Music Gear Source - Where do you feel current modeling falls short and why is yours superior?
Cliff Chase from Fractal Audio - I think the biggest weakness in current modeling technology is the cartoonish sound and the artificial feel. The sound has improved in recent products and is less sterile but the feel is still awkward. One manufacturer has addressed the feel issue by using a 12AX7 tube as a miniature power amp with a dummy speaker load. It works fairly well actually and is likely an analog version of what the Axe-Fx does digitally. The Axe-Fx is more sophisticated and since done in software allows us to vary many parameters that wouldn't be possible with a hardware solution.
The strengths of the Axe-Fx are in the level of sophistication and detail in the modeling and the dynamic nature of the algorithms. The dynamic response is what gives the player that feel. When you play a cranked tube amp and hit a power chord the bandwidth is reduced and the chord sounds thick. As the notes decay the amp comes out of saturation and the bandwidth increases allowing the notes to bloom and sing with overtones. Also we model the power supply in great detail. This virtual supply responds like a real amp and sags as more current is demanded from it.
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Fractal Audio Systems