Digital Lacks Weight?

[timbuck2]

I had a BluAmp, it's not a tube amp - but it's one of the better sounding units out there.

its not a tube amp? I thought it was as far as using an actual tube in the power section

 

[Blix]

its not a tube amp? I thought it was as far as using an actual tube in the power section

It's got a Class D power amp with a nanotube in front, Looks like the X will follow the same recipe.

 

[PaisleyWookiee]

I hope it lacks weight. I didn’t do all this switching to digital, only to have to still carry a 50 pound piece of equipment.

 

[PaisleyWookiee]

its not a tube amp? I thought it was as far as using an actual tube in the power section

Despite the sycophants, it’s not a tube amp. Just a NOS military tube in the power section to warm things up. It does sound absolutely fantastic though.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I hope it lacks weight. I didn’t do all this switching to digital, only to have to still carry a 50 pound piece of equipment.

DO YOU BRING PEOPLE INTO THE VENUE BLINDFOLDED WITH MUSTANG SALLY ON LOOPER AND SCREAM AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS "BET YOU CAN'T GUESS THE HELIX?!?!?!?!?!"

 

[icr]

Digital has no weight?

Exactly! Because it is an abstraction, there is no physical component; like Bitcoin, you can't see it or touch it. It has no mass at all.

 

[PaisleyWookiee]

DO YOU BRING PEOPLE INTO THE VENUE BLINDFOLDED WITH MUSTANG SALLY ON LOOPER AND SCREAM AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS "BET YOU CAN'T GUESS THE HELIX?!?!?!?!?!"

NO BRO. BLACK BETTY. BAM BA LAM

 

[Bill Dennis]

Seen some very talented rock & roll cover bands with guitarists going through digital rigs.

All sound good, w/ tones that matched the cover songs well, but in general, for rock bands, the guitars just lacked a bit of weight.

Do y’all notice that was well?

Is it a sacrifice you’re willing to make in order to have all the other advantages?

Truly curious.

I don't find it to be a sacrifice at all. You either know how to eq your rig or you don't. Or you just believe the nonsense about digital from 30-40 years ago is still the case

 

[dpeterson]

Man I've heard full stacks sound like total garbage. All depends on what the sound guy does, and how well you understand what you are doing.

 

[timbuck2]

Despite the sycophants, it’s not a tube amp. Just a NOS military tube in the power section to warm things up. It does sound absolutely fantastic though.

just like the older vox valvetronics did it then,,

 

[jellodog]

Considering you are most of the time hearing mostly a mix through the PA, maybe what you are missing is a guitar speaker cab on stage blasting and combining with the sound coming out of the PA? Most modeler users would use a full range system that would have a character similar to what comes out of the PA so that could make it sound "leaner."

This. I saw Motörhead once, in 1989. They had multiple full stacks on stage and their amps were louder than the PA. It was for TV, and they were repeatedly asked to turn it down by the TV producers. So they turned the amps up, of course.

I wish I was joking, but I suspect some slight hearing damage occurred to my near pristine hearing at the tender age of 19. Oh well; such is life. At least I got to meet Lemmy afterwards in the bar.

 

[ccarp7]

A mistake I made for awhile that I think is fairly common was trying to match recorded tones. When I first got my Kemper I spent a lot of time playing with "tone-matched" profiles and had a lot of fun playing along with backing tracks but was always a little disappointed when I used those same sounds with the band.

Treating my Kemper (and HX) more like an amp has really improved my live sound.

 

[aleclee]

Considering you are most of the time hearing mostly a mix through the PA, maybe what you are missing is a guitar speaker cab on stage blasting and combining with the sound coming out of the PA? Most modeler users would use a full range system that would have a character similar to what comes out of the PA so that could make it sound "leaner."

This. If you run a decent modeler / profiler through a power amp and guitar cab, it's indistinguishable from the equivalent tube amp. This is not a new phenomenon. It's been the case for well over a decade now based on my experience with blind A/B testing.

 

[Jay Mitchell]

All generalizations are false, including this one.

 

[MikeyG]

 

[RLD]

Fully modeled tone sounds much better than his AITR tone.

 

[spikey]

Depends on the "glasses holders"...

 

[MrTAteMyBalls]

I haven't noticed. I have had zero problems being heard with my Helix, but I also use a real cab on stage. I do not like the FRFR thing.

Generally, most guitarists have way too much bass in their tone. I keep my stuff pretty lean on the bottom with plenty of mids.

 

[pipboy90]

If you run a decent modeler / profiler through a power amp and guitar cab, it's indistinguishable from the equivalent tube amp.

Bold claim. This is not true for me, and I suspect many others. I wish it was, but it's not. I've found real amps have more "detail" or clarity in the sound/response across the frequency spectrum, whereas modelers are not as detailed. A good analogy is like watching a video at 720p resolution and then bumping it up to 4k. There is absolutely a difference, even in the best modeling tech right now. I don't think it's a huge percentage difference, but there is enough difference for me to prefer real amps and guitar speakers.

If you want to get into what I mean by detail or clarity, I would define it as having more peaks/valleys in the frequency spectrum. Real amps "paint" a more complex picture on the audible spectrum than modelers. Could this all be about how first, second, third (etc) harmonics are reproduced? Yes, possibly. I'm not sure. But I do trust my ears.

I've found the same thing with guitar pedals vs modeled pedals. I'll play the Tubescreamer model on my FM3 into an amp model, then I'll turn it off and plug in my real Tubescreamer (dialed in as close as possible). There is a patent difference. The real TS is more "focused" and paints a "solid" picture to me. I understand what the OP means when he talks about weight. The fundamental frequency (into the amp sim) of the real Tubescreamer is much more defined, whereas the TS 808 model is "blurry". Again, this could be all about the harmonic content being generated.

This is what I experience. It's hard to describe, but that's what I hear.

 

[PBGas]

The audience knows when you are "modelling".

right?