Why these sound WEAK at Live shows! 

I used to bring a full Marshall stack to gigs. And then a few months in, I realized I didn’t need it cuz I’m a keyboard player.

The sound guy is the secret sauce to live sound. I've been to venues that had an in-house sound guy who made real amps sound like trash.

If the band plays with real amps there's a good chance they have them on stage blasting towards the audience, so it's not just the house front speakers you hear. If they play with sims, they may have them in their floor wedges or in-ears, so that alone can make a big difference in comparison, at least in a club venue.

The clean channel on my 100 watt amps always sound louder bigger and fuller. Anytime I switch to the dirt on my orange crush 100, it sounds much thinner even though there is a mid range eq. But when I want that OG doom tones I go clean and slam it with a muff and or rat and it kills. Excited to see this video!

I play live often(Locked in a Vacancy). It’s not the amp sims, it’s the sound guy. If you use an amp sim through a cabinet on stage, you’re pushing air and it’s indistinguishable from a tube amp. Going front of house relies on the sound guy(or gal) to replicate this effect. Glen, I know you get this but in a live, metal setting, you have to dial it back on the gain, especially with a modeler or profile. The digital amps allow you to hang yourself with gain in a way that is automatically policed with a tube amp.

From what I know, the reason why guitars with modelers disappear in some live shows depends a lot on the venue and the positioning of the listener. It happened several times to be in the front row at a concert where the only listening source was the subwoofer while the PA was not only far from my ears but also positioned slightly behind where I was standing and in short I heard exclusively bass, l 'acoustics of the drums and the voice while everything else is difficult except for the reflection of the room. In some venues, however, I saw small monitors placed on the stage facing the listener and I can confirm that everything was clearer to me and I had the right perception of every single instrument. Then I speak from my experiences

Your last story about M&M they said "the creative flow is working" that was probably because everyone was well rested and operating at their best. The best way to keep doing that is to not push yourself with overtime.

I think most players are also not understanding that to play with a band your guitar cant be too scooped. That killer scooped tone that sounds great by itself might not cut through in the mix. Also dialing down on the gain is another thing that helps keep your sound full.

Thanks for bringing back the recommendations!! Also- your mixes are always awesome sorry for never saying that before!

Wonderful way to end the video (re: doing what is best for our health). I have struggled with this quite a bit in my "middle years," so affirmation for naps and better self-care is especially welcome. Thanks, Glenn!

I saw Dying Fetus live at Saint Vitus in NYC and the opening band Stabbed sounded bigger and heavier with a couple 6505+ full stacks compared to Dying Fetus going direct with no cabs on stage. When Dying Fetus went on-stage I could actually have a conversation with the bartender; the bass and guitars disappeared. It was all kick, snare and vocals.

Awesome thanks glenn, to the best of my knowledge the guitars sound fine just couldn't help but feel like I might have been doing something wrong really appreciate the reassurance!

I absolutely loved this episode! Keep up the awesome discussions and content man 🤘

Hey Glenn, haven't caught your recent vids because yt can't stop screwing with the algorithm, sigh. Anyway, I just wanted to say that watching your latest vid you look healthy and less stressed. It seems like you're in a really good space right now and I loved your advice about work-life balance. Keep up the great work man!

Thanks Glenn for great video💯💯👏👏💜🤍💙❤

Love your videos Glen!! Keep up the great work!!

Thanks for the shout-out! Been watching for years. The Katana Gen 3 ks worth looking in to. Give one a blind review. Im reviewing one as we speak. Very interesting Class A/B power section that will cut on stage.

Great video as always, Glenn.

The katanas are an absolute overlooked gem. They do have an interface built in and yes, you can get the cab sim through that output. I def recommend them. Using the artist 100 mkii head now. I’m closer to the Kawarthas or I’d offer to pop by with it!

Best advice ever, there’s always gonna be time for more work tomorrow.

Great video - love the Futurama refernces. 🚀

Can't wait to see your episode on the effect of too much gain on the thickness (bigness) of your sound. I'm going to predict that you will find it's definitely a thing! I learnt this by doing a bunch of tests myself (on valve amps) and reading articles from heavy producers who also advise dialing it back in the studio. I was also reminded of the issue by Greg DeLaune (search RU-vid) a few years ago when I was trying to get a good sound out of a modeler (it is super easy to have waaay to much gain dialed in with these) . His advice was to dial the gain right back - got me a lot closer to an acceptable sound.

Sage words of advice about quality of life, Glenn. Thanks for the reminder! I needed that.

Gleeeeeeeeen! Thanx for the video. Keep doing what you do 👍 Universial Audio thing is a good thing to check out. I noticed since awhile back there showing up more and more and they have some nice plugins. I am in the same boat as you, currently very limited use, but I have been open for change for awhile so investigate away 👌 /Hi from Sweden.

Although it may not be said often enough, most of us who watch your channel greatly appreciate what you provide, in knowledge and honesty on products. It's nice not to be bullshitted. After all, we are all trying to learn and grow in sound.

If the band using modeling wasn't using cabs on stage, one explanation certainly is that they were missing some sound on the deck. In a smaller venue in particular, the cabs have a big impact on filling out the sound - of course, it adds all kinds of potential complications, but I've rarely been happy with the mix in a smaller club venue when there's no guitar coming off the deck.

glenn you have the midas touch. everything you touch sounds amazing. 🍻

On the amp sims live topic... where you are in the room from the audience perspective plays a huge part of how big or small you hear the guitars/bass if the band is not using cabs for stage noise. We are used to hear the noise of the stage in conjunction with the FOH sound when we are at a live show. Take the cabs away and you are taking the stage noise away.

Fantastic Glenn.

Your mixes kill it brother man!

That katana question brought me back to the old days of recording guitars with my line six spider III straight into the soundcard of my dads PC.

"Better drink a Redbull, you can't sleep on life." - Young Jeezy Guitar speakers: you owe it to yourselves to check out the Celestion Midnight 60. Completely underrated and slept on, imo. There aren't even IRs for this thing let alone pre-made cabs with it. But I think it sounds so, so good.

We opened for a Kiss tribute band and they had stacks of fake cabs on stage and hidden Marshall stacks on each side of the stage mic'd up. We had a Kemper and a Helix ran direct. After the show we were being told from people in the crowd that our guitars were more "in your face" than the Kiss band. There are a lot of variables at play here but the biggest one would, no doubt, have to be the sound engineer. We used to do the "silent stage" but have gone back to running our modelers into FRFR speakers to fill in the "empty space" in the middle of the stage and it really helps the overall sound and is still much more convenient than carrying around half stacks.

On the point of real amps vs modelers in a live setting. I believe it is a matter of using / setting the proper sound in the modeler. Also, a non-negligeable factor: In the crowd, you don't get the on stage cab sound with a modeler but you do with a real amp and this might change the perspective quite a bit.

GLEN!! I would absolutely LOVE to see a video of modelers vs REAL Amps from you with all your scientific experiments!! lol goin over thickness and thinness in the mix and all that!!

One of the cool things of the katana MK2 is that is possible to use as a reamp box. For recording I normally use the second output and record the DI signal, cabinet emulation is nothing fancy in the katana, better use impulse response but normally I don't use the katana for recording, the signal output is too low I usually increase +20 dB on Reaper to get decent levels, I tweak all the configuration of the amp but apparently nothing works

Hey Glenn, love your videos! Sorry if I sound like that guy, but the original bad company song was tracked not with marshals but with ampeg v4s! Hope this helps

As far as real amps live vs amp sims, pretty sure it comes down to who is mixing the FOH sound. I saw the last 2 Mark Knopfler tours; in 2015 he had real amps mic'd on stage, and in 2019 there were no amps at all so he was likely using sim or profiling setup. Both times everything sounded great! Other than the lack of amps on stage, I noticed nothing sound wise and actually remarked how great all the guitars sounded for being sims or profiles. Plus Brian Baker uses a Kemper profile live of his favourtite Marshall he now refuses to tour with anymore to protect it, and Bad Religion still sound great live!!

On your vids about how gain affect tickness, it would be cool to include : Tracking with the cab in an other room like most sutidio do vs amp in an other room + a 1x12" cab near the guitarist tracking or the guitarist in the cab room. That is something I want to test when my home improvement will be done and I can finally unpack my gear. I feel like when I play near a "loud" source, the take sounded better. Might be a pick up/cab interaction or purely just getting more in the vibe when tracking or just in my head. 🤷‍♂️ Love the content man

GLENN please use the hesu demon speakers more in your episodes with the guitar reviews. I remember hearing a shootout of multiple speakers including those and they sounded thick af, i love them. Not a guitar player but i love me some thick heavy tones! Also keep up the great work and FU!

Word was out in Daytona the past few days and now in Hollywood. Great place. Gonna check out the Guitar Center down here.

Hey Glenn! Love your videos and your mixing tips. I wanted to build my own home studio and I was wondering what are some key things that every studio should have so the results can be consistent and listenable?

I have giged for a while on meddelers) modellers (line 6 Helix family stuff) and have had gigs with amazing sound and compliments on how great and full our guitars sounded. But I've also had gigs where the sound guy had no idea what to do with them and they sounded terrible until I went and helped fix it. Here are my tips 1. Take time finding a good IR 2. Set up All your patches and snapshots to be the same volume unless it's solo boost 3. End of your signal chain Use something like the Helix tube comp and tweak global EQ. These will help fill in the sound signal (and you can Do your own low cut) 4. And this is importand MAKE SURE THE SOUNDTECH DOESN'T PUT HIS DEFAULT GUITAR CAB MIC EQ ON!! I have had this happen a few times and my sound was abysmal as all the low cuts and anti feedback eq settings decimate your tone. Tell them you have spend time Pre eqing your tone so please don't mess with It! (also don't let them add compression if you have it at the end of your patches already like I often do)

Would absolutely love that evm12l review! Been thinking about dropping some money on those.

@ 5:20 Years ago I played a gig with a bunch of Marshalls in the backline: a JCM 900DR, a JCM 2000 DSL, and a plexi - all 100W half-stacks. At sound check, as soon as the boosted plexi kicked in, it easy overwhelmed not just the other two, but the drums and bass as well. It seems like there's something about the voicing of the plexi - specifically: its midrange - that really hits the sweet spot in human hearing. Anecdotal evidence, but I was blown away just by how much *louder* it sounded than everything else.

Another informative video, thank you! I was wondering if there's any information for mixing different speakers in a cabnet. I have been to several music shops in my area to see how my amp head would sound with different drivers. But few cabnets to choose from. Is mixing speakers in cabnet better than running another cabnet, and how to decide what drivers compliment my drivers? I currently have an 80's HH slant, and a 2023 HH slant. Any information is greatly appreciated. Thanks again Glenn🤘🤘

Great job hoser!!!!!

i just picked up a boss street cube for busking/practice. it blows my crates out of the water! im gonna try mic'ing it up for recording. was on clearance cheaper than used. absolutely love it, highly recommend. 🍻

For playing quietly at home, I use a cab sim with a headphone output. I run an OD pedal into an EQ, into my FX, and into my cab sim.

Good stuff this week Glenn, as always. Still hoping for tone test of a Celestion Type-A and G12T-75 together in a 2x12, but also have a new question. How do you balance getting a band a great tone on the record with giving them the sound they want? For example, you want to mix it one way, but they want it to have this entirely different sound because that's how they want it to sound.

Hey glen! Reamp boxes are pretty expensive where im from so if ur looking for an alternative one day, you can always use a DI box in reverse! Just send out your DI signal from ur interface to the di box and into your amp/axe fx/cortex etc. It works! You can also use the thru section if u wanna record another amp if your interface has enough i/o

Yes, agree. Nice mixing console 🎉

Definitely review that Katana GEN 3! I've been gigging with my MK2 for years now and many sound guys have raised an eyebrow at it until they hear it. Would love to see what Roland did with this series and see if it's worth the price tag for the upgrade.

Hey Glenn! what are your thoughts on using parametric EQ in the FX loop?? Just picked up an Empress and my live sound is at a whole new level! Finally able to dial in that percussive "thump". Went with the pedal over new speakers because I figured it'd be the best way to reign in my bottom end. New speakers are def my next purchase, going with the EVMs you mentioned but just the regulars not the higher output Zakk Wylde model.

Hey Glenn As for a mixing advice on going drums > bass > guitar - this has helped me a lot. I usually now create the drum track, then record the bass (and make sure it fits) and then record guitars. Listening to such soundtrack actually helps me to record guitar for several reasons (among them: i am not super talented, kinda tone deaf and I am still learning - all while being 42) I guess my mixes will suck a bit less over time as well but hey, i am still learning :) Oh and I may drop the recording of my garage from early 2000's band on the discord. Recorded using a cheap pc mic stuck in a comfy chair, played live and the mixing was just moving the amps and the chair around the room to get the best result on the windows audio recorder. The drums were a cheap Czech production and we were not aware they can be tuned, my bass was an actual abomination (a polish 'luthier' Presto-Lang with all possible fuckups), bass amp that was a 70s hand made tube amp... At least the guitar player had decent stuff. I guess i should re-record all of it after 20 years :)

I've seen Metallica, def Leppard, and Shinedown live and all used AxeFx units exclusively. The sound was sensational every time.

I’m speaking as a FOH engineer for the past 35 years: combine a person who knows how to dial one of these units in with a competent FOH engineer and these are game changers and they sound GREAT. If either of the two criteria above falter just a bit there is a huge sonic problem to contend with. I’ve worked with great guitarists who know very little how to dial these in, as well as both bass and guitar players who a killing it. Given the choice and a decent PA and room, I’d never want to use a live amp again if I don’t need to.

OMG, CoC and Fu Manchu in one gig??? Must have been a sweet evening! I love both bands so much!

More people need to look into Celestion G12H-150 speakers, aka "Redbacks" because they are amazing. They have 150 Watt power handling, and are like a darker version of a cross between Eminence Swamp Thang and a G12K-100. They work amazing in 1×12 and 2×12 cabs, as well as combo amps. I recently learned that Seismic Audio Quake 12 speakers are based on the Redbacks, and I have a 4×12 and an open back 1×12 with those Seismic speakers. I tend to like using darker amps and speakers, and then riding the mids and highs, cranking the presence knob, etc, while boosting the front end. Makes for a very intense, pissed off tone.

Wanting to speak to your viewers in public is the greatest comment I've heard in a long time. I cross paths with alot of RU-vid wannabe celebrities and almost everyone I've seen treated viewers like garbage when they have just said hello.

I played a show at reggies in Chicago opening for a band that only used iridium’s and we used a deluxe reverb and a musicman 75 reverb and all anybody told me all night was how flat the headliners sounded after us. I use modellers in all my other bands but after that I’m considering getting some kind of FRFR/cab solution to get more stage volume for my guitar.

love the show

Hey Glenn, loving your videos! Old school metalhead here. I wanted to know if you could do a deep dive into recreating an 80's guitar sound? My absolute favorite band is Accept! Wolf Hoffman has a unique sound which I have never heard anywhere else that I have come *close* to recreating, but never exactly. The deep, rattling distortion he gets is very unique (Balls To The Wall). AND, they always sound the same on the record OR live. Back in the day, I tried a massive Laney head into a double stack, with various stomp boxes, then I had a Mesa Boogie rack mount, into a tube power amp into various effects racks... no luck. Surprisingly, the closest I have come (using 'trick' effects) was a podxt into a crate power block thru a rocktron s112 cabinet. I had the pod use a *very* slight delay effect over distortion to get the 'rattle' or 'vibration' to the distortion. I think Wolf had Marshalls, with a power attenuator, maybe some kind of octave effect, and really hot (active?) pickups??? Can YOU dial in the 'Accept sound' and show me how? Thx!

The lack of stage noise definitely removes from the intensity of a live show. I especially noticed this when I was touring with Sonata Arctica in 2017. My band always got the “your sound was crushing on stage”. We were using amps and Sonata was using DI and using the PA to drive intensity. It makes sense to go the Sonata route if you have tones of other instruments going on during the show, as it allows for easier mixing balance. But if you don’t have all that extra shit, I highly recommend taking the amp approach, even if it’s just a 4x12.

I have a 2500 watt 15" PA speaker and modeler that together work great with guitar and bass. I find that just running my modeler into monitors really does have those problems but when I simply bring my PA speaker and put it behind me like an amp when using my modeler (usually do, but I've played through my pedalboard and half stack enough) it pretty much solves the issues typically associated with a modeler rig. It gets the stage volume back and feels more like playing through an amp, while being a much lesser headache than bringing a "real" amp although that may be attributed to my being used to using it as my amp for most gigs (without FOH). But, my board (with a Northern Mauler and a Revv G4 clone, thanks Glenn!) in front of my orange head/marshall cab half stack is still THE #1 ass kicker even if just due to the aesthetics.

Really looking forward to a review of the EVM12L. As a big time Zakk Wylde fan, I've always wanted to try them, but at $300 a piece, I've always been reluctant.

I used to gig with my Mesa rig that had a 2:90 power amp and two 2x12 cabs in stereo. Now I gig direct with a Headrush. I'm still working with a lot of the same sound people I have for years at the local venues here, and they've all told me how different it is to mix a direct signal compared to live amps. From an audience perspective, there's no stage volume, so it really depends on the PA setup as well. Many venues where I live (Seattle) are putting front facing wedges on the front of the stage now to help fill in the gap. It used to be if you stood too close to the stage at smaller venues you'd hear less vocals, but you'd still hear the amps/drums. If the bassist and guitarists are going direct, and a traditional PA setup is being used, then all you'll hear are drums. Makes for a really bad mix for the people up close. And yes, higher gain doe lead to a thinner sound live regardless of amp sim or amp, and it's made much much worse by scooping mids. Guitar is a midrange instrument. More gain = more compression. This almost always has a very negative effect on the low end, either over hyping it, or eliminating it all together. Both put the sound person in an impossible situation where they will either have to cut your low end on the board, giving your scooped tone that already lacks mids, no low end support. So you're left with the chainsaw tone. The other would be having to boost your low end, and that just always sounds artificial and too boomy. In a recording situation, this isn't as big of a deal.

In regards to modelers vs tube amps: I think a couple of big componets that get overlooked are power section (and selection in some cases) and stage sound provided by cabinets amd/or flat response speakers.

Great work Glenn, keep on rockin. I watched your video and spontaneously went to see Fear Factory and Biohazard on saturday. Fear Factory was supporting them and unfortunately they did not sound good at all. It improved during the gig but not that much. Who ever did the soundcheck should have his ears cut off. It was a small stage and I did not see any amps in sight. I guess they were using Modellers. It sounded very thin. But when Biohazard hit the stage, the stacks were uncovered. Both were using the EVH heads and one was stealth on two quads. Oh boy, when they started, every cell of my body felt the sound in a righteously proper manner. So there we go!!! Hi from Switzerland

I use a helix live, and ever since switching over to it from my dual rec stack, I have got just as many comments about how good my tone sounds. My one bit of advice, however, would be to put a fairly aggressive high cut on your global effects. This takes away a lot of the fizz from using hi gain sounds, and your guitar will just sit better in the mix. Oh and the sound guy will love you for it.

I saw the United studio replay box. Will you be doing a review on that and the vintage direct?

Hi Glenn! Talking about the real amp vs emulation. Do you think using emulation into a tube power amp >> real speaker and then using a mic into the pa would solve this? Hahaha just wondering because that's my set up. I do recognise my digital board only sounds good and full with the gain below 20 of 100.

Yes thin sounding guitar comparison when gain added is a great idea for a video.

When comparing modeling to tube amps at a live show, it depends on the setup. Modelers usually go straight into the front of house and use a wedge or IEM (silent stage). A live amp involves a head into a cab, with the mic'd amp going to the FOH and the cab filling the space with guitar. Essentially adding extra speaker/speakers with only guitar, that the crowd can usually hear. If you ran a modeler using the four-cable method into the same cab, most people in the crowd wouldn't notice a difference. The final piece is, you have to EQ your modeler different in the FOH for live shows if going direct.

The AX-84 project, back in the day, determined that it was power amp distortion that made a thicker sound than preamp distortion. There's a lot to it, but this is why (in part), they were working on low power tube amps. You could get more of that sound at a lower volume. Obviously there's a lot more to it, but it's a thought.

Can’t wait for the video on gain. Or loss?

You are spot on. The more gain the less fundamental punch! In the studio if you feel like your guitars aren’t pushing air turn down the gain. There is a reason why plexis are so loved. Live, amps or amp sims don’t matter if you have a great mix engineer if you are playing theaters or arenas or festivals. However in clubs amps will always sound thicker and tougher because the crowd is hearing the amps from the stage especially for the people up front in the pit. If you are using amp sims because you are using in ears and want a consistent in ear monitor mix and you are playing clubs always run an amp from stage for the kids in the pit. You will sound tough even if only the amp sims are in the FOH mix.

As a guitarist with a fractal & marshalls, I agree that there usually is something missing in the midrange about the modelers live. I think microphones add a little magic that they haven’t quite gotten down yet…..but they constantly seem to be getting closer….

one thing people forget when using stuff like axefx on stage is the stage volume, the front row of the audience is getting a lot of their sound from the monitoring the artists are using and if theres no stage sound because the performers are on in ears, then the front row is not going to be hearing those guitars as well as people further back in the crowd that are being served a better sound from the front of house.

Hey glenn, have you ever played one of the B52 amps? Ive heard their at-100a and their at-100 and i found them to be decent. However i think the biggest sleeper they have is their stealth series cabinets. I would totally love to see what you think about the cabinests and possibly the heads. Much love from chicago

That last point reminded me of a song I heard by a rap group from Toronto called Red Ants: "At your job it would seem you're just a cog in the machine, working your hands to the bone for another man's dreams"

Good luck in Orlando it’s hot as hell out here

I saw Animals as Leaders with Between the Buried and Me. AAL used Axe FX and I could barely hear the guitars through the wall of low end coming though. BTBAM also used Axe FX, but they run their signal through a Mesa power amp to a mic'd up 4x12 cab and they sounded awesome! A few years later, I saw Trivium with BTBAM. Same thing. Trivium used Kemper. Couldn't hear the guitars. BTBAM sounded phenomenal. I really think there is a difference.

It always surprises me to remember Glen is into anime. Kaiju No. 8 is awesome.

Of the early modelling amps, Line 6 Vox, I preferred the way the Vox sounded and felt live. Tube amps turned up enough to push speakers hard definitely feel a lot different and better to me live. The whole feedback loop, from pick to strings to pickup to amp, back to my ears resonate in a way that is felt as much as heard. And playing a large venue with a rock concert PA and a stack behind me cranked loud enough to massage my back was a religious experience the couple of times I had that opportunity. The strange thing was if I took one step to the left or right of my speaker cab, my guitar just disappeared except for the little bit still heard in the floor monitor.

In terms of live sound and modelers, I found that running a split signal - FOH receiving a signal with the cab sim, and running a signal without a cab sim into a power amp and a cab on stage for the stage wash - really works wonders for believability. Additionally, when EQing your patches at home at low volumes, they have to sound super boxy and like shit in order to sound correct and huge live. That being said, I set my rhythm guitar gain just enough to turn the muted picking into a chug and that's it. FOH engineer was always happy with the final result.

Hey Glenn. Do you have any experience with H n H speakers? They are the one that usually ship with Laney Cabs. (I think)

Yes glen the only reason I have an issue with emgs is the output. The passive pickups distort an amp differently but can be helped with a good overdrive glad to hear you agree and f you glen

I’ll vouch for the EVM, the Zack Wilde 300 watt version had my interest, but I already had a 12L so i bought another!, 40’years apart! I have not AB’d them, but they seem to sound exactly alike!

Hey Glen, What are your thoughts on cabs with different speakers in it all mic’d individually to an optimum level? #FrankenCab I have a really nice Engl 4 x 12 and and I don’t have the space for six different 4 x 12 I was wondering your thoughts on cabs with all four speakers being different; I’m totally comfortable doing this experiment on my own - I just watch your videos often and value your opinion, so I was hoping you could give your opinion on this topic.

The bad thing about speakers is that there is a shortage of music stores that sell a useful variety of speakers *and* have them in cabinets so you can actually hear them. Consequently, RU-vid videos are a primary source of audio information on speakers and those demos rarely show cranked sounds. You have to buy online and you can't return the speakers if they're not what you need.

So many people have Katanas that I think a video looking at the new Generation 3s perhaps comparing them to the older ones would be cool.

17:04 I moved to Long Island for a job and it was much like I was afraid it would be, the "work work work" attitude of NYC and that whole area of the country, getting up with the chickens and "being productive." I wish I'd heard your response to this when I was in high school or college, which was quite a while back.

My experience with amp sims is that guitarists will build their sounds in the studio/headphones and it sounds HUGE there but will not translate well to the live environment and in the context of a full mix. It's a great tool but it's easy to go overboard with it

Definitely do the stealth buy on the Katana gen3. I am considering the Gen 3 artist combo for living room practice and traveling purpose. it's easier than lugging around a cabinet and more than loud enough to keep up with a drummer. I had the gen 2 artist but gave it to a friend that needed an amp so i've got some experience with the Katana line up

It could be the lack of actual cabinets on stage. Depending on where you're viewing the show, if you're up close you won't feel the air move from the speakers as you would with the real amps. If you're outside of the front of house speakers, the differences should be less noticeable.

Dude Kaiju No. 8 is so good - it's got action, humor and heart - it just rocks

Compression to the whole mix!

The thing with ampsims live, is that you need to have a good PA and mix, and frontfill speakers. If not, the guitars will sound weak mostly on the first rows of the public, because with amps you get more sound coverage.

Best of both worlds for amp sims is to have an output to cabs on stage with no cab sim and a second output with cab sim for the PA. There's also a lot of settings that need to be tweaked just right that depends if you're running a solid state power amp or a tube power amp.