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Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
Comments
Come realise the simple life.
I put my toe in the water with a neo ventilator that imitates my real Leslie spot on: it weighs less, has no cabinet distortion problems and has a range of settings. but it can't throw air around... However, the result is I never use the Leslie.
For me, the key question with modelling isn't 'can I tell?' It's 'can the punters tell'
And I think that one answers itself...
Now don't get me wrong, studio and live are two totally different beasts, but for live I tend to consider a range of factors:
Portability
Reliability
Projection
Tone
Clarity
How it sits in the mix
Hiw does it get fed into FOH
etc etc - and probably in the order stated above. Ok, I don't want it to sound like a dog, but if something is half the weight and a quarter the size and 95% of the tone then I'd go for it. It's amazing how quickly you get pissed off with something that gives great tone but weighs 100lbs and doesn't fit in the back of the Focus..
Prolly just me tho.. would explain why I always sounded crap
Now I've switched to bass I'm looking for a gig rig and weight/size is a big factor - there's more choice in bass land and fx aren't as much of an issue, but man is reliability a big thing...
But, I just don't buy the audience can't tell argument, it's about inspiring yourself to play better - that the audience can tell.
Don't blame the tools etc.
I had 1000 average sounds available, now I have Four awesome ones.
I would love an AFX2 for the man cave, but live I'm sorted.
So to keep things simple I've gone old tech and over the last 18 mths or so now just use a Vox Tonelab LE and more recently SE.
My point is that if you are any good - you should be able to give an audience a performance they can enjoy. I'd argue that a good crowd who are up for it are way more important than whether you use a Helix, Friedmann or Pedals into a twin.. so long as you can get a sound that is nearly there and delivers the songs, you will be fine.
I think the quality of your back line is a marginal gain. I'd agree that if the onstage sound is awesome then you might play better. But a gig is so much more than the sound coming out of your amp. Is the band well rehearsed, is the singer good - how is the monitor mix, how does your inspiring sound sit in the stage mix. How is the crowd, are they sober, tipsy, drunk, aggressive, reserved.... an up for it crowd can make a mediocre gig into an excellent one.
There are so many variables that your personal guitar sound really just becomes a small part of the overall performance. It might be that a quieter stage, using modelling with really good monitor mix might be a better sound for the whole band to get inspired, rather than being drowned out by an over zealous guitar player who has a diva fit if he hasn't got his sound, therefore leaving the rest of the band with volume wars or a terrible mix to fight.
Pro musicians play all the time on rented kit, some of it awful. By and large the audiance probably don't care one bit, so long as the end result is good.
I agree, that playing a show with inadiquite gear with terrible on stage sound can be pretty soul destroying and lead to a poor performance , but outside of that - with good PA and decent valve amps or modelling gear and a good onstage sound, I don't think the crowed will notice anything when it comes to real vs modelled..
However my start up covers band heavily relies on the EH Mel 9. Until it broke. So now whilst I will get another Mel9 or synth pedal I have worked out how to get usable sounds from my other pedals.
IMHO it's always choice first then cope when you have to.
It was the main reason I sold the G2 and a host of pedals, great as they are... hassle, wiring, weight etc etc
Fractal FX8 is the answer. Simply stunning sounds, dirt cheap when compared to some ofbthe boards we build, silent, light, effortless...
Ive spent more hours playing, and less wiring/sorting
My advice to all is pay a professional to set it up and forego buying that extra pedal instead.