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

[The Blood]

It used to be that good companies would provide good manuals for their products. YouTubes have changed that. I bought a HX stomp recently and have been impressed with the huge number of instructional YouTubes, covering nearly every detail of its operation. Similar experience with the Katana amp. Most people will go straight to the that source rather than the manuals nowadays, so why would a company invest money and time into a manual?

My second point, relative to using amps or frfr speakers with modelers, would be that any mic'd amp will then be going through a solid state power amp and PA speakers to the FOH. So what the audience is hearing is not really a pure tube sound for the most part. I'm like most others who prefer to hear my tube amp nearby when I'm playing a gig, but if I need to have a line out to the PA, I bring the Katana and don't worry about it.

 

[swarfrat]

I loathe and despise 'everthing is a video's these days. I can read 10x faster than I can watch. Perhaps more importantly, I can also read 100x slower than I can watch. Ever stare at something over and over until you get it? I was trying to do that with a video and I kept having to rewind 30 seconds in an hour long unscripted unedited rambling video with just a slider bar to back up. And I wanted to claw the dude's eyes out (Looking at you here Unfa).

Video clips are amazing for some things. But most things should be words. Electronic is fine, but readable stationary words.

 

[stratology]

More advantages:

- consistency
An amp model does not change with the weather, or when a tube ages, or when you replace a tube. A 'simple' tube amp has many hidden, unquantifiable complexities once you get into swapping tubes - different sounds from the same type (like 6L6) from different manufacturers, different years of production, different wear, ... Completely unpredictable.

- recall
You can have a set with an amp and a few pedals, and recall all settings correctly right away. Unlike a pedalboard, where it's so easy to twist a knob on a pedal, and so hard to get back to the exact settings used previously. And super complicated to create a library of favourite settings. Getting at least some consistency requires things like a GigRig, which gets expensive quickly.

- creativity
What happens when I stack 4 Tube Screamers? Set up bit crusher followed by fuzz followed by another bit crusher followed by another fuzz? Finding new sounds that completely break the rules of what you would do with a pedalboard is fun...

- recordability
You get a great room sound with a tube amp, place a mic in front of it, and the sound you record is entirely, completely different than the room sound. As expected - no engineer would assume that a recorded guitar sounds the same as the guitar in the room. Not the case with a modeller running through studio monitors - what you get on a recording is exactly the sound you hear in the room.

- easy to tweak, easy to match guitars
By changing settings like input gain, amp sag, bias emulation, pick attack response, etc.

 

[dlsnyd2003]

I just started playing electric after playing acoustic for years. I bought a Mustang LT 50 fender. I am not used to a tube but I am able to get all kinds of great sounds out of this thing. Again I am a novice at the electric side of things. How does this rate as far as modeling go? Is it ok or should I sell it and get something else? I play a Tele Player Plus, Epiphone LP, and a classic vibe strat though it.