"Even the cheap ones sound great." As demonstrated by Josh Homme recently when he revealed that the secret behind his unique tone was....a 100 dollar Peavey Decade practice amp! Of course, people lost their shit and now those things go for over 1000 dollars. So, not so cheap anymore.
For me, a real amp is just inspiring. I like turning real knobs and getting the immediate feedback. And I like committing to a tone when I record. I don't want to endlessly screw around with the plugin settings etc.
I hope you do the Glenn thing too and always take a clean DI ? ;) I can do it on the HX Stomp (for bass) and I'm making a mini Direct box soz I can do it on the main rig ***SO PLEASE DONT YELL AT ME GLEEENNN*** !!!!!
So you just turn knobs and never find a sound? Come on.... I've had so many high end amps... and the neural dsp shit literally just made recording so easy... and sounded balls to the wall after dialing.... opened my mind for sure to sims now.
I'm using bias fx 2 (positive grid) for live with a behringer fsb 1010 pedal going straight to the mixer from the scarlotte. So my amps and cabs travel on my laptop in a backpack.
@@BeauJames59 I've been busking in the street for two years with an electric into a zoom into a JBL go bluetooth speaker and the only comments I got from other guitarists about my tone was they couldn't believe it was coming out of a one inch speaker. Common people? As long as the tone is not horrible they just listen to the song
Part of the appeal with real gear for me is that I spend most of my time for work, my own projects, and recreation sitting at my computer. The guitar is something I can do to get away from that for a bit. There's something about the physicality and weight of real gear that I don't think computers will ever replicate, no matter how good they can sound (at least not until we have that SAO full dive VR technology).
I went through middle and highschool almost exclusively making music with VSTs then realized just how fun using real gear is when I bought some Roland rack stuff. Same with amp heads and cabs.
I mean, there are physical amp Sims. Kemper being the closest one to using a real amp, Helix and quad cortex being fine if you don't mind the pedal board format. Does that do the trick for you? Or it's not about being physical, but rather having no digital components?
You just crystallized why I prefer real amps. I’d never realized part of it was the whole “being back on my computer after work” thing. I tried a real 6505 and a 6505 sim and the sim didn’t sound anything like a real 6505 so I’m going to get a real one instead.
Had 6 different tube amps throughout my life. Now just a Helix. Both worlds chugg and have ripping leads. Pros and cons for both worlds. Do what sounds best for you and your music and stop worrying about the music industry snobs that only care if you're using a tube amp or IR sims. Ridiculous debates about two different worlds that both sound great. I'm just going to tell people I recorded my guitar parts using an ENGLE powerball. And after about 12 months I'll tell the truth and say it was all Helix. $5000 says nobody will be able to tell the difference and they'll all say it sounds badass. It's the writing that makes your music sound different from other bands. Using a good sounding piece of gear that's been used by a million other people makes absolutely no difference. It's all in the writing, not the gear. If you think a 5150 sounds great through vintage 30's, then do it. It's whether or not the writing is unique and original, that will determine things sounding differently from other bands. Don't get lost in the hyped up UA-cam battles of the engineers saying "blah blah it's already been done blah blah" The sales numbers, subscribers and views of all the newer music of today is obliterating all that old stuff anyways. If you use an 57 mic and 5150 amp and vintage 30s speakers, you will get great tones. But if all you're playing is riffs that sound like every other band out there for the last 30 years, then that's what will make you sound like regurgitated music. It's always mostly been the player and what they're writing that sucks. Funny how everyone blames the gear.
Wish i could agree 100% but theres a reason people chase certain pieces of gear. Won't get cannibal corpse tones with a fender single coil guitar straight to an ac30. But yes you will absolutely get a huge chugs through a helix. Who even cares what gear is being simulated, i dont select amp, mic etc plugins because they say mesa or sm57 or anything, i just want them to sound good. Badonk is great.
@@gibson2623 those are software amps... just run on a deeicated device. if plugins are better, that's subjective. There's a lot of digital noise in neural dsp plugins, i think its because theyre optimized to be less cpu hungry than helix.
@@fredriksvard2603 I have both . i use gt1000 with power amp and real cabinet, and software plugins for recording.... I bener liked the GT1000 into a soundcard for recording ;)
I love how you make arguments based on any point of view. I love that these videos contradict each other. Just kinda goes to show, different strokes for different folks because at the end of the day, the best thing is just simply what works best for you… the end user.
I think that the word “perspective” few right over your head. Reviewing different kinds of recording hardware/software from different perspectives is a great way to to choose what’s better for you. Maybe try watching or listening and you might just pick that up.
I remember a Kerry King interview about his Marshall head (not the signature, his original) he asked Marshall just why it sounded so good. They tested the components and they were _all_ bang on the spec, in the middle of the tolerences. Pretty cool.
A short story: I work since 2 years with amps- sims from waves , amplitude etc., was happy about the phantastic quality and now just before mixing my new album I did the "mistake" to try an "Ampwerk"- Head (small Company from Germany) and have to record so much again. It IS a difference, real tubes are unbeatable!
@@Herrierecordsinc Because he doesn't know the ua-cam.com/video/-xHxmveCUEQ/v-deo.html trick, I guess :P (or he didn't listen to Glenn saying he should get a DI track, lol)
Preach! We use amp sims for demos, but used real amps to record our last couple releases. Each is a tool and useful in their own ways depending on what you're wanting to accomplish. Can't go wrong with a beefy tube half stack for live stuff though! Great vids!
Reason 14: You can have a real amp modded. If you want something more that a stock amp sound, take it to a shop and have component values changed or add new features the stock amp doesn't come with. You can't get a more unique sound past modifying your gear and last time I checked, people aren't offering mods for amp sims.
You don’t need to mod it when you got pedals and different amp choices, usually people mod their amp when they want a different sound but don’t want to spend hundreds-thousands
@@michael1 Not even remotely, show us one. Those aren't organically created modifications, its just added gain stages and an added EQ to trick chumps like you into spending more money on essentially two effects plugins in the name of it being "modded" There's nothing to mod in virtual, it's literally all code. What are you modifying if the code itself isn't based on hardware components that can be modified?
And...for an alternative view of the hybrid system - what about running a modeller into a power amp (neutral or not, your choice), into a cab and then sticking a mic on it? As has been said before on this channel, the majority of interesting things happening in a guitar tone actually happen in the speaker, and that's where modellers have always fallen down IMO. It's one of the reasons my gigging rig is exactly this - all the flexibility of a modeller, all the feel of a real cab, and none of the backache.
I have a old Behringer modelling amp and turning off Cab simulation have me much better tone and I am looking at getting a cab to mic up the speaker is a game changer.
That's what the band Vader does, they use Kemper as preamp into 5150 effects loop into a real cab, and they say it sound like a real amp, not a digital simulation.
Yeah for sure. The tones you can pull out of the current best modelers are virtually limitless. Stick those behind whatever cabs you have and mic that up FOR SURE. Nice call.
Glenn is knocking out of the damn park! I've never seen any channel up their video output like you have and still pump out quality stuff at the same rates. Awesome work!
The embarassing fact is that I have been waiting for the right statement that fits my opinion and then agree ;-) Adding to the pros: real amps don't have expiring licenses, and all they need is AC power. And nothing beats the smell of warm tubes and transformers!
Choice paralysis - is something that disturbs me as well and not only for amp sims, but even more for post processing as there are galore of plugins available. It's like having inner voice telling you it's not enough and next one is something we need yes! Especially for IRs, damn. On the other hand, I'd gladly invest into mid tier amp, if miking it up was not such a fucking pain in the ass.
BIG agree. Real amps to me are kind of like when you were a kid and you only had a handful of video games, so you played the shit out of them and learned everything you could about them. Whereas nowadays I've got a Steam library full of hundreds of games, some of which I've never even touched. I can sit down with my Marshall and some real pedals, and I have to figure out how to get as close to the sound I want with what I have. Whereas with sims, I can sit there for literal days just trying out every conceivable option and never actually settling on one thing long enough to enjoy it.
I had this problem a long time ago of tweaking over playing and finally decided to shift things up and I set up a basic writing session Reaper template. At the same time I am a cheap bastard and don't have/didn't want to use too many external plugins so I've set up all my channel strips with stock Reaper plugins. The only 3rd party stuff are the drums and the ampsims (clean and distorted 'generic' sounds) but I don't touch them before I have something bigger recorded, to avoid distraction. Boy oh boy, is it liberating, really saves me and my two remaining brain cells time and energy to actually experiment with writing rather than endless tweaking. Just as a cherry on top - stock Reaper plugins are fantastic, as most of you already know, but it really can't be stressed enough.
This is where setting rules/boundaries can help. I go into each project saying “I’m only going to use these plugins” or even “I’m *not* using these” can minimise that choice paralysis and pushes you forward. Similarly, if you also find yourself using the same thing over and over, maybe this is a chance to reevaluate somethings and try something else.
Just find a decent tone and play the hell out of it…. The more you stick with a few tones the better you’ll be able to play em…. Use your hands to change the tone is what I’m sayin…
Good stuff, and I'll add one more thing: quality of feedback. Most people's gut response is "no, that's bad and we're trying to eliminate that, why would I care about feedback?" Sure, if you're going for pristine technical metal you don't want screeching guitar feedback, but that's why noise gates exist. For the rawer, punkier players who do play with a lot of feedback, I find amp sims almost always struggle to feed back when monitored and tend to lock into microphonic squeals when they do. You don't get the same sensitive, textured feedback of a real amp with the volume high and the gain set reasonably. There's a particular swell that natural feedback easily does that I've never heard come from a monitored amp sim, even when that amp sim was going through an actual cabinet.
"Choice Paralysis" is effectively what I felt when I got a Kemper. Amazing piece of gear, but ended up selling it for a couple real amps solely because of this. I think a good compromise would be having a powered Kemper with a handful of cabs with different speakers/mics.
@@orlock20 Not gonna lie, I do sometimes wish I still had the Kemper. And then I remind myself of why I sold it lol. If anything, the Kemper made my GAS worse, hearing all these excellent amps I'll never have the full control of is for a person with greater will power or money than I.
Any budget 100w amp and box you would recommend Glenn? Peavey 6505 prices went through the roof and the only ok option now i see is marshall DSL. Would use it for recording/home playing only.
Great video as always, Glenn; however, there’s a part where I disagree a bit. Nowadays, I don’t think the top of the line digital stuff gets outdated that quickly. The kemper has been around for over a decade and it’s still one of the most used devices by musicians in all genres. The Helix also has been the same since 2016 and still receives updates. Regarding the fractal stuff, despite the AX FX III coming out and displacing the II, there’s still people using those and even the Ax8 or the Ax FX Ultra. And by analyzing the last products Fractal has released (AX FX III, FM3 and FM9), I believe right now the improvements (or variations) come from the processing power. Because the truth is, a lot of these digital devices already sound like (or at least similar enough to) real tube amps. Like I said, the improvements being done right now (not only by fractal) are in more technical matters. And, when the Quad Cortex came out, many people just kept their Ax Fx’s and Helix and stuff. It didn’t displace them, it just gave people more options and different user interfaces. In my opinion, at least in digital audio, the ceiling in sound quality is very close to be reached and I don’t think the next units will have “This one does sound like a real amp” as their marketing flag, because like I said, most units already do. The sale incentive will be things like more outputs, processing power and new capabilities of internal routing, sensibility, better AD/DA convention, more power in less space, much less latency, etc. Of course, I could be wrong, but that’s what I think about the matter. Also, I do believe that with digital things you can make your own sound. You just have to think outside of the box, stop being lazy (means no presets) and experiment. (I don’t mean you YOU, I mean like, In general). I know it’s too much to ask to some people, but it might be worth it. You can even combine plug ins, real pedals, etc. The possibilities are there, people just need to stop (like you said) wanting the same boring 5150 tube screamer vintage 30 sm57 sound that everyone has heard already. Seriously, with todays digital options, people could be creating new sounds every day, but no, of course, because that would require them to learn in depth how to use them and not just getting to “plug and play” with the new preset they purchased to sound like every other person in their neighborhood. Anyway, great video, Glenn. Just wanted to share my opinion. Your content is great not only for metal musicians, but for everyone serious about improving their audio engineering skills.
that's the point, the power of digital is not to have a perfect "that amp" simulation but to allow endless option to find you sound. Just don't look what display say and judge only with your ears what sound ok.
The best analogy I've heard was from Javier Reyes. It's like comparing the highest-end sim racing setup, full cockpit+wheel and pedals to simply driving a 911 or Corvette out on a track. The real thing will always be the goal.
That's the worst analogy. If the average person saw you in a very high-end sim racing setup, full cockpit+wheel and pedals, they would 100% know it was fake by looking at you and the setup verses you in a real car. 90% of people cannot distinguish between real amps and sim amps. Musicians can (particularly guitarists), but avg people cannot and actually like it. I am currently using Garritan orchestra, people cannot distinguish my flute and guitar concertos from the real thing. This is where we are.
@@SWATTECHNOLOGIES Correct. The only limit really is our imagination. Most guitarists in today's age have access to or can have access to amazing gear for a very low cost, the only thing stopping them is skill, talent and hard work.
Holy shit, Music production and sim racing?! Haha I flipped when I saw Javier mentioned. I don't know anyone else personally that likes music production OR sim racing, let alone both!
Another great one Glenn! I know some people don't really take advantage of using guitar room tracks but with a real amp, the choice to mic a room is there if you wanna be creative!
For as easy as plugins and IRs are supposed to be, I tried forever to get a recordable tone that way and couldn't get what I was looking for. Most amp sims don't seem to do "just past the edge of breakup" 70s hard rock/proto-metal tones very well at all. After finally getting a cheap tube amp and a 2x10 cab, I was immediately closer to the tone I was trying to get. Currently experimenting with mics and placement.
@@gibsonflyingv2820 because a sim through a cab cost significantly less than getting an amp and the pedals for a cab, if you have stuff for recording and mic placement you probably already have most of what you need to connect a cab to your audio interface lol
@@_TwoDot My point, and no I disagree with this sentiment. If you're going to go through all the trouble of using real mic placement, recording hardware and cabinets, using the amp head as a sim is just cutting a corner foolishly. Like you said, if you have the money for a vintage SM7 mic why bother using a crappy amp sim? It's pointless.
Thanks for this, Glenn. Sold a 72 JMP 50 I used live and in studio for almost 30 years and ventured into sims. Never found the dynamics, pick attack and feel of a real tube amp. The Kemper was fun, but still unfulfilling. Just can't get the inspiration and joy from a sim. I do keep testing out of curiosity, but have since had 3 handwired clones of my favorite amps built to use on stage and in studio. Yes, it is a daunting task to set and mic them for recording - but it is a labor of love. Cheers
As a bassist I would NEVER get rid of my Mesa Boogie rig. I will record with and lug around that heavy ass gear to my grave. Hybrid is the way to go but sims and plugins do not match the real thing despite what the marketing teams and paid shills tell you.
Might be a big difference between guitar and bass, though. It took quite a bit of adjusting to tame the low end for me as a guitar player. For guitar, it's definitely matches the real thing and I will never carry another head again.
dude I love your channel! I'm not sure if this would be considered a "hybrid" system, but one thing I always do is record a di in addition to real amps. I will then sometimes use an amp sim on that di track and then blend that into my mix. Side note, I definitely agree that having real tube amps in your studio is a giant benefit. Whether, you let a client use them, or you use them for re amping purposes. They WILL help your recordings stand out from everyone else and at least in my case, they only gain in value. I've been lucky with my tube amp purchases as I was able to buy mine from musicians who really needed money for the same price that a music store would buy them for. So, don't go out and just blow a bunch of money on vintage tube amps, keep your eyes open and when the time is right invest. Thanks for another great video dude!
That hybrid setup thing is what I love about my H&K GrandMeister Deluxe 40. It has the loadbox built right into it, I can completely operate it silent (or at varying wattages) and by disabling the built-in redbox I can easily go straight into the computer, use IRs and practice at every time of the day without annoying anybody while still having my own sounds. And thanks to some developer who wrote an app to remotely control the amp via MIDI I can dial in the sound either by hand on the physical knobs or through the software and even have backups of the settings should my amp needs to be replaced due to any defect. And while I still also own many VST amp sims and many do sound quite decent, it still always feels better when I turn on the amp. I found this to be especially true when trying to practice tricky parts. So there's also that dynamic/feel/latency thing there... it definitely makes a small difference. But when you practice stuff that's really fast even small differences add up and can lead to frustration when practicing.
@@unleashthefury111 I got the Tubemeister + helix with the 4 cable method. I usually add nothing but tubescreamer or percision drive before the amp (And some delay/reverb stuff post amp) and I get some seriously amazing tones. Check your cab maybe... Or could be faulty parts...
I should clarify that I meant its on the ultra channel. But I've had two HK amps both did the same thing. Every review I read said same thing. The Hugh gain sound has a grainy fizzy texture that cannot be undone
@@unleashthefury111 I can't complain at all, I haven't yet noticed a "grainy fizzy texture" at all and I use the Ultra Channel a lot for lead sounds. Best thing I've bought in years... well apart from my RME interface, because holy cow RME really knows their shit and the software that accompanies it is mighty awesome. Maybe you have some electrical interference that affects it? I have issues with my PC generating electromagnetic interference (switching noise) from the VRMs on the mainboard with varying frequency depending on CPU load. If I position my guitar badly they absolutely pick that up and on high gain you then definitely get a "fizzy sound"... but I get that with amp sims too.
Just poppin' by to say I'm loving the aspect ratio you've been using since your "13 reasons why amps sims destroy real amps video" (different aperture, less high exposition, color grading... different camera altogether?). Looks mighty fine and much more cinematic!
Hi Glenn, awesome video as always. I notice that you (almost) always have two channels of audio recording displaying on the monitor in the background. I'd love a video on how you record your vlog audio! Maybe you've already got it but I'm a pretty new subscriber and I'm also a lazy sack and can't be arsed to look through hundreds of your videos to see if you've already got one. If that's the case can you point me in the right direction, please? Cheers from the UK. P.s. regarding the value of real amps. I bought a second hand JCM800 Bass head and 4x12 bass cab for £100 about 20 years ago. It still sounds great, especially with a bass overdrive or fuzz pedal. It's also worth a hell of a lot more than what I bought it for now.
I’d actually like to see a blind sound test. Can you hear the difference in a mix between a real amp and an amp sim tuned to sound the same? Like the tone wood test but for these.
Andertons did some of those... It was pretty funny, b/c they both said that they were sure they would be able to tell and there was no way that the sim (Kemper and Helix I think is what they used) would sound the same, and they picked the modeller as the amp the majority of the tests.
If the cab makes more difference than the amp, would it be better to reamp an amp sim through a real cab rather than having a real amp go through an IR, especially if you're wanting to get more unique tones?
Its the power and watts that gives the oomf in a real amp. Unless u have a crazy powerful PA i dont see how it could measure up against a 100watt for example. The set up involved just to play with a drummer is so excessive for amp sims, thats mainly whats holding them back
@@taLLdavidproduction I'm playing through a sim and regular cab via a Power Amp. My buddy is using the Seymour Duncan, I'm using the Harley Benton. It's 100 watts. In the room, no one can tell it's not going through the head.
In reality, sound quality is subjective. Each person “hears” a particular “sound” differently…what you hear is not exactly what I hear. Therefore, the question should not be “do I use a physical amp” or, “do I use an amp sim” but what tools will allow me to produce the sounds I want to produce. Then it’s up to your listeners to determine if the sounds you produced please them as well or not. In the end, the listener does not care how you achieve your tones…they only like them or they don’t. This applies to not only guitar tones, but everything associated with recording music.
Nope, there are objective differences in how sound is recreated digitally than real gear. It will absolutely be heard by anyone. A baby could tell the difference.
@@gibsonflyingv2820 Find a Fractal Axe Fx III to audition and record both a live amp and Fractal performance in a mix. Very few, if any, people will be able to tell the difference if a well prepared Fractal preset is utilized.
@@paisleepunk Yes? People with ears will care if something sounds good. Think of how horribly Metallicas album sound was critiqued for death magnetic. How do you think you perceive music? Through sound. Timbre is the most fundamental way we perceive music. Other Wise everything sounds the same. So yes, people care if sound is good obviously, that's why music is listened to. It's the dumbest argument I see online. It's like asking "will anyone really care if you open a restaurant that serves Italian instead of greek?" Uh...that's not relevant or the point, its a hypothetical with no real answer.
Hey Glen!!! Great episode. I was hoping you would mention the hybrid setup. I love the tone of my H&K tube amp, but I've always struggled with getting a real cab to sound good. My amp running through the Wall of sound is my general go to. Keep up the good work. 🤘🤘
I once did a gig using my iPhone with the Ampkit sim and a Bluetooth pedal board from IK multimedia. Lol. This was years ago and it was funny seeing the look on my friends faces because it did sound great. They were expecting a toylike cheap sound. To be fair, the PA and monitors used were top notch. I can’t comment on what works best for recording and the studio. I was always a live player in assorted cover bands. But the big thing in your live sound is going to be in your playing ability. Not so much in whether you use sims or real amps.
I would never use an amp sim live simply because of latency which exacerbates in hot, unventilated clubs where the owners are too cheap to pay for HVAC.
GLLLEEEEENNNNNN. I just gotta say, I adore how much personality and character you put into every comment voice. Some people say it's annoying sometimes but I think it's great. Your effort is not unnoticed!
“Even the cheap ones sound great.” YES! My Orange OR15 through an Orange 4x12 is awesome. Plus it only has 5 knobs and one channel. So simple even a bass player can figure it out. Lol
Hey man, its the Crate GFX 212 and the 1200H the same thing? i mean one is a combo of head plus cab, and the other is just the head, right? Ok i checked and yes, its the same thing. Same with the GT212 and GT1200H....
That's the way to go! I did that with a Mark 2C+ for a long time. Took a while to get a good IR that gave me the same satisfaction as standing in front of a 4x12 recto cab, but now there's so many killer options. Run the amp into a torpedo, suhr reactive load, whatever, and into the console, then you can bypass the preamp section of an amp sim and mess with the mic positions and stuff... so many options!
Here’s my biggest issue with amp sims, literally every single one of them have one major downfall: guitar feedback. I prefer using real amps because I can create feedback. I’ve used many amp sims and, when I do use one, I use Universal Audio Marshall amp sims. They sound amazing, but, yup, no feedback. When you’re doing metal or, in my case, punk, feedback is FUN and I can’t have that kind of fun in an amp sim.
You're 100% right about more affordable than ever but two big problems us home recording guys have is while overall things are cheaper than they used to be, our income has greatly devalued over time in the great scheme of things so stuff that is relatively cheap is still unattainable for most people economically. And the second big thing, the space to do it, like myself, I have a mesa triple rectifier with an oversized slanted rectifier cab with V30's but there's no way I can use it to record where I currently live because of it's too loud. So until we can get a new house somewhere else, amp sims it is. But I agree an actual amp is ideal.
For playing live, I disagree with the advantages listed here. I played through a 5150 for years and I can't feel any difference playing through a Pod Go. If we sat down and isolated my signal and I was trying to match the 5150 exactly, you could hear a difference, but just trying to sound as good as possible, in a band, NO ONE can hear a drop off in quality. The opposite. Because digital is easier to control than tubes, the Pod Go is more consistent. And instead of playing the 5150's clean channel, I can switch to a clean amp I prefer, so the Pod Go comes out on top in OVERALL sound.
One of the biggest problems with micing a cab of any kind is the room it's in. Speaker age and condition makes a difference too. If the room isn't that good, what do you expect from the tracks? A properly placed room mic in a properly treated room can make for a unique sound. Unfortunately, very few are interested in unique. The standard for micing guitar cabs goes back farther than a couple of decades. It's amazing to me how many clients want to sound like everyone else. I mentioned before, when I asked one famous producer what his favorite guitar cab mics were on air and he responded "I like mics that end in 7." SM 57 close and U 87 for a room mic has been a standard since at least the 70's. I had to send out for a pair of 57's on a lunch break back in the 80's due to the famous guitarist that I was recording at the time thought what I was using "didn't sound right." I was using a Sennheiser 441 in close. I had used that mic for years with no complaints. The owner HATED Shure mics so we didn't have any in the locker. I put an SM 57 on the amp and when the client listened to the track "That sounds great!" I was using a pretty standard U 87 in the room, thought on some sessions I swap the room mic for a C 414. Since you've already observed that speakers make the biggest difference in timbre, why not collect speaker IR's for variance? Problem is with a lot of IR's is that there is no room mic used. There may be an assortment of close mics used but very few have a selection of room mics available or a way to blend them with the close mic. Kazrog used to have a multiple IR cabinet loader and Ignite Amps has the NadIR that is capable of 2 IR's. I've seen one quad IR loader but can't remember where...
I say to each his own. I lugged a huge Mesa rig around for years and a friend kept urging me to save my back and go with a Kemper. I did 4 years ago and it has worked out awesome! I do not try and convince others to do that too but it works great for me. If it sounds good who cares🤘🤘🤘
AXE FX III. There's probably enough features and tweakability packed into it to NOT sound the same as everyone else. And if any modeling system does a good job at exciting the player and sounding damn good, it's the Axe FX, (Neural DSP Quad Cortex too). It also allows you to blend up to 4 cab IRs, across stereo field if you choose. At 20+ years of playing guitar, it's the next closest thing to a real amp in my opinion. Prior to the Axe III, I had a Mark 2C+. But the hybrid system you described really didn't do it justice. The cab IRs at the time were indeed limiting, and finding a program to load and tweak the IRs was difficult at the time, but it was my preferred way to play. This way only the amp breaks my back, not the cab too. Now I'm running a synergy rig through a powerstage into a 1x12 mesa recto cab, and it's the coolest fucking thing ever. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I love your videos Glenn! Can I add that what amp you use, what guitar you use and what microphones you use are NOTHING compared to how you PLAY. The clip you play at 10:44 sounds amazing but the guys aren't TIGHT so the precise sound that is achieved becomes irrelevant. Everybody, please: work on TIMING and stop worrying about gear (and once your timing is amazing, work on the songs and then, maybe, start worrying about the gear).
big amen to all of this video // HiFi tube audiophile peeps must laugh hysterically at guitarist's who think their dreams have come true via their Helix pedal
GLENNNN!!! As a bedroom/kitchen table musician I have no option, its amp sims only for me at the moment. I hope to graduate to getting a few amp heads and using a load box and IRs. However knowing now the importance of the cab, speaker room sound etc. If I cant mic a loud cab is it worth it to even considering the hybrid set up? If the amp is a not the most important element? Thanks for what you do and best wishes from Ireland.
I remember the music store (Music Stop) trying to sell me the Line 6 Pod. Everyone was praising it. I tried it out and no matter what setting I put it on, it just sounded like crap.
Two traps which I fell into when I had the kemper. 1) swapping between thousand simulations for amps and cabinets but not really playing. 2) when recording, I noticed falling into same patterns; this is what others use and so it must be good. Ended up playing way too little and sounding just like everyone else. But it is still an awesome machine. It has good impulses and I do not regret owning one. If you record in an apartment, it is awesome. Some time ago I bought a house so bye bye kemper, hello tube amps. Are they expensive? Yes. Was it worth it (money and tone -wise)? I don't know. Do I have regrets? None.
Hey Glenn got to be honest, I haven't touch my bass or guitar much in the past few months, I plugged in my guitar into my Marshall amp lately an noticed my knobs and my amp input is crackling. I was just wondering if you ever did any episode that talks about things you can do keep your equipment safe, when your not using them, issues like humidity, dryness, cold and hot temperatures, sunlit or dark rooms, position of guitars and basses on walls or cases as to not have neck warps or in microphones excess moisture etc etc?
On signature sounds: I was listening to Melvins laat night. An unfamiliar song came on and I thought to myself the clean guitar sounded just like Tomahawk. I thought my player switched artists on me. A peek at the credits showed it was done by Ipecac Recordings. Same as the Tomahawk stuff I’ve heard.
When I saw how you have to pick which tubes go into your amp and how hard to drive them and the 7 different stages of low-mid-hi-presence equalizing, I knew then and there it was not for me. Like Glenn says, choice paralysis, but even just with the settings within one amp sim plugin. I also think they just sound weak and thin. If you can't be loud when you record, go ahead and drive a real amp into something like the Suhr Reactive Load IR.
I couldn't make up my mind about my sound, I started chasing that Zakk Wylde sound and it evolved from that. I run 3 amps simultaneously, A Carvin X50B with 4x12 cab and a Marshall jcm800 4010 combe with a Eminence DV-77 speaker and a Peavey stereo chorus 212. Yeah it's fucking loud at unity volume, but so amazing! The frequency spread is unbelievable, however trying to figure out how to record it is a challenge lol. I only run a variety of overdrives, MXR Zakk Wylde overdrive, Ibanez Nu-tube screamer and a 40th Anniversary SD1. And wah , MXR stereo chorus. And the Earthquaker Swissthings pedal to split up the amps. Great video Glenn, cheers!
I have an Ibanez TB15, which is pretty much the practice amp version of the TB100H you mentioned. I modified it so I can get a feed straight out of the preamp section of it and I can connect that to an external power amp that can deliver more juice. It sounds pretty interesting, it has a very unique sound to it and when cranked up on the power, it really sounds great! Hell, even when connecting the pre to my interface and using the Ignite TPA-1 as a power, you can get it to sound wicked! Sometimes the most interesting sounds lay on the gear you expect the least, and people should explore these hidden gems a lot more than they actually do.
I do a lot of electronic and orchestral music. There is nothing like re-amping a synth (even a VST) through a real amp and recording it with a mic instead of using the pure line-out signal. It is fun to experiment. Especially running synths through guitar or bass amps.
Glenn I always watch your videos not only because your honesty is funny but also because your takes are well informed generally BUT (yeah, I'm commenting to object on something) when you talk about "unit variation" I think it's kinda pointless to regard, first because outside of the hype surrounding vintage equipment, the consistency has just got stronger every year and also because what makes "unit variation" sound different can be represented as slight changes in the frequency response curve of a device, which I assume could be mimicked to a great extent through the use of equalisers, right?
Around 10 years ago, I had an awesome freestanding building where I built a studio- and I had an entire room filled with over 20 vintage and modern tube and solid state amps- everything from Vox, fender, marshall, roland, mesa boogie, soldano, etc from the mid 1950s, lots of 1970s until then present day. I had a client come to check out my place to see if they wanted to record. They kept asking about "amp farm"- and I said no I don't have that but I literally have a real room full of everything you could want. They said the sounds they wanted were in amp farm. I said the sound amp farm wants is in my back room!!! They didn't end up recording at my studio. I was happy with the decision! I could tell it was not gonna be a good fit!
Nice video, especially alongside to the last one! I am very interested in your opinion about neural dsp products. They've got amazing advertising campaign for sure, and I personally like how they sound, but really wanna know what you think as more experienced and with ability to compare their products to real thing.
what about the Yamaha THR5? not for the studio, but thats a small practice amp that has alot of modeling options. ive not used one, but ive seen alot of sick guitarists using them at home, and im curious. just wondering your take on that specific amp, but i am planning to pull the trigger on a 50 watt EVH 6l6 head to pair with my '92 5150 cab lol slowly getting to my best amp ever. cheers dude
I've always said this and i always will! Something magical happens when air is allowed to be moved and the actual real soundwaves are picked up by a Mic. Something that truly can't be emulated no matter how hard you try. You know how long that list can go with what and how it feels to actually have something ''live'' going on.
5:11 I asked John Browne what his desert island amp would be (him owning a lot of the most high amps out there), and he said the Line6 Pod. And no, it wasn't a joke.
great vid Glenn!! Love your channel!!! Amp sims have their place and do a great job.. however, me being an old school metal head prefer my marshall 100w tube heads and cabs miked to get my tone.. I dont need an amp sim of the REAL thing i already have..
Hi Glen, what s your opinion about BiasFX2 as a amp sim?....is the one i personally use in my home studio...and to my ears sounds woooooow. Thx in advance, you are the best👍
GLEEEEENNNNNN! I just wanted to say that I’ve been watching your channel for years and I think I just got my first clear good sounding mix out of my new project and I owe it all to you and your amazing channel. thank you for everything you do. The feeling of getting in my car and hearing my mix at full volume with no distortion and no rattling of car parts is as close to heaven as I ever care to get. Fuck you very, very much!
Such a great video !! Real amp and two notes is a great combo but I still want a wall of speakers to stare at. Maybe put the two notes behind the wall shhhh
I think some of these software companies like Amplitube have come very far in the way of amp simulations, however they still lack the character & power of a real amp. I am totally in love with the idea of having a physical representation of my guitar tone and honestly having something that doesn't have to boot up and won't ever freeze up due to a software update or license gripe. I love the idea that if I plug into this thing that it has its own unique voice (not 1000 voices I'll never use), something thats simple and fast to dial in a sound. The amplifiers I use are the 100 watt Marshall 2555x Silver Jubilee and the 100 watt Marshall 2466 Vintage Modern, both of these amps are fast and easy to get a great tone on, you simply fuck with only a few settings: Presence, Bass, Middle, Treble, Gain and volume on both of these and you're ready to go, much easier to setup and much harder to fuck up when you're at a gig!. As much I like amplitube, its not replacing my real amps anytime soon, it likes to frequently crash.
7:00 hey they're decent PRACTICE AMPS, but nothing more. Portable if you're goin to your cabin and wanna practice, or hitting the road in an RV or something like that.
The video quality here is unnecessarily good, nicely done. As for the actual question itself from a player's point of view, I'm going the helix route for now - it's lightweight and easy to use. Would definitely prefer the real thing, but the weight and cost aren't worth it for the level of player I am
I mic amps. I only use sims when demoing ideas at 3am. lol several of your entries here seem redundant: they sound better, unit variation, don't sound like everyone else, etc.. All just boil down to the same point - amps are the awesome thing sims aspire to mimic. But option paralysis is in direct contradiction of your points regarding infinite variations between cabs, mics, mic placement, etc... Both sims and real amps offer an astounding variety. And it's easy to get caught up in seemingly infinite options. Lastly, kudos for having the nerve to mention hybrid recording techniques like real amps with loads and cab IRs. You'll piss off sim heads AND amp purists with that bit, but it's excellent practical advice and a great technique for getting killer tones in a hurry. Another great video! Always as pleasure. 👍
Regarding variability options, as you point out there are new sims every day. Not just “sims”, but features that allow for combining multiple IRs (Overloud’s Supercabinet), tweaking tube response, power sag, etc. With all of these opportunities for customizing a digital signal chain, I think there’s a case to be had for crafting a unique tone. Yes, there will be a finite number of possibilities available to each user, but that set of possibilities is a very large range, provided we take advantage of the tweakable parameters. If we all just downloaded the very same sim and all chose only from the default presets and did not change a single parameter, yes then we’d all sound the same. But I don’t think that’s how it’s happening, at least not on the forums I visit where modeling nerds are hanging out.
"Even the cheap ones sound great." As demonstrated by Josh Homme recently when he revealed that the secret behind his unique tone was....a 100 dollar Peavey Decade practice amp! Of course, people lost their shit and now those things go for over 1000 dollars. So, not so cheap anymore.
they going for about 250 now it seems
there’s a few amps in the lineup that have the same preamp, so save your money and buy the audition 20.
Agreed. If you gave Jeff Beck a really crappy amp and guitar, when he played it he would find a way to make it sound great.
For me, a real amp is just inspiring. I like turning real knobs and getting the immediate feedback. And I like committing to a tone when I record. I don't want to endlessly screw around with the plugin settings etc.
I hope you do the Glenn thing too and always take a clean DI ? ;)
I can do it on the HX Stomp (for bass) and I'm making a mini Direct box soz I can do it on the main rig ***SO PLEASE DONT YELL AT ME GLEEENNN*** !!!!!
@@petegaslondon No, I don't. I know exactly what I want and mix my own music. If I were to send it off to somebody else to mix, I'd do that of course.
So you just turn knobs and never find a sound? Come on.... I've had so many high end amps... and the neural dsp shit literally just made recording so easy... and sounded balls to the wall after dialing.... opened my mind for sure to sims now.
@@Chugg.Norris where did I say I don't get the sounds I want?
Lol
I still love my freeware amp sims, don't even care how close they come to the real thing - making music comes first
I love your channel name haha
Good enough for you is good enough. I wonder if this might fall under playing for an audience as opposed to playing to impress other musicians.
Great point
I'm using bias fx 2 (positive grid) for live with a behringer fsb 1010 pedal going straight to the mixer from the scarlotte. So my amps and cabs travel on my laptop in a backpack.
@@BeauJames59 I've been busking in the street for two years with an electric into a zoom into a JBL go bluetooth speaker and the only comments I got from other guitarists about my tone was they couldn't believe it was coming out of a one inch speaker. Common people? As long as the tone is not horrible they just listen to the song
Part of the appeal with real gear for me is that I spend most of my time for work, my own projects, and recreation sitting at my computer. The guitar is something I can do to get away from that for a bit. There's something about the physicality and weight of real gear that I don't think computers will ever replicate, no matter how good they can sound (at least not until we have that SAO full dive VR technology).
I went through middle and highschool almost exclusively making music with VSTs then realized just how fun using real gear is when I bought some Roland rack stuff. Same with amp heads and cabs.
I was gonna joke about SAO being "Sword Art Online" but I think that's what you really meant lol
I mean, there are physical amp Sims. Kemper being the closest one to using a real amp, Helix and quad cortex being fine if you don't mind the pedal board format.
Does that do the trick for you? Or it's not about being physical, but rather having no digital components?
You just crystallized why I prefer real amps. I’d never realized part of it was the whole “being back on my computer after work” thing. I tried a real 6505 and a 6505 sim and the sim didn’t sound anything like a real 6505 so I’m going to get a real one instead.
Had 6 different tube amps throughout my life.
Now just a Helix.
Both worlds chugg and have ripping leads.
Pros and cons for both worlds.
Do what sounds best for you and your music and stop worrying about the music industry snobs that only care if you're using a tube amp or IR sims.
Ridiculous debates about two different worlds that both sound great.
I'm just going to tell people I recorded my guitar parts using an ENGLE powerball.
And after about 12 months I'll tell the truth and say it was all Helix.
$5000 says nobody will be able to tell the difference and they'll all say it sounds badass.
It's the writing that makes your music sound different from other bands.
Using a good sounding piece of gear that's been used by a million other people makes absolutely no difference.
It's all in the writing, not the gear.
If you think a 5150 sounds great through vintage 30's, then do it.
It's whether or not the writing is unique and original, that will determine things sounding differently from other bands.
Don't get lost in the hyped up UA-cam battles of the engineers saying "blah blah it's already been done blah blah"
The sales numbers, subscribers and views of all the newer music of today is obliterating all that old stuff anyways.
If you use an 57 mic and 5150 amp and vintage 30s speakers, you will get great tones.
But if all you're playing is riffs that sound like every other band out there for the last 30 years, then that's what will make you sound like regurgitated music.
It's always mostly been the player and what they're writing that sucks.
Funny how everyone blames the gear.
audio speakers with IRs are a joke compared to a real cabinet....It s night and day dude
Wish i could agree 100% but theres a reason people chase certain pieces of gear. Won't get cannibal corpse tones with a fender single coil guitar straight to an ac30. But yes you will absolutely get a huge chugs through a helix. Who even cares what gear is being simulated, i dont select amp, mic etc plugins because they say mesa or sm57 or anything, i just want them to sound good. Badonk is great.
@@fredriksvard2603 Software amp sims sound better than helix and GT1000
@@gibson2623 those are software amps... just run on a deeicated device. if plugins are better, that's subjective. There's a lot of digital noise in neural dsp plugins, i think its because theyre optimized to be less cpu hungry than helix.
@@fredriksvard2603 I have both . i use gt1000 with power amp and real cabinet, and software plugins for recording.... I bener liked the GT1000 into a soundcard for recording ;)
I love how you make arguments based on any point of view. I love that these videos contradict each other. Just kinda goes to show, different strokes for different folks because at the end of the day, the best thing is just simply what works best for you… the end user.
I think that the word “perspective” few right over your head. Reviewing different kinds of recording hardware/software from different perspectives is a great way to to choose what’s better for you. Maybe try watching or listening and you might just pick that up.
@@frags4679 ….what?
@@smeemusic you heard him, it few right over…we all saw it!
Ha ha yes. I remember his rave review of the Quid Corset. 😁
I've always preferred real amps because the amp being actually present in the room is so much more engaging for me.
I remember a Kerry King interview about his Marshall head (not the signature, his original) he asked Marshall just why it sounded so good. They tested the components and they were _all_ bang on the spec, in the middle of the tolerences. Pretty cool.
Yeah, the tolerance of the components is why all old Marshalls sound different, and how a good tech can tune it to your liking.
A short story: I work since 2 years with amps- sims from waves , amplitude etc., was happy about the phantastic quality and now just before mixing my new album I did the "mistake" to try an "Ampwerk"- Head (small Company from Germany) and have to record so much again. It IS a difference, real tubes are unbeatable!
Link,
Or
It
Never
Happened ;)
Why rerecord? Just use the tracks without ampsims and reamp them.....
@@Herrierecordsinc Because he doesn't know the ua-cam.com/video/-xHxmveCUEQ/v-deo.html trick, I guess :P
(or he didn't listen to Glenn saying he should get a DI track, lol)
Preach! We use amp sims for demos, but used real amps to record our last couple releases. Each is a tool and useful in their own ways depending on what you're wanting to accomplish. Can't go wrong with a beefy tube half stack for live stuff though! Great vids!
Reason 14: You can have a real amp modded.
If you want something more that a stock amp sound, take it to a shop and have component values changed or add new features the stock amp doesn't come with. You can't get a more unique sound past modifying your gear and last time I checked, people aren't offering mods for amp sims.
You don’t need to mod it when you got pedals and different amp choices, usually people mod their amp when they want a different sound but don’t want to spend hundreds-thousands
Actually you're completely wrong, component modelling and circuit simulation is most definitely a thing that exists
@@michael1 Not even remotely, show us one. Those aren't organically created modifications, its just added gain stages and an added EQ to trick chumps like you into spending more money on essentially two effects plugins in the name of it being "modded" There's nothing to mod in virtual, it's literally all code. What are you modifying if the code itself isn't based on hardware components that can be modified?
@@gibsonflyingv2820 What? Were you just writing a list of your favourite words?
@@michael1 Translation: You have no argument and can't comprehend what I said.
Haha our Tyrant Spectre Logo!!!! Happy to see it in the video! Thx and greetings to Canada from all at Atlas Amplification.
And...for an alternative view of the hybrid system - what about running a modeller into a power amp (neutral or not, your choice), into a cab and then sticking a mic on it? As has been said before on this channel, the majority of interesting things happening in a guitar tone actually happen in the speaker, and that's where modellers have always fallen down IMO. It's one of the reasons my gigging rig is exactly this - all the flexibility of a modeller, all the feel of a real cab, and none of the backache.
Mostly I satisfied running my Helix into return of tube power stack, bypassing IRs. Response of a cab is very nice and "real".
I have a old Behringer modelling amp and turning off Cab simulation have me much better tone and I am looking at getting a cab to mic up the speaker is a game changer.
That's what the band Vader does, they use Kemper as preamp into 5150 effects loop into a real cab, and they say it sound like a real amp, not a digital simulation.
Yeah for sure. The tones you can pull out of the current best modelers are virtually limitless. Stick those behind whatever cabs you have and mic that up FOR SURE. Nice call.
I was looking for this comment. I run amp sims/pedal rig into my power amp, then into 1 x 12" cab. Sounds amazing compared to any IR i've ever used.
Glenn is knocking out of the damn park! I've never seen any channel up their video output like you have and still pump out quality stuff at the same rates. Awesome work!
The embarassing fact is that I have been waiting for the right statement that fits my opinion and then agree ;-)
Adding to the pros: real amps don't have expiring licenses, and all they need is AC power. And nothing beats the smell of warm tubes and transformers!
Choice paralysis - is something that disturbs me as well and not only for amp sims, but even more for post processing as there are galore of plugins available. It's like having inner voice telling you it's not enough and next one is something we need yes! Especially for IRs, damn. On the other hand, I'd gladly invest into mid tier amp, if miking it up was not such a fucking pain in the ass.
BIG agree. Real amps to me are kind of like when you were a kid and you only had a handful of video games, so you played the shit out of them and learned everything you could about them. Whereas nowadays I've got a Steam library full of hundreds of games, some of which I've never even touched. I can sit down with my Marshall and some real pedals, and I have to figure out how to get as close to the sound I want with what I have. Whereas with sims, I can sit there for literal days just trying out every conceivable option and never actually settling on one thing long enough to enjoy it.
I had this problem a long time ago of tweaking over playing and finally decided to shift things up and I set up a basic writing session Reaper template. At the same time I am a cheap bastard and don't have/didn't want to use too many external plugins so I've set up all my channel strips with stock Reaper plugins. The only 3rd party stuff are the drums and the ampsims (clean and distorted 'generic' sounds) but I don't touch them before I have something bigger recorded, to avoid distraction.
Boy oh boy, is it liberating, really saves me and my two remaining brain cells time and energy to actually experiment with writing rather than endless tweaking.
Just as a cherry on top - stock Reaper plugins are fantastic, as most of you already know, but it really can't be stressed enough.
This is where setting rules/boundaries can help. I go into each project saying “I’m only going to use these plugins” or even “I’m *not* using these” can minimise that choice paralysis and pushes you forward. Similarly, if you also find yourself using the same thing over and over, maybe this is a chance to reevaluate somethings and try something else.
Everybody wants to run an amp until it’s time to buy or build an iso cab and be dedicated about it
Just find a decent tone and play the hell out of it…. The more you stick with a few tones the better you’ll be able to play em…. Use your hands to change the tone is what I’m sayin…
I’m not much of a metalhead, but I really appreciate you always advocating for originality in music!
Good stuff, and I'll add one more thing: quality of feedback. Most people's gut response is "no, that's bad and we're trying to eliminate that, why would I care about feedback?" Sure, if you're going for pristine technical metal you don't want screeching guitar feedback, but that's why noise gates exist. For the rawer, punkier players who do play with a lot of feedback, I find amp sims almost always struggle to feed back when monitored and tend to lock into microphonic squeals when they do. You don't get the same sensitive, textured feedback of a real amp with the volume high and the gain set reasonably. There's a particular swell that natural feedback easily does that I've never heard come from a monitored amp sim, even when that amp sim was going through an actual cabinet.
"Choice Paralysis" is effectively what I felt when I got a Kemper. Amazing piece of gear, but ended up selling it for a couple real amps solely because of this. I think a good compromise would be having a powered Kemper with a handful of cabs with different speakers/mics.
The Kabinet comes to mind
Choice Paralysis is real. Collecting vst's instead of just playing can become exhausting.
If you had GAS, you'd want the Kemper back.
@@orlock20 Not gonna lie, I do sometimes wish I still had the Kemper. And then I remind myself of why I sold it lol. If anything, the Kemper made my GAS worse, hearing all these excellent amps I'll never have the full control of is for a person with greater will power or money than I.
@@phonomorgue.1372 That's why i never got one. i'm pretty sure not really being able to adjust settings would drive me mad. i have to tweak.
Any budget 100w amp and box you would recommend Glenn? Peavey 6505 prices went through the roof and the only ok option now i see is marshall DSL. Would use it for recording/home playing only.
Great video as always, Glenn; however, there’s a part where I disagree a bit. Nowadays, I don’t think the top of the line digital stuff gets outdated that quickly. The kemper has been around for over a decade and it’s still one of the most used devices by musicians in all genres. The Helix also has been the same since 2016 and still receives updates. Regarding the fractal stuff, despite the AX FX III coming out and displacing the II, there’s still people using those and even the Ax8 or the Ax FX Ultra. And by analyzing the last products Fractal has released (AX FX III, FM3 and FM9), I believe right now the improvements (or variations) come from the processing power. Because the truth is, a lot of these digital devices already sound like (or at least similar enough to) real tube amps. Like I said, the improvements being done right now (not only by fractal) are in more technical matters. And, when the Quad Cortex came out, many people just kept their Ax Fx’s and Helix and stuff. It didn’t displace them, it just gave people more options and different user interfaces. In my opinion, at least in digital audio, the ceiling in sound quality is very close to be reached and I don’t think the next units will have “This one does sound like a real amp” as their marketing flag, because like I said, most units already do. The sale incentive will be things like more outputs, processing power and new capabilities of internal routing, sensibility, better AD/DA convention, more power in less space, much less latency, etc.
Of course, I could be wrong, but that’s what I think about the matter.
Also, I do believe that with digital things you can make your own sound. You just have to think outside of the box, stop being lazy (means no presets) and experiment. (I don’t mean you YOU, I mean like, In general). I know it’s too much to ask to some people, but it might be worth it. You can even combine plug ins, real pedals, etc. The possibilities are there, people just need to stop (like you said) wanting the same boring 5150 tube screamer vintage 30 sm57 sound that everyone has heard already. Seriously, with todays digital options, people could be creating new sounds every day, but no, of course, because that would require them to learn in depth how to use them and not just getting to “plug and play” with the new preset they purchased to sound like every other person in their neighborhood.
Anyway, great video, Glenn. Just wanted to share my opinion. Your content is great not only for metal musicians, but for everyone serious about improving their audio engineering skills.
that's the point, the power of digital is not to have a perfect "that amp" simulation but to allow endless option to find you sound. Just don't look what display say and judge only with your ears what sound ok.
The best analogy I've heard was from Javier Reyes. It's like comparing the highest-end sim racing setup, full cockpit+wheel and pedals to simply driving a 911 or Corvette out on a track. The real thing will always be the goal.
That's the worst analogy. If the average person saw you in a very high-end sim racing setup, full cockpit+wheel and pedals, they would 100% know it was fake by looking at you and the setup verses you in a real car. 90% of people cannot distinguish between real amps and sim amps. Musicians can (particularly guitarists), but avg people cannot and actually like it. I am currently using Garritan orchestra, people cannot distinguish my flute and guitar concertos from the real thing. This is where we are.
@@SWATTECHNOLOGIES Correct. The only limit really is our imagination. Most guitarists in today's age have access to or can have access to amazing gear for a very low cost, the only thing stopping them is skill, talent and hard work.
@@tanvarma4169 skill, talent and hard work...yes, yes, and yes
Holy shit, Music production and sim racing?! Haha I flipped when I saw Javier mentioned. I don't know anyone else personally that likes music production OR sim racing, let alone both!
I love my Fender Super Reverb. The 4x10 45 watt tube tone is just ungodly. It moves so much air and takes pedals like a boss.
Another great one Glenn! I know some people don't really take advantage of using guitar room tracks but with a real amp, the choice to mic a room is there if you wanna be creative!
For as easy as plugins and IRs are supposed to be, I tried forever to get a recordable tone that way and couldn't get what I was looking for. Most amp sims don't seem to do "just past the edge of breakup" 70s hard rock/proto-metal tones very well at all. After finally getting a cheap tube amp and a 2x10 cab, I was immediately closer to the tone I was trying to get. Currently experimenting with mics and placement.
Well usually using the sim through a cab and recording with mics instead of directly fix that issue
@@_TwoDot At that point what's the point? You're still using hardware.
@@gibsonflyingv2820 because a sim through a cab cost significantly less than getting an amp and the pedals for a cab, if you have stuff for recording and mic placement you probably already have most of what you need to connect a cab to your audio interface lol
@@_TwoDot My point, and no I disagree with this sentiment. If you're going to go through all the trouble of using real mic placement, recording hardware and cabinets, using the amp head as a sim is just cutting a corner foolishly. Like you said, if you have the money for a vintage SM7 mic why bother using a crappy amp sim? It's pointless.
Thanks for this, Glenn. Sold a 72 JMP 50 I used live and in studio for almost 30 years and ventured into sims. Never found the dynamics, pick attack and feel of a real tube amp. The Kemper was fun, but still unfulfilling. Just can't get the inspiration and joy from a sim. I do keep testing out of curiosity, but have since had 3 handwired clones of my favorite amps built to use on stage and in studio. Yes, it is a daunting task to set and mic them for recording - but it is a labor of love. Cheers
As a bassist I would NEVER get rid of my Mesa Boogie rig. I will record with and lug around that heavy ass gear to my grave. Hybrid is the way to go but sims and plugins do not match the real thing despite what the marketing teams and paid shills tell you.
Might be a big difference between guitar and bass, though. It took quite a bit of adjusting to tame the low end for me as a guitar player. For guitar, it's definitely matches the real thing and I will never carry another head again.
Have you tried parallax sim through some powered speakers tho..sounds sic.
Punctuation and complete sentences? You're no bassist.
@@isomatic Also, notice the distinct lack of drool and urine free pants.
@@NelsonBlakeII That was my biggest hurdle with the my axefx 2, low end was just weird and woofy all the time but eventually figured it all out.
5:07
I would. Hands down, but on one condition. It has to be the POD XT/XT Live, or X3 used by Vildhjarta.
It’s really hard to beat a turned up JCM800 from the 80’s, into a 1960 cabinet. Just the movement of air alone gives you a chub….
I couldn’t agree more! Marshall just has that special tone in the upper mids most amp companies forget about.
dude I love your channel! I'm not sure if this would be considered a "hybrid" system, but one thing I always do is record a di in addition to real amps. I will then sometimes use an amp sim on that di track and then blend that into my mix. Side note, I definitely agree that having real tube amps in your studio is a giant benefit. Whether, you let a client use them, or you use them for re amping purposes. They WILL help your recordings stand out from everyone else and at least in my case, they only gain in value. I've been lucky with my tube amp purchases as I was able to buy mine from musicians who really needed money for the same price that a music store would buy them for. So, don't go out and just blow a bunch of money on vintage tube amps, keep your eyes open and when the time is right invest. Thanks for another great video dude!
That hybrid setup thing is what I love about my H&K GrandMeister Deluxe 40. It has the loadbox built right into it, I can completely operate it silent (or at varying wattages) and by disabling the built-in redbox I can easily go straight into the computer, use IRs and practice at every time of the day without annoying anybody while still having my own sounds. And thanks to some developer who wrote an app to remotely control the amp via MIDI I can dial in the sound either by hand on the physical knobs or through the software and even have backups of the settings should my amp needs to be replaced due to any defect. And while I still also own many VST amp sims and many do sound quite decent, it still always feels better when I turn on the amp. I found this to be especially true when trying to practice tricky parts. So there's also that dynamic/feel/latency thing there... it definitely makes a small difference. But when you practice stuff that's really fast even small differences add up and can lead to frustration when practicing.
It's too bad those H&K amps have some weird fizzy sound that is absolutely impossible to dial out because it's part of the amps character, I guess.
@@unleashthefury111 I got the Tubemeister + helix with the 4 cable method. I usually add nothing but tubescreamer or percision drive before the amp (And some delay/reverb stuff post amp) and I get some seriously amazing tones. Check your cab maybe... Or could be faulty parts...
I should clarify that I meant its on the ultra channel. But I've had two HK amps both did the same thing. Every review I read said same thing. The Hugh gain sound has a grainy fizzy texture that cannot be undone
@@unleashthefury111 I can't complain at all, I haven't yet noticed a "grainy fizzy texture" at all and I use the Ultra Channel a lot for lead sounds. Best thing I've bought in years... well apart from my RME interface, because holy cow RME really knows their shit and the software that accompanies it is mighty awesome. Maybe you have some electrical interference that affects it? I have issues with my PC generating electromagnetic interference (switching noise) from the VRMs on the mainboard with varying frequency depending on CPU load. If I position my guitar badly they absolutely pick that up and on high gain you then definitely get a "fizzy sound"... but I get that with amp sims too.
At 9:28 - that mic is actually perfectly set up to capture the sweet sound of a Marshall preamp stage. And a bit of the power transformer.
Just poppin' by to say I'm loving the aspect ratio you've been using since your "13 reasons why amps sims destroy real amps video" (different aperture, less high exposition, color grading... different camera altogether?). Looks mighty fine and much more cinematic!
Hi Glenn !
You should make a video comparing plugins & analog units, explaining which are best & why
Thanks ! Love your videos
You feel a real amp in your guts.
Headphones will never replace that.
Hi Glenn, awesome video as always. I notice that you (almost) always have two channels of audio recording displaying on the monitor in the background. I'd love a video on how you record your vlog audio! Maybe you've already got it but I'm a pretty new subscriber and I'm also a lazy sack and can't be arsed to look through hundreds of your videos to see if you've already got one. If that's the case can you point me in the right direction, please? Cheers from the UK.
P.s. regarding the value of real amps. I bought a second hand JCM800 Bass head and 4x12 bass cab for £100 about 20 years ago. It still sounds great, especially with a bass overdrive or fuzz pedal. It's also worth a hell of a lot more than what I bought it for now.
I’d actually like to see a blind sound test. Can you hear the difference in a mix between a real amp and an amp sim tuned to sound the same? Like the tone wood test but for these.
Glenn literally did that a couple of years ago. A blind test, with amp sims and a real amp. Most people didn't guess the real amp.
@@AndiKravljaca yeah I remember that. I’d like to see if Glenn himself can tell with modern sims.
Andertons did some of those... It was pretty funny, b/c they both said that they were sure they would be able to tell and there was no way that the sim (Kemper and Helix I think is what they used) would sound the same, and they picked the modeller as the amp the majority of the tests.
The B&W clips with goofy voices really makes an impact :) Definitely keep them rolling.
If the cab makes more difference than the amp, would it be better to reamp an amp sim through a real cab rather than having a real amp go through an IR, especially if you're wanting to get more unique tones?
Actually a comparison video of this would be really cool!
Its the power and watts that gives the oomf in a real amp. Unless u have a crazy powerful PA i dont see how it could measure up against a 100watt for example. The set up involved just to play with a drummer is so excessive for amp sims, thats mainly whats holding them back
@@taLLdavidproduction I'm only talking about recording, not live
@@taLLdavidproduction I'm playing through a sim and regular cab via a Power Amp. My buddy is using the Seymour Duncan, I'm using the Harley Benton. It's 100 watts. In the room, no one can tell it's not going through the head.
Yes, but most use sims becSuse they cant use amps...so that is out
Awesome video Glen! That drum and guitar tone was 👌🏻👌🏻I love the blooper clips at the end, nice touch!
In reality, sound quality is subjective. Each person “hears” a particular “sound” differently…what you hear is not exactly what I hear. Therefore, the question should not be “do I use a physical amp” or, “do I use an amp sim” but what tools will allow me to produce the sounds I want to produce. Then it’s up to your listeners to determine if the sounds you produced please them as well or not. In the end, the listener does not care how you achieve your tones…they only like them or they don’t. This applies to not only guitar tones, but everything associated with recording music.
Nope, there are objective differences in how sound is recreated digitally than real gear. It will absolutely be heard by anyone. A baby could tell the difference.
@@gibsonflyingv2820 Find a Fractal Axe Fx III to audition and record both a live amp and Fractal performance in a mix. Very few, if any, people will be able to tell the difference if a well prepared Fractal preset is utilized.
@@gibsonflyingv2820 next question: will they care?
@@paisleepunk Yes? People with ears will care if something sounds good. Think of how horribly Metallicas album sound was critiqued for death magnetic. How do you think you perceive music? Through sound. Timbre is the most fundamental way we perceive music. Other Wise everything sounds the same. So yes, people care if sound is good obviously, that's why music is listened to. It's the dumbest argument I see online. It's like asking "will anyone really care if you open a restaurant that serves Italian instead of greek?" Uh...that's not relevant or the point, its a hypothetical with no real answer.
@@gibsonflyingv2820 The blind tests say you're wrong
Hey Glen!!!
Great episode. I was hoping you would mention the hybrid setup. I love the tone of my H&K tube amp, but I've always struggled with getting a real cab to sound good. My amp running through the Wall of sound is my general go to. Keep up the good work. 🤘🤘
I once did a gig using my iPhone with the Ampkit sim and a Bluetooth pedal board from IK multimedia. Lol. This was years ago and it was funny seeing the look on my friends faces because it did sound great. They were expecting a toylike cheap sound. To be fair, the PA and monitors used were top notch. I can’t comment on what works best for recording and the studio. I was always a live player in assorted cover bands. But the big thing in your live sound is going to be in your playing ability. Not so much in whether you use sims or real amps.
I would never use an amp sim live simply because of latency which exacerbates in hot, unventilated clubs where the owners are too cheap to pay for HVAC.
Ouch, Glenn, the angry yelling! 😂
Nothing like a real amp…great video🤘
GLLLEEEEENNNNNN. I just gotta say, I adore how much personality and character you put into every comment voice.
Some people say it's annoying sometimes but I think it's great.
Your effort is not unnoticed!
“Even the cheap ones sound great.” YES! My Orange OR15 through an Orange 4x12 is awesome. Plus it only has 5 knobs and one channel. So simple even a bass player can figure it out. Lol
OR15 owner here... massively underrated amp
When I watched a review, the or15 had a special cutting rasp to it that the others just didn't. Its on my dream board now
Praise be to the Crate GFX-212 and 1200H half-stack. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
Hey man, its the Crate GFX 212 and the 1200H the same thing? i mean one is a combo of head plus cab, and the other is just the head, right?
Ok i checked and yes, its the same thing. Same with the GT212 and GT1200H....
dude, anamorphic lenses on a youtube video is exactly the kind of extra effort i'd expect from you
More lense flares gdi!
I’m using a hybrid setup - real pedals and preamps, with a DI/cab simulator. I’m destroying myself.
That's the way to go! I did that with a Mark 2C+ for a long time. Took a while to get a good IR that gave me the same satisfaction as standing in front of a 4x12 recto cab, but now there's so many killer options. Run the amp into a torpedo, suhr reactive load, whatever, and into the console, then you can bypass the preamp section of an amp sim and mess with the mic positions and stuff... so many options!
I also love my Boss Katana that I run direct into my DAW. It sounds way better than any Amp sim software for demos/songwriting.
Here’s my biggest issue with amp sims, literally every single one of them have one major downfall: guitar feedback. I prefer using real amps because I can create feedback. I’ve used many amp sims and, when I do use one, I use Universal Audio Marshall amp sims. They sound amazing, but, yup, no feedback. When you’re doing metal or, in my case, punk, feedback is FUN and I can’t have that kind of fun in an amp sim.
You're 100% right about more affordable than ever but two big problems us home recording guys have is while overall things are cheaper than they used to be, our income has greatly devalued over time in the great scheme of things so stuff that is relatively cheap is still unattainable for most people economically. And the second big thing, the space to do it, like myself, I have a mesa triple rectifier with an oversized slanted rectifier cab with V30's but there's no way I can use it to record where I currently live because of it's too loud. So until we can get a new house somewhere else, amp sims it is. But I agree an actual amp is ideal.
For playing live, I disagree with the advantages listed here. I played through a 5150 for years and I can't feel any difference playing through a Pod Go. If we sat down and isolated my signal and I was trying to match the 5150 exactly, you could hear a difference, but just trying to sound as good as possible, in a band, NO ONE can hear a drop off in quality. The opposite. Because digital is easier to control than tubes, the Pod Go is more consistent. And instead of playing the 5150's clean channel, I can switch to a clean amp I prefer, so the Pod Go comes out on top in OVERALL sound.
13:18 and that Revv Generator 120 Mkiii behind Glenn has the Captor built in. Just ordered one and cannot wait.
you missed one.... it's a lot easier to play a gig with a real amp than an amp sim program...
Not even close
@@garycook4030 You are replying to a comment from 3 years ago.... go you!
One of the biggest problems with micing a cab of any kind is the room it's in. Speaker age and condition makes a difference too. If the room isn't that good, what do you expect from the tracks? A properly placed room mic in a properly treated room can make for a unique sound. Unfortunately, very few are interested in unique.
The standard for micing guitar cabs goes back farther than a couple of decades. It's amazing to me how many clients want to sound like everyone else. I mentioned before, when I asked one famous producer what his favorite guitar cab mics were on air and he responded "I like mics that end in 7." SM 57 close and U 87 for a room mic has been a standard since at least the 70's.
I had to send out for a pair of 57's on a lunch break back in the 80's due to the famous guitarist that I was recording at the time thought what I was using "didn't sound right." I was using a Sennheiser 441 in close. I had used that mic for years with no complaints. The owner HATED Shure mics so we didn't have any in the locker. I put an SM 57 on the amp and when the client listened to the track "That sounds great!" I was using a pretty standard U 87 in the room, thought on some sessions I swap the room mic for a C 414.
Since you've already observed that speakers make the biggest difference in timbre, why not collect speaker IR's for variance? Problem is with a lot of IR's is that there is no room mic used. There may be an assortment of close mics used but very few have a selection of room mics available or a way to blend them with the close mic. Kazrog used to have a multiple IR cabinet loader and Ignite Amps has the NadIR that is capable of 2 IR's. I've seen one quad IR loader but can't remember where...
I say to each his own. I lugged a huge Mesa rig around for years and a friend kept urging me to save my back and go with a Kemper. I did 4 years ago and it has worked out awesome! I do not try and convince others to do that too but it works great for me. If it sounds good who cares🤘🤘🤘
00:14 Glenn, you've really outdone yourself. This was your best scream ever. I can't tell you how hard I laughed at this.
cannot stop playing it back its so hilarious
Glenn is the the only electric guitar enthusiast I haven't unsubbed. They can fully express themselves without making an absolute ass of themselves
He still hasn't gone more than 3 sentences without screaming.
Please, oh please say that what's coming out next year are impulses using the Lewitt DTP 640! Great video!
Nothing beats the feel and inspiration of a real amp.
Nothing also beats the weight and damage inflicted to your spine. 😁
@@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623 weight lifting time! don't skip leg day
@@CodyWardenPerry LOL 😂
Get a good dolly and don't go bigger than a half stack. Idk how people stack those 4X12 cabinets on top of each other, so big and ackward.
Yup, just trying out the new Neural Petrucci and it's fantastic, but I just enjoy met Mesa Roadster into an Oversized 4x12 Recto cab next to it.
Great Vid Glen ; ) I have a Peavey Windsor for lead and the Sheffield Bandit 112 for Rythm. Best money ever spent .
REAL AMPS WILL NEVER BE BETTER THAN AMP SIMS
😂
Most likely the title of his next video.
AXE FX III. There's probably enough features and tweakability packed into it to NOT sound the same as everyone else. And if any modeling system does a good job at exciting the player and sounding damn good, it's the Axe FX, (Neural DSP Quad Cortex too). It also allows you to blend up to 4 cab IRs, across stereo field if you choose. At 20+ years of playing guitar, it's the next closest thing to a real amp in my opinion. Prior to the Axe III, I had a Mark 2C+. But the hybrid system you described really didn't do it justice. The cab IRs at the time were indeed limiting, and finding a program to load and tweak the IRs was difficult at the time, but it was my preferred way to play. This way only the amp breaks my back, not the cab too. Now I'm running a synergy rig through a powerstage into a 1x12 mesa recto cab, and it's the coolest fucking thing ever. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
There's one quick way for choice paralisis with plugins: STOP USING PIRATED PLUGINS! Problem solved ;)
I love your videos Glenn! Can I add that what amp you use, what guitar you use and what microphones you use are NOTHING compared to how you PLAY. The clip you play at 10:44 sounds amazing but the guys aren't TIGHT so the precise sound that is achieved becomes irrelevant. Everybody, please: work on TIMING and stop worrying about gear (and once your timing is amazing, work on the songs and then, maybe, start worrying about the gear).
big amen to all of this video // HiFi tube audiophile peeps must laugh hysterically at guitarist's who think their dreams have come true via their Helix pedal
Love the widescreen aspect ratio. Looking forward to seeing you in theaters soon.
GLENNNN!!! As a bedroom/kitchen table musician I have no option, its amp sims only for me at the moment. I hope to graduate to getting a few amp heads and using a load box and IRs. However knowing now the importance of the cab, speaker room sound etc. If I cant mic a loud cab is it worth it to even considering the hybrid set up? If the amp is a not the most important element? Thanks for what you do and best wishes from Ireland.
3:17 That's why mad respect for Lars' St. Anger tone
I remember the music store (Music Stop) trying to sell me the Line 6 Pod. Everyone was praising it. I tried it out and no matter what setting I put it on, it just sounded like crap.
Two traps which I fell into when I had the kemper. 1) swapping between thousand simulations for amps and cabinets but not really playing. 2) when recording, I noticed falling into same patterns; this is what others use and so it must be good. Ended up playing way too little and sounding just like everyone else. But it is still an awesome machine. It has good impulses and I do not regret owning one. If you record in an apartment, it is awesome. Some time ago I bought a house so bye bye kemper, hello tube amps. Are they expensive? Yes. Was it worth it (money and tone -wise)? I don't know. Do I have regrets? None.
Hey Glenn got to be honest, I haven't touch my bass or guitar much in the past few months, I plugged in my guitar into my Marshall amp lately an noticed my knobs and my amp input is crackling.
I was just wondering if you ever did any episode that talks about things you can do keep your equipment safe, when your not using them, issues like humidity, dryness, cold and hot temperatures, sunlit or dark rooms, position of guitars and basses on walls or cases as to not have neck warps or in microphones excess moisture etc etc?
On signature sounds: I was listening to Melvins laat night. An unfamiliar song came on and I thought to myself the clean guitar sounded just like Tomahawk. I thought my player switched artists on me. A peek at the credits showed it was done by Ipecac Recordings. Same as the Tomahawk stuff I’ve heard.
When I saw how you have to pick which tubes go into your amp and how hard to drive them and the 7 different stages of low-mid-hi-presence equalizing, I knew then and there it was not for me. Like Glenn says, choice paralysis, but even just with the settings within one amp sim plugin.
I also think they just sound weak and thin. If you can't be loud when you record, go ahead and drive a real amp into something like the Suhr Reactive Load IR.
I couldn't make up my mind about my sound, I started chasing that Zakk Wylde sound and it evolved from that. I run 3 amps simultaneously, A Carvin X50B with 4x12 cab and a Marshall jcm800 4010 combe with a Eminence DV-77 speaker and a Peavey stereo chorus 212. Yeah it's fucking loud at unity volume, but so amazing! The frequency spread is unbelievable, however trying to figure out how to record it is a challenge lol. I only run a variety of overdrives, MXR Zakk Wylde overdrive, Ibanez Nu-tube screamer and a 40th Anniversary SD1. And wah , MXR stereo chorus. And the Earthquaker Swissthings pedal to split up the amps.
Great video Glenn, cheers!
“Try simulating having a fucking imagination”-Glenn Fricker
THAT statement rings true for almost ALL genres of music today!
Hey, u have a question, Is there anyway to make a cheaper amp, say like a Marshall MG15CFR sound good?
I have an Ibanez TB15, which is pretty much the practice amp version of the TB100H you mentioned. I modified it so I can get a feed straight out of the preamp section of it and I can connect that to an external power amp that can deliver more juice. It sounds pretty interesting, it has a very unique sound to it and when cranked up on the power, it really sounds great! Hell, even when connecting the pre to my interface and using the Ignite TPA-1 as a power, you can get it to sound wicked! Sometimes the most interesting sounds lay on the gear you expect the least, and people should explore these hidden gems a lot more than they actually do.
Love the bloopers at the end! It always reminds us that however succesfull you are, we still all make mistakes!
I do a lot of electronic and orchestral music. There is nothing like re-amping a synth (even a VST) through a real amp and recording it with a mic instead of using the pure line-out signal. It is fun to experiment. Especially running synths through guitar or bass amps.
Glenn I always watch your videos not only because your honesty is funny but also because your takes are well informed generally BUT (yeah, I'm commenting to object on something) when you talk about "unit variation" I think it's kinda pointless to regard, first because outside of the hype surrounding vintage equipment, the consistency has just got stronger every year and also because what makes "unit variation" sound different can be represented as slight changes in the frequency response curve of a device, which I assume could be mimicked to a great extent through the use of equalisers, right?
Around 10 years ago, I had an awesome freestanding building where I built a studio- and I had an entire room filled with over 20 vintage and modern tube and solid state amps- everything from Vox, fender, marshall, roland, mesa boogie, soldano, etc from the mid 1950s, lots of 1970s until then present day. I had a client come to check out my place to see if they wanted to record. They kept asking about "amp farm"- and I said no I don't have that but I literally have a real room full of everything you could want. They said the sounds they wanted were in amp farm. I said the sound amp farm wants is in my back room!!! They didn't end up recording at my studio. I was happy with the decision! I could tell it was not gonna be a good fit!
Nice video, especially alongside to the last one! I am very interested in your opinion about neural dsp products. They've got amazing advertising campaign for sure, and I personally like how they sound, but really wanna know what you think as more experienced and with ability to compare their products to real thing.
I'll be here watching to support Julie and Glen, I hope you both doing well 🤘🤘❤❤💜💕💓
@2:30 you forgot to add "room" to that list and yes, I'm all about hybrid at this point. I still love the feel of using a real amp.
what about the Yamaha THR5? not for the studio, but thats a small practice amp that has alot of modeling options. ive not used one, but ive seen alot of sick guitarists using them at home, and im curious. just wondering your take on that specific amp, but i am planning to pull the trigger on a 50 watt EVH 6l6 head to pair with my '92 5150 cab lol slowly getting to my best amp ever. cheers dude
I've always said this and i always will!
Something magical happens when air is allowed to be moved and the actual real soundwaves are picked up by a Mic.
Something that truly can't be emulated no matter how hard you try.
You know how long that list can go with what and how it feels to actually have something ''live'' going on.
You can say it as much as you like but it's still going to be complete and utter tripe
Being opinionated with solid arguments for 'this' and against 'that' is fairly uncommon and, because of it, also priceless... Excellent video!
5:11 I asked John Browne what his desert island amp would be (him owning a lot of the most high amps out there), and he said the Line6 Pod. And no, it wasn't a joke.
great vid Glenn!! Love your channel!!! Amp sims have their place and do a great job.. however, me being an old school metal head prefer my marshall 100w tube heads and cabs miked to get my tone.. I dont need an amp sim of the REAL thing i already have..
Hi Glen, what s your opinion about BiasFX2 as a amp sim?....is the one i personally use in my home studio...and to my ears sounds woooooow. Thx in advance, you are the best👍
GLEEEEENNNNNN! I just wanted to say that I’ve been watching your channel for years and I think I just got my first clear good sounding mix out of my new project and I owe it all to you and your amazing channel. thank you for everything you do. The feeling of getting in my car and hearing my mix at full volume with no distortion and no rattling of car parts is as close to heaven as I ever care to get. Fuck you very, very much!
Such a great video !! Real amp and two notes is a great combo but I still want a wall of speakers to stare at. Maybe put the two notes behind the wall shhhh
I think some of these software companies like Amplitube have come very far in the way of amp simulations, however they still lack the character & power of a real amp. I am totally in love with the idea of having a physical representation of my guitar tone and honestly having something that doesn't have to boot up and won't ever freeze up due to a software update or license gripe. I love the idea that if I plug into this thing that it has its own unique voice (not 1000 voices I'll never use), something thats simple and fast to dial in a sound.
The amplifiers I use are the 100 watt Marshall 2555x Silver Jubilee and the 100 watt Marshall 2466 Vintage Modern, both of these amps are fast and easy to get a great tone on, you simply fuck with only a few settings: Presence, Bass, Middle, Treble, Gain and volume on both of these and you're ready to go, much easier to setup and much harder to fuck up when you're at a gig!. As much I like amplitube, its not replacing my real amps anytime soon, it likes to frequently crash.
The bloopers at the end remind me of reason 8 out of 13 as to why I haven't jumped into the UA-cam game.
7:00 hey they're decent PRACTICE AMPS, but nothing more. Portable if you're goin to your cabin and wanna practice, or hitting the road in an RV or something like that.
The video quality here is unnecessarily good, nicely done. As for the actual question itself from a player's point of view, I'm going the helix route for now - it's lightweight and easy to use. Would definitely prefer the real thing, but the weight and cost aren't worth it for the level of player I am
I mic amps. I only use sims when demoing ideas at 3am. lol several of your entries here seem redundant: they sound better, unit variation, don't sound like everyone else, etc.. All just boil down to the same point - amps are the awesome thing sims aspire to mimic.
But option paralysis is in direct contradiction of your points regarding infinite variations between cabs, mics, mic placement, etc... Both sims and real amps offer an astounding variety. And it's easy to get caught up in seemingly infinite options.
Lastly, kudos for having the nerve to mention hybrid recording techniques like real amps with loads and cab IRs. You'll piss off sim heads AND amp purists with that bit, but it's excellent practical advice and a great technique for getting killer tones in a hurry.
Another great video! Always as pleasure. 👍
Regarding variability options, as you point out there are new sims every day. Not just “sims”, but features that allow for combining multiple IRs (Overloud’s Supercabinet), tweaking tube response, power sag, etc. With all of these opportunities for customizing a digital signal chain, I think there’s a case to be had for crafting a unique tone. Yes, there will be a finite number of possibilities available to each user, but that set of possibilities is a very large range, provided we take advantage of the tweakable parameters.
If we all just downloaded the very same sim and all chose only from the default presets and did not change a single parameter, yes then we’d all sound the same. But I don’t think that’s how it’s happening, at least not on the forums I visit where modeling nerds are hanging out.