Best guitar amp simulator-modeler in the market

[loziodavid]

In your opinion, what is now the best guitar amp simulator or modeler for home recording?

The Torpedo CAB is a high-end solution, but, unbelievably, it emulates only the power amp section of a real tube amp, indeed they dont talk of their simulations in therm of Plexi, JCM 800 or Twin Reverb, but in term of EL34, 6L6, KT88.
I dont know why they totally ignored the preamp section.
Anyway the countless feedbacks from CAB owners are enthusiastic, so I think that the lack of the preamp section doesn't compromise the sound quality.

The Atomic Amplifire, at first sight, looks like a common digital pedalboard like a POD HD or a Boss GT, but actually is an advanced amp simulator (Bassman, Plexi, EVH 5150, and so on...), but also a speaker and microphone simulator (like the CAB).


Unfortunately there is no A/B test of these two modelers, so it's impossible to do a direct comparison.
But in your opinion, for a guitarist who play only in his home-studio and that wants to simplify his setup replacing the guitar amp, the microphones and the high volumes needed to drive them properly, which is the best solution?

 

[ejecta]

The only way to tell is get them and try them for yourself. Not a single person here can answer that fully but you. However since you asked for opinions I say the Atomic stuff is great bang for the buck and can give the top three a run. I've owned all the major ones.... Atomic, Kemper, AxeFX, Helix. I still have an AX8 but honestly you can't go wrong with any of them as long as you go in with right expectations. They all sound good but they are not to me exactly like playing a tube rig no matter what anyone says.

Short review of each:
Atomic: Sounds good but a bit limited for my style of on the fly switching effects in and out. The new 12 button unit looks like it would fit my tastes more.
Kemper: Sounds great if not the most "real" out of all of them but hated the profile hunt and limited tweakablity of profiles and limited effects routing.
Helix: Sounds good and plays very well with outboard gear but for me a bit bulky for I needed and didn't jive as much with the amp sounds as other units.
AX8: Sounds really good but you have a little gap when switching and you can hit the CPU ceiling if you want more going on in your presets.

I say get the one that fits your needs and budget the best.

 

[cardinal]

Add S-gear and BIAS to the list to stuff that's more than acceptable.

IMHO just pick one that speaks to you based on the price and feature set (ins/outs/etc) that you want.

If anyone is not getting good sounds out of that list of modelers, the problem is not the modeler.

 

[loziodavid]

The only way to tell is get them and try them for yourself. Not a single person here can answer that fully but you. However since you asked for opinions I say the Atomic stuff is great bang for the buck and can give the top three a run. I've owned all the major ones.... Atomic, Kemper, AxeFX, Helix. I still have an AX8 but honestly you can't go wrong with any of them as long as you go in with right expectations. They all sound good but they are not to me exactly like playing a tube rig no matter what anyone says.

Short review of each:
Atomic: Sounds good but a bit limited for my style of on the fly switching effects in and out. The new 12 button unit looks like it would fit my tastes more.
Kemper: Sounds great if not the most "real" out of all of them but hated the profile hunt and limited tweakablity of profiles and limited effects routing.
Helix: Sounds good and plays very well with outboard gear but for me a bit bulky for I needed and didn't jive as much with the amp sounds as other units.
AX8: Sounds really good but you have a little gap when switching and you can hit the CPU ceiling if you want more going on in your presets.

I say get the one that fits your needs and budget the best.

I already knew the units you listed. They are great for home-recording and headphone playng, but they are also for rehearsal and gigs.
You can leave at home your delicate and expensive tube-head, your 2x12" cabinet, your 40lbs pedalboard and all the noise and impedance issues from pedals, and take only your guitar(s) and a 2U rack unit (or a small digital pedalboard). That's all! And you can sound great!

But currently I don't play live, and above all I cannot afford an Helix (1400$), an AXE FX or his little brother AX8 (2000$-1500$). Hereafter I hope to play live, then I will probably go for an AXE FXII or ULTRA, but now I cannot switch to such an expensive system

All I want now is a easier and quieter way to record my guitar, without the need to crank up the volume of the amp.
This is why I thought of getting the Torpedo CAB, and bypassing my tube amp, or the Atomic Amplifire and use it only as amp emulator (no internal pedals simulations).
I thought even of a DI box, but they sound crap. Nothing comparable to a real guitar speaker.

 

[loziodavid]

Add S-gear and BIAS to the list to stuff that's more than acceptable.

IMHO just pick one that speaks to you based on the price and feature set (ins/outs/etc) that you want.

If anyone is not getting good sounds out of that list of modelers, the problem is not the modeler.

S-Gear is the Schuffman Amp VST?
Do you think I could run all my pedals directly into my audio interface, and the apply an amp simulation via S-Gear, Bias FX or even with Amplitube? I never tried this way. Do you think it could work or it will sound thin, boomy, compressed, dark?

 

[Revson]

S-Gear is the Schuffman Amp VST?
Do you think I could run all my pedals directly into my audio interface, and the apply an amp simulation via S-Gear, Bias FX or even with Amplitube? I never tried this way. Do you think it could work or it will sound thin, boomy, compressed, dark?

Try it real quick and find out. It should work reasonably well, just keep an eye on your input to make sure it doesn't clip.

 

[cardinal]

Add S-gear and BIAS to the list to stuff that's more than acceptable.

IMHO just pick one that speaks to you based on the price and feature set (ins/outs/etc) that you want.

If anyone is not getting good sounds out of that list of modelers, the problem is not the modeler.

S-Gear is the Schuffman Amp VST?
Do you think I could run all my pedals directly into my audio interface, and the apply an amp simulation via S-Gear, Bias FX or even with Amplitube? I never tried this way. Do you think it could work or it will sound thin, boomy, compressed, dark?

I run pedals into an Apogee interface and BIAS on my phone. It works well and sounds great to me. You definitely have to watch the input level. Too high causing clipping that sounds terrible. Too low and there's not enough to drive the amp sims. You can make BIAS sound terrible. But you can also make it sound pretty good IMHO. I use to have an Axe FX II years and years ago, but I've been happier with BIAS for what I need.

 

[Shask]

In your opinion, what is now the best guitar amp simulator or modeler for home recording?

The Torpedo CAB is a high-end solution, but, unbelievably, it emulates only the power amp section of a real tube amp, indeed they dont talk of their simulations in therm of Plexi, JCM 800 or Twin Reverb, but in term of EL34, 6L6, KT88.
I dont know why they totally ignored the preamp section.
Anyway the countless feedbacks from CAB owners are enthusiastic, so I think that the lack of the preamp section doesn't compromise the sound quality.

The Atomic Amplifire, at first sight, looks like a common digital pedalboard like a POD HD or a Boss GT, but actually is an advanced amp simulator (Bassman, Plexi, EVH 5150, and so on...), but also a speaker and microphone simulator (like the CAB).

The Torpedo CAB is not a modeler. It is a cab simulator. Think of it like the cab block inside of one of the other modelers. Most people that use these plug a preamp pedal into them, such as the AMT pedals.

The Amplifire is a full digital modeler like the Fractal, Line 6, Boss GT series, Digitech RP series, Zoom G series, etc....

I think it depends on what you want. Do you want a full modeler where you can save presets and such, or are you just looking for a clean sound to run pedals into? If you dont want to spend much and dont plan on the rig leaving the house, then a VST based setup might make the most amount of sense. You could also use a simple AMT preamp pedal, and then a cab simulator like the one AMT makes, or the torpedo. It is really hard to say, because you have 20 different options, so it depends on exactly what you are looking for.

 

[Shask]

S-Gear is the Schuffman Amp VST?
Do you think I could run all my pedals directly into my audio interface, and the apply an amp simulation via S-Gear, Bias FX or even with Amplitube? I never tried this way. Do you think it could work or it will sound thin, boomy, compressed, dark?

Try it real quick and find out. It should work reasonably well, just keep an eye on your input to make sure it doesn't clip.

Also, could try a Guitar DI at the end of the chain right before the interface to get the levels to match correctly. Something from Radial is usually popular for this.

 

[Deadpool_25]

I was going to suggest Fractal, but it sounds like you are looking for something less expensive. You should check out BIAS. They have standalone products and solutions for PC, iPad, etc.

 

[ejecta]

All I want now is a easier and quieter way to record my guitar, without the need to crank up the volume of the amp.
This is why I thought of getting the Torpedo CAB, and bypassing my tube amp, or the Atomic Amplifire and use it only as amp emulator (no internal pedals simulations).
I thought even of a DI box, but they sound crap. Nothing comparable to a real guitar speaker.

If I just wanted an easier quieter way to record at home and not put a lot of money into a higher end modeler then I'd use a Suhr Reactive Load on my amps and some kind of IR loader like the Torpedo CAB or the Suhr ACE. I wouldn't use a modeler at home just for that situation. I only use my AX8 for live use where I have to really control stage volume and for FX only on my analog rigs but that's just me and my tastes.

 

[rsm]

Best is subjective. I've been using modelers for many years, several years ago I made the switch to using a modeler as my main rig (Vox ToneLab LE was not my first modeler, but first to "replace" my traditional amp rig). Been through many modelers since... I'd start at the mid point and go up in price from there if it doesn't work for you. I purchased a Helix LT when it was first released, I dig it but my main rig is still my Boss GT-1 + SY-300; I replaced my GT-100 with the GT-1 which let me have room for the SY-300. The LT is better sounding, more powerful etc., but honestly I'm still very happy with the GT-1; combined with my SY-300 it does everything I need, want and more.

Here's a pic, the EV-5 is connected to the SY-300. The way I have it connected, I get guitar only (GT-1), synth only (SY-300) or guitar + synth...amazing IMO. I run it stereo out to FRFR. I have a pedalboard/case for it now.