Is there any modeler that stands out in your experience? Also anyone using a UA pedal in their rig I'd love to hear how you're using it if you've got a minute to comment.
Line 6 increased the price of the HX Stomp by £200 this year. There’s the occasional deal on it, but it’s now a £700 pedal. For me it gets weird when we’re comparing the UAD Dumble pedal (£359 on Thomann from launch) to an HX Stomp or an FM9 (£2000 and huge / heavy). It’s a different thing for a different audience and budget.
I have a rig that's based on the Friedman IR-X, a Line 6 HX FX, and the OX Stomp from UA. I'm using the Ox Stomp for cab sim and that's the only UA pedal that makes sense for my rig because I don't need to change any presets on it. The lack of MIDI implementation in their other pedals doesn't work for me.
I use a dream at the end of my chain. Mono. DI to FOH. Love it. But I don’t have much experience with mid to high end tube amps. Came from solid state amps. Katana and Vox.
Cordy, "modelling"; "modellers". Auld England isn't the 51st state of the USA...yet. "Pants" doesn't mean "trousers". Don't give up the ship. ❤❤ P.S. English isn't an American dialect, Harry notwithstanding.
To my ear the capture devices sound better than toddlers there's more of a natural gloss and Shimmer in the high meds which is also what I noticed in your joyo versus the 2 Rock even though it wasn't higher the tone from the two rock is just more shimmery if that's a thing I find modeling has a slight muscle to it and I've done many captures of my dual rectifier and amp known for its scooping us in the real lamp and the captures just sound brighter and glossier to the ear compared to my HX stomp or my ml Sound Lab dual
I could not agree more! I've been playing since around 1969, and there's been more improvement I the last few years than all the preceding. The better I sound, the more inspired I am to play. The gear I'm currently using sounds so good, it's really hard to quit playing...
At the end of the day, there's clean sound, edge-of-breakup sound, crunch sound, distorted sound, and very distorted. Modelers sell well because of the perception that you're getting a ton of iconic amps for $500 or whatever. If modelers offered tons of "new" sounds, no one would want them.
I'm still chuckling to myself over Mr. Cordy's statement that he drives an hour with 15k of gear to play to 7 people that aren't paying attention at all. Haha!
Been there, done that. But I was lucky enough tho watch real pros at work in my early days, and started to find ways to get more gigs in bigger venues with less gear, and have our own sound guy.
To me, your demos all sound very similar. What I hear is your style, your touch, your technique, your effects (lots of reverb, delay etc) then the amp tone. If you have set up the amps to sound similar, then I only hear tiny differences over RU-vid.
Watching JC’s rise on RU-vid and the amount of graft he puts in has been genuinely a joy to watch. I bought his HX Stomp presets during lockdown and have been an avid watcher since. Hearing him name-checked regularly by other great channels and just seeing someone work hard and be rewarded for it, as well as clearly being a nice dude. Just ace. Sometimes nice guys don’t finish last.
great point on the menu anxiety - if you are willing to spend time learning the interface of the modeller you get a huge variety of sounds for, relatively, very little money :-)
I’m 80% of the way quitting the modeling world to switching to the Laney Lionheart Foundry Super. A pretty full featured analog solid state amp is probably more than enough for me.
I use the laney lionheart loudpedal. IMO, it's one of the best mini solid state amps available today. You do end up putting drive pedals in front of it, time based in the fx loop -- it's just a very neutral baseline sound. Best part about it is it has direct XLR out which is great for recording as well as in ears.
Been playing for 50+ years. Always had a pedal board. Had issues with the pedal board at a recent gig with no time to trouble shoot, so I just went straight into the amp. What a joy. Simple. Reliable. My amp has 2 channels plus a lead boost for one channel controlled with a foot pedal. That helped. But I found I spent 90% of the night just playing on the lead channel with the boost, and used my guitar volume and tone and PU selectors to change overall sound. Since then, I've done 3 other gigs the same way. I think I am a convert.
I can dial in my amp so much quicker than a preset in my Helix Floor. I hate menu diving but I love being able to just bring my Helix to a gig to go direct and not hauling my amp and 2x12. I really want to give the Nano Cortex a try because it's so small.
Personally, I consider the cab sims as like 50%-ish of what you're paying for with the UAFX pedals. I'm a bedroom hobbyist; I could plug the UAFX pedals into the effects loop of my tube amp, but I pretty much only use them with monitors as I feel like this is the 'real' intended sound of the device. Plus, I also get to enjoy hearing the differences between different cabs which I can't do IRL.
Well said. I gig every week in a pop/rock cover band with an hx stomp into a seymour duncan power stage with a PRS 1x12 cab. I use one preset on the hx stomp, with 2 snapshots accessed by the lil robbie pilot. The hx stomp is in stomp mode so I can turn on boost/chorus/delay as I need it. I keep thinking that I should buy new stuff or make the rig more complex. At the end of the day, the audience can't tell the difference. I ride my volume knob all night for my different gain levels and I'm able to do what I need on one guitar. Do what you need to do to get the sound you like. Just remember, no one can tell besides you what it's doing or not.
I have 500+ of John’s intro jams ripped to mp3, I’ll be listening through them and never have any idea what gear he’s using, cheap, expensive, amp, modeller.. until I look at the title. It all just sounds good!
The audience doesn't care what kind of rig I use or what it sounds like; they're like you said, all seven of them paying no attention lol And who cares what the sound guy thinks of my rig. So the realization is that I need to play what makes me happiest, and that is a Dr Z maz18. So shall it be. Sometimes the DRRI though. Sometimes the studio plexi. When I'm feeling froggy, the vintage bf twin. Yay my choice every day! Fun playing = good music. Modelers, IEMs, silent stage, etc. aren’t fun.
I think that there are workflow issues with every top shelf modeler, if only because they have 400 amps, 800 stomp boxes, infinite mics/cabs, etc., and it takes a lot of effort to find the 10% that you actually like and will use. That's where sometimes less is more.
Yeah then trying to dial in an amp sound if your the slightest bit neurotic...Dial in amp that u think you like, scroll through 100's of IRs, mess with mics and mic placements, and post eq. Oh I need more brightness or upper mids, do i do that from the amp , move the mic, use a different cab, or just post eq it? Then if you change the ir or mic you might not like what it does to the character of the amp model... how much low and high cut is on the cab.. oh, need a bit of room reverb to liven the sound. Gotta tweak the verb eq.... yada yada.... It literally is a neverending !
The fact that you can play so many different pieces of gear makes your knowledge and opinion tremendously valuable. And yeah, it cracks me up that everything I play ends up sounding like me. Edit: I get tones that I'm really happy with from a small collection of non-expensive pedals and a very affordable used Blackstar amp, so I have no need to keep trying other things.
Yes, I've said UI (almost) first for a couple of years now when I realized they are basically all the same. There are units that seem to do better at some very niche things, but for the most part the UI is the only thing that matters...especially when you factor in pedals. You can make almost anything sound good these days.
Yes, workflow is king. Not tried all the various modellers or capture devices but am sure you're right that most can get very close. I bought a Helix LT just before the Stomp came out (and a Stomp just before the Stomp XL arrived). The Stomp is one of may favourite bits of guitar related gear in about 50 years of playing, happy to edit from the PC or on the unit, as you say once you've got your head around it it's just great. Use it at home or live with or without other pedals. Doesn't mean I'm not tempted by the latest alternatives of course.......grass always looks greener and all that.
I first tried the Simplifier. And I got it for the features. Headphone jack, AUX, FX loop, DI out. Everything I wanted. But the sound wasn’t there. At least for me. I got the dream. Sold it for a Ruby. Sold the Ruby to get the Dream again. Too good.
I’ve been on the modeler merry-go-round. I’ve had Helix, QC, Fractal, and Kemper and I think I’m going back to a tube head. I’m a guy who just plays with friends and home alone. In that context there’s no inherent benefit to a modeler over a tube amp, and at the end of the day in the room a tube will sound better. Modelers are amazing recording and professional touring tools, but the constant change and endless searching of cabs, presets, and parameters has just too much for me personally. There will always be guys who use modelers who sound and play better than me (not hard to find!), but just what works for me the best.
After trying a lot of different modellers, different amps and starting over with a pedalboard with lots of pedals (with a modeler, straight into an amp and 4CM) I have settled on a modeller for the low maintenance and for the benefit of having lots more than I can ever use. I ended up with the FM9 Turbo and I feel reasonably satisfied. I was actually aiming for an FM3 but I found a second-hand FM9 and settled with that.
And also. I think all modelers are great, they are just different from each other but good in their own way. I sincerely believe that the small differences are inconsequential in the long run. It is more in your own head.
It's true that all of these digital devices offer tremendous variety and tweakability, compact size, low weight, great convenience etc. It's also true, that none of them (so far) can compare to the obvious sonic superiority (and touch sensitivity ) of good analogue gear. In general, guitarists would be well advised to spend their time working on their MUSIC, rather than endlessly comparing one pale digital simulation, to another . . . . .
@8:30 - Go grab your broom Jon...you'll need to sweep up the name you dropped... I was playing through a UAFX Ruby I bought used for $250. The other EG was playing through a Kemper. On the playback, in a packed, 2000+ seat auditorium, we both sounded like a recording. Fantastic tones. We have an AC30 in back we can use, but neither of us do. We could also bring expensive boutique amps if we wanted to, but don't. If you are playing at home, maybe those boutique tube amp subtleties are important. Or if you have a home studio and need a thousand connection types, you need a quad cortex. But in a mix with a loud band, it's absolutely impossible to know what you're playing through as long as you know how to dial it in. I took the time (thanks to Jonathan's videos) to learn how to get the most out of a stomp. At the end of the day, I preferred the ease of use in the Ruby. I use a factory preset, my board of old Strymon pedals and a Browne Protein, the preloaded IRs, and that's it.
The Nano Correc is all I need live. When I’m in full production mode in my studio, the big daddy AxeFx-3 turbo does the heavy lifting. I can’t imagine walking onto a stage with more than a guitar and pedal board any more.
I took 2 captures from the nanocortex and could replicate them with my hx stomp to about 98%... so... You got a nice point there. The better you get with that stuff, the closer you get them and everything becomes the same. But then, features like footswitch capabilities, reliability, service become more important. That is why I choose fractal for my Live rig.
There's a lot of facets to this. I think the big company amp models (L6, Fractal, NDSP, ToneX, Kemper, BOSS) are all 90% similar in overall quality sonically. I have both big Helix and HX Stomp; the brilliant thing about the HX Stomp (XL included, but more-so the small Stomp) is how pedalboard friendly it is. It acts as a modular centerpiece and fill-in element for all the gaps, and all of it can be one-touch because of MIDI programmability. It can be everything from an all-in-one down to "special FX only" depending on how you want to use it. If you said to me "of the two, you can only have either HX Stomp or big Helix", I'd pick HX Stomp because it integrates better on my board. The thing is, certain companies just do certain effects better. Specialization is a thing. What if I want to integrate Strymon FX into my setup for example? Do I carry my already large Helix plus a secondary board for those FX? And if I do that, what good is all that extra DSP doing for me on my big Helix? Don't get me wrong, the big Helix is an amazing unit too. If I were called to be a sideman on a major tour and I need to be ready by tomorrow, big Helix is 100% the choice. Reliable all-in-one with one-touch switching via snapshots (or full preset spillover), on-the-fly parameter editing with the touch switches, and all the FX are at least usable, most are at least good, and some are great. But to tie it back to the specialization point, is Line6 the absolute best at any particular effect category? Eventide has them beat on pitch (also the DSP load is huge), Strymon and Source Audio are better on delay/verb IMO, EHX has better synths, there's definitely better loopers, there's an entire world of analog drive pedals out there, and capture tech has more variety of amps on offer. For standard repertoire, Helix is good *enough* for any of those. But I want that extra 10-20% on certain things; I buy other discrete pedals for those needs while HX Stomp covers everything else. And note this is coming from a L6 fanboi; they've been the only modeling hardware units I've used for a long time. I gigged an HX Stomp XL with just an extra MIDI controller, a volwah, and an extra delay/reverb (for DSP relief, not quality) for a couple of years. I currently own a Helix, Helix LT, HX Stomp XL, and an HX Stomp!
Great topic, thanks! Years ago, I felt pretty strongly about one product over another. Nowadays, I think most products are so well-built and feature-rich that it matters far less. I'd been pretty much exclusively a Kemper guy for 5 years, until my Profiler Stage was fried a couple months back in an electrical storm. I do plan to have it fixed (if possible), but in the meanwhile I decided to pull out a few pedals I'd had lying around, as well as buy a few new ones, including an UA OX Stomp, the Friedman IR-D, and a Revv Shawn Tubbs Tilt Overdrive. Anyway, the net result is that I've found myself coming up with a sound (really a few sounds) that's pretty much identical to what I'd had through my Kemper, though somewhat better, in that the amp and cab modeling from the OX Stomp really *feels* like I'm playing through an amp, which is a huge difference for me. So much so that, once I do get have my Kemper repaired, I plan to use my Kemper only for its excellent effects, and in conjunction with those great pedals. Also, although I don't mind menu-diving, I only want to do it to set the thing up; I don't want to be dicking around with menus when I'm in the process of creating. In short, I guess I'm willing to pay a bit more for some great-sounding kit if there's some serious bang for the buck. On the other hand, I'm not going to waste money on bells and whistles I'll never use. Cheers!
I think most of it is in your fingers. You sound great no matter what you play with. Also I've heard Robben Ford play though his Dumble ODS and then with a Fender Super Reverb and a Zen Drive and he sounded the same. There's another more recent video of Eric Johnson playing a couple of early 60's ES335's at Norm's Rare Guitars and he sounds the same even though he isn't running though any pedals.
@@johnnathancordy I need to check it out. I bet Eric still sounds like Eric. On a side note, I met Zakk in the mid 80's when a friend of mine was working on his amp. He was so nice. He showed me this really cool country lick which is probably in my arsenal now that I don't remember was the one he showed me.
I prefer my Revv G20 when recording at home. If I just sit down to jam and play along with songs I prefer my Suhr badger 18 with my helix 4cm through my 2x12 cab. I have stopped using the helix on its own. Not using any amp modals. I did try my helix through the line 6 powercab and was still not happy. Still have the powercab but don’t use it anymore.
To me the main thing is workflow. Ever since I switched from Helix Floor to UA Ruby + pedals, I've spent more time playing than tweaking. I have all I need and can adjust on the fly with physical knobs, and it suits me way better. I love my Helix and all the great presets I created (mainly thanks to you), but I've become better at guitar since I swapped to the UA Ruby + pedals. To answer your question, the times I thought you sounded best were on the Marshall glassy Helix preset and on the Milkman plugin (if I had to say something about an amp it would be your Pro Reverb which sounds fabulous to my ears). Cheers from France John, great content as always!
I love the size of the Nano, Tonex, etc. What I would love is a profiler that size with a full range of effects and an aux jack to pipe in backing tracks for practice.
Your channel and sonicdrive are my favorite channels dealing with anything in this realm. Helped me choose and dial in my cheap modeler. I really enjoy the yt channels that are friends with you guys too. Pod go does everything I want to do(best 0-300$ solution out there IMO)
The Helix workflow makes total sense to me. I create my presets on my PC either in Helix Native or using HX Edit with the Helix connected via USB. Never use the actual hardware unit to create presets/snapshots. I sound like me regardless of what I play through: tube amp, modeling amp, Helix, or Tonex. The audience doesn't care about my tone and when gigging, I'm more interested in the performance than my tone.
One of the biggest problems with modelers is that they do too much. You wind up tweaking way more than playing because you can. In that sense a modest pedalboard is a better option but then you have to deal with the problems of a pedalboard. I'm thinking that the new Fractal product might be an Effects only unit designed to run with a regular amp much like the HX Effects only more powerful. I see no reason why you couldn't have a super powerful effects processor in a small package. The Quad Cortex is like that but the effects in the Fractal units are light years ahead of the QC.
This is spot on. I like the tones I can get from my HX Stomp, but the truth is for what I'm playing and writing I only need maybe two or three tones. As such, I've really focused on making those few patches sound like exactly what I want and then I stop searching for the next best tone and focus on making the tones do what I want them to do.
@@darekpeszt3640 I saw a fair amount of people using them on RU-vid but I never played though one. My first modeler was the Helix (which I still own.) I bought that because I could get it from Sweetwater and pay it off. I still really like it even though I don't use it much since I got my QC and Axe-Fx III. If I was playing out I'd probably use it more. The Axe-Fx III is too much crap to take to a gig for me. It's the best in the studio or at home. QC is great but I worry about stomping on those footswitches with the rotary controls.
There were a couple videos you did for G66 sounded phenomenal, best tone I ever heard anywhere tbh. I commented there back then too and saved those vids
Interestingly enough, I am a 20+ year Helix user and I have just made the switch to Fractal. I played an FM9 and found the modeling to be much warmer and dynamic. I’ve owned many Line 6 devices and I think that they have not been keeping up with the technology and their models are lacking. I still own my Helix and have done an A/B between it and the FM9, the same relative settings sounded better to me in the FM9. It’s all subjective and we all hear things very differently, play very differently and have different guitars; so in the end use what makes you happy and make music that speaks to you.
I agree that the differences between modelers will hardly be noticeable to the mainstream audience in a live setting. However, the differences to you (the player) may be noticeable and will ultimately affect the way you play. So, I believe it's not a big deal to sometimes fuss over the differences and keep searching for the modeler that fits your playing style and has the best feel for you personally.
I had to send my Helix in for repair recently so I was using a stomp along with a few other pedals on a tradition board.... Honestly found that to be a much more enjoyable experience. The stomp was basically just my amp(s) and then I had my pedals doing all the other work.
1st: The sound clip of the Two Rock was way better than the Joyo clip. 2nd: I use my HX Stomp 2 ways: (A) It's at the end of my signal chain and its my amp and cab, and runs reverb, vibrato, tremolo, etc. Or (B) i use it to cover heavier genres and it's in snapshot mode. This scenario is only use my analog pedals to boost drive or for delay, but the Stomp is changing gain settings, eq, cabs, etc.
Besides yours, I've been watching the Sonic Drive Studio YT Channel for years. He dials real Amps, Modelers, Plugins, and Software very well, and it has repeatedly proved to me that all these different devices and methods can sound great and similar, to the point that using any of them can produce first class sounding results. Just choose the type of interface you like to use, what's affordable, how you like to work, environment, and use scenarios.
@@johnnathancordy He also has "numerous" really outstanding Amps to demo and compare Modelers, etc. to. If I remember correctly, he has a video that he compared about 50 real Amps! The video is called "HUGE Amplifier Comparison With 53 Amps! (And A Les Paul Custom...) ISOLATED Guitars".
For the stuff you do here, I always like the way your legato playing sounds when you play a Les Paul. But in the pro world your tone only matters in context of a mix, and the best tone will be different depending on the context. The most important thing is to know how to quickly get a tone that works in context with whatever gear you have.
I was getting some very tasty Pat Metheny vibes with the chord voicings during the intro JNC! Sounded amazing 🎸 For me, I really appreciate simplicity and a tactile interface over option paralysis and scrolling menus. Give me a slightly dirty amp tone which will clean up with the volume knob or get boosted with a pedal and that’s all I really want or need. I play at home and I use a Katana 50 which I got for the versatility and it’s great but I use one amp sound 😂 I’m not interested in presets or scene changes. I’ve got delay, reverb and a boost on a foot switch if I don’t have time to get my pedalboard out but otherwise that’s all I need. I’ve thought about getting a Roland Blues Cube to pare it down even more as I’m barely using the Katana to its full potential. An HX Stomp/Helix/Kemper/Axe FX/etc is obviously a far better sound to price ratio but would be complete overkill for me but the Enigmatic (or any of the UA amp pedals) would definitely fit into my setup.
Studio imo is where UAFX stuff shines. You don't need to bother with all the mic setup (or buying mics at all), and allows you to play without menu diving. The app is just a nice to have but generally using a base tone and adding pedals in front is the best way I've found using UA pedals. Contrast that with having a fender amp, setting up mics, or buying a load box, and it's a pretty reasonable proposition.
@cyrildavid just feels to me once I tested the dream 65 vs. the iridium that the ua stuff has less headroom which is a problem for punchy big charakterful open glassy clean tones. And that's what I hear in all the demos with the Enigmatic somehow as well
I’m really hoping the future of the nano cortex will be the ability to do two captures even if that means you can’t use any additional blocks. Left and right out, independent captures!
I think it is more about functionality in the end For myself I group guitarist into 3 groups: player , gearheads, hybrid If to talk about amp sims then it is easy to categorize: Players: UAFX, strymon iridium, shift line twin mk3s, just plug and play, walrus acs, boss ir 200 whatelse? Ygtp Gearheads: mostly fractal, kemper, boss gt 1000 and other deep OS powered devices Hybrid: a might say all this captures / profiles like tonex / qc as it somehow combines plug and play solution with some advanced OS diving i think line 6 is also in this category as mostly it is intuitive except command center and snapshots that require from players some kind of resource to learn If to talk about sound - it is almost impossible due to amount of variables involved I have tried a test focusing on 1 amp, 1 ir, more or less 1 sound in my head and after testing 10+ devices they all sound the same in my memory with positive attitude Like we should agree there is no sht gear (except ik multinedia software, which is objectively bad thought , laggy and etc). Others did a great job more or less enough to bring you positive experience And this is the only thing that matters really.
The helix stuff is okay if you’re playing by a pc regularly, hands on menu diving is a nightmare compared to an analog board or the quad cortex, most hands on easy to use unit is the quad cortex. You get the feel of adjusting settings with the switches and essentially an iPad for scrolling and searching and pop up and drop down menus. Makes a world a difference! I’d grab the nano if I didn’t have to use my phone to access the captures. Pretty barebones player myself.
Playing on stage since the '90s, I can say this: The newer is someone to this game, the more "amps" and effects they'll need the modeler to handle at once. The more experienced they get - one amp or maximum two and less effects. Same goes to the differences between modelers/profilers. The pros will use the ones they like or it suits their needs when configure them. The differences are barely audible on your speaker monitors, and they'll make zero difference on stage, let alone that majority of the small bands don't have their own FOH sound guy.
I've been running an HX Effects into my 5150 combo for a hardcore band, but have been getting frustrated at the DSP limitations and some weird noise/level issues I've been having. Having to tweak my gates and gain staging just right and wire up a million things between the FX loop for 4-cable-method and the TRS channel switching just makes me wanna sell the HX Effects and go back to pedals. I'd rather just plug my NS-2, TS9, and whatever other fun FX I want straight into the front of the amp and call it a day. I like having the power to change presets and turn a bunch of things on/off all at once or move things before and after the preamp, but it's a bit of a headache to have to tweak everything so meticulously. Maybe one day I'll upgrade to something like a Helix Floor, Quad Cortex, or FM9. Until then, if I can't do everything in one box, the hybrid setup doesn't seem worth it to save a buck. I'm gonna buy more BOSS pedals.
The tonex has a really nice dumbbell in it and for 100 bucks more you can get a dumbbell pack that has more dumbbell lamps from the early 80s to like 2000 and more IRS and mic setups
The NanoCortex is close to my ideal product as I currently only use captures, but a few things are keeping me from buying it. One, a flexible signal chain and more effects to choose from would make it a much more interesting product - nobody buys a pre-built pedalboard that you can’t rearrange. Two, allow the use of Cortex Control as a way to control the device as it would make it more approachable for me - phones and guitar gear don’t mix for me.
I don't need a 4 cable setup or advanced routing so my Zoom G3n is more than enough for me. Very intuitive interface and foot switch layout. In 2020 they released some extra 'amps' and modulation effects. The RedLoom amp sounds so good, particleverb is a very high quality ambient reverb and geminos is a convincing double tracker. I'm a simple man.
Your GX100 stuff sounded amazing. Got one after that. Love the tones you can get out of it, but I think I'd probably be able to do something similar with other gear. The bottleneck is either knowledge of tone (something I'm working on) and the talent of the player (always working on that one too).
After having tried a lot of gear from the various producers I have found the best combination using a Tonex Di Capture and the Ua ox stomp ...despite the bluetooth connection.Then I add a couple of good drive pedals and the ampero stomp for the other Fx
Problem with "simple" modelers like the nano cortex and the UA modelers is not the capabilities or the processing power, the problem is that most of the time you pay 80% of the price for 30% of the features, which is stupid, there is little to no reason to buy the nano cortex when the HX stomp pricing is similar and gets you WAY MORE, nothing forces you to use the full features of a more complex modeler, but you do have access to them in case you want or need them. and as you said, sound it is in the ballpark anyway, what's the point on a stripped down version of some gear if the price is so high anyway?
@@johnnathancordy Yes, such a wonderful piece of gear IR-2 from Boss and the Tonex one are also great, they offer an ampless solution for pedalboards in a compact format I just hate the nano cortex
The #1 problem with the amp modelling world is, the volume is too low. That's the point though amirite -- getring the lead EJ tones without genuine deafening EJ volume?
I've tried many modelers, and nothing beats my Dream 65. Maybe not even because it's "the best", but because it is really solid, and living with a single piece of gear and being forced to get the most out of it has made me extremely familiar with it. To the point where if I try something else on Tonex, I can get my Dream 65 to sound very similar to whatever amp I have on Tonex. This isn't necessarily the same with Tonex. To a large extent you are stuck with the capture. The UA modeling stuff means I can taylor things exactly the way I like and do it on the fly.
I know UA is great but the HX Stomp Grammatico is good enough for me. I spent $400 on the GFI Synesthesia and have the M5 and EXP and I'm good to go. Now I have solved the DSP capacity issue and have a Fractal-like rack sound and my system is perfect. If I were to spend more money, it would be the next HELIX or HX Stomp.
I think I could do gigs with the Nanocortex. I may have to load in different presets on the fly from my phone as I would need up to 6 sounds instead of 4 but I think, from what I’ve seen, swapping presets is pretty quick and easy
Most gear is so good nowadays compared to how it used to be. I tend to sound like me regardless of what I play through (which is not necessarily a good thing :)). I used to have a lot more gear than I do now, some of it quite high end - I'm managing well enough these days with a Blackstar Debut 50 and a Valeton GP200 multieffects unit.
I like the simplicity of UA stuff, but it is a lot for only one type of amp. If there was something in Two Notes Revolt formfactor but with possibility to change the amp in each channel. Or like TC Electronic Plethora - you dont need separate eq if you just set it and leave it. But looking at what is on offer, it just seems easier to go straight to PC than fiddle with pedal that has worse controlls and sends you to menus or lists when you want to switch between several amps on the fly. Tonex One seems kinda useable for set it and forget it but it only has 2 profiles ready to go.
As it has been said before: tone wise is almost impossible to tell what piece of gear you are using besides things with a very particular tone (like a clean strat with single coils)
I am more of a metal player, from 70's hard rock to more modern stuff, and I feel those modellers still aren't getting those raw dynamic high gain tones quite right. That sort of punchy raw and quite dry rock tone. I think it just needs volume to be convincing. I'm sure a large or small QC would just do fine all the same, but if I need to plug it into a real amp, then why bother at all? If I prefer to hear myself through a power amp and cab, the question isn't so much about the size of the modeller. Whatever thing gets a Victory Kraken or Fryette Deliverance right, with all dynamics and no fizz, I'd be happy with. To me it's more about what else you're going to use to properly scare people.
I have a UA Lion and a Tonex One as inserts into an H90, purely for recording and practice. I’d love to be able to ditch the Lion but I can’t. It sounds so much better than anything else I’ve tried, there’s a real amp warmth and speaker sim that I can’t find anywhere else. It works so well with fancy effects. The Tonex is awesome, no doubt but I miss the tweakability of a modeller. Maybe an HX Stomp or a FM3 would be good for me but it feels like a step backwards, probably because of the 200 amps built into them.
I’ve had most all of the modelers/capturers, and I end up tweaking all of my cleans to taste, which means they end up all sounding the same. Same goes for crunches and leads, respectively (a vulgar display of underused power). End of the day, I revert back to real amps into load boxes/IRs. But if I gigged out, I’d go small and simple I.e. UA pedal or maybe a Nano, HX Stomp, ToneX One, etc.
I have a UA Ruby, Lion and Dream in the FX loop of a HX stomp XL with a Dunlop mini expression pedal, feed out to DI box to FOH, used to have a Helix LT but never really liked the Amp sounds in the helix, find the UA stuff much better, still quite a small board and saves lugging tube amps around.
Love your stuff mate. My needs are small size, usable bass amp sim, outputs I can split between IR and no IR, tuner, scenes and a useable half step drop. Is HX stomp my only choice? Not many comparisons out there on the drop tuning.
what you said at the beggining imo is so true.I have a helix lt boss gt 1000 core tonex nux academy and i pretty much have alot of the amp sounds I like sounding the same on each unit.imo the line 6 makes it easier to dial in a tone.the software imo is the best,I wish tonex software was on the fly changing inside the unit like heliix or boss.The boss is a bit more tricky and not as user friendly and nux is basic and straight forward but not as many options as helix.
If the UAFX sounds better than everything else, then it is the best option for me. If all of this stuff sounds about the same, the UAFX is kind of a ripoff…
So much gear *sounds* great right now. Seems like preferences are on user interface, versatility, reliability, replaceability, and what inspires you. And just collecting? Lol in no order.
So yes, you do sound "to me" very much the same no matter what you play. It only proves it's the player not the gear. I've got had a ton of stuff over the 57 years I've been playing. What I look for now when I gig is the least amount of stuff to carry to get the job done and still have fun. 😊
Given how things sound similarly great, I’m trying to discern feel from reviews and different videos. As in how does device X feel to play if I’ve established that it sounds good and has the features I need/want.
You definitely have “your sound” The two rock compared to the joyo was probably like 10% better, at least on this side of the video, from that alone it’s not worth 100x the price.
walrus acs sucked. nano meh. the kemper was nice. tome x one for 200 is stellar. also the polyeffects modeller blew me off my feet. nobodys talking about it. the best: blug amp1. holy crap. forget digital modelling. put a hx stomp for fx behind it.
