Question:
We're always talking about the natural tones we don't get from modeling amps. Too digital sounding.
I was at a concert yesterday listening to a nice piano solo.... coming through a Yamaha keyboard. That's not a "natural" piano. In fact, aren't all tones coming from keyboards, well, digital?
Sound pretty good to me... J/S

Answer:
Ahem - Micro Cube

Answer:
I don't think there is too much of an argument any more over tone. It seems to me that the main argument now comes down to the feel of a tube amp vs. modelling.

Answer:
Ahem - Micro Cube :lol:

Answer:
If you were, let's say, a classically trained piano player, you'd think the keyboard would sound too digital as well.
I think it has to do with our trade and how we are used to the subtleties of our instruments and amps. Most audience members can't tell a Marshall from a Pod. Many can't tell a keyboard from a piano either.

Answer:
haha, exactly, frets. Let's see the analog-lovers argue against this!
there's nothing wrong with digital tones, especially if you don't want to spend thousands of dollars on the real gear, or you can't afford it.

Answer:
i saw the title and thought to myself "yea, Frets could make it as a male model"

Answer:
Frets is right on with this one. Is anyone set up to record the real thing and a modeler for a "blind" test? I bet most wouldn't be able to tell a difference without a little luck on their side.

Answer:
I say go for it!

Answer:
Ahem - Micro Cube Not too fond of any of the Roland guitar stuff. The overdrive never sounds at all tubey. Same with the Tech 21 stuff. The Voxes on the other are very realistic.

Answer:
Frets is right on with this one. Is anyone set up to record the real thing and a modeler for a "blind" test? I bet most wouldn't be able to tell a difference without a little luck on their side. yeah, let's do a blind test. I'm not set up to record, but I bet there are some people who are.
these days, with better modeling technology it's hard to tell the difference IMO.

Answer:
I haven't done any bias controlled listening tests but I suspect I could tell a grand piano from a digital piano in the same venue. But I'm not certain of that. My Yamaha digital piano has truly amazing samples. Some of them are downright scary real.
I also know I'll never use a tube amp again. If a tube amp sounds better than my cheap Behringer amp modeling appliance then the difference is truly subtle if it exists at all. Here's my solid state "modelling amp." It is a regular tone machine. In fact it can sound pretty much like nearly any guitar amp ever made just by turning the dial. Don't knock it till you've tried it.
I own a Vox AD30 by the way. What you see below blows it away many times over.

Answer:
The thing is, there are probably few if no songs recorded anymore that aren't digitized in some manner. Sure an amp might be mic'd, but then that clean signal is turned inside out three ways to Sunday through Pro Tools.
So really, what is the difference between a mic'd signal from an amp that is 'treated' and a clean signal that goes right into an amp modeler?

Answer:
haha, exactly, frets. Let's see the analog-lovers argue against this!
there's nothing wrong with digital tones, especially if you don't want to spend thousands of dollars on the real gear, or you can't afford it. I agree with what you guys are saying to a point, but my keyboard player (who has really nice keys) wants a real piano. So it isnt only us tube amp guys. (note I have Digitech stuff and I like it, but I still want tubey stuff once in awhile)

Answer:
I haven't done any bias controlled listening tests but I suspect I could tell a grand piano from a digital piano in the same venue. But I'm not certain of that. My Yamaha digital piano has truly amazing samples. Some of them are downright scary real.
I also know I'll never use a tube amp again. If a tube amp sounds better than my cheap Behringer amp modeling appliance then the difference is truly subtle if it exists at all. Here's my solid state "modelling amp." It is a regular tone machine. In fact it can sound pretty much like nearly any guitar amp ever made just by turning the dial. Don't knock it till you've tried it.
I own a Vox AD30 by the way. What you see below blows it away many times over.
what model is that to be specific?

Answer:
I don't think that there is any question that a honest to goodness tube amp is going to sound different from a digital modeler.
The question is, "Does it sound 'better'?"
And the answer is usually no but sometimes yes.
The first electric guitars and amps were sort of happy accidents and that is what we've been using as reference tones for 60 years. So the standard was set probably in the 50's (even though electrics were around before that decade) because that's when a lot of artists started to exploit the unique sounds of the electric guitar.
There have been more reference tones that devleped from the 60's through this decade, but electric guitar snobs are stuck on those classic 50's--60's sounds.
You're not going to capture the detail on a recording, which is why modelers are so great. The guitar competes with space in the mix, and the details, even in the best recordings, are lost, so why not use a modeler that will do a huge range of tones?
But if you are in the same room with a Spider III and a old Fender or Vox from the 60's, the difference is obvious and dramatic.

Answer:
I went to a Zebra show last night.

I was there because some of the guys in one of my bands play in another band called Juliet.

Juliet opened up for Zebra lastnight.

I thought Zebra sounded pretty good out front, so I noticed when I went backstage, looking down on the stage from behind the drummer, the guitarist was running his signal into an old pod bean 2.0 and then into his amp.

Dont know what settings he was using, but there was obviously something he liked about his floor pod that was important enough to use it as part of his sound.


On a side note, I play a little bit of piano and I am REAL picky about acoustic natural piano sounds.

I have a Yamaha MO8 and I dont like any of the "natural" piano sounds in it. They dont sound natural enough, an d tthat keydoard gets some pretty good reviews for its acoustic piano sounds.

So to each his own I guess.

Answer:
I haven't done any bias controlled listening tests but I suspect I could tell a grand piano from a digital piano in the same venue. But I'm not certain of that. My Yamaha digital piano has truly amazing samples. Some of them are downright scary real.
I also know I'll never use a tube amp again. If a tube amp sounds better than my cheap Behringer amp modeling appliance then the difference is truly subtle if it exists at all. Here's my solid state "modelling amp." It is a regular tone machine. In fact it can sound pretty much like nearly any guitar amp ever made just by turning the dial. Don't knock it till you've tried it.
I own a Vox AD30 by the way. What you see below blows it away many times over.
Are you going through a full range speaker or a guitar cabinet ? I've been thinking about getting a 2x12 for my LX112.

Answer:
What I have found out, and maybe I'm late to the game, but when you mate a modeler to a tube amp the universe opens up in a big way. I ran my POD XT Live through the front of my Crate V33H (running everything through the clean channel) and I can get nice sounds ranging from Marshall to Fender. I can turn the amp modeling off and use my amp's tone, I can turn the cab model off and use the sound from my cab. I can tweak the effects and get anything from bell-like cleans to raunchy OD to full-on distortion.
The real plus here is that what I record running to the PODXT Live straight into the computer I can reproduce live. Not to mention my setup is greatly simplified. I have access to effects that do not take up more space than I already use but are there if I need/want them.
I agree that in recording it doesn't make much difference, but live minus tubes does tend to make things kind of sterile.
I say if something sounds good, no matter how you get there, use it. It shouls be all about the sound, not about following someone's rules on how you got there.

Answer:
I liked the Yamaha modeling tones in the DG series. I have two DG Stomps. The convenience of modeling is great. But by definition, they are not the real thing. The real thing is a tube amp.
Many are too young to recall - and for the rest of us it's easy to forget - When transistor amps were first introduced, we flocked to them for the weight and convenience of not having to change tubes. Modeling is sort of trying to be the best of both worlds. It works within limits.
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