The thin myth about modelers is so ridiculous. I had a Marshall combo in the 80s that was terribly shrill. The great thing is today we have an embarrasing richness of choices.
Hey Bobby. Great video. Totally agree with your view on modellers and reasons why. I still have questions about why I use one on most live shows. It's almost like football team style loyalty towards the real thing versus modellers. It's just how things are done these days on most tours.
Modelers make lot of sense, particularly if you have a large repertoire of songs to cover in a set. You don't have to lug tube amps on the road; you can switch from a Fender Twin to a Bogner Shiva as fast as you can kick the footswitch, and a thousand other amps. I was very involved in the L.A. music scene in the 80s, the big high, shreddy guitar era. The real players, the professionals, would choose the right gear for the gig. The poseurs would choose what looked right, like a wall of Marshalls. I learned from the professionals to focus on tone and need. I started gigging in 1986 with any number of solid state and tube combos, some I owned, some I borrowed. I eventually got Marshall stack and learned the downside of that real quick. I switched to a Boogie combo which suited me much better, and that's what I used for most gigs into the mid 90s. But I also continued to borrow amps from friends, including Gallien-Kruegers, Crates, Randalls, etc. I even used some hybrid amps like solid state rack mounted preamps with tube power amps or solid-state power amps and tube preamps. It all worked fine.
@@angusorvid8840 When I was 14 or 15, I remember an older, local guitarist lending me a little Gallien Krueger 250ML combo. At the time, I remember it sounding amazing.
It's amazing how technology has advanced from the time of the line 6 pod is amazing I want a quad cortex but there a bit pricey for me to afford one I was a traditionalist until I played the fender tonemaster range of amps there great it turned me around to digital gear and it s advantages
I use the Lion and Dream65 from UA and I'm very happy with the sound, but I use a monitor, not inears. If I do use my Amp, I will put this in my bag incase as a backup and infact I can have it on my board and can switch it on if my amp goes down, so I will sound check with the pedal, so it's ready to go!
I forgot to mention the UA pedals in my video. I haven't tried them, but the plugins are amazing. If UAD made a modeller that featured only a Deluxe Reverb, a Plexi and an AC30, I'd be all over it!
I dig the sweater... thanks for the great overview/summary of the main issues. Might add that for newbies like me, the modeling approach is a really cost effective way to get access to a lot of amp tones, pedals, and fiddle with signal chains, etc.
theres a place for Valve amps (own 4) and modellers (ive had a few). if i was mobile plugging into high quality PA equipment then a modeller. if small local gigs, valve amp all the way. ive heard them side by side on a stage, gigged with them and i hear the difference. my goto is a mesa lonestar special and evh 5150iii combo.
Honestly, in a time when pretty much any serious band can afford to get stereo IEMs, a good mixing desk (hell, a X32 Rack is sub-1k€, that's insanely cheap for what it does) and decent PA, modelers/profilers offer a consistency and reliable quality that is hard to achieve with traditional amps. Sound-wise, they've been undistinguishable from "the real thing" for a while now, but touch-response is on par now (and tbh that's what tipped me over the edge with the Quad Cortex). I'll definitely keep my trusty Marshall Studio Vintage and (mostly) analog board for now, just because it's so cool to play, but I don't see myself not gigging the Quad Cortex board going forward. There's too many upsides to it.
Oh yeah. Just as a nerd if you fancy doing another video. Us old farts would love to know how you recreated those Hank Marvin sounds. Because you did that remarkably well.
I've gone through everything and back again over the last 3 years. The Headrush modeller then a Boogie then.... the Laney loud pedal using a cab just for me and giving front of house the direct out. What I noticed is that the engineer made it sound exactly how he wanted it and exactly the same whatever I used. So yeah we have to be happy so I use an FRFR cab with my Headrush so I can still get on everyone's nerves during soundcheck!!. But if you've got decent in ear monitors, the modellers are great. Bobby, I saw Cliff's gig that you did at the Albert Hall and your tones were so varied but all incredible.
I love the warmth of classic tube amps. But with technology these days I find a few impressive units I really like. I like classic rock and the Atomic Amplifire6 covers many convincing tones that actually feel good.
Fun is the point and I like/enjoy old valve amps, not snobbery or anything like that...although I did use a pod on hundreds of duo gigs and it was great for that....
Great insights, thanks. Loving the Tonex One, however like you, struggling with the volume between the 2. Added a booster pedal for on the fly / while playing live solution, not ideal.
Hey Bobby, great video again. Love that kind of videos. I hate spending money on multiple effects pedals and I know you would have PTSD over my rig because it would probably bring back some bad or unwanted memories but I just love my axe fxs II and III. It has everything I need and so much more. I always said that if someone can't see the rig, they can't tell the difference and I still believe it. Please make more videos like this.
Happy Holidays Bobby. Good vid. Loads of pertinent info. Thanks for sharing real life experiences and not "likes" based content. I would say you are a fine TH-camr.
IMHO the modeler hate is really nostalgia being expressed especially by the GenX & older community & in particular those members who can now afford & desire the amps & guitars of their childhood music heroes -- i.e., they really want to relive their childhood memories not really seek the best quality audio production gear available today. That's fine but it frames the criticisms against guitar amp modelling in a completely different way hence renders audio quality complaints as strawman fallacies. And so instead of having a real conversation about guitar modelling, the vast majority consist of people just talking at each other & interested viewers genuinely learn very little as you imply here in your video.
Profilers are the way to go, it's different than a modeler, sort of a guitar machine instead of just another silly pedal. Kemper is the king, I've had people come up to me and say great Soldano and i'm like yeah go look up Top Jimi ha ha. Guess what, Kempers are everywhere and half the time you don't even know it. I've been backstage at my gigs and seen them hidden back there. Kemper Stage is the best, small super powerful gets upgraded like every 3 months it's a beast. I highly recommend them and i've had piles of amps over the years. Those old things are a PIA, don't sound the same, heavy, very limited. I can get exact Soldano and click I'm playing exact Super Reverb, click perfect VOX, etc. No more stupid pedals, no more warmup, no more BS.
I much prefer modellers. The two have different workflows. Some of the downsides of profilers are better than the original Kemper (ie tweaking from the profiled set up became increasingly unlike the amp) - but the issue for me is relying on someone elses idea of a sound and trawling thousands of profiles to find something close - i hate that process. Modellers you can create the exact sound in your head - or that a track needs. ITs a much quicker and fulfilling process to me. I firmly believe now that modellers are better if you want to find YOUR sound - that one in your head, or you need to create a sound thats perfect for a song. Profilers are better if you have amps that you dont want to take live (expensive, weight, vintage, prone to breakdown etc), you have borrowed an amp you like, or you have an amp produced studio sound you want to take live to recreate the project. Basically if YOUR doing the profiles then profiling is better, if your not then modellers are better. Profiles are decent at auditioning rare amps youd never get chance to test before a purchase as well. I say this having used Fractals since 2007, Ive had kempers as well, and I have Tonex too.
@@paulmapp8306 I can understand some of that if you want to tweak stuff. I'm just not that particular, the big houses that do these like TJ have tones that are completely fine for me as is and in a gig mix it sound jim dandy. I have never profiled any of my amps before i sold all of them, my Marshalls sound exactly like the ones profiled. I never fool with anything and it comes out great for me, in gig situations you hand them the XLR and sound guys love Kempers they're so smooth in the mix. Player I am, Tinkerer I am not and I"ve owned them all. Plus i can play bass through this thing. Kempers are right there on SNL, LateShow, Disney, Universal. Plug em in, let em go!
for home use , sound from PC , for you tube exsibition on line etc ,, BUT it changes everything!! !when put it into PA or mixer for live , sound is orribile digital lifeless, thinsound . ....go for valve amp , that is it ..digital is for amateur use , from toilette front PC ,,toilette sound
The thin myth about modelers is so ridiculous. I had a Marshall combo in the 80s that was terribly shrill. The great thing is today we have an embarrasing richness of choices.
Hey Bobby. Great video. Totally agree with your view on modellers and reasons why. I still have questions about why I use one on most live shows. It's almost like football team style loyalty towards the real thing versus modellers. It's just how things are done these days on most tours.
Thanks very much, Rob. I really enjoyed your recent video about why modern guitarists should have a TH-cam channel.
Modelers make lot of sense, particularly if you have a large repertoire of songs to cover in a set. You don't have to lug tube amps on the road; you can switch from a Fender Twin to a Bogner Shiva as fast as you can kick the footswitch, and a thousand other amps. I was very involved in the L.A. music scene in the 80s, the big high, shreddy guitar era. The real players, the professionals, would choose the right gear for the gig. The poseurs would choose what looked right, like a wall of Marshalls. I learned from the professionals to focus on tone and need. I started gigging in 1986 with any number of solid state and tube combos, some I owned, some I borrowed. I eventually got Marshall stack and learned the downside of that real quick. I switched to a Boogie combo which suited me much better, and that's what I used for most gigs into the mid 90s. But I also continued to borrow amps from friends, including Gallien-Kruegers, Crates, Randalls, etc. I even used some hybrid amps like solid state rack mounted preamps with tube power amps or solid-state power amps and tube preamps. It all worked fine.
@@angusorvid8840 When I was 14 or 15, I remember an older, local guitarist lending me a little Gallien Krueger 250ML combo. At the time, I remember it sounding amazing.
It's amazing how technology has advanced from the time of the line 6 pod is amazing I want a quad cortex but there a bit pricey for me to afford one I was a traditionalist until I played the fender tonemaster range of amps there great it turned me around to digital gear and it s advantages
Really comes down to how much gear you want to carry and setup. I gig w my Fractal FM9 and others my pedalboard running stereo into 2 tube amps
I use the Lion and Dream65 from UA and I'm very happy with the sound, but I use a monitor, not inears. If I do use my Amp, I will put this in my bag incase as a backup and infact I can have it on my board and can switch it on if my amp goes down, so I will sound check with the pedal, so it's ready to go!
I forgot to mention the UA pedals in my video. I haven't tried them, but the plugins are amazing. If UAD made a modeller that featured only a Deluxe Reverb, a Plexi and an AC30, I'd be all over it!
I dig the sweater... thanks for the great overview/summary of the main issues. Might add that for newbies like me, the modeling approach is a really cost effective way to get access to a lot of amp tones, pedals, and fiddle with signal chains, etc.
Enjoyable video mate 👍🎸
Many thanks!
theres a place for Valve amps (own 4) and modellers (ive had a few). if i was mobile plugging into high quality PA equipment then a modeller. if small local gigs, valve amp all the way. ive heard them side by side on a stage, gigged with them and i hear the difference. my goto is a mesa lonestar special and evh 5150iii combo.
Honestly, in a time when pretty much any serious band can afford to get stereo IEMs, a good mixing desk (hell, a X32 Rack is sub-1k€, that's insanely cheap for what it does) and decent PA, modelers/profilers offer a consistency and reliable quality that is hard to achieve with traditional amps. Sound-wise, they've been undistinguishable from "the real thing" for a while now, but touch-response is on par now (and tbh that's what tipped me over the edge with the Quad Cortex).
I'll definitely keep my trusty Marshall Studio Vintage and (mostly) analog board for now, just because it's so cool to play, but I don't see myself not gigging the Quad Cortex board going forward. There's too many upsides to it.
Spot on!
Oh yeah. Just as a nerd if you fancy doing another video. Us old farts would love to know how you recreated those Hank Marvin sounds. Because you did that remarkably well.
@@waynegolden6951 Thanks very much, Wayne. Cheers!
I've gone through everything and back again over the last 3 years. The Headrush modeller then a Boogie then.... the Laney loud pedal using a cab just for me and giving front of house the direct out.
What I noticed is that the engineer made it sound exactly how he wanted it and exactly the same whatever I used.
So yeah we have to be happy so I use an FRFR cab with my Headrush so I can still get on everyone's nerves during soundcheck!!. But if you've got decent in ear monitors, the modellers
are great.
Bobby, I saw Cliff's gig that you did at the Albert Hall and your tones were so varied but all incredible.
great insight! as a lefty myself it's nice to see another lefty putting out good content :)
I love the warmth of classic tube amps. But with technology these days I find a few impressive units I really like. I like classic rock and the Atomic Amplifire6 covers many convincing tones that actually feel good.
Fun is the point and I like/enjoy old valve amps, not snobbery or anything like that...although I did use a pod on hundreds of duo gigs and it was great for that....
Great insights, thanks. Loving the Tonex One, however like you, struggling with the volume between the 2. Added a booster pedal for on the fly / while playing live solution, not ideal.
As a fellownl non TH-camr TH-camr, thanks for this.
Hey Bobby, great video again. Love that kind of videos. I hate spending money on multiple effects pedals and I know you would have PTSD over my rig because it would probably bring back some bad or unwanted memories but I just love my axe fxs II and III. It has everything I need and so much more. I always said that if someone can't see the rig, they can't tell the difference and I still believe it. Please make more videos like this.
Thanks Claude. Hope you’re well. Have a great Christmas.
@@BobbyHarrisonGuitar All good. Have a great Christmas.
Happy Holidays Bobby. Good vid. Loads of pertinent info. Thanks for sharing real life experiences and not "likes" based content. I would say you are a fine TH-camr.
Thank you very much mauve a good one.
IMHO the modeler hate is really nostalgia being expressed especially by the GenX & older community & in particular those members who can now afford & desire the amps & guitars of their childhood music heroes -- i.e., they really want to relive their childhood memories not really seek the best quality audio production gear available today.
That's fine but it frames the criticisms against guitar amp modelling in a completely different way hence renders audio quality complaints as strawman fallacies.
And so instead of having a real conversation about guitar modelling, the vast majority consist of people just talking at each other & interested viewers genuinely learn very little as you imply here in your video.
Absolutely spot on!
Merry Christmas Bobby, I do love your blues tutorials man. Please don’t ever stop! 😊🤙
@@TommySG1 Thank you very much. Have a great Christmas!
Very interesting. Try a boss ir-2?
@@fatgut5 I’ve never tried one, but I’ve heard great things about it.
Nice video, thanks Bobby.
Profilers are the way to go, it's different than a modeler, sort of a guitar machine instead of just another silly pedal. Kemper is the king, I've had people come up to me and say great Soldano and i'm like yeah go look up Top Jimi ha ha. Guess what, Kempers are everywhere and half the time you don't even know it. I've been backstage at my gigs and seen them hidden back there. Kemper Stage is the best, small super powerful gets upgraded like every 3 months it's a beast. I highly recommend them and i've had piles of amps over the years. Those old things are a PIA, don't sound the same, heavy, very limited. I can get exact Soldano and click I'm playing exact Super Reverb, click perfect VOX, etc. No more stupid pedals, no more warmup, no more BS.
I much prefer modellers. The two have different workflows. Some of the downsides of profilers are better than the original Kemper (ie tweaking from the profiled set up became increasingly unlike the amp) - but the issue for me is relying on someone elses idea of a sound and trawling thousands of profiles to find something close - i hate that process. Modellers you can create the exact sound in your head - or that a track needs. ITs a much quicker and fulfilling process to me. I firmly believe now that modellers are better if you want to find YOUR sound - that one in your head, or you need to create a sound thats perfect for a song. Profilers are better if you have amps that you dont want to take live (expensive, weight, vintage, prone to breakdown etc), you have borrowed an amp you like, or you have an amp produced studio sound you want to take live to recreate the project. Basically if YOUR doing the profiles then profiling is better, if your not then modellers are better. Profiles are decent at auditioning rare amps youd never get chance to test before a purchase as well. I say this having used Fractals since 2007, Ive had kempers as well, and I have Tonex too.
@@paulmapp8306 I can understand some of that if you want to tweak stuff. I'm just not that particular, the big houses that do these like TJ have tones that are completely fine for me as is and in a gig mix it sound jim dandy. I have never profiled any of my amps before i sold all of them, my Marshalls sound exactly like the ones profiled. I never fool with anything and it comes out great for me, in gig situations you hand them the XLR and sound guys love Kempers they're so smooth in the mix. Player I am, Tinkerer I am not and I"ve owned them all. Plus i can play bass through this thing. Kempers are right there on SNL, LateShow, Disney, Universal. Plug em in, let em go!
TH-camr or not….Extra marks for the superb Star Wars Xmas jumper!
@@karlrobinson0474 Ha ha! My wife bought it for me!
for home use , sound from PC , for you tube exsibition on line etc ,, BUT it changes everything!! !when put it into PA or mixer for live , sound is orribile digital lifeless, thinsound . ....go for valve amp , that is it ..digital is for amateur use , from toilette front PC ,,toilette sound
Plugging in to a potato ? I hope it was a REAL potato !!!
😅
I heard potato in my wedges.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
🎸💯❗