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For recording, digital modelling (in the form of a Zoom pedal) is one of my options.
Both have their merits, but valve amp and pedals has always given me more pleasure.
I think a lot of it is volume related these days. Lots of play at home guitarists (like me), and gigging volumes have reduced, PA's got better - this has levelled the playing field and made digital a real consideration against a valve amp barely ticking over with a pedal in front.
But whenever you hear a loud amp cranked, it reminds me of why we are all here, and digital is still nowhere near this IMO.
There's a clip on You Tube I was listening to last night of Mike Landau playing an unaccompanied version of Little Wing, he unleashes a fuzz pedal half way through and, if there was a god, this would be his voice, it's an astonishing sound. That sound just can't be had with digital, and also without ear bleeding volume unfortunately.
Apple v Orange
Pasta v Pizza
...................The point is that there is no "better" and no categoric yardstick to measure by. They are all good but all DIFFERENT........
Bad playing, poor timekeeping, fret buzz will be guaranteed to sound crap through all of them !
In my experience, the fact that something is digitally processed is not relevant. I reckon I could get a sound like that with my rig.
I couldn't play like that though
R.
Eqd Speaker Cranker clone
Monte Allums TR-2 Plus mod kit
Trading feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/60602/
While playing at home if you are trying to capture the sounds on record what you listen to is Amp->speaker->mic-> desk->post processing, and you listen to it through hi-fi speakers or headphones, you'll get closer to this using modelling technology and be able to do it without annoying anyone if needed.
However if you love the sound of your valve amp & effects at home, don't gig or record then absolutely no reason to change
This applies to live users too, if you are happy then stick with it whatever it is, but for me 'happy' is a combination of a lot of factors
It makes you hit the strings differently, and make different note and phrasing choices.
I do agree with that, but I would respect anyone who disagrees - I think it depends what sort of guitarist you are. I wouldn't say I was a wonderful electric guitarist but I am certainly a rubbish acoustic player, I really do rely on electricity so I think that for me the "purer" the relationship, the better. I suspect those who don't feel the amp makes much different are probably as good on acoustic as electric, there you are guys that's a theory for you to well and truly blow out of the water..
The Kemper also has so many options and insane versatility, which can also be an issue; loads of mumbo jumbo that I don't need or will ever use, and even though you obviously don't have to use it all, it kind of feels like constantly driving a Ferrari in 30 mph... I wouldn't call myself a purist, and my signal chain is in no way all analog (guitar -> G10 wireless -> Marshall 1987 -> Torpedo Live), but there is something magical about plugging your guitar directly into a roaring valve amp doing what it's supposed to do, nothing more and nothing less, and your fingers (and maybe some pedals) doing the rest.
Of course, most valve amps are ridiculously big and heavy, need to be driven hard and loud to sound their best, sound slightly different depending on how the planets align, decide to blow at the most inconvenient times etc etc, but even though the cons far outweigh the pros I don't think valve amps will ever die out.
At some point I will probably acquire some sort of digital device (again) because, let's face it, your huge ass Marshall head and 4x12 cab is not the best rig to bring on a fly gig... Throw an Atomic Amplifire in your gig bag and you have a more than decent tone with absolutely no headaches!
Cheers guys, hope I made a half decent first impression
Do you really not find that a processed, 'finished' guitar tone makes you approach it in a different way to the raw tone of a loud amp?
It certainly doesn't sound great for high-gain sounds, but it does sound pretty good for clean and light-breakup sounds if you take the time to dial it in properly.
But like I find with all this sort of thing, it definitely is quite easy to make it sound terrible - the way the controls interact with the sound is somehow just not 'natural' like it is with a valve amp, and it's easier to make bad sounds than good ones rather than the other way round.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
View my feedback at www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/1201922
Are you in Led Zeppelin?