How do you feel about modelers?

[JazzIsGood]

Just want to say WOW you guys on this site really have a lot of tech skills! Seems like so many of you are using computers, interfaces, and recording with modelers etc.

I always thought of jazz as more of a low tech thing. You just plug your guitar into an amp and you are done. But it sounds like most everyone on this thread can run pro tools and/or logic.

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

Just want to say WOW you guys on this site really have a lot of tech skills! Seems like so many of you are using computers, interfaces, and recording with modelers etc.

I always thought of jazz as more of a low tech thing. You just plug your guitar into an amp and you are done. But it sounds like most everyone on this thread can run pro tools and/or logic.

I mentioned Pro Tools regarding the studio where I did my internship. But I never really learned Pro Tools. I would most of the time edit language course recordings in Wavelab and cook coffee for bands. I later used cracked versions of Cubase and Nuendo a lot and taught myself Logic in a friends home studio. And I was a beta tester for Presonus Studio One once. I a way all those programs are the same and not too complicated once you get the hang of it.

[Litterick]

[raylinds]

Musician using Polytone Mini Brute

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

Musician using Polytone Mini Brute

What's wrong with both of you?

[raylinds]

What's wrong with both of you?

Speaking just for myself, how much time do you have?

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

Speaking just for myself, how much time do you have?

???

[raylinds]

???

It would take a long time to explain what is wrong with me.

[ScarTissue]

Yamaha THR owner here.
I like them for recording demos .... And hear me out before you say I drink too much.
No more need for interfaces + microphones + mixer tapes and stuff.
Just simple plug and play into PC and record that way.
So yeah, I like them for recording demos only.
But if I was doing regular practice or live gig, I would stick to normal solid state amp and stay away from modelers live.
But yeah, if anyone needs to record demo CD , my small 5 cents .... Just do it via desktop amp direct into PC.
Don't even bother with microphones and interfaces and stuff like that.

[m4ssi86]

Currently i don't gig and i play only at home, i practice and record with Logic.
I've always had both the setup in the last decade, tube amp + pedals, modeler, hybrid board with iridium or UAFX, plugins. Now i decided to keep only a modeler, which is the Fender TMP because it does a great clean tone and is the most easy to use.
I had few great amps, like the Brunetti singleman, 3rd power wooly coats, princeton 62 hw....tons of pedals (too many...) and also a lot of modelers (fractal, hx stomp, quad cortex and TMP), so i had a chance to compare them. If i was still gigging or living where volume is not an issue, probably i would still own a tube amp, but unfortunately i live in apartment and i play late in the night so a tube amp is not an option, the digital modeling really saved my love for the guitar, i can play with a reasonable volume through monitors or totally silent with the headphones but with a good quality and dynamic.
I think for home recording digital modeling all the way! They sounds really good and it is really easy. If you own a professional studio is another story.
By far, i am pretty happy with the TMP, is also the only unit that can do the slow attack Kurt Rosenwinkel style because they modeled the a sort of POG2 and also just the slow attack effect which is quite close to the real one, which i had for years.
Plus, i hate cables, velcro and big boards....with the TMP i can have also complex rig in a small format.

Fractal is also good but they need to improve the UI, i felt lost without the editor.
The QC sounds great but i don't like the company.
Line 6 HX stomp is the only one i didn't like in terms of feel.
Iridum or UAFX are also a good option if you want a traditional board, but pedals now are really expensive and everytime i want to change something for me is painful because i hate wire a board.
Tube amp are just too loud....i love them but i can live without it

[Dean_G]

I tried a line 6 pod that offered a Gibson eh185 emulation but it was absurd. To the degree it had some similarities to the sound of the actual amp it was sort of entertaining but the idea of playing through the digital gadget to cop some vintage octal tube amp sounds induced too much cognitive dissonance for me. I generally dislike digital processing as it feels like a magic trick. It is what it isn't. I prefer an analog signal chain so I use a 13 watt vintage 47 or a class D little jazz 12. The only modeler I have is the analog Tech 21 "Blonde" Fender amp simulator, used occasionally with the DV Mark.

[jaymen]

I have tried modeling amps, 1st was a tech 21, and many more, including Fenders current
"Tone Master" series, and amp modeling pedals. They can make some great sounds, for sure, are very light, and cheap.

However, it has become quite clear to me that you will never get the best sounds out of your $3000 Gibson playing it through a $1000 amp.

Put another way, when you go buy food, do you buy the real deal, or imitation (crab meat for example)?
You can tell the difference, and that is why the imitation costs less.

I can tell when listening to a live band if the guitarist is playing through a tube amp or a modeling amp, without looking.
There is an obvious difference.

If cost is an object, then you will have to make compromises.

I test drove a tube DRRI and a Tone Master Deluxe Reverb (modeling) side by side: No comparison, the DRRI was more lively and dynamic, it had touch sensitivity and made the Squire Tele I was playing sound awesome. Not so much with the Tone Master, which took a lot of fiddling with to get a decent sound.

[Spook410]

Doesn't matter to me what people can hear. Or think they can hear. Plenty of blind tests out there captured in youtube and in other forums so judge for yourself.

Surprised some correlate dollars spent to tone achieved. Would be nice if that were all it takes. Though it is hard to totally muck up a Campelleone into a Carr Rambler if that's the sort of tone you're looking for. On the other hand, it is nice that inexpensive gear can sound great.

And no. Your cheap Line 6 running whatever speaker you have laying about isn't going to sound like a rich Dad's boutique amp. Maybe one of these days.

Modelers, IR's, and FRFR's can sound amazing. Want to fully replicate the tube amp of your choice in lab conditions? Or even in your living room? May never happen. Who cares? You want to make music and have great tone or are you an archivist looking to make sure the digital world fully mimics the analog tools of the 60's?