I'm doing it! Going all in on modeling.

[codamedia]

I wonder if you have the Helix / LT or the HX stomp.

I own the LT, but I was just agreeing with the two of you that the HELIX is easier to make edits on than the Stomp or the Fractal, providing touch capacitance was turned on.

I HATE the touch capacitance, if I so much as graze the wrong button it moves me somewhere I don't want to be. I'm trying to do the big edits in the software and save tweaks for on-device.

You and me both... I only turn touch capacitance on when I am editing at home, or at a rehearsal. Once I am done editing, I turn it off - especially for live performances. The big Helix is so easy to edit I don't bother with the software most of the time, by the time I am ready to take my presets live, I rarely need to edit them anymore and at most the edits will be very minor so I'll just tweak it during a break.

 

[burntfrijoles]

I don't think I'm going to sell all my tube amps (OK, I have two, just two) but who knows.

Don't!!!!!

I was all in on modeling until I wasn't.
Between three and four years ago I was convinced modeling was my future. Then I realized that I missed playing my amp. I still use "modeling" via my Strymon Iridium but only for recording. It doesn't require tweaking and re-tweakings. It's not complex and I can use my pedalboard with it.
Some day I may go more predominately digital because the technology continues to evolve and it will be better for my workflow and it will be more convenient and more quiet.

 

[Southpaw Tele]

I switched over to a Helix LT for playing at church a few years back and I love it. Very flexible, sounds fantastic and no sound people telling me to turn my amp down (we’re using in ears now). If I do have a gig that requires an amp, I take my Alto powered speaker with me and play the Helix through that.

 

[Burlington Dave]

I spent two hours today in rehearsal comparing sounds I can get out of a regular all analog pedalboard and my Allen Accomplice Jr (a fantastic Fendery amp) versus what I can get out of my HX stomp with somebody else's (M Britt) presets through a PA with a high quality monitor speaker. Modeling wins - the Fender sounds with my Taylor Solidbody (LP-ish) were a tie, different but equally great, but one button push also gets me really great AC30 tones too. I don't hear any digital artifacts, fizziness or anything weird, just a killer amp tone. With my own presets I thought the unit was pretty mediocre, but the ones from this guy won me over.

And then - I also play acoustic and they always sound half-electric through an electric guitar amp no matter what you do. So the acoustic with a good reverb and EQ on the Helix through the monitor was what really won me over. There is no way I want to run my acoustic through the PA, deal with all that, AND set up an electric amp. So many other pluses - I am LOVING being able to control tremolo intensity with the expression pedal. So cool within a song to be basically just a little damp and then go full swamp for some weird bridge chord.

I decided to tackle my main issue with MFX head on. Anything that can radically change the levels I will use a real pedal in front of the HX stomp. For my next show that means a comp. I want to be able to bend down and turn a knob if anything goes wrong.

Next step is to get a better monitor / frfr cabinet. Looking at the Yamaha options as the sweet spot price / quality. I have a Beringer thing and it technically works, but it's junk next to a good speaker.

I don't think I'm going to sell all my tube amps (OK, I have two, just two) but who knows.

I just picked up a Boss Katana 100 V.1, it has a separate preamp for the acoustic setting which sounds really great, plus a bunch of great sounds and it’s customizable. Very versatile.

 

[tfarny]

Just back from more practicing.

I just picked up a Boss Katana 100 V.1, it has a separate preamp for the acoustic setting which sounds really great, plus a bunch of great sounds and it’s customizable. Very versatile.

I’ve had a katana and a Roland blues cube stage. Katana does some stuff really well but it didn’t stick with me.

 

[Alex_C]

I generally like simplicity as well, ditched my Boogie + HX Effects + Captor-X recording setup I had for a year. Still have the Laney L5 studio.

I like the modeler stuff as well and have had to adopt a KISS strategy (no, not blaming everything on the drummer) and try to get the most out of just a few presets instead of constantly auditioning every dang thing there is.

The L5 Studio is such a great sounding amp. I use a modeler out of convenience, but when I'm uninspired, I fire up the Laney and it is always so satisfying. It is the first small tube amp that sounded like a large amp to my ears.

 

[kLyon]

Getting an agent, head shots, practicing your runway walk, boning up on Italian for fashion week in Milan?
Good luck; it's tough out there))

 

[mexicanyella]

I’m working the little-discussed vintage modeler angle because if you appear far enough behind the curve, eventually you will end up in front of the curve.

Kind of like wearing parachute pants and fanny packs. Who’s with me?

That little red Zoom B2 has turned out to be really useful. Originally it was a used $50 Craigslist purchase intended to give me a flexible preamp as I was getting into bass, because I wasn’t sure what kind of amp I wanted yet, and I had a power amp and bass cab. I figured I could get a handle on some basic gain and EQ characteristics that way.

I ended up settling on a few basic sounds mostly devoid of effects, and was happy to discover some of the bass amp and pedal models were useful for guitar and lap steel too. Sometimes I add a little of its reverb, delay or tremolo to the guitar sounds I’ve created but with bass it’s just compressor/amp model/EQ—using the Marshall Super Bass model at low gain so it’s pretty clean.

I like the way Zoom configured its controls to access stuff with a simple two-digit LED display. It’s not quite as quick as flipping amp knobs around, but it’s close. Being able to run for several hours on four AA batteries is handy sometimes, and it has plenty of signal output to put my power amps on the moon. It’s been quite useful for home recording with all my instruments, and live band practice use for bass.

The blue V-Amp Pro was free and ended up parked at our practice space for bass preamp use, also on a single setting (compression, JC120 amp model, EQ). So in my case the modelers are a convenience...lots of sound options if I want to goof around, but I usually don’t, and solid consistent sounds that weren’t too hard to tweak into shape...plus a built-in tuner in each case.

 

[Happy Enchilada]

During my 12 years of worship music (last 6 were 4 services a weekend - Saturday night and 3 back to back Sunday), I quickly found my POD XT to be a great solution. Work up presets that sound good on my own time, try them out at rehearsal, tweak them again after that, and BAM there they were ready to roll when the whistle blows. No futzing with adjusting individual pedals, no battery issues, etc.

Another thing that was great about that was how EASILY I could go from something mellow and soothing to a hard-edged lead with one push of a button: No tap dancing on a pedalboard. In fact, I had the POD on a mic stand and I could just reach over and select the next patch in less time than it takes to discuss it. And it never EVER failed me.

Nowadays I play electric more for my own amusement and nearly not as much. I find my Blues Cube Stage and my ModTone Dirty Duo pedal do the trick for all I need. I still have the POD and I get it out once in a while. It still delivers, and if I went back into a band situation, it'd be there by my side.

 

[Ron R]

I'd sell my Carvin X-60C except it's such a a "value" that I just keep it. Yeah.. I'm all in now. As someone said in the 2 year running troll thread my modeller sounds better than what I was ever able to get out of tube amps.

I had an X myself - great amp, but the sweet spot was ridiculously LOUD for the small clubs we play. I've been ampless for over a decade and loving it. Better control of our mix, our overall volume, and much lighter gear to haul. Set-up and breakdowns go much quicker, too.

 

[headly21]

@Milspec I agree with you and not trying to sell any approach to anybody.

I am not really patient with the tweaking side of modeling stuff either and I don't need nor favor a million presets and all that nonsense. And what people seem to end up with on these things is way, way overprocessed sounding tones to my ear. Way too much drippy chorused delays, modulation on everything, "crunchy" tones having way too much gain and so on. I certainly don't need multiple presets per song and every song with a different tone. Give me a couple good sounds and some time to practice my parts.

I've had the HX Stomp for maybe six months and not got real serious about it, just mostly used it as a pedalboard, until I downloaded this guys' patches and instantly the thing sounded like a great, great amp without me doing much of anything. On my own I would never have done much with it as I never was able to dial in anything I liked.
If I look into the patches this guy sells they have a whole EQ section, a custom IR and so on. Nothing I want to learn much about if I don't have to. But dangit, if it works it works.

Re: "overprocessed" ... 80s guitar recordings come to mind, even with the "decent" stuff as far as 80s go (think Andy Summers, Alex Lifeson, The Edge ...).
Modeling makes it easier for me to switch back and forth between playing Every Breath You Take, Digital Man, and Pride (In the Name of Love).

But my go-to amp is my narrow panel Tweed Deluxe clone. That's where I am me.

 

[swarfrat]

I'm thinking I'll keep my Marshall Lead 12 because it's small and cool and says Marshall on it. I'm running an FRFR108 because it's small cheap and handy. It's ok, but ... whenever Sweetwater's annual 5k giveaway rolls my number I'll get an EV coax wedge with an 18" Sub to handle bass guitar and e-drums, use the wedge by itself for guitar, sell all the other non-cool amps and cabs I own, and maybe get around to finishing this 2204S/1965a project.

I'd still love to have a tube amp and a multispeaker cab, but just for fun. Bass? A modeller is more than enough for me there.

 

[Burlington Dave]

Just back from more practicing.

I’ve had a katana and a Roland blues cube stage. Katana does some stuff really well but it didn’t stick with me.

I’ve been using the Fender Mustang III v1 for years as my gigging amp. I was playing in a 9 piece band with horns and my Hot Rod Deluxe just wouldn’t cut through the mix. The Katana will be used for jams and open mics when I need to play both acoustic and electric.The Mustang is my gigging amp with True Rodeo.
www.truerodeo.com

 

[naveed211]

I may go with a Fly Rig, Terror Stamp, or Victory (if I really go all in). Maybe give the Iridium another shot, didn’t like it as a recording solution, but maybe I’d like it into a PA.

Much as I love love love my JCM 800 mini half stack, an all-pedalboard setup is just insanely practical as we’re planning for more travel dates.

I want to pull out my hair every time I try a more complex all-in-one modeler like Helix, Fractal, Kemper and their cheaper variants. It’d have to be a simpler one for me, personally.

 

[bobio]

Sold my tube amps years ago, been all whatever the latest buzzword is for at least 10 years.
No desire to ever go back to toobs. I have the Katana and Nextone for built-in effects.
The Tone Master Deluxe Reverb is a great pedal platform. I don't need anything else

 

[63telemaster]

Just started playing out again after the *^%" of the last 2 years and decided to go with just my HX Stomp and in ear monitoring. I play 50/50 acoustic/electric so it was a no brainer for me. Maybe if it was all electric I'd go with my Stomp into the fx return of my Sessionette but even that's a close call.

Playing through the stomp and IEMs isn't quite as inspiring/exciting for me as being in front of a real amp but the practicality and consistency outweighs that.

 

[teletail]

I guess modeling amps work for those who know how to use them. Unfortunately I hear a lot that are just awful. Like a kid that got the box of crayons with 300 colors and wants to use them all.

 

[codamedia]

I guess modeling amps work for those who know how to use them. Unfortunately I hear a lot that are just awful. Like a kid that got the box of crayons with 300 colors and wants to use them all.

While true, that's not the fault of the technology.
Options exist so there is something for everyone, not so there is everything for someone.

 

[klasaine]

I just bought myself these ...


I primarily want it as something to send to FOH (more and more "no amps on stage" gigs these days) but I will also use them for recording. All the processing dedicated to one amp done right. I may keep them all, I may return or sell two of them. *If they're as meticulously well done as their 'Starlight' delay pedal, I will be very happy.

 

[Blrfl]

I guess modeling amps work for those who know how to use them.

The same goes for guitars and a long list of other things. Ever see a six-year-old try to drive a car or perform open-heart surgery?

Like a kid that got the box of crayons with 300 colors and wants to use them all.

As @codamedia said above, that's people, not technology. The 300-crayons problem isn't unique to crayons or guitar effects. Early animation went through a teething phase where they set more things in motion than were really necessary just because they could. When color film was new, lots of people shot and processed things in a way that ended up over-saturated and awful to look at. A lot of individual effects got overused when they were new, too.

Owning a good modeler is like having the entire pedal counter in a guitar shop at your disposal: there's a lot available but you don't want to use everything. I went through a brief more-is-better phase decades ago in front of an ARP 2600 synthesizer which, for its time, was comparable in sophistication to today's modelers. It didn't take long to learn that each block was an individual tool with its own uses.

What I find browsing through my Ampero is an average of about five blocks in each of the few dozen patches I've developed from scratch. If you count the amp and cab model as one thing as you would a combo, it's four. If you lump the reverb in with it (either because there's reverb built into a lot of amps or they'd normally be played into a room that reverberates), it's three. So basically, most of my patches are the equivalent of a combo amp and a couple of pedals. That's only a few crayons.