Would You Ever Use An Amp Simulator? Real Amp Recommendations?

[OliLix]

Okay so I used to be a traditionalist, swore by real amps with real tubes. Then I realised that the only time I was properly using them was when I was cranking them (like 4 times a year). I don't play massive gigs and my JCM800 sits in the corner of my room most of the time silenced because of it.

I recently got into amp sims just for recording ease and practicality. I'd be keen to hear your thoughts on the situation and what you think of the tone. Check out this note for note cover I did of Castles Made of Sand by Hendrix with Amplitube 4 to get an idea of the sound.

Should I be ashamed of myself for using a filthy sim? Is there a versatile amp out there which can save me?

 

[Jr Deluxe]

Steven Hawkings says the universe is a simulation. Jimi Hendrix might agree.

 

[V-man]

I would gladly sit in a VR cabinet and “drive” a Ferrari 250 GT through my choosing of tracks. It would be a hell of a lot of fun. It would not be the experience of driving the actual Ferrari.

Perhaps owning that cab with authentic reproduction wheel, leather seat, pedals and shift, might set you back $30,000.00 with vibration and a top tier sound system. The actual Ferrari sold recently for more than $10,000,000.00.

At that price disparity, the the VR sim cab may be mighty tempting for many who can abuse this virtual vehicle around the corners. Now compare that $30k cab in GTS flavor to the price of a used Viper @ $60-$75k, or even a Used ZR1/Z06 at $40-55K. The sim cab may make a lot less sense all of a sudden.

That’s experience... what about practical performance? Maybe the Vette/Viper/GT is too difficult to manage opening up on a track compared to the sim cab? Well, what if you could get a $5k VR fit to work in the cab of the actual car with stereo vibe, and sway on the shocks?

For maybe $70k, you can have the car itself and the performance managing gizmo, or for $30k you can have the deluxe sim cab. Considering you can simulate more cars than the one with the gizmo, the decision is an individual one.

So drawing analogy to reality, Sim cab = Axe FX, Lotus Elise sportscar = Marshall (keeping things British), and car retrofit = attenuation/sim cab device.Thus, you can pick one extreme or blend them depending on budget.

We don’t record on tape anymore and Marshall is responding to this market (code)... these are inevitabilities. However, Axe FX etc. don’t strike me as if they sit in the same era as 2010s laptops... where they are cheap and next year’s model is not much better. They are more like 90s computers where they are pricey for what’s offered, and the next model is vastly improved. Until it stablizes like digital recording has, I’m not interested.

 

[ibmorjamn]

Okay so I used to be a traditionalist, swore by real amps with real tubes. Then I realised that the only time I was properly using them was when I was cranking them (like 4 times a year). I don't play massive gigs and my JCM800 sits in the corner of my room most of the time silenced because of it.

I recently got into amp sims just for recording ease and practicality. I'd be keen to hear your thoughts on the situation and what you think of the tone. Check out this note for note cover I did of Castles Made of Sand by Hendrix with Amplitube 4 to get an idea of the sound.

Should I be ashamed of myself for using a filthy sim? Is there a versatile amp out there which can save me?

Great playing , you obviously are very dedicated. I think it just depends on the audience . Some of the tube snobs here will not like the SIM . Your playing is really the key. The big amps will wreck your hearing in a small room. Kemper might be a real solution . Best of luck .

 

[Marshallhead]

I'll happily use whatever sounds good, but there's one thing that doesn't seem to work so well with sims and that's the ability to get a good clean sound when the guitar is turned down.

Only a tube amp has ever been completely satisfying, and not all tube amps either - the 4 input standard Marshall excels, others not so much.

 

[paul-e-mann]

Okay so I used to be a traditionalist, swore by real amps with real tubes. Then I realised that the only time I was properly using them was when I was cranking them (like 4 times a year). I don't play massive gigs and my JCM800 sits in the corner of my room most of the time silenced because of it.

I recently got into amp sims just for recording ease and practicality. I'd be keen to hear your thoughts on the situation and what you think of the tone. Check out this note for note cover I did of Castles Made of Sand by Hendrix with Amplitube 4 to get an idea of the sound.

Should I be ashamed of myself for using a filthy sim? Is there a versatile amp out there which can save me?

My main rig is a 50 watt 2204 that seldom gets turned up above 1 on the volume, the sounds I get are very satisfying and I use different pedals for varying amounts of gain. What is your 800, 50 or 100 watt? How so are you using it that you cant get good tones out of it at home? Your tubes could be beat, your bias could be off, the speakers might not be right, could be anything. Are you capable of servicing your own amp to try a few things?

Sims are a practical and convenient tool to use, don't feel ashamed at all, they have their place as does a tube amp. I think you should be able to get usable and satisfying low volume tones out of your 800, its just a matter of figuring out how, out of all my amps my 2204 is the one I'm drawn to the most for home and gig.

 

[Georgiatec]

By the time it's digitally recorded and played on an IPad via Bluetooth to a Bose sound bar in my kitchen does it really matter....most would say no, but the sim lacks a certain reaction that fingers to guitar to quality valve amp has....the dynamics are missing.
Your playing is great BTW.

 

[MantraSky]

I’ve heard some great sounding sims that are very affordable, easy to use and I wouldn’t feel bad using in respect to a “real amp” for recording. There’s also “UAD” that have proprietary interface requirements that are Awesome sounding but expensive, all depending on budget, I also like IR to DAW. Many options out there, depending on what you need, same goes for live playing.

 

[Dmann]

I think in this day and age, if you are not using modeling/profiling/simulation for practice or homerecording, you are missing out big time.

 

[Trelwheen]

The part I don't get about Sims is, how fo you get natural amp/guitar interaction?

I suppose if the gig called for clean or low gain performances only, where no harmonic feedback etc enters into the picture I'd do a gig with one if I found tones that sounded decent. All the while I'd still probably be wishing a real amp had my back, it'd be kinda weird to look behind me and not see it back there looking back at me.

As far as real amp recommendations, I've been recently blown away by the Mesa TC100. With unlimited potential for everything from beautiful cleans to beyond metal and channel-assignable attenuation from 100 down to 3 watts it's good to go for any kind of repertoire

 

[justinrhoads80]

I would just recommend a kemper

 

[justinrhoads80]

The part I don't get about Sims is, how fo you get natural amp/guitar interaction?

I suppose if the gig called for clean or low gain performances only, where no harmonic feedback etc enters into the picture I'd do a gig with one if I found tones that sounded decent. All the while I'd still probably be wishing a real amp had my back, it'd be kinda weird to look behind me and not see it back there looking back at me.

As far as real amp recommendations, I've been recently blown away by the Mesa TC100. With unlimited potential for everything from beautiful cleans to beyond metal and channel-assignable attenuation from 100 down to 3 watts it's good to go for any kind of repertoire

I think he is looking for something that he can get to sound good a bedroom volumes. I don't think a 50/100 watt head will help as much unless you get an attenuator

 

[ibmorjamn]

OliLix said "I recently got into amp sims just for recording ease and practicality"
I agree , I am using a line 6 POD 2 at the moment for the tiny foot print and I can live with it ok . I use it to create songs at the moment but I might like to use it for the Black Face Fender clean and then use my tube amp for the sizzle.

 

[el_bastardo]

I think in this day and age, if you are not using modeling/profiling/simulation for practice or homerecording, you are missing out big time.

Those are all great options if you can't use real amps properly or know how to record real amps properly.

 

[Trelwheen]

I think he is looking for something that he can get to sound good a bedroom volumes. I don't think a 50/100 watt head will help as much unless you get an attenuator

In my reply I clearly mentioned the built in channel-assignable attenuator in the TC100. 100, 50, 20, 7 and 3 watts. (Sounds fantastic with all the masters dimed at 3 watts, too)

 

[Trelwheen]

Those are all great options if you can't use real amps properly or know how to record real amps properly.

It's easy to record real amps. With the right mics, preamps and a little practice it's very rewarding. I'd feel hog-tied if I had to just use sims. And whether it makes me a neanderthal or not, it feels like a cop out and never sounds as good

 

[el_bastardo]

It's easy to record real amps. With the right mics, preamps and a little practice it's very rewarding. I'd feel hog-tied if I had to just use sims. And whether it makes me a neanderthal or not, it feels like a cop out and never sounds as good

I agree. I record real amps every day. I hate sims and samples. But not everyone can do it. So sims are for them.

 

[saxon68]

Use whatever makes you want to play. It’s that simple. The more we play the better we get.

 

[ibmorjamn]

I agree , convenience makes you keep playing.

 

[Derek S]

Nuthin' wrong with a good sim for daily practice, writing, heck, even the best ones today are probably safe in a full mix setting if it's not the featured tone, like for background clean broken chords or light rhythms, etc, then of course your real amps, cabs and mics for the main parts. I use a POD Helix for daily low volume messing around and writing.