-
Take this for what it worth - a stingy analog-elitist who up until this point never really had any experience with modeling. I want to give my perspective on what my thought process was leading to my purchase.
I make the majority of my living working on cruise ships and having to deal with silly excuses for backline. In my time spent at home I enjoy gigging with one of the reissue Supro combo amps that have been out for a few years. I really come to appreciate this amp when I have to play through just about anything else as I've really become attached to how the amp responds to my playing dynamics. I run the amp clean but it being 25 watts, it usually hits that sweet spot at normal gig volume. It's the perfect amp for me.
Over the course of about a week I was able to go from a total newbie with no experience in digital amp modeling to having created a preset in my HX Stomp that really does give the Supro a run for its money. It feels good to play and is dynamic to my playing in a similar way as the Supro. I'll let you decide for yourself if you think the sound it close.
I still have some minor tweaking to do, but my clean tone is there and I couldn't be happier with it. In addition, the ability to run my delays and reverbs after the amp simulation to get the full frequency effect was a HUGE selling point for the HX Stomp for me. Additionally, the ability to use the unit as an interface to record straight to my computer is another impressive feature that'll help me stay creative during my travels.
In the coming weeks, I am planning on creating separate amp presets to work with each of my guitars. I've already started on my traditional jazz box and the process has been much faster than before.
I used it on the two Memorial Day festivals I played (large outdoor stages) and was able to run in stereo effortlessly, using a personal stage monitor for hearing myself. I received positive comments from more than one guitarist who knew me well enough to know what my tone usually sounds like.
I spoke a bit more about my reasoning for going with the HX Stomp in the video above, but I really just wanted to post my testimony here incase anyone else was thinking about jumping down this rabbit hole. I'm still relatively new to the piece, but it already feels like a great purchase.
-
05-29-2019 11:53 PM
-
I wonder what an HX Stomp or similar would sound like through a Fender Acoustasonic 90 amp. 90 (solid state) Watts, a separate mic channel with reverb, and an XLR line out... 18 (eighteen) lbs, $300.
-
Same here, but I use a Headrush pedalboard because of its exp pdl, and the small word screens on the switches + the touchscreen. The future is digital, and we're finally at a place technologically where consumer-grade products do the job they were made to do.
I study guitar performance, but the institute also houses a music production degree (studio technician type), and one of the guys I know is writing his bachelor paper on exactly this. For it, he had me listen to four different audio tracks in three different variations; all of them were the same track, and a dry guitar signal had been re-amped into the following:
- Vox AC30 combo amp
- Fractal Audio Axe FX
- Line 6 Helix pedalboard
His question wasn't "which one is the real deal", but rather "which do you like best"(and why) and if you could tell the difference. All three tracks had just been reamped, and mixed identically and added to an identical mix to do the exact same job. If I had had a gun to my head, I couldn't have told the difference, and I certainly had a hard time saying which one I preferred - for the most part, they sounded absolutely identical.
I've been gigging with a floor unit for nearly a year now, and I won't be grabbing any analog gear until I want to have a funky home recording studio with some cool artefacts... Like you, McJazzer, most of my gigs have a very broad range of required sounds, and I don't have the street cred to show up and say "here's me, take it or leave it", I have to provide the exact sounds on the record for pop bands. Plus, I've got my own stuff; jazz funk, bedroom pop, hip hop, und so weiter...
...All of this said, my amp still sounds great and I practice on it a lot when I can. The -only- thing a floor unit -can't- do is give you the physical element of an amplifier, the pushing of air through a room. If you've got the monitors, though, I bet it sounds the same and gives the same feeling.
Here's me using it to play my own music with a pretty exact replica of my "analog" sound, which will have been primarily a Wampler Euphoria into a DV Mark Jazz 12. I sent this to my dad with no context and he said that the wampler sure sounds good, so if I can "fool" a gear nerd who's been playing guitar since 1961, I think I'm in a ballpark
this is just headrush into a mediocre PA system
(guitar solo from 2:35 if yuou want to hear guitar sound in focus)
(second parantheses: this track is shamelessly inspired by the first yellowjackets record, and various bootleg tapes from 1976-1984 I've collected from them. It ain't a clean jazz sound, just trying to get a creamy, full-sounding "classic" ES overdrive)
-
no offense but your sound is so processed, that it's impossible to hear whether the HX can replicate the sound of an analog amp.
I sold all my high end tube amps when I bought my axefx and then 3 years later, I went over to a friends house to jam and heard his '60s fender amps.
I couldn't sell my axefx fast enough. Convenient but doesn't come close to a real tube amp or SS amp. For a while, I had a quilter od200 going through one of their blockdock cabs and the quilter's natural analog sound blew away ANYTHING I could get with the axefx so I sold the axefx and never looked back.
Also the analog pedals blew away the digital recreations of those pedals. From overdrive to reverb, the pedals sounded way better. And even though I'm an engineer, I grew extremely tired of "editing" software. I'd rather twist a knob.
Just to clarify, i think your playing and sound is good but to me, it doesn't rival the best of analog amps. It just sounds like a multi-effects unit to me.
Anyway, not trying to rain on your parade, just pointing out that I've been there in the past, used many modeling amps (kemper, axefx, atomic, line6) and to me, they just don't feel right. They can be made to sound good and lots of players are using them on the road (metheny's using a kemper now and so is Lionel louke, dweezel zappa is using axefx, cory christiansen is using bias).
Many folks are using the basic clean tone out of the amp but running into standard guitar speakers and using analog pedals. That's what Corey does and I think that's the best sounding use case I've heard.Last edited by jzucker; 06-01-2019 at 08:17 AM.
-
I thought your "Whirling Ambience" YouTube video sounded beautiful BTW!
-
+1
Originally Posted by jzucker
no offense but your sound is so processed, that it's impossible to hear whether the HX can replicate the sound of an analog amp.
I sold all my high end tube amps when I bought my axefx and then 3 years later, I went over to a friends house to jam and heard his '60s fender amps.
I couldn't sell my axefx fast enough. Convenient but doesn't come close to a real tube amp or SS amp. For a while, I had a quilter od200 going through one of their blockdock cabs and the quilter's natural analog sound blew away ANYTHING I could get with the axefx so I sold the axefx and never looked back.
Also the analog pedals blew away the digital recreations of those pedals. From overdrive to reverb, the pedals sounded way better. And even though I'm an engineer, I grew extremely tired of "editing" software. I'd rather twist a knob.
-
Jack, you sound like me. My latest amp has 2 knobs. Volume and Tone. It was Michael Biller's prototype for his last and final amp design, the Skoter. We were playing a session with a couple of other guys and he had it there, last fall. I told him I wanted to buy it on the spot. He said he'd sell it to me after he had a chance to add an on/off light and a pull switch on the tone knob. I've owned a lot of amps, both tube and SS, and this one is it. 2 knobs to twist! My favorite. I really like my JazzAmp too, but I like less knobs. 2 is perfect. Originally Posted by jzucker
-
Strumcat - right now I'm using a Fishman Loudbox mini for reference on stage. I plug into the headphone out for the amp and the stereo out on the HX for the FOH.
Jack - I have no idea what you're referring to as processed so I'm just going to ignore that part for now. I've played with Ax Fx before and hated it. Quite honestly I'm finding the HX Stomp to be much better in the way of clean sounds. Yes, there are things that this pedal does well and things that it doesn't, but for an amp simulation and an easy stereo setup when otherwise having to rely on backline - the HX is a pretty good idea. I'm planning on using it in combination with my usual standalone pedals. Mostly it'll be used for amp sims, volume control with an expression, routing mono/stereo or wet/dry setups depending on the gig, and occasionally an effect that I don't have on my board already. Context.
Maybe the title was a bit presumptuous. I really have no intention on dumping my Supro but seriously, the HX gets my tone 95% of the way there and the benefits of this thing more than make up for that.
I appreciate the compliments from some of you!
m_d - I was stupid and put a crack in the top of my Eastman last week so when I get that back I'm going to have a go at figuring out a nice acoustic archtop tone and a more rounded Metheny tone. I'll probably post back here when I figure it out. I just love the idea of having a single rig for my travels and being able to pull up presets that I've meticulously dialed in.
-
That lead sounds great. To me, it sounds every bit as good as all the guys on that "other forum" and their $5000 Dumble clones. Originally Posted by mr quick
Same here, but I use a Headrush pedalboard because of its exp pdl, and the small word screens on the switches + the touchscreen. The future is digital, and we're finally at a place technologically where consumer-grade products do the job they were made to do.
I study guitar performance, but the institute also houses a music production degree (studio technician type), and one of the guys I know is writing his bachelor paper on exactly this. For it, he had me listen to four different audio tracks in three different variations; all of them were the same track, and a dry guitar signal had been re-amped into the following:
- Vox AC30 combo amp
- Fractal Audio Axe FX
- Line 6 Helix pedalboard
His question wasn't "which one is the real deal", but rather "which do you like best"(and why) and if you could tell the difference. All three tracks had just been reamped, and mixed identically and added to an identical mix to do the exact same job. If I had had a gun to my head, I couldn't have told the difference, and I certainly had a hard time saying which one I preferred - for the most part, they sounded absolutely identical.
I've been gigging with a floor unit for nearly a year now, and I won't be grabbing any analog gear until I want to have a funky home recording studio with some cool artefacts... Like you, McJazzer, most of my gigs have a very broad range of required sounds, and I don't have the street cred to show up and say "here's me, take it or leave it", I have to provide the exact sounds on the record for pop bands. Plus, I've got my own stuff; jazz funk, bedroom pop, hip hop, und so weiter...
...All of this said, my amp still sounds great and I practice on it a lot when I can. The -only- thing a floor unit -can't- do is give you the physical element of an amplifier, the pushing of air through a room. If you've got the monitors, though, I bet it sounds the same and gives the same feeling.
Here's me using it to play my own music with a pretty exact replica of my "analog" sound, which will have been primarily a Wampler Euphoria into a DV Mark Jazz 12. I sent this to my dad with no context and he said that the wampler sure sounds good, so if I can "fool" a gear nerd who's been playing guitar since 1961, I think I'm in a ballpark this is just headrush into a mediocre PA system
(guitar solo from 2:35 if yuou want to hear guitar sound in focus)
(second parantheses: this track is shamelessly inspired by the first yellowjackets record, and various bootleg tapes from 1976-1984 I've collected from them. It ain't a clean jazz sound, just trying to get a creamy, full-sounding "classic" ES overdrive)
As a guitar player and concert goer, I have never come back from a concert thinking, "oh, that tone didn't work," or, "those digital artifacts were unbearable." I react to the actual performance and playing and if it was too loud or muddy. Saw Buddy Guy. Great playing. Too loud through an good tube amp. Saw Steve Winwood (withe ace guitarist Jose Neto.) Both sounded great through CyberTwins.
Subtle differences between tubes and chips. SS and tube rectifiers. Mustard caps. The audience doesn't hear that stuff. Not even the educated audience. There is a feel difference for the player but in a performance environment, a player will quickly adapt.
-
Here is a comparison video between HX and a vintage Marshall. It looks like their opinion on the HX is similar to the OP:
Reply With Quote
Ibanez archtop with 0.010 Thomastik strings and...
Today, 05:27 AM in The Builder's Bench