I'm known as the digital fanatic in my band. I have a huge assortment of hardware and software modelers. You can go from basic plug and play to fuck me I'll be in this room for days tweaking one preset.
I'm most impressed by the latest Marshall CODE series of amps. Vypyr, Mustang are also pretty good if you get something with the larger speakers. Most below 50w with 10 or 8" speakers sound meh. Even at low volumes played, you may want that wattage headroom.
I'm less impressed by most "artist" presets, and it's kind of a misnomer since artists can have a plethora of settings, fx and amps used on a particular song. Also if you listen to just the isolated guitar track (no mix) for many artists songs you can easily be fooled by what was in the processing, panning, track gain staging and so on.
For floor board modelers, there are many good options at various pricing:
Line 6 POD HD - These are nice sounding units. Come with plenty of artist presets and you can find more on custom tone site. Cons primarily are meh cabinet models. Cabinet modeling on lower end modelers is the biggest meh factor.
Digitech GSP1101 and Control 2 pedal- Versatile as any high end modeler out there. Options to import cab models (IR's or impulse responses) add to its less than meh factor in the budget range. I have used free IR's from Guitar Hacks and Ownhammer, and the GSP1101 becomes a new machine at that point. I would be bold enough to say this is the reason Digitech has not had a flagship processor in almost a decade. GSP1101 is till a prime seller in its modeling class. You can run any method of connections and it's not a tone suck unit when used as a primary effects only platform or in 4CM. I could write a book on this unit and its features.
Boss GT series- meh sounding modeling when compared to others in its class. Killer effects platform on a budget. COSM modeling is very antique at this point and imo too far gone to be as usable as anything you have for an iPhone app.
ZOOM G series- Modeling can be ok on particular models but most leave you going wtf is this. Modeling gain of particular amps are exaggerated to the extreme. Dynamic is lacking, and once again the biggest flaw are the cabinet models. Cab models feel and sound lifeless to me. FX are decent.
Atomic AmpliFire- For $600 this thing is really good. Has great amp and cab models as well as custom IR capability at fairly higher resolutions. Makes modeling sound more lifelike. Limited to the footswitch assignments, but that would only bug me for live work, though you can add a midi board to have IA (instant access) points for fx switching.
Higher End-
Line 6 Helix- New to the game but holy shit did Line 6 up the ante. I love this unit. Multiple signal paths, multiple amp and cab options and the ability to FINALLY add custom IR's to the unit. Line 6 should be ashamed for waiting this long. Screw the EGO, many high end products have provided IR loading for years. Good move on Line 6.
Comparing a current Helix cab model to a third party IR is again night and day on how the unit realism is achieved (factory cabs are improved, but I think that's more the dsp processing power than any change in the factory cabs which resemble what is in POD HD). Helix is the most thought out product in it's class that I have seen in a decade of working modelers into my workflow. Where Helix really shines is the footswitch assigns, the simplicity to go deep into edits and even do that on the fly. Really a cool unit. Providing 4 sets of fx loops is what makes it so versatile. Want to add that Strymon, or other favorite stomp is easy. The on board FX are more than most would need and very very clean compared to previous POD generations.
AX8 from Fractal Audio- This unit is simply bad ass. I like Fractal and their forward thinking. This unit is somewhat limited in dsp hp. That can be a bummer and reminds me of my first AXE FX Standard. Killer sounds but watch what you add in blocks. It's limited to one amp instance which is a bummer, but again due to the diminished dsp/cpu capacity, you can't run more than one. Cabs, Reverbs, AMP models seem to be the bigger resource hogs. For a similar price, you can now buy used AXEFX 2 and have far greater tools to explore and bury your head into the rabbit hole for weeks. lol
Kemper Profiling Amp- IMO this is the ultimate digital box. It's not as potent of an effects platform though the fx are quality and plenty for most work. Where it shines is the amp realism. Dry amps, sound like actual amps vs other products which leave you kind of "ok so what do I tweak now" and compared to FAS, Line 6, other products which are more or less "fixed" presentations of what they feel a a certain amp sounds like and responds. Kemper took a different approach and really focused the profiling to obtain that "here's what it sounds like in my room" sound that makes you appreciate the net result more. Many modelers have setting like "air" "depth" and other things, but KPA is about as is as you can find. If you profile your amp and use a non optimum cab, mic or positions, your result will be as is and wysiwyg. KPA does not have a fixed model tone/dynamic. As we all know, every amp made sounds different. Instead of sounding like one MFG's version of a particular amp, KPA lets your digital emulation sound as you would create.
Pluses and minuses to this, and this is why many prefer to buy third party profiles of very professionally made amp emulations created in specific treated rooms with very nice cabinets, various tube types and so on. Most factory modeling limits the user to their idea of an amp model. KPA has its own rabbit hole as well. Most digital does, and the biggest part is the more shit is added the deeper the rabbit hole becomes. Nobody can resist. KPA kind of limits those things to the profile itself. So one person's model of a Marshall or Mesa will vary from any other. This is really evident on a lot of cleaner amp profiles. Twin's, Vox, other Fender, Marshall Plexi, Bluesbreakers, these amps are aged. Some profiles have orig speakers, electronics, tube assortments that change everything about an amp's sonic signature. KPA is the only "revealing" modeler that provides that. FAS added their version of profiling called Tone Matching but it isn't even close imo. It's more an EQ match than anything.
Software modeling-
SGear- best sounding software based modeler for cleaner bluesy to mid gain amps. No others compare imo. Nothing really over the top in terms of high gain......yet. One of the only software modelers that work well with external pedals.
Amplitube 4- recent design, most repackaged and has an ala carte method of amp collection. Most impressed with the new Mesa designed models for A4. They reworked the cab room using better quality IR's and it sounds nicer.
GR5- Not bad, but behind the game imo. Couple new features from GR4, but mostly repackaged.
BIAS- depending upon the platform, this is some really good modeling. They did better on cab IR's and factory cabs sound more impressive. Mid gain models are so so, as are clean, but they have some good overall models and a nice assortment of effects (optional).
HTH
Statistics: Posted by tmcatfan — Sun Jan 24, 2016 4:00 am