Digital vs. Analog! 'Real' vs. 'Modeled!' Guitarists (and musicians in general) love to go off about this stuff, but at the end of the day... what really matters?
I’ve been playing since 1985, and gigging since 1996. I borrowed my dad’s gear when I first started and I’m very lucky, because the “affordable” stuff back then was mostly garbage. I can’t believe how good even the cheapest stuff can sound these days. Just over the past decade or so, the modeling & plug-ins are really close to the real thing. It’s really a great time to play guitar.
"Option paralysis" is real and the perfect descriptor. Most times, I like the simplicity of just plugging in. I might be wrong, but I tend to think "if it doesn't sound good clean, it won't sound good with effects".
That’s often true. Depends on the style. I love Gilmour, Edge, Andy Summers, Daniel Lanois, the guys from Radiohead, so many players who are adventurous and colorful with sounds. And the super raw and roots guys too.
I was born in the late 70s. In the very early 90s I got into audio equipment before guitar. Even as good as some of that 90s gear sounded, you just couldn't replicate the warmth and timbre of the 1970s tube amps without some serious audio tools. Even today we can get close, but its not close enough. What you hit on about moving air, etc was spot on.
I fell in love with Super Reverbs and the like, back in the day. Chasing that tone on rack units was kind of ridiculous, but I sure learned a lot about dialing in gear.
Oh my. Gorilla amp was my first amp cost me £59 in 1989. First guitar encore Strat ..:::it all set me back until I got my second guitar a Yamaha (so line 6 connection still here today with my helix)
Thanks man, I will be open to the modelers in the future. I know that they've come a long way in a short time. As a player who started on cheap solid state amps, as soon as I got my first Deluxe Reverb I never looked back. Analog stuff is still what inspires, but if I need efficiency tomorrow or next year I'll be ready with an open mind. Peace JB
That's the thing. We get inspired by different ways of working, whether it's clean/dirty, single coil/humbuckers, whatever the case may be. It's impossible not to get pumped up about a great amp running hot. But I've found that there are as many different situations as there are guitar players, or days in the year. It's all an adventure.
Well put down JB... It's a long debate about which is better or worse and your approach is the one I follow too. I have 2 great tube amps (a Mesa LSS and a Magnatone Stereo Twilighter) as well as a Kemper Profiler and a Headrush MX5 modeler which I usually plug in to a Line 6 PowerCab frfr cab. Not counting my UAFX Dream 65, Woodrow 55 and lately acquired Lion which is btw the best Marshall Plexi emulation I've ever heard or played through... They all work well for me and inspire me to play my guitar. This counts more than anything else, period! We know each other from the Mesa Boogie users group on FB (praising the mighty LSS) and I've recently discovered your UA-cam channel. It's great, please keep it up. Regards to you and all the best!
Yeah, I’m definitely like you. Haha. The only reason I’ve stayed away from those UA pedals is because I simply CAN’T keep getting more stuff! (Everyone seems to love the Lion. The demos are insane.) Yeah, the LSS… most underrated amp ever? The first time I plugged into one, I laughed out loud. The tone was just so great. My desert island amp. Thanks for checking this out!
@@JB_Eckl People see Mesa amps as high gain monsters (not that they aren’t) but they excel in clean to medium gain too… LSS is indeed underrated in terms of versatility. You can get so many tones for so many genres out of it that it can easily be a desert island amp. As for the Lion, go check it out 😂
@aonortac The fame of Metallica and the rise of the Recto sound solidified Mesa as the ultra high gain brand in the ‘90s/00s. But like any runaway hit, it can give people the wrong idea. Mesa to me will always be the wood-and-wicker California ‘70s amp, for the guys who want to experiment with different sounds.
Dude... one of the best videos I've watched on ye olde UA-cam! I'm here for the funnies. I'm here for the soul. I'm here for the inspiration. And I'm here for the joy!
Yes, such a good take on the ‘ debate’ , we are left with another burning question,… what was the set-up on the outro guitar tone?!, which was killer playing and tone by the way;)
Thanks so much man. That was some loosey-goosey late night guitar. Haha. Tone setup was the same as the intro. The S500 is a warmer take on the Strat tone. Great pickups. And that amp just loves guitars; I didn’t even check the settings, just plugged in and hit record!
Related sidebar tone question, I know you have worked with Carlos Santana,… was it really an obscure solid state amp that he was playing through at Woodstock?
I never asked, but everyone says it was one of the first Galien Kruger heads. It really makes no sense to me, because the tone was such a glaring example of ‘pushed tube amp.’ And there were no good overdrive pedals yet, unless he had something custom, or a fuzz dialed way down. The narrative just doesn’t add up! Who the heck knows.
It's not even a conversation. Working at the highest level, I can't even name a single associate or client who owns a digital amplifier. Zero interest from real people for obvious reasons. Digital amps are for bedroom warriors, nothing sounds worse than a digital guitar amp, not even an option in the real world. "Records" hahahaha
@@sometimelater Don't take this as an endorsement of the band or that I like them, but Metallica have started using Fractal Audio Axe FX units because of their consistency... so that puts paid to your "digital amps are for bedroom warriors" argument.
@castleanthrax1833 Yes. It’s in the video too. I was surprised to hear it honestly, but at this point those guys are way more concerned with putting on a smooth, high quality show than being attached to any particular way of doing it.
Amps are so much of their own instrument like a guitar.
I loved the QuadraVerb GT back in the day! Just made me happy.
It was super advanced! And easy to program. I remember getting better sounds out of it than my (solid state) amp.
I have a Duo-Verb in the basement that I can’t find the power-cord for.
I keep forgetting to order one & will do that now. Thanks!
Pragmatic wizardry. I love your riffs (guitar and prose).
I’ve been playing since 1985, and gigging since 1996. I borrowed my dad’s gear when I first started and I’m very lucky, because the “affordable” stuff back then was mostly garbage.
I can’t believe how good even the cheapest stuff can sound these days. Just over the past decade or so, the modeling & plug-ins are really close to the real thing.
It’s really a great time to play guitar.
Your the man JB. You always hit it right on the head.
Much appreciated!
"Option paralysis" is real and the perfect descriptor.
Most times, I like the simplicity of just plugging in.
I might be wrong, but I tend to think "if it doesn't sound good clean, it won't sound good with effects".
That’s often true. Depends on the style. I love Gilmour, Edge, Andy Summers, Daniel Lanois, the guys from Radiohead, so many players who are adventurous and colorful with sounds. And the super raw and roots guys too.
Yes, yes, yes, I second that. Thank you!!!!
I was born in the late 70s. In the very early 90s I got into audio equipment before guitar. Even as good as some of that 90s gear sounded, you just couldn't replicate the warmth and timbre of the 1970s tube amps without some serious audio tools. Even today we can get close, but its not close enough. What you hit on about moving air, etc was spot on.
I fell in love with Super Reverbs and the like, back in the day. Chasing that tone on rack units was kind of ridiculous, but I sure learned a lot about dialing in gear.
Some great points here, and delivered with good humour - the 1900's old timey Marshall stack pic was worth the entry price alone
Ye Olde Full Stacke
Oh my. Gorilla amp was my first amp cost me £59 in 1989. First guitar encore Strat ..:::it all set me back until I got my second guitar a Yamaha (so line 6 connection still here today with my helix)
Thanks man, I will be open to the modelers in the future. I know that they've come a long way in a short time. As a player who started on cheap solid state amps, as soon as I got my first Deluxe Reverb I never looked back. Analog stuff is still what inspires, but if I need efficiency tomorrow or next year I'll be ready with an open mind. Peace JB
That's the thing. We get inspired by different ways of working, whether it's clean/dirty, single coil/humbuckers, whatever the case may be. It's impossible not to get pumped up about a great amp running hot. But I've found that there are as many different situations as there are guitar players, or days in the year. It's all an adventure.
Good stuff man
Thanks!
Well put down JB... It's a long debate about which is better or worse and your approach is the one I follow too. I have 2 great tube amps (a Mesa LSS and a Magnatone Stereo Twilighter) as well as a Kemper Profiler and a Headrush MX5 modeler which I usually plug in to a Line 6 PowerCab frfr cab. Not counting my UAFX Dream 65, Woodrow 55 and lately acquired Lion which is btw the best Marshall Plexi emulation I've ever heard or played through... They all work well for me and inspire me to play my guitar. This counts more than anything else, period! We know each other from the Mesa Boogie users group on FB (praising the mighty LSS) and I've recently discovered your UA-cam channel. It's great, please keep it up. Regards to you and all the best!
Yeah, I’m definitely like you. Haha. The only reason I’ve stayed away from those UA pedals is because I simply CAN’T keep getting more stuff! (Everyone seems to love the Lion. The demos are insane.)
Yeah, the LSS… most underrated amp ever? The first time I plugged into one, I laughed out loud. The tone was just so great. My desert island amp.
Thanks for checking this out!
@@JB_Eckl People see Mesa amps as high gain monsters (not that they aren’t) but they excel in clean to medium gain too… LSS is indeed underrated in terms of versatility. You can get so many tones for so many genres out of it that it can easily be a desert island amp. As for the Lion, go check it out 😂
@aonortac The fame of Metallica and the rise of the Recto sound solidified Mesa as the ultra high gain brand in the ‘90s/00s. But like any runaway hit, it can give people the wrong idea. Mesa to me will always be the wood-and-wicker California ‘70s amp, for the guys who want to experiment with different sounds.
"unfiltered cigs on a cold winter day" lmao. Im also a dinosaur but I related to this so much.
👏👏👏well said!
Amen
I agree 100% with everything you said. It must be a being from the 1900s thing. :D
Dude... one of the best videos I've watched on ye olde UA-cam! I'm here for the funnies. I'm here for the soul. I'm here for the inspiration. And I'm here for the joy!
Yes, such a good take on the ‘ debate’ , we are left with another burning question,… what was the set-up on the outro guitar tone?!, which was killer playing and tone by the way;)
Thanks so much man. That was some loosey-goosey late night guitar. Haha.
Tone setup was the same as the intro. The S500 is a warmer take on the Strat tone. Great pickups. And that amp just loves guitars; I didn’t even check the settings, just plugged in and hit record!
I can finally stop having to explain ...I'll just send the skeptics here...thank you happy warrior
Haha, nice… glad to be of service!
Related sidebar tone question, I know you have worked with Carlos Santana,… was it really an obscure solid state amp that he was playing through at Woodstock?
I never asked, but everyone says it was one of the first Galien Kruger heads. It really makes no sense to me, because the tone was such a glaring example of ‘pushed tube amp.’ And there were no good overdrive pedals yet, unless he had something custom, or a fuzz dialed way down. The narrative just doesn’t add up! Who the heck knows.
All the 20th Century Jazz guys are like, "Hey...what about us?!?" 😉
Let’s hear it for the 1900s!
🎵🎵🎵 🖤❤
Digital modelers will go down with the speak and spell. Disgraceful.
No, they won't. I love tube amps, too, but digital modellers are the future.
Get on board, or you'll go the way of the dinosaurs.
I’ve made way more records with Helix than Speak & Spell, but none of them were as successful as ‘E.T.’ so Speak & Spell wins!
It's not even a conversation. Working at the highest level, I can't even name a single associate or client who owns a digital amplifier. Zero interest from real people for obvious reasons. Digital amps are for bedroom warriors, nothing sounds worse than a digital guitar amp, not even an option in the real world. "Records" hahahaha
@@sometimelater Don't take this as an endorsement of the band or that I like them, but Metallica have started using Fractal Audio Axe FX units because of their consistency... so that puts paid to your "digital amps are for bedroom warriors" argument.
@castleanthrax1833 Yes. It’s in the video too. I was surprised to hear it honestly, but at this point those guys are way more concerned with putting on a smooth, high quality show than being attached to any particular way of doing it.