Members jwlussow Posted January 14, 2010 Members Share Posted January 14, 2010 Thats the other side to it: I've worked with guitarists who won't play in a garage without their cranked tube amp drowning everyone else out. Their tone may well be good, but the band doesnt actually sound its best. People are there to hear the whole band, not the lead guitarist. ...but that's how they get "their" sound.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members klrbee03 Posted January 15, 2010 Members Share Posted January 15, 2010 I picked up an RP1000 at GC for $320 before New Years, think they were having a blowout sale. The thing sounds awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Caspar Posted January 15, 2010 Members Share Posted January 15, 2010 I agree here with jwlussow and picker13 here. The modelers really is the thing if you want a quick set up, excellent tone, cheap, and portable. Les Paul or tele on the back and a tonelab st in the bag that also fits a 6-pack, toothbrush and rubber. One thing that a lot of people I hear do one thing wrong: They tweak the sounds at home on the sofa and then they show up in front of an audience in a Live situation and they sound arse most of the time. Don't waste time on the sofa tweaking, just play! Tweak sounds with the band and then take them home and get used to them. But I have the footprint for my Elmwood, most of the time. And I am totally convinced that, to stand in-front of a good tube-amp AND being able to turn it up a bit is when rock-music plays the best. No modeler does that(right now). 99% of the audience would not notice the difference though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Emory Posted January 15, 2010 Members Share Posted January 15, 2010 Keep your stomp boxes and get a Tech21 sansamp... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rick6 Posted January 15, 2010 Members Share Posted January 15, 2010 I tried the new Tonelab version, the small one. I could not get a tone I liked. I play jazz. I use a brighter tone than most jazzers and I like some tube warmth (think 22% blues player). I couldn't get it. I was just as happy bypassing it. If I had to go really small, I'd mic a practice amp with a good tone. I've gotten good sounds out of the old Ampeg Jet, the Fender Champ and, strangely, a little Crate solid state XR15 or FX15 or something (sounded great, but, sadly, was unreliable). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted January 15, 2010 CMS Author Share Posted January 15, 2010 I think modelers are awesome for what they are and what they can do. But I will say, nothing can emulate the must-'n'dust smell of tubes warming up in an old amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted January 15, 2010 Members Share Posted January 15, 2010 They tweak the sounds at home on the sofa and then they show up in front of an audience in a Live situation and they sound arse most of the time. Don't waste time on the sofa tweaking, just play! Tweak sounds with the band and then take them home and get used to them. Good point. We tweak the sounds through FOH. It took a long time but we did everything from the audience perspective. After that we worked on the monitors (IEMs). We did not change the FOH sound to tweak the IEM sound. We have confidence that the audience would hear what we wanted them to hear and we made our compromises in the IEMs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sir riff a lot Posted January 15, 2010 Members Share Posted January 15, 2010 Thats the other side to it: I've worked with guitarists who won't play in a garage without their cranked tube amp drowning everyone else out. Their tone may well be good, but the band doesnt actually sound its best. People are there to hear the whole band, not the lead guitarist. never a truer word was spoken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zbad55 Posted January 15, 2010 Members Share Posted January 15, 2010 Just my 2 cents, on the subject. I have been using a digitech RP350 now for about a year and half. I would not go back to lugging an amp around anymore, no matter how small.As for sound I think they sound great, it just takes some time to tweak it they way you want, and I also do it throught the FOH PA. What I think is funny though is, I run sound from stage so the PA rack is right next to me at all our gigs. I have had so many guitarist's come up to me and ask what kind of rack rig am I running for my guitar, because they love the way it sounds. When I point to the floor and tell them it is only just this pedal, they can't believe it and insist that I'm running something else.I had one guy thell me he loved the sound and when I told him it was just a modeller pedal, then he complained that I should be using an amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members malcatron Posted January 15, 2010 Members Share Posted January 15, 2010 I'm afraid a modeller simply would not inspire me the way a cookin' valve amp can. Fortunately it seems at last that amp manufacturers are finally realizing that not everyone gigs in the enormo dome! The last few years there's been some great low-wattage amps appearing. This is my 20W baby, I can get awesome tone from it at pub friendly SPL and I defy anyone to tell me a POD looks anywhere near as sexy!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tacdryver Posted January 17, 2010 Members Share Posted January 17, 2010 I would love to have the run of a bar with a stage and PA, and see how a GT10 or modeler would sound straight in..would be a fun way to screw off an afternoon.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarterwave Posted January 20, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 Well, I ended up grabbing a Vox Tonelab ST.... and returned it the next day ! I played with it through my PA for about 6 hours, messing with all the settings and paramaters etc... and just could not get a sound out of it that I could live with. I play with an overdriven sound 95% of the time (Black Crowes / Eagles type of guitar sound), and despite all my attempts (I was a rack junkie in the late 90's), I just could not pull a sound that didn't sound brittle or mushy. My overall impression of the sound(s) was that if it was a real amp with a mic on it, the mic needed to be moved until it found "the sweet spot". Each patch never really got it right, although YMMV. I will say that it was a solid little pedal, but the power plug on the unit itself needs to be upgraded to the usual, 3-prong style that's found on most heavier-duty equipment, IMO. Regular gigging use of those little pin-type power plugs is not something that I'd like to do. Looks like I'll have to wait for the next generation of modellers.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 Where are you located? I still believe the PODxt series is the best out there. If you are in the area feel free to come out and run it through its paces. We always keep a spare in the rack for "walk up friends". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members picker13 Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 I absolutely agree with those that said you're playing to an audience, who generally can't tell the difference. But to me, there's something less than optimal in accepting "average" or "acceptable." We should all strive to be the best we can be, and as musicians, part of that is sounding the best we can. If my rig (or if I were to use a modeler) isn't sounding good, then my performance is going to suffer. What I am saying is if you are not satisfied with the sound of a modeler, then don't use one. If you are, then all power to you, go ahead. It's all personal preference, isn't it? And no one can tell a person what his/hers should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.