I think it’s about Time RT evaluated the future of Guitar Rigs

DanTravis62 said:
Only in that I refuse to go "into the future."


I refuse gigs with silent stages, and lug around 100 watters and 4x12s to gigs.
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There will always be people like us who choose the power of this way over convenience. I have half stacks and axe efx and for me the axe fx stays gf most of the time. There will always be folks who feel that .
 
I can totally see switching to those silent stages or a simple pedal rig if you are a performer, or a musician..But if you are a fucking guitarist, you need to feel that fucking amp. I couldn't tell the difference between a kemper and a fireball live as far as one sounding better at a death metal concert. But I bet the guitarists felt a difference.
 
I’ve gone to lunch box heads and a 1-12, but as I’m getting closer to Holy Fuck I’m old! I don’t see changing my rig anytime soon!
 
In addition to all that's been said, if Adam Jones (for example) used a Kemper and it somehow sounded exactly the same...people wouldn't gawk over his tone quite as much. And it just wouldn't be nearly as cool as him playing that same Marshall and then adding Diezel VH4s on top. Tubes amps are cool, old ones even cooler. And having to lube the ball bearings every now and then is just part of the allure.
 
Modelers and profilers are the new fancy thing, but there'll still be those who use traditional amps and cabs. That part is not going to change.

I see modelers as a good convenience for a touring musician that doesn't have a horde of roadies to carry all their shit for them. I also see them as a way for us amateurs to experience out of reach vintage amps and preserve those tones for future musicians as those vintage amps become non functional.

On the reverse side the modelers have their disadvantages too. Depending on what you use; kemper vs axefx, you either only get a snapshot of settings with limited adjustability or a deep rabbit hole of setting. Then if you're like me all the different options available to choose from causes decision paralysis. This is the main reason I've stayed away from modelers. I'd spend more time trying to decide what to use than actually playing.

The other disadvantage I hear a lot about is modelers not having the "amp in the room" sound. You can get a close facsimile of it, but nothing (as of yet) can match the real deal.

I foresee the amp world doing the same thing that happened with music albums. Migrate more to digital then circle back to the traditional. We had records, cassettes, CD's, then digital MP3s and such took over. Now there's been a resurgence of the old analog record player. It's like people all of a sudden realized that digital was lacking a certain rawness that connected them to the music. So they started migrating back to the old technology that gave them what they were missing. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if something like this happened with amps. Digital amps become more prevalent, people feel like it's missing something, discover what they're missing in traditional tube amps, and a resurgence of them going back to tubes.
 
Everything evolves,and everything dies.
I wonder if lute players said "You know,the new fangled guitar thing will NEVER be as cool as the lute.".
But lute players are still around. Saw one at a Renaissance fair a while back.
Told the guy he was a poser for not running thru an original C+ boosted with a TS-9.
 
The future of "my" rig are the Synergy Modules thru a SS (Boss TAE) power section. I sound/ play as-good or better w/ this type of setup.
I just dumped the Suhr SL68 half stack and the Soldano SLO half stack is going next week.
Moving to Florida and I'm traveling light. I'll get a Synergy cab when I get there.
 
Smashedguitarist said:
I can totally see switching to those silent stages or a simple pedal rig if you are a performer, or a musician..But if you are a fucking guitarist, you need to feel that fucking amp. I couldn't tell the difference between a kemper and a fireball live as far as one sounding better at a death metal concert. But I bet the guitarists felt a difference.
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When we switched to IEMs, practice became a silent stage deal. It's great if you want to poop out a demo for a new song and whatnot, but it doesn't feel right. We heard everything better, but if isn't the same. You can't manipulate feedback without volume, and we quickly learned that settings were off when we rolled out amps live. Now we even practice at gig volume, and everything is always set right.

Modelers can sound every bit as good as tube amps in the right settings. However, when you need volume, you need the real thing. It's like a driving simulator. We have the technology to make a driving simulator that can display and respond just like a car. But, the second you put a driving simulator on wheels and use it to go somewhere, you just made a car. Why would you go through the hassle to simulate driving AND actually move when you can just drive the real thing? It's actually cheaper too. Sure, we would all love to experience what it's like to drive a dump truck, but last I checked, the whole point of a dump truck is to move tons of stuff. How could you show up on a job site with a dump truck simulator? The real thing will never be replaced.
 
BeZo said:
When we switched to IEMs, practice became a silent stage deal. It's great if you want to poop out a demo for a new song and whatnot, but it doesn't feel right. We heard everything better, but if isn't the same. You can't manipulate feedback without volume, and we quickly learned that settings were off when we rolled out amps live. Now we even practice at gig volume, and everything is always set right.
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Hence 311 using IEM's with two 4x12's per guitar and a monster Jonas Hellborg Warwick bass rig live.

Hear it AND feel it.
 
As long as I have my current gear,, I will never be in a situation where I need to be reliant on a laptop or desktop PC in order to play my guitar. And I'll drink to that!
 
As long as we have a supply of tubes and knowledgeable folks that can do amp work we’re good.

I think this is an amazing time to be a guitar player. The gear choices are endless and there’s just a ridiculous amount of great stuff to try. I can literally play my 100 watt amps at home at night because the Friedman master volume is so good. For the amps that need real volume to be at their best we’ve got several awesome attenuation devices. The lower watt amps have also come a long way so 25 watt amps can kick ass without huge low end loss like before.

I just got a captor X for recording. I could take that and a 100 watt head and go straight into the PA of my pretty small church and have a killer sound. It’s getting better and better but already so many options for playing real cranked amps at whatever volume needed…my biggest worry is quality and quantity of tubes. Can’t play without those.
 
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