Why Guitar Players START Using Amp Modelers and STOP Using Tube Amps 

Nothing can recreate the FEELING a tube amp gives you.

I just bought another tube amp. I love simulations, they allow me to play everyday. Listening through RU-vid videos they even sound almost the same, but a loud amp in front of you is still matchless.

I remember back in the eighties we saw a couple of session guitarists who used to turn up with a peddle board and a DI box to plug into our desk. They would give me a lead to plug into the big studio desk, switch on, and there it would be. Great sound. They were rarer then (people were wed to amps) but they proved, even all those years ago before modelers, profilers, or digital emulation, that you could get the sound the client needed without lugging a ton load of equipment. Perhaps the rest of the industry has spent the last 40 years catching up?

I was an early adopter of the axe-fx, and like a mini tone chasers, I tried cabs, and FRFR speakers, active systems, passive systems. I played three different iterations of that modeler for over a decade. And you know what? I’m back to tube amps. And a lot of the celebrity musicians who were into modelers are also back to tube amps. Maybe your love affair will fade in a decade as well. For many of us, there is an immediacy that just cannot be matched, no matter what the technology. I’m not really speaking of tube amps. I am really speaking of analog amps versus digital modelers, because that immediacy can be there with a solid-state amp as well.

Well done Mike! I've been intrigued as well by this whole topic, and have gone down many a rabbit hole on this subject. As a 56 year old guitar player, sometimes it's a drag carrying the amp and cabinet around [although mine is pretty compact and light PRS MT-15 amp with an Orange PPC112 60W cabinet], I'm now looking at either a modeler or profiler. Keep up the good work! - RT

Dude you started the video with a fantastic smooth lead tone and lovely playing and not a hard fizzy scratchy tone like so many Amp Modelers have so for that I am more than happy to subscribe!

mike, your videos are amazing. love you and the education i get from these :)

The Dream has 6 cab size options that use different classic mics. There are also some tone “mods” as well. The versatility is bonkers. It’s fun to jump through some settings and dial in the tone you want

Good video! It’s all about preference and what kind of music is being played. I’ve tried all kinds of modelers/profilers. They’re fun and creatively amazing, but, as a mostly live player, I find that the tone sounds great at home when I’m setting it up, but changes when I’m in different size venues/stages every night. I can tweak my tube amps with a couple quick turns and I know how to get the tone I’m looking for quickly Vs having to tweak parameter through menus on the gig. I love all the digital stuff when I’m recording, but for live, it’s only tube amps. Rock on! Keep up the good work!

Top advice bro. Thanks a lot, I'm literally in the same boat. I came over recently to electrics from +20 years classical guitar. I'm on a katana mini, and was holding off getting either a boss katana artist combo or a top modeler... Going down this route ultimately, almost certainly going for a Line6 HX Stomp. liked subbed.🤘

I've watched several of your clips, Mike. Great Channel!

I've been one of those "valve purist" people for over 15 years, and after owning around 10 valve amps over the years, have been very impressed with the sound quality and realism coming from modelers and profilers released in the past 5 years or so (at least based on what I've heard in RU-vid demos). My introduction to amp sims was all of the Positive Grid plugin products on pc and iOS. These plugins keep getting realer and realer! I'm not gigging currently, so I can't justify the purchase of one of these hardware units that you have demonstrated, but I understand why people would find them convenient, practical, and flexible in both live and studio applications. When I go back to gigging, I think I'd like to try going direct using a selection of amp heads in conjunction with a reactive load/IR unit like the Captor X. I'm looking forward to downloading Tonex on my pc and trying that out!

The Dream 65 sounds a little brighter than the other two. The Tonex and the Princeton are very close. I bet there's an IR option on the Dream 65 that'd get it closer, but honestly I think it was my favorite sound! You're right about the learning curve, though that certainly isn't true of all modelers - if you choose something like an HX Stomp, there is a much steeper learning curve (but that is the price of flexibility)

I've seen people complaining on the Line 6 forum that they hear artifacts that they can't dial out, but then go back to their tube amp and notice the same thing for the very first time. There is a 3D quality to real amps that modelers just can't replicate. I've always said for years that modelers sound like the sound is pressed up against a plate of glass. It's like they do the 2D (x + y axis) really well, but there's a depth, or z axis component in real amps (not a lows, mids, and highs thing) with all of the layered artifacts that modelers can't replicate and as a result, just end up compressing those artifacts into the 2D spectrum. It actually has nothing to do with tubes vs solid state. It's the interaction between how the output transformer throws the notes and the interplay with the mechanical action of the speaker cone. That's where all the feel and openness comes from, not from EQ. Modelers will never replicate that, but can get kind of close. The concept in high-end audio is called soundstage. IRs try to replicate the feel with EQ, delays and ambience, but it's never going to feel the same. The sound will always have a fizzle or crackle to it with the modeled artifacts sounding pushed to the forefront.

First, I have to say that for only playing for eight years, your playing is great and you’ve got a natural feel. To my ear, the Dream 65 did a much better job than the Tonex in replicating the Princeton sound.

With the Kemper, i found the tone i had in my head for MANY years.. and since i've found my tone, i focus on practice :)

What a great video. Love how you explain yourself.

I prefer amps, but the convenience of modelers and profiles is great. I use a modeling amp and a couple of amp in a box type pedals, but I do miss having a good tube amp. Most of the time I use a nice clean channel on my amp, and use my Joyo American Sound (Fender amp in a box pedal) to get my base sound, then use my pedal board to take it wherever I need to. The joyo does a great job of catching the Fender vibe, I've had a few Fender amps and was very impressed with the sound of this pedal, especially considering the price.

Love the guitar strap. Combo with the guitar is... perfect. Also great video :)

I am neck deep in this topic i took a few years off from playing from about 2006 til 2020 and the world had changed in guitar world , i bought a helix and its took a year to finally figure it out in depth then i decided i loved the variety and amount of options then i realized i missed the amp in the room tone and bought a ENGL FB25 finally in last week i figured out the correct way to match my Helix to my stack and its heaven but of course now the profilers like tonex is hot and i may have to dive in there , i think theres value to all these formats if used correctly , great video and great playing new to your chanel

Nice content here Mike. Very nice playing. Also you've accomplished a lot if you can play like that within eight years. I've been using modelers since the early 2,000's. Of course I'm also into amps. Haven't tried a profiler yet. But with the price point of the Tone X , that may change soon. With travel costs skyrocketing the way they have, and lower decibel levels required on most stages, this evolution in guitar technology makes sense.

So I have owned several moderlars and many real apps. I settled down with the axe fx 3 . I was very happy with its tones when I bought it and loved how it's gotten more accurate as time has led to newer updates. I will also say tone x was a huge game changer. Both units are amazing. One is a all in one and the other is an amazing amp

Great vid man been thinking about getting the dream 65

Excellent video, you’re one of the few using clean sounds so I can actually hear your tone. I’ve been playing and recording since the 70’s and have used everything. I can honestly say the new gear is way better. Both guitars and amps. I’ve switched to digital and find the Headrush board gives me everything I need and easy to carry. Consistent sound and no replacing tubes and other parts. Dos it look as cool as my old Marshall stack or Vox, absolutely not but so much easier to use and get killer sounds.

I have an old mini laptop and audio interface I'm going to convert into an amp profiler/modeller using NAM. Something I small enough to put on my board. I tried NAM out recently and decided I have to do this. Some of the profiles are perfect for running my pedals into but then I want to be able to switch to a high gain profile to play metal. It's too flexible to pass up if you like playing different styles of music. I love real amps and being in the room with a cranked one, but buying multiple real amps is just not reasonable for most people. Doesn't matter if it's digital when it's that good!

The UA amp pedals are great. I have the Ruby and the Woodrow, and they’re perfect for late night recording when I can’t use a real amp or even going into a clean amp they really do give your amp a new sound if you have the speaker emulation turned off.

I used real amps only once. Then changed to modellers and ended up with a Kemper. Just sold it and bought a Headrush Prime. Being capable of modelling, profiling and having vocal chains/effects also (incl. Antares Autotune) - dream device. As a singer and guitar player this is my brand new creativity tool to go. Don't have much experience regarding live gigs yet. And to mention the downsides also: within the first week of owning this device I had a reboot in the middle of a practice session. Tone was suddenly clean (at least not gone) and came back after that reboot. Don't want to experience this on stage. But still this is the next level of creativity for me. I sold the Kemper now and I will also sell my Fender Rumble Studio 40 bass amp, because there are some decent bass profiles too. So as a looper artist and composer - I use a Boss 500 together with a mic, bass, guitar and a keyboard for all other instruments - I just need the Prime and an instrument switch to loop guitars and basses. I'm happy now. I wish the Prime had more looping capabilities and more inputs, so I could plug in Keys, Bass, Guitar and Mic directly into the Prime and also get rid of the Boss. But it's just a computer, maybe one day they add more features.

You have great guitar tone. I really enjoyed those playing samples.

After 3 months, using Tonex on PC, I sold a lot of equipment and bought the pedal version. It is worth mentioning that I had used the plugin with my pair of simple monitors, the Edifier R2600, which I love. Then, suddenly, I had the opportunity to buy the Nux PA-50, for a great price. It's an FRFR box and, as much as the Tonex, this Nux has surprised me more every day. Here's the tip! Objectively: for more than two decades, albeit in an amateurish way, I have been a purist. Over time, I've had Super Reverb, Bassman 59', Vox AC-15, Dr Z and others. I kept the Deluxe Reverb, and I still think it's the best amp you can get - next to the Princeton. My whole "school" comes from the 60s/70s sounds, from Neil Young to CSN, from Stones to Zeppelin and so on. So, obviously, when I started immersing myself in Tonex I was looking for familiar timbres, blackface, tweed, AC-30, plexis etc. What did I think? SENSATIONAL! I highlight the following points: -excellent dynamics; more than listening I feel what I play with Tonex -The PRESENCE and DEPHT knobs use in real time, and are perfect for fine-tuning all profiles/presets -the Tonex matches my pedals perfectly well, which ends up multiplying the colors/tones/possibilities of every overdrive and fuzz pedal I own by hundreds - they obviously react differently on every amp It takes work to adjust everything, it's not even remotely plug and play. Tired, distracts the focus, hurts the spine, but... in the end, even though I still think that nothing will replace the feeling of playing the Fender Dleuxe Reverb at volumes 5 or 6, I think the Tonex is absurdly realistic, useful and pleasurable. In the right hands! Besides, let's face it, it's very difficult to get the best sounds out of tube amps. Rare are the times I could open their volumes and get the sounds I always had in mind. In that sense, and much more than simulators, in my opinion, Tonex is a mother! Congratulations on the video, all the best and sound!

Very cool! I’ll have to look more into the Tonex. That sounded closest to my ears. How do they actually feel? The response of the tube amp is hard to quantify but it’s a big reason why I love them

Nicely done. (Was looking for info in another direction but I ended up watching it anyway.)

Just completed a good two years in the digital realm. I’m happy going back to playing pedals and amps.

I think there's a nice middle ground: Use an analog preamp with an IR cab sim. AMT makes an amazing series of tube preamp pedals called "Bricks" as well as some other tube preamp pedals. It's some impressive kit.

I keep saying this: modeling is imitating the real thing. Nothing wrong with that but in my experience getting a good tone out of a modeler takes a lot of tweaking whereas when I plug my guitar into my low wattage tube amp, slap a 57 on the speaker and plug into recorder/daw I am immediately getting a good sound! Move the mike a little, twiddle the eq on the amp a bit, done. Works every time. Why waste time and money on modelers and IRs?

Nice video. I heard differences among the three sound sources but that doesn't mean any one of them were bad. In fact, I largely liked what I heard and I own a Princeton. When it comes to deciding which platform to use, my view is go with what easily sets one up for success. I love the Princeton amp because it is plug and play. Modeling is great, in my opinion, when it is like the UAD Dream: simply turn it on and dial in the knobs to taste. I like that a lot. On the other hand, I know people who love using something like the Line 6 Helix to build an entire rig from the ground up. Frankly, I don't enjoy tweaking that much and would rather spend my time playing. Turning to profiling, that world is its own animal. To create high-quality profiles, it takes good ears and professional gear to do right. The truth is most players who use profilers won't use the profiling function. Instead, they will search online user libraries or buy high-quality ones created by third parties. I personally don't want to sit around auditioning sound like that. At the end of the day, I think choices about gear center on the player's outlook AND his needs.

They sounded great! I go wet dry with and modeler and an amp. I am intrigued by profiling but don't have the time! Great vid!

Very informative video, new sub looking forward to your posts.

My biggest step recently was getting decent (budget) studio monitors instead of using headphones. I had always greatly preferred the amp to the headphone/modeler setup, but now it’s a dead heat. I can even set them loud enough to get feedback. The 5 inch drivers are missing a bit of low end that I get from the amp, but the experience is much closer than I thought it would be.

Tasty licks, my man!

To me (listing on my phone) the Dream was thin and brighter then the Princeton, the profiler was super close, but it did miss what sounded like spring reverb slap back when you palm slapped the strings. Also, I'm wondering, do you noticed a difference in "feel" between the three?

I have amps abd pedals and a can, and whioe i love that i can 100% see how close digital options are an that for ease of use, portability and reliability they may be the way to go

I use a Crate 150 amp head with 2 columns of stereo speakers one on top of the other. The Crate features a stereo output so I can play in stereo. I like choosing my own speakers as opposed to what comes in a self contained amplifier. Cheers from eastern TN

Lovely video and playing. Maybe your best lead tone so far as well!

I've been playing since 73....mostly SS amps and pedals till about 91 when I got a Korg A5 multiFX. Loved the simplicity of all the FX, but went the 100 pound Mesa head/cab and pedals route next 20 years. Today its a Boss GX-100 into a 2x10 ss combo I made. Light, loud, zero maintenance and very convincing tube tones without breaking the bank, although I do miss that Mesa sometimes.

The Line 6 Helix models on a component level. Individual transistors, and capacitors, and even light bulbs for FX that have an optical sensor are modeled and strung together in the signal path. That's what sold me. (Along with a bunch of other awesome features.) :) Happy user since I got mine in the first wave out of Sweetwater. I use mostly 4 patches on a standard gig. Essentially a Vox AC-30, a Fender Twin, a Marshall Plexi, and a Revv Generator (Mostly the Vox, though.). Using a Firehawk 1500 for stage volume, and direct to FoH from the Helix to the house. Never thought I'd be this happy with my rig!

If it sounds good, it is good. And I think a Hybrid Rig offers some of the best Tonal Options. If you have a Profiler or Modeler, you can place the output into the Return of a Tube Amp’s Effect Loops. Then you have the Preamp of the Profiler/Modeler in front of your Amps Power Section. No need to an FRFR Speaker or Studio Monitors if you have and good Amp Combo or Speaker Cabinet.

Thanks for the consistently great videos. I'm curious though, being new to this area myself (I own two great modeling amps and am preparing to sell my Peavey Classic 30 because I don't need it anymore.) What is DRIVING your cab in the profiler or modeler pedal scenario? The ToneX is not providing anything in terms of wattage, right? What is pushing the speakers? I understand you are probably just running this into your desktop monitors, and in a live scenario, are XPR out to front of house, right? But sitting in your room practicing, is the sound from your monitors enough to "move" you the way air through a speaker does, in terms of player feedback?

As an owner of a Line6 Helix Floor and someone who used to own a half stack 5150 set up, I'll take the Helix over anything. What you said about "changing amps mid song" 100% true. I'm no tone god, but being able to use two different heads, set up a snapshot with whatever combos of pedals and gain and EQ settings per snapshot is such an insane thing to be able to do as a guitar player.

Thanks for this video! I thought both did a great job of the Princeton. As for myself, I’m strongly considering ditching my 3 tube amps for a recently acquired Quad Cortex. I just can’t justify the space taken up and the maintenance necessary for a tube amp anymore.

If I was still touring, I'd definately use a profiler of some sort. I used to tour with a rackmount guitar preamp set-up (Digitech TwinTube/Digitech DSP 128) and our tour rider specified at least one 100w tube amp half-stack w/an effects return. That was in 1997-99 - and worked very well. Gear has come a long way for sure. For recording, it's still a real Marshall or 5150 or Boogie, but it is fun to combine those with software amps.

I have a Two Rock Bloomfield 50/100, a Mesa Boogie mk IIC+, and a Dream 65. I bought the Dream 65 as a convenience, but it's vanilla compared to the real deal. I've seen all the reviews, and for whatever reason I didn't get the same results. Maybe I should've bought the Ruby. I tried the Kemper in a store, but didn't impress me. When I bought the Boogie in the 80s, it was fire. I use to have a Paul Rivera modified Fender Reverb Deluxe; it was a great amp. The Dream doesn't come close. But budget-wise, I can see why some people would opt for it. The other thing is that I don't go on the road, so I don't need to sacrifice sound for that sort of convenience. The reason I got the Dream was that sometimes I don't want to fire up my rig to play with some idea. The downside for the Dream is no headphone jack... maybe should have gone for the Iridium.

Hey Mike, you have a very good channel. I enjoy the topics you cover. As for modeling/profiling gadgets, they're great. They provide a convenience that can't be overlooked. I have an old Positive Grid Bias Amp 2. It works very good for recording late at night. The sound quality of these new gadgets is impressive. I still use my tube powered Mesa Boogie amps for live venues. Unfortunately, Detroit (my town) doesn't have enough qualified live sound techs to run sound at the medium to small venues. Sad to say....Detroit is loaded with an army of Helen Keller sound techs. (no disresect to Helen) Not many techs understand how to mix a direct feed with drums and vocals. It's always a bummer when your friends come up after a show and tell you that they never heard your guitar during your set. This is typical in Detroit. So, bands pretty much know that they have to depend on using a real rig at the medium - to - small venues in Detroit. Not sure which cities have the qualified sound techs but Detroit is very thin in that area. Good luck to all of you out there.

this video literally came out as i was looking at modelers

I’m now gigging with a strymon Iridium on my pedalboard into a headrush frfr 108… fantastic 👌

I've found that a tube amp has a 'feel' that is very organic and I have yet to hear a modeler or profile match that. I haven't tried any of the more modern 'non-amp' approaches so I that could change my mind. I used to use a Boss Amp Factory (and that's really old so I think the newer units must be far superior) and I'd carefully add some compression to try and get closer to the amp's give and take. What I found, even with the older digital type amps is that, on stage, there is very little noticeable difference. Definitely nothing the audience could tell. In studio, though - that's a different story. I'm really looking forward to getting something like the TONEX because I'm really tired of hauling boat anchors (ahem... tube amps) around. Not to mention having to haul a second amp because you never know when the expensive tube amp might decide to carp out on you.

All of these options sound great. To most listeners it would be extremely difficult/next to impossible to tell exactly what option the artist used for their chosen tone on a recorded track. I think it comes down what tone inspires the artist the most. Of course practicality comes into play if you're hauling your rig around. I'm guessing a lot of players are probably willing to sacrifice a small amount of tone to save them time and their back when carrying around, setting up and breaking down their gear.

I bought my first amp modeler in 1989, a Scholz Rockman. I got it because neighbors in my apartment complained when I switched on my Princeton Reverb.

I’ve owned amps, never felt like I’ve had any truly great amps, but have been using modelers as well and been inspired by them pretty much since I started guitar. I started with a Digitech RP250 back in the early 00’s and now I’ve been on Line6Helix/HX Stomp since it came out! I feel like I’m moving backwards though, I’ve been curious about owning the real amp counterparts of modeled amps I like - so maybe profiling can be a happy medium between the two

This cool, I’m an older player and sort of stuck on my AC30, but perhaps one of these days I’ll try one. I did get the Vox Cambridge 50 which has decent modeling of 8 amps and an app I’m to lazy to use. It’s fun at low volume but can also get over a rock drummer.

I found the TONEX seemed a little muddy compared to the Princeton and Dream65 which I thought sounded great. Love the content and the stories.

I’m proud of so proud of this guy. He really dug in and it shows.

I listened to the test on my monitor that I use live. The Princeton was warmer, much fuller and balanced, and felt good physically. The boxes didn't give the balanced frequencies, though maybe that could be tweaked better, sounded and felt like something was missing. Luckily people listen to the feel of the player and the music more than these things. It all reminds me of when the first CDs came out, crystal clear, but cold. I asked a DJ once how they compensated for this and he said we turn it up louder....

As soon as I began to record original music… modeling is the only way I go. A few people say I’d sound better if I used a real amp but then it depends how I mic it. Cool video!😊

I think a big difference is do you have to move and carry your amp somewhere or is it never leaving a room? If you have to carry it places more than once in a while, it gets old fast and tube amps can be finicky. Personally I say just pick whatever it is that makes a sound you like and go with it. I mean, Brian May used the Deacy on tons of tracks and for years no one knew it was a homemade solid state amp.

Ok. Ive been a tube amp only snob. But now Im interested! Thank you!

I think your playing is amazing for only 8 years! I have the UAFX Dream 65. I really like it allot!

both are cool ...less tweaking with the uafx amp pedals and more flexibility with profiling solution 😉

Personally I don’t hear enough of a difference to justify not using the tonex pedal. I’m super excited to check out one myself and get some hands on experience with it myself. Thanks for the video man!

The thing with profilers is that they are only as good as the profile you load into them. ToneX comes with a lot of perfectly serviceable profiles, but some of the aftermarket ones are staggeringly good in terms of both sound and feel, and that's coming from a hardcore tube amp lover. Definitely enjoying it a lot more than I did the Kemper I had.

I've been an Axe FX user for a long time, and I feel that with all the parameters it makes available to tweak, there isn't an amplifier out there that it can't emulate to 99% fidelity. And even if you never intend to muck around with all the "deep parameters" and just want to plug and play and turn a few knobs, just like with a physical amp, a modeler gives that to you as well.

I sold my great Tube Amp last Month. No more to say. I use ToneX now! Good Video. Like!!!

Hmmm. Interesting. I drifted from the other extreme & back, then met in the middle. Started with a Line6 modeler, grew into a fat vintage tube amp, kicked around a Kemper for a bit, but finally recently downscaled to a couple properly gain staged Effectrode HiFi valve tube units. ...The Firebottle into the Blackbird dumble/fender sim with a Helios fuzz on the 2nd (isolated) output, and viola, those 3 units cover the full range of tones from clean to fully saturated with eq that takes you all the way up to treble booster territory, and yet they still undeniably compress & distort just like beautifully calibrated valve tube circuits they are. Straight into delay & PA or di to DAW & monitors. Pure tones, w zero lag, no phase probs, no ground loops, no hum, no noise, no digital hard clipping, no mic'ing hassles.

Analog versus Digital has been going on for a while now and things have just gotten better. I started playing before there was an internet. I would run a Carvin DC150 Stereo with one output going to my analog rig and the other going to my digital rig. Sure, it sounded great but it was a lot of gear to lug around. Now days I use a Les Paul or a Stratocaster with a volume pedal through a Fender Mustang III. I have been accused of using a tube amp. I love being able to dial in the British 60's sound and then being able to go balls to the wall. For less money and weight I can get several convincing amp sounds. The one thing that I've learned over the years is to keep it simple. And never think that you can get those last few stripps of grass during an electrical storm.

The Kemper and Quad Cortex obviously do a lot more than the ToneX. But if all you want is an amp capture/profiler to take your amps with you, and you don’t need all the other effects built in, the ToneX is 1/5th the price and sounds fantastic. I love being able to use it with my normal pedalboard, and bring real amp captures from Matchless, Magnatone, Soldano, etc and even Dumbles. Super useful and cost effective. The Dream is great, but it’s the same price as the ToneX and only does one amp well. If you want 2-3 amps, the UA pedals will cost you almost as much as a real amp, whereas the ToneX stays the same price.

Really cool

I celebrate them all 😂 - great video Mike!

Ive found myself splitting the baby in the last few years. I still use tube amps most of the time, but I'm using external preamps. I have a couple Victoria V4s, an Ethos, Revivaldrive and just picked up a Beekeeper a week ago. I run them into a Freyett Power Station when playing with other people. I started this over a decade ago when I first bought the Ethos overdrive preamp and ran it into an Egnater rebel 20. Actually, these are still a great option, and are relatively cheap if you get them used. You can run either 20W or 30W depending on the model, it'll cut all the way down to 1W. Plus they have both 6V6 and EL84s in it and you can use the knob to choose which you use. Honestly I don't know why Bruce Egnater hasn't just released the power amp as a stand-alone unit. Or maybe combine the Tweaker's Preamp section with the Rebel power section. I do Use IR cab for recording and things like that.

I use Fender amps and I just bought a Boss IR 200….just for the hi res IRs. Using different preamps with the IRs I get some good tones.

Dude. Your playing is so mature and smooth for 8 years of playing!❤

Tubes are still great. If I didn't have to lug it around, I'd get one. But I found that my Tone Master Deluxe Reverb does it for me. Tube like sound and feel, without the back ache. Honestly, weight was a huge factor as to my decision to go solid state/digital.

For a home player + a few small gigs, what would people recommend? An amp modeller plus a set of speakers for home, then run through the PA when on stage?

They sound very similar, but do they feel the same to play? Does one alter your touch more than another?

I got the Tonex software, and adore it. I'm a bedroom player and I plug my interface in to my amp and get to play both and save tons of money. I'll never spend the money for a Trainwreck, Soldano, Dumble, Klon Centaur, Plexi, '65 Twin Reverb, etc. but with the Tonex I get to play them when I want. It's an amazing piece of software. I don't have the pedal, but again, don't need it. I don't gig.

I thought the Dream 65 was closer to the Princeton. It sounds a little compressed but pretty good. The Tonex sounds very flat as if they use a FFT instead of DFT in the signal chain.

i knnew there were amp modelers in the sub 1000 dollar range but idk why i couldnt find it on my own googling. thanks for this video

I’ll take you further down the rabbit hole. The 4th option, anything that sounds good. Right now companies are largely focused on modeling actual amps. But that assumes that the only sounds an artist wants or needs is coming out of some amp that already exists. The next step is guitar processing that ignores the amp completely. Imaginary devices and unorthodox signal processing. Whatever sounds good.

The Strymon Iridium is the only thing I’ve used that’s been good enough to compete with my Fender. I sometimes prefer it for recording.

Cool video. I’m still a tube amp guy… I haven’t played through a modeler in a live setting yet… so, I gotta go with what works for now… my brother in law has a modeler of some sort and he gets some pretty awesome sounds out of that thing- so I’m at least open minded about this topic.

Ive been using a Rocktron Multivalve with a Fender Prosonic since the late 1990s, im now using all pedals through an Orange SuperCrush 100 with the voice of the world 4 x 12 cabinet and couldnt be happier... I feel more connected to my equipment.....It Feels/Sounds more Fluid ......If you know what I mean...

I don’t think you understand the tears that well up in my eyes when you don’t sing at the end. Ruins my whole evening 😂 great video Mike!

I still like my Boss ME-25 pedal which sounds better with a headphone adapter or a short cable in the headphone slot while recording or using an amp. With all my gear, I don't feel like I need a new multi effects pedal and it is so easy to set up tones with the Boss-ME 25 which has great clean channel settings. I even like to use Bias FX 2 (my favorite sounding plugin for guitar out of all the new guitar plugins I have heard) when recording music with my computer, but I have a mic to use with real amps if I wanted to use it. Heck, I might even try using some of the Boss-ME 25 settings as a boost for a tube amp.

Are valve (tube) amps finished ? Is this the end for old amps ? I’m 63 and still lining in the 20th century.

What chord progression are you playing for the test at 6:03? Sounds great!

Well, I never really had a tube amp to switch away from, but I was using solid state combo amps (my RocPro 700 has one 12AX7 in it but I wouldn't call it a tube amp) and one solid state head and 4x12 cab. Why did I stop using these and start using modelers? Because I play only at church and they switched away from mic-ing amps and towards a direct to board solution, and so I now use amp modelers. Perhaps the same is true in many venues?

The single thing that modellers lack is the breakup. Even today it's that elusive last thing that modellers can't get _quite right_ . That clean to breakup when digging in is the key

How would they compare in the mix. Of drums and bass . Do you think your audience would be able to spot the differences then

Just bought the NUX Amp Academy pedal. 12 different amp models, cab simulation, price around 200 Dollars. Perfect for our rehearsal situation with electronic drums. Still love my Marshall though!

Profilers have their place. I use NAM and tonex to practice or do quick recordings. For bedroom playing, I'd agree, they're very close. Close enough to jam and have fun. But none of these replace an amplifier, especially when pushing a room.

Comes down to what PA you are using. Line level feed to RU-vid into earbuds is a clean pretty transparent path. Driving a modeller into a PA with a compression horn like many of the active types tends to color the sound. So if you have a clean broadband PA modeller and real tube amps both sound good. But typical PAs don't push air that sounds like a real amp.

A 5w tube amp with reverb is all a need.