Guitar Magic
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Hopefully this post will serve the guitar community. The intent is not to criticize anyone or any company, but instead to clear the air on what I think many feel is a misunderstood feature that has rapidly emerged in recent years. Perhaps the conversation here can provide some clarity and a much needed reference for makers of future amp simulation pedals, floor units and rack units.
Some recent releases in the amp modeling/amp profiling world are lacking stereo input functionality. Based on observable trends over the last several years, this may not only be looked at as an oversight, but even a design error with this type of product. Some detailed explanation as to why this is necessary is in order and I will get to that. First, consider that industry leading amp simulation products over the past few years have evolved quickly, establishing stereo inputs as a standard feature.
The list:
01. Strymon Iridium
02. Line 6 HX Stomp
03. Walrus Audio ACS-1
04. Universal Audio Ruby
05. Universal Audio Dream
06. Universal Audio Woodrow
07. Fractal Audio Axe-Fx
08. Fractal Audio Axe-Fx II
09. Fractal Audio Axe-Fx III
10. Fractal Audio FM9
The History
In the 1980's stereo digital effects processors emerged from companies like Lexicon, EMT, AMS, Yamaha, Eventide, Alesis, Digitech and many others. These were studio rack units that offered stereo effects. Most of these units had stereo inputs and were designed to be use in stereo. These devices offered new, larger than life stereo effects algorithms that had never been heard before, enabled by the advent of DSP processing chips that designers could build complex otherworldly sounding algorithms on. Some companies developed new multi-effects units that could run multiple algorithms in multi-effects chains, all inside a single box. The Alesis Quadraverb may have been the best selling of these devices ever. The founder of Strymon, Pete Celi worked at Alesis and has revolutionized the way we use guitar equipment by further innovation and integration of those foundational Alesis developments by head designer Keith Barr. What used to require a studio rack sized device with a built in menu tree to access all of the necessary effect parameters has been distilled by newer effects companies like Strymon into smaller pedals with more complex algorithms controlled by a much smaller group of controls that have multiple parameters under the hood ganged to an individual knob control, thus making menu tree navigation unnecessary and generally undesirable by most users.
Musicians like The Edge, Robin Guthrie, Kevin Shields, Johnny Marr, Charlie Burchill, Robert Fripp, Daniel Lanois, Brian Eno, David Sylvian, Radiohead, Terje Rypdal, Sigur Ros... plugged their instrument directly into a stereo effects processor and then took the stereo outputs from the effects processor into a pair of guitar amplifiers. Technically speaking, it was an incorrect way to use the gear with obvious impedance mismatching, but putting digital stereo effects processors in front of a pair of amplifiers produced a very fresh and desirable sound that cannot be achieved any other way.
The sound of a long, lush, super wide stereo reverb algorithms such as the Lexicon Halls or the Strymon Cloud or the Eventide Blackhole become something very unique, when you run them in front of two guitar amplifiers. It's a sound. And... it's become a very popular sound.
It can be said that running stereo effects into the front of two guitar amplifiers is a popular sound, a unique sound of its own and the sound many guitar players seek out and use to create great music. Those who use this sound and have also placed effects in post, after the amp sound, in a mixing send/return system or in an effects loop after the amp sound know that the sound of the effects coming into the front end of amplifiers sounds completely different. Many describe the sound like the effects become more a part of the fundamental guitar tone, merged/glued to it, rather than sounding separate from the pure guitar signal. The limited frequency response of guitar cabinet speakers forces the effects to live within the same "sonic window" as the pure guitar sound, rather than beyond it or outside of it. In this way, often times the effects will live in the same space that the actual pure guitar is meant to live within a band mix or ensemble mix of instruments. Generally speaking, in a band with Drums, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals, the guitar's voice lives in the midrange and upper midrange area of the frequency spectrum. Mixing engineers often EQ the guitar by removing frequencies below and above the midrange and upper midrange, in order to give the guitar a stronger voice so that it will sit in a mix more effortlessly without taking up sonic real estate where other instruments in the mix dominate. Keeping the guitar effects within that limited frequency window, also allows the character of those effects to have a more present and distinguished voice that can stand out within the context of a band or group performance or recording.
Some very popular music genre's such as ambient, Post-Rock, Shoegaze, Synthwave, Praise & Worship as well as many film soundtracks use the sound of stereo effects going into a pair of guitar amplifiers. A very popular genre with many users here on the gearpage is Praise & Worship. The longstanding definitive trademark of the P&W guitar sound is stereo delay (sometimes 2 or 3 different delays with different settings, in series) followed by stereo reverb (sometimes 2 or 3 different reverbs in series) going into a pair of guitar amplifiers or a stereo amp simulation pedal. There are P&W players who deviate from this of course and use lots of other effects, but it can be said that this is the general common ground. This sound has also found its way into a lot of Nashville produced Country hits recently and has been adopted by the A-List Nashville session guitar players.
The Modern Player
The sounds that emerged in the 1980's, 1990's and early 2000's from innovative guitarists placing stereo effects processors in front of two amplifiers has trickled down into a very large sector of the guitar playing world today. A fast growing number of players are using stereo effects pedals and running them into a pair of "amplifiers", more commonly, one of the many stereo amp simulation products that will simulate the sound of two amplifiers inside one pedal or rack unit.
Leading amp simulation companies have responded to the needs of modern players by producing pedals that simulate the sound of two guitar amplifiers inside a pedal, controlled by one set of controls. Some of these products give you the option to have a different amplifier model or cabinet IR on each side. It cannot be emphasized enough that these pedals are designed to integrate into a pedalboard system that allows the user to place their existing stereo effects wherever they choose to, within a chain of pedals. The reason why pedalboards are so popular is because they give the musician/artist a canvas to paint on with the challenging promise of curating their own sound. A sound that informs the music each individual creates.
It could be argued that guitar players using mono guitar setups play styles of music that deploy effects more sparingly, adding touches of color and depth to a mostly pure guitar sound. There is also one player, a pioneer of painting with sound, using heavy effects into the front of an amp who is unfortunately deaf in one ear, therefore runs a mono rig because he can't hear in stereo. I have however heard some of his work that was multi-tracked and presented in stereo and it was so awesome. I'm sorry that you @splatt can't experience it in the totally enveloping three dimensional space like most of us.
Most players who use effects as a major part of their sound, do run in stereo because the stereo imaging and qualities of the effects available today are so incredible, that running in mono can be incredibly disappointing when compared to running the same effects devices in stereo.
Players who use stereo effects going into a pair of amps or stereo amp simulator will tell you that they also will run the same setup in mono when recording guitar parts, for mono or double tracking situations, where recording two separate takes of the same or similar part and panning them left and right can have a certain quality to it that is desirable as well.
There are very few players who own a pedal like a Strymon or an Eventide H9/H90 and run them in mono. The sound quality just isn't comparable to running in stereo. The placement of effects in your signal chain is a matter of personal taste. Not having the ability to run stereo effects in front of two amp models/profiles seems like the biggest design blunder of the 2020's.
In my opinion, stereo amp simulation is not a "feature" or a special thing for other companies to take care of. It's standard on every major amp simulation product now and if a product doesn't have it, the company is excluding one of their largest groups of potential customers.
The Nitty-Gritty
By making an amp modeler or amp profiler in a pedal without true stereo operation, know that you are making your product incompatible with the stereo sounds offered by most other modern guitar effect pedals.
Leading digital effects pedal companies are dictating changes in amplifier design and amp simulation design
The companies who design modern digital stereo effects pedals spend a lot of time working on the stereo imaging part of their effects algorithms. How wide and enveloping a sensation their effects can make a listener feel has become a mark of excellence. Up at the top of that list are Fractal Audio, Eventide, UA, Strymon, Meris, and GFI System. In order to actually hear what these super wide stereo effects do with the stereo field, it requires having two amps or a pair of amp models/profiles that can pass that signal through while retaining the stereo imaging 100%. Compatibility with modern popular stereo effects is what's driving the changes in amplifier and amp simulation design.
Some recent releases in the amp modeling/amp profiling world are lacking stereo input functionality. Based on observable trends over the last several years, this may not only be looked at as an oversight, but even a design error with this type of product. Some detailed explanation as to why this is necessary is in order and I will get to that. First, consider that industry leading amp simulation products over the past few years have evolved quickly, establishing stereo inputs as a standard feature.
The list:
01. Strymon Iridium
02. Line 6 HX Stomp
03. Walrus Audio ACS-1
04. Universal Audio Ruby
05. Universal Audio Dream
06. Universal Audio Woodrow
07. Fractal Audio Axe-Fx
08. Fractal Audio Axe-Fx II
09. Fractal Audio Axe-Fx III
10. Fractal Audio FM9
The History
In the 1980's stereo digital effects processors emerged from companies like Lexicon, EMT, AMS, Yamaha, Eventide, Alesis, Digitech and many others. These were studio rack units that offered stereo effects. Most of these units had stereo inputs and were designed to be use in stereo. These devices offered new, larger than life stereo effects algorithms that had never been heard before, enabled by the advent of DSP processing chips that designers could build complex otherworldly sounding algorithms on. Some companies developed new multi-effects units that could run multiple algorithms in multi-effects chains, all inside a single box. The Alesis Quadraverb may have been the best selling of these devices ever. The founder of Strymon, Pete Celi worked at Alesis and has revolutionized the way we use guitar equipment by further innovation and integration of those foundational Alesis developments by head designer Keith Barr. What used to require a studio rack sized device with a built in menu tree to access all of the necessary effect parameters has been distilled by newer effects companies like Strymon into smaller pedals with more complex algorithms controlled by a much smaller group of controls that have multiple parameters under the hood ganged to an individual knob control, thus making menu tree navigation unnecessary and generally undesirable by most users.
Musicians like The Edge, Robin Guthrie, Kevin Shields, Johnny Marr, Charlie Burchill, Robert Fripp, Daniel Lanois, Brian Eno, David Sylvian, Radiohead, Terje Rypdal, Sigur Ros... plugged their instrument directly into a stereo effects processor and then took the stereo outputs from the effects processor into a pair of guitar amplifiers. Technically speaking, it was an incorrect way to use the gear with obvious impedance mismatching, but putting digital stereo effects processors in front of a pair of amplifiers produced a very fresh and desirable sound that cannot be achieved any other way.
The sound of a long, lush, super wide stereo reverb algorithms such as the Lexicon Halls or the Strymon Cloud or the Eventide Blackhole become something very unique, when you run them in front of two guitar amplifiers. It's a sound. And... it's become a very popular sound.
It can be said that running stereo effects into the front of two guitar amplifiers is a popular sound, a unique sound of its own and the sound many guitar players seek out and use to create great music. Those who use this sound and have also placed effects in post, after the amp sound, in a mixing send/return system or in an effects loop after the amp sound know that the sound of the effects coming into the front end of amplifiers sounds completely different. Many describe the sound like the effects become more a part of the fundamental guitar tone, merged/glued to it, rather than sounding separate from the pure guitar signal. The limited frequency response of guitar cabinet speakers forces the effects to live within the same "sonic window" as the pure guitar sound, rather than beyond it or outside of it. In this way, often times the effects will live in the same space that the actual pure guitar is meant to live within a band mix or ensemble mix of instruments. Generally speaking, in a band with Drums, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals, the guitar's voice lives in the midrange and upper midrange area of the frequency spectrum. Mixing engineers often EQ the guitar by removing frequencies below and above the midrange and upper midrange, in order to give the guitar a stronger voice so that it will sit in a mix more effortlessly without taking up sonic real estate where other instruments in the mix dominate. Keeping the guitar effects within that limited frequency window, also allows the character of those effects to have a more present and distinguished voice that can stand out within the context of a band or group performance or recording.
Some very popular music genre's such as ambient, Post-Rock, Shoegaze, Synthwave, Praise & Worship as well as many film soundtracks use the sound of stereo effects going into a pair of guitar amplifiers. A very popular genre with many users here on the gearpage is Praise & Worship. The longstanding definitive trademark of the P&W guitar sound is stereo delay (sometimes 2 or 3 different delays with different settings, in series) followed by stereo reverb (sometimes 2 or 3 different reverbs in series) going into a pair of guitar amplifiers or a stereo amp simulation pedal. There are P&W players who deviate from this of course and use lots of other effects, but it can be said that this is the general common ground. This sound has also found its way into a lot of Nashville produced Country hits recently and has been adopted by the A-List Nashville session guitar players.
The Modern Player
The sounds that emerged in the 1980's, 1990's and early 2000's from innovative guitarists placing stereo effects processors in front of two amplifiers has trickled down into a very large sector of the guitar playing world today. A fast growing number of players are using stereo effects pedals and running them into a pair of "amplifiers", more commonly, one of the many stereo amp simulation products that will simulate the sound of two amplifiers inside one pedal or rack unit.
Leading amp simulation companies have responded to the needs of modern players by producing pedals that simulate the sound of two guitar amplifiers inside a pedal, controlled by one set of controls. Some of these products give you the option to have a different amplifier model or cabinet IR on each side. It cannot be emphasized enough that these pedals are designed to integrate into a pedalboard system that allows the user to place their existing stereo effects wherever they choose to, within a chain of pedals. The reason why pedalboards are so popular is because they give the musician/artist a canvas to paint on with the challenging promise of curating their own sound. A sound that informs the music each individual creates.
It could be argued that guitar players using mono guitar setups play styles of music that deploy effects more sparingly, adding touches of color and depth to a mostly pure guitar sound. There is also one player, a pioneer of painting with sound, using heavy effects into the front of an amp who is unfortunately deaf in one ear, therefore runs a mono rig because he can't hear in stereo. I have however heard some of his work that was multi-tracked and presented in stereo and it was so awesome. I'm sorry that you @splatt can't experience it in the totally enveloping three dimensional space like most of us.
Most players who use effects as a major part of their sound, do run in stereo because the stereo imaging and qualities of the effects available today are so incredible, that running in mono can be incredibly disappointing when compared to running the same effects devices in stereo.
Players who use stereo effects going into a pair of amps or stereo amp simulator will tell you that they also will run the same setup in mono when recording guitar parts, for mono or double tracking situations, where recording two separate takes of the same or similar part and panning them left and right can have a certain quality to it that is desirable as well.
There are very few players who own a pedal like a Strymon or an Eventide H9/H90 and run them in mono. The sound quality just isn't comparable to running in stereo. The placement of effects in your signal chain is a matter of personal taste. Not having the ability to run stereo effects in front of two amp models/profiles seems like the biggest design blunder of the 2020's.
In my opinion, stereo amp simulation is not a "feature" or a special thing for other companies to take care of. It's standard on every major amp simulation product now and if a product doesn't have it, the company is excluding one of their largest groups of potential customers.
The Nitty-Gritty
By making an amp modeler or amp profiler in a pedal without true stereo operation, know that you are making your product incompatible with the stereo sounds offered by most other modern guitar effect pedals.
Leading digital effects pedal companies are dictating changes in amplifier design and amp simulation design
The companies who design modern digital stereo effects pedals spend a lot of time working on the stereo imaging part of their effects algorithms. How wide and enveloping a sensation their effects can make a listener feel has become a mark of excellence. Up at the top of that list are Fractal Audio, Eventide, UA, Strymon, Meris, and GFI System. In order to actually hear what these super wide stereo effects do with the stereo field, it requires having two amps or a pair of amp models/profiles that can pass that signal through while retaining the stereo imaging 100%. Compatibility with modern popular stereo effects is what's driving the changes in amplifier and amp simulation design.
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