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How many of You use Amp/Effects Modelers?


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I was just Admiring all the Killer tones that my Pod Xt is able to achieve via some newly acquired Bose headphones.

My Goodness if I could get the Tone the XT- headphones combo delievers through a Pa board or amp Id be tempted too leave my beloved Laney GH50L in the closet.

Anyways I lost 4 hours to the XT and plan on playing with Her some more tonite.

There are just So may differing amp tone models and options within the XT that In the 4 years Ive had it I still find new tweaks and tones everytime I mess with it.

So what modelers if Any do you All use?

:-k :-

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My Vox AD-30-VT.

 

Pretty good on most settings. Cant get on with the 70s setting tho. Clean isnt great but is useable. The reverb, chorus and comp are great. The auto wah isnt bad too. Dont really use the others like flanger, tremelo,and phaser.

 

Good amp for the money i say. Can get a lovely 80's rock tone and if you throw in some chorus then its guns and roses all over again

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I've got a Vox Valvetronix AD30VT and AD50VT.

I don't really use the effects on it (except the reverb).

The Amp model I use, I do change from time to time, but mainly stick with the AC30TB, or the UK 70's models.

 

But I have been thinking about getting one of the XT Pod Live (or whatever its called).

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Digitech GNX3 - Use it to practice either with headphones or through my PC speakers (wife wont let me use my BC30 at home). Some great models and some not so great ones in the factory settings but lots of good settings available on download and loads of flexibility to get it sounding how you want it.

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Line 6 POD 1&2, sold. Great for what they were.

Toneport UX1. Still haven't tapped into that one. Trying to get it to work with Garageband on my Mac, but I find it nuisance to use when I can just plug my guitar in an amp.

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I rather enjoy messing with my low budget (low budget being the story of my life...heh) Digitech RP-90. Since I play for my own enjoyment the majority of the time, and sometimes volunteer my efforts here and there (including my liberal UU church=d> ), I don't mind fussing with it to eak out a good tone (and it does take some fussing, but .... it's all good fun, and I ain't trying to impress anybody and don't paid for playin', so....). If I was a working musician, obviously I'd invest in a whole slew of whatever pedals and amps suited my fancy, but ..... it's good noisy fun on the cheap (very cheap...)

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I've never really owned any "amp" processors...but, a buddy of mine has several.

They always sound...well, "Processed!" I do admit, they're pretty neat, for lots

of variety, and if you have limited stage room, they can be a life

saver, through the PA, that way. They're not bad, but being the "old dog,"

I still prefer a good old Tube amp, and a minimum of "pedals/effects!" But hey,

that's just me...

 

I think Bob (Notes) Norton uses a processor, through a PA, all the time...seems like

that's what he told us, some time ago? Are you out there, Bob? ;>)

 

CB

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Not as a primary amp-but I practice and sometimes record with a Vox Valvetronix AD15. The Vox AD series is pretty nice IMO. Nice not to have to fiddle with my pedal board (small though it is). I like both Vox amp models(AC 15 and AC30) the best, but boutiuqe clean and OD are good, and the Fender sims are cool. It has the same features as its bigger brothers mentioned prior, modeling and effects wise. The delay makes for a good slapback, the reverb is good, the tremolo sound very good, Leslie is adaquate-not as good as the Boss RT 20 that replaced my motion sound (or as good as the motion sound) and for me that's about it...don't use the rest of the effects.

 

I have a Boss GT 6 processer that is collecting dust. Too many buttons, and genereally speaking, I get the sound I'm after with a in the flesh tube amp and conventional effects. The Boss is not simple enough for me. It'll be cannibalized into something sometime I'm sure.

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I have the Vox AD50VT 2-12 and the Roland Cube 60. Both are great amps, but I prefer the Vox over the Cube, although it's a close race. The Cube is a great "grab it and go" amp for almost any gig. Its size makes it easy to transport and carry. I think the Vox "Chime" is what makes me prefer it over the Roland.

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pod xt maxed out. behringer vamp 2 i had to buy an extra behringer overdrive/ distortion 2 in 1 (od100? for £12.) it's modeled on the similar boss one. because the vamp 2 doesn't have the extra "stomp box" section the pod has. i got the vamp cheap. pod ux1 gold plug in bundle. i will use the ux1 downstairs for recording or for laptop. i get sick of carrying things upstairs and downstairs.

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<...>

 

I think Bob (Notes) Norton uses a processor' date=' through a PA, all the time...seems like

that's what he told us, some time ago? Are you out there, Bob? ;>)

 

CB[/quote']

 

Present and accounted for Charlie!

 

I have a Zoom G1X FX/Direct-Box/Amp Modeler plugged into the PA system.

 

The majority of the time I use the Twin Reverb model but at times a couple of other amp simulations, but it's been so long since I programmed it, I forget exactly which ones I used (I think one was a VOX AC30, not sure about the others).

 

I generally use about 10 presets.

 

My favorite is the Twin Reverb with reverb and no other effects. I have a similar setting with a volume boost so I can go from background to lead with a stomp -- without messing with the volume control on the guitar.

 

I have another setting that has some distortion on it. It's a modification of one of the presets called Blues and it makes my P90s sound similar to a humbucker.

 

For Disco songs I use the wah a lot, I have another setting where the foot pedal changes the pitch a step, and that allows me to do some lap steel-ish sounding licks on a country song or two, also a tremolo setting (speed controlled by the pedal) and compressor setting (but I haven't gotten the compressor to sound right so I rarely use it).

 

Being fairly inexperienced at this, I simply tweaked a few of the presets. Some day I'd like to get back to it and do some more tweaking, perhaps an auto-wah, and go for some Santana-ish compression/sustain.

 

I'm sure the pedal is capable of doing a lot more than I am capable of at the moment. But then, it's always fun to learn new things.

 

But the use of the G1X allows me to have a variety of guitar sounds without carrying a few guitars and amps to the gig (I already schlepp a sax, flute, 2 guitars, tactile MIDI controller, percussion controller, 3 computers, 4 synth sound modules, mixer, sonic maximizer, power amp, 2 15" speaker cabinets, 2 wind MIDI controllers, 8 stands, power conditioner and a case full of mics, cables and other small parts). Sometimes I think about lightening my load a bit, but I can't decide which instrument to leave home. I already leave the keyboard synth home, and the rest are just too much fun to play.

 

Notes

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While I will admit that sometimes it can be novel fun to have "endless possibilities" at your fingertips, I usually can't find a tone with ANY processing unit that sounds as good at performance volume as it does through headphones or a small amp. I've owned or borrowed stuff from KORG, Digitech, BOSS, Zoom, Line 6 and Behringer, and the most toneful stuff when playing at band volume came out of my old KORG G3 through a Fender Twin. Other than that, everything else just comes out kind of sterile sounding and just fake. I've heard an occasional studio track recorded with a well-tweaked POD or something that haven't sounded bad at all, but I've never heard it translate into playing volume well. The other guitarist in our band wanted a modeling amp, and I at least talked him into the VOX Valvetronix amp (which is arguably one of the best out there, tonewise). It sounds REALLY good on some settings (the AC30, British 70's and British modern sound very convincing if set right), and others (the Mesa Boogie Hi-Gain for instance, which he unfortunately gravitates towards most often) leave me limp. I think a LOT of it has to do with tweaking any of that stuff for the application, and voicing both it AND the power device (amp, PA, etc) accordingly. Unfortunately not much is "plug-in and go", and a certain degree of patience needs to be taken into consideration.

 

Regardless, I've never gotten THE sound out of anything with a processor, and I'm not some tube-nazi or something (all of my amps are hybrids or solid state; 2 Marshall AVT-50 halfstacks and an old Marshall Master Lead Combo respectively). But when it comes to a truly musical, natural-feeling tone technology's getting closer but not quite there enough for me to ever think about substituting a little box for my amp. The real tube preamp in the VOX helps I think, but most of the straight processors just lack something that just cranking the crap out of an amp can acheive. But then again, it also depends on the music you're playing and your role in said music. If you're going for a straight-up rock-n-roll sound and your band's a more 'rock' band, surely nothing's as good as a real amp to push air. But if you're in a big ensemble with multiple instruments and you're just e pluribus unum you can get away with a less 'authentic' sound and benefit from the processor's flexibility (and CONTROLABILITY), a lot of "Nashville" type players and church groups benefit from that as well. I once (back in the mid 90's) played in a Ministry-esque industrial band, and I LOVED being able to just bring a rectangle guitar case with my KORG inside with my guitar and plug into the PA to play with the band (and industrial music rarely calls for 'true tone', so I got the job done with that just fine)...same goes for people looking for "nu-metal" tones, don't waste your money on a lot of fancy crap when you can get an affordable processor and get the same low-end heavy sludge-tone without having to carry an amp around. I even know this one weirdo who seriously brings his laptop with one of the modelers for recording installed as his "amp" to run through the PA, and while it's nowhere near a perfect tone it's definitely usable...AND convenient.

 

It really comes down to "different strokes...", and there are always a few cats out there willing to spend the time to get it RIGHT who can acheive pretty good sounds for their particular musical endeavors. But then there are those like moi, who prefer old-school guitar and amp setups to melt your brain. If I found a modeler/processor that could acheive the 3 or 4 sounds I tend to gravitate towards with about 95% accuracy, I'd LOVE to not have to haul "Marsha" around to band practices and gigs and would love to try it. But they have some work to do to change my mind. [-X

 

H-Bomb

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I can't believe the number of different tones that I can get using my Roland Cube 30's controls and amp emulations, combined with either my Casino, Les Paul or Ibanez (strat-like copy).

 

Having said that, I can never get exactly what I want, but would say that I get 85-90% of the way there.

 

I never use the Danelectro distortion pedal or DOD (can't remember the number) multi effects unit I bought about 10 years ago. Strangely enough, though, around about that time 10 years ago I was able to combine these two and go directly into an 8 track MiniDisk player and get exactly the guitar sound I had heard in my head for the previous 14 years. Never used them again because they sound terrible independently.

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While I will admit that sometimes it can be novel fun to have "endless possibilities" at your fingertips' date=' I usually can't find a tone with ANY processing unit that sounds as good at performance volume as it does through headphones or a small amp.

 

Regardless, I've never gotten THE sound out of anything with a processor....

 

It really comes down to "different strokes...", and there are always a few cats out there willing to spend the time to get it RIGHT who can acheive pretty good sounds for their particular musical endeavors. But then there are those like moi, who prefer old-school guitar and amp setups to melt your brain.

H-Bomb[/quote']

Your post emphasized to me that we who are interested in playing are probably far more concerned about tone than those for whom we play. Audiences/music buyers/consumers seem to not care a great deal about the intricacies of tone. Indeed, despite the usefulness of various compression formats for music (mp3 et all), it seems to me that the lossy versions of these formats have contributed to 'sound quality' (with tone being a part of this) being of even less importance to music listeners, while the creators retain their high standards.

 

Ironic, don't you think?

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