted by medblues
-
Look at us, buying modelers and recording with them and using them at gigs and comparing them side by side with amps. So much trouble, we could've just heard Youtube clips and have arrived at much better conclusions. Originally Posted by vintagelove
-
Mistake
-
Without going any further to the tube vs. tube modeller argument, I'll just say that IMO both have their uses.
I've got a Mesa and a Marshall, which I crank when I want to feel the guitar / amp interaction and play with the sounds. But I also got Guitar Rig5, which I can use to jam and record demos easily without any mic/room -hassle.
If I was a touring artist, I'd probably get a Kemper/AxeFX/Line6 Helix. Or just my laptop and sound card with a poweramp. It's all about portability nowadays (unless you're AC/DC or Santana etc...)
-
I respect your opinion/perception and respond with your own response to others: "... IMO, it's 90% of the way there. Most of the folks who claim it isn't couldn't tell the difference in a blindfold test IMO." Originally Posted by agentsmith
-
Here are a couple nice super reverb tones on modelers. I defy anyone to detect this is not a real amp.
By comparison, here's a real super reverb tube amp. I'll take the modeler over this any day.
see, I can play this game too (hand-picking clips that support my claims, lol)
Originally Posted by vintagelove
Last edited by agentsmith; 10-13-2016 at 11:46 AM.
-
Originally Posted by agentsmith
I don't see how that helps your cause, the amp clip you posted still sounds better than the modeling clips. If you think those sound better than the two real amp clips, I sincerely hope you enjoy your modelers.
For me, it's not cutting it. Take a look at the second video you posted. Notice the restrained dynamics? See how he is trying to make up for it by playing a bit too hard? Unfortunately, it doesn't get any louder, it has restrained dynamics. Worse than that, it still sounds so thin. Now, listen again to the two amp clips, notice how they can barely graze the sting and the notes are still very powerful and dynamic? When they do lay into a note, it is powerful, impactful, dynamic. Go ahead, listen, it's right there. Here is the same phenomenon in a bit more scientific setup, these are comments from another thread pointing out the dynamics change.
"Check out this video, you can hear it pretty easily. Notice on the Marshall clip, the bottom end gets cut off a bit. Then on the vox clip, on the amp, the last bit he plays, notice how that F# on top of the D "speaks" nicely, it stands out on its own (because it is not anemic, and it has real dynamics) even though he is barely grazing it with his pick. On the Kemper clip, you can hear that note gets lost. And really, it sounds very different (the character in the mids especially). Notice its effect on his own playing dynamic, he is playing harder to try to get that same tone, but its not happening. The two rock clip sounds different as well.
Now don't get me wrong, I don't think the kemper sucks, and if high gain and lot of effects if your preference, they are a good choice. However, I just don't hear the "it sounds exactly like what I put in" in any a/b sample I have heard. Sorry."
If you don't hear the difference, that's totally ok. I do. I just find it amusing when folks post "nobody can hear the difference", when really they mean, "I can't hear the difference". Two very different things.
-
comparing sounds on youtube is pointless. There are too many variables that contribute to the tone other than the amp/modeller. A blind test would be better, but you're still not eliminating the variables. Knowing what you are listening to before you even press play creates bias (and I don't mean the amp variety- har har).
Also keep in mind all these AxeFX demos are direct in. Many without being mixed into a song (or very rough mix with lame drum loops - blech). Either you compare live to live scenarios or studio mix to studio mix. A dry guitar signal can sound pretty anemic on it's own regardless if it's a close mic'ed amp or DI modeller.
I think it's safe to say that in a room, plugging a modeller into a FRFR system vs a tube amp with 4x10 cab will "feel" different to the player and potentially affect the way they approach the guitar dynamically. I must admit that feel is important to me as a player. BUT, mixed with a band on stage or studio, the audience will not discern a difference very easily if at all.
I just erased a whole paragraph on how lame music has become, partially due to the digital era we live in (I'm harboring some bitterness about the digital music industry right now). I erased it because after thinking about it, I still have faith that out of all this homogeneity and sampling and useless SRV clones, there will be a few musical geniuses out there who will use the technology and push our collective creative consciousness to the next level. I guess I shouldn't let my biases effect other people's artistic vision.
-
Sounds like a typical TGP response...i.e. "i can hear it, too bad you can't and too bad for you", lol. Much of this can be chalked up to confirmation bias IMO. Originally Posted by vintagelove
Yes they are different and I said they were at the 90% level, not 100% but if you are suggesting that a youtube clip with 8k freq response and 8 bit dynamic range is able to prove that a real tube amp has better freq response and dynamic range, maybe you're not hearing what you think you are?
-
We've been saying that for 20+ years now, LOL! Originally Posted by agentsmith
I'm sure modeling is a technology that meets the needs of many. I am finding that my needs are met much more simply- a guitar, a cable and an amp. But for those that need or want a wide palette of sounds for whatever reasons, modeling is hard to beat. Seems a lot more convenient than an amp, a guitar and 16 stomp boxes...
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
Deleted stupid duplicate post. Jeez Tapatalk sucks.
Last edited by Cunamara; 10-13-2016 at 03:20 PM.
-
Let's play (just for fun) : Originally Posted by BigToe
- Player fingers
- Pick or fingerpicking ?
- Strings gauge
- String type (flat or round, coating, material...)
- Guitar scale
- Guitar type (solid body, semi, hollow ...)
- Guitar woods (for body, for neck ...)
- Plywood or solid wood (carved or pressed)
- Guitar bridge
- Guitar pickups (SC, HB ?, wire, impedance....)
- As we are here for fun (me, at least) : capacitors
- Guitar set-up
- Tone and vol pots (type, brand, impedance, set on 10 or 8 or 5 ....for each)
- Cord
- Speaker type (magnet material, size, efficiency ....)
- Open or closed beck cabinet
- Mike used for record
- Mike placement (centered or not, distance...)
- Amp placement
- Volume set on amp
- Room natural reverb
- Effects used
- These effects, in the loop, in front of the amp
- Recording equipment
- Post treatment
- Internet and YouTube compression
- Your speakers when listening to these.
- Your mood when you listen to it
I'm sure I forgot a lot. Amp type, tube or not, tube type omitted on purpose.
Feel free to add those that come to your mind and that I forgot.
Please note that all these item have already been discussed on this forum as being of utmost importance on "your sound" by some eminent experts (not pointing to anyone in particular, once again, it's just for fun)
As stated above by BigToe, only a blind test for YOU will be relevant.
Hope you like it and now, back to practicing (unplugged !)
Edit : Sorry for long post
Last edited by 339 in june; 10-13-2016 at 03:25 PM.
-
I'm not sure I'm smart enough to use a Kemper or AxeFX...
But from what I've heard, they're more intuitive than they look. The sound is certainly there.
Personally, I don't need versatility, so that's maybe why I don't look at these much. I just need clean, and I can use a box or two for reverb and whatever. I'm a simple guy.
-
Exactly, versatility is what those modelers are good for. Pretty useful for studio work, perfect for small home studio. But how much versatility do you need for a jazz gig? If you find your sound, just stick to it, people will recognize you by your sound. Wedding or cover bands, that's a different story, but I don't do these gigs.
-
Rhetorical question: If everybody moves on to Modellers, who's gonna develop the next great sounding tube amp to model from? I don't think that scenario ends very well.
I got onto the Fender Mustang bandwagon early on, but quickly tired of it -- I couldn't deal with the swirly digital artifact sound. I'm sure everything sounds better now, especially the high dollar stuff. And from what I've seen the best stuff is pretty expensive. $2K on a Kemper vs $2K on a handwired Fender? I'd bank on the Fender every time in the long run.
I'm happy being the guy that waits until the current high dollar state of the art modeller is a one dollar app on a cheap smart phone.
Currently, I'm more interested in the rise of small class D SS amps, and the tube pre/SS power platforms.
-
Actually, besides the ease of setup of my personal gear that I mentioned above, my place in the live mix is made much easier. Originally Posted by Hep To The Jive
I'm usually on stage with at least piano and vocals. The piano is usually a digital, so we can run everything, including the AX8 into a mixer and set our level that go straight to the PA. I find that much easier than having a free standing amp.
I get many guitarists asking me afterward about how I got my tone and many compliments. Many are really surprised and all are impressed with the modeling.
For the record, I don't feel any issues with a loss of dynamics and the sound is probably less compressed than a lot of tube amps.
Reply With Quote
“Shearing style”
Today, 05:26 PM in Comping, Chords & Chord Progressions