digital amp modelers

[Paladyne]

are there any good ones out there? I am all about punk, metal and rock. I am looking to get something in a rack mount.

 

[David French]

Here ya go.

 

[heinz]

If I had to play a year-long gig on a cruise ship, I'd get a POD. This is because if the ship sinks, I'll need a floatation device.

Seriously, for Punk Metal or Rock there is no substitute for moving air. Now as a practice rig, digital can be entertaining. But I can never get the emulated stuff to sit correctly in a real mix.

Just IMO.

 

[David French]

Nice one Heinz

I'd have to agree, really, but the POD sure beats the crap out of the Behringer or Johnson models.

 

[AudioGaff]

are there any good ones out there?

Most of the answer depends on what yout think is good? Will they replace and/or do they sound as good as the real thing? Nope. I think they sound better and offer more than your standard chain of stomp boxes. They are great for practice or for use in the beedroom and apartment where you might need to use headphones or low volumes on stereo speakers/ boom boxes.

They are great little portable things and are very useful for songwritting ideas. I own the Johnson J-station and even use it for recording, although I mostly use the amp modeling analog output just to monitor and the digital output that is clean gets recorded so that I can re-amp later with good and real combo amp. Works great for that. I don't thnk that there is that big of difference, but the POD seems a bit better but is still highly debateable by guitar players at all skill levels. I have not heard the newer updated POD, but the J-station sure offers a lot of bang for the buck. The Windows MIDI application gives you full control and allows you to upload/download presets. When used with a nice tube DI/mic preamp and/or tube compressor it can make a big difference and step it up a notch in overall tone.

 

[kwow]

Pod XT is way better than the original Pod IMO. One guitarist friend told me that very often he and his buddy uses the Pod XT on various projects when they're writing and they plan to replace it with real amps later, but often they end up keeping the tracks done with the Pod XT.

 

[falkon2]

Usable sounds? PODxt works to a good degree.
Layering for guitars? Heck, with ONE real amp track in there, you won't be able to tell the difference in all the backing tracks.

For metal, you might also want to look into Line 6's Distortion modeller (not the POD series - seperate unit). This is (supposedly) what Metallica used for their latest album.

I find that for certain types of music, the "overcompressed" sound of the POD fits in a lot better than the more uncontrolled bite of a real amp. It's got it's own sound - it sounds like shyte when you try to force it to sound like something it isn't, but can stand well on it's own if you know how to utilize its sound (which is ironic, given all the marketing hype Line 6 comes up with ), and you can't really beat it for it's price.

 

[Paladyne]

Originally posted by falkon2:
Heck, with ONE real amp track in there, you won't be able to tell the difference in all the backing tracks.

For metal, you might also want to look into Line 6's Distortion modeller

I could not agree more. I have used Sansamp/amplitube and ampfarm on a lot of the direct box sounds I take simultaniusly(sp) from my friends guitars and blend them into the original.

I am definatly thinking about getting a line6, but now I might keep my eye out for that distortion processor. I also like the delays that line6 has.

The studio that my friend and I are building will prolly have a good number of highschoolers and their punk bands(which is cool with me, shoot, I wish someone had a studio i could have recorded at when I was in highschool here, maybe I would not have gotten in so much trouble! ). SOME of them have great gear, some do not, but I want to try and make each kid sound decent, even if they have some little 2watt solidstate amp...

thanks all,
Eric

 

[falkon2]

One thing I find is that with all the recorded PODxt tracks I have, the treble range (typically 6-8kHz on most amps - usually where the spectrum starts to roll off after the presence range) are pretty neutered compared to the real deal. Finding something else in the mix to cover up that lack sometimes hides the fact that it doesn't sound "real".

 

[sheet]

It all is relative to the style. Some styles will not work with a modeling amp, because you need the acoustic feedback of the amplifier with pick-ups.

I have recorded with the Digitech, the POD, AmpFarm (which BTW was absolutely not produced by Line6. It was by digidesign's R&D team with a little help from Line6, and they needed to be able to sell it with a recognizable name.), SansAmp, etc.

The Digitech surprised me. I picked the sound of that over a Marshall combo. But then again, that isn't saying much. It worked on the demo. It was quick and easy.

The only thing that I can say is tune up outside of the boxes. On some of these outboard boxes, there is some funky voo doo going on, and it call make it hard to tune while in a patch.

To me the modeling is another mixing tool, not a replacement. It's like drum machines and synthesizers all over again in the 80's. Don't worry, people will get organic/orgasmic again and come back to the real deal.

 

[Tommy P.]

Most metal and punk seem to go with the Line6. I dunno, I prefer the Johnson.

I've been using a Johnson J-Station for a while now(currently 99USD street, orig 450). IMHO its a very underrated piece of gear. Its also been discontinued. The parent company Digitech has abandoned the line in favor of its Genesis product.

I agree with Gaff, it gets to another level with tube voicing after the outputs. I use the Blackface and JCM800 models mostly. The Windows editing software takes it far, beyond the factory presets. As was mentioned, the S/PDIF output can be configured clean, while the analog outs send the full effected patch.

I recently auditioned the new VOX modeller for about an hour. My first impressions were that it had good overdriven tones that had some lively thunk and presence. I wasn't happy with the clean tones at all. Then I changed my mind about the overdriven tones. Kinda fuzzy with a bit of mud. It utilizes a 12AX7 that re-configures as an output tube of the modelled amp. I'll give another listen, but first impressions ... :roll:


I really want to buy a Line6 modeller, but they leave me cold every time. Then again, Jeff Beck says he decided to leave the Line6 scratch solo tracks on his last album (great embellishment over looped stuff). He says he kept the modelled tracks because quote" I'd never be able to play that solo again". Yeah, right Jeff. :c:

Edit: sheet, I can get plenty of feedback with the modeller into a clean high headroom amp and neutral efficient speakers up close to the guitar.

 

[Kent L T]

I like using my pod through my mesa boogie Mark IV into a 12" altec. The best of both worlds. The pod is kind of sterile by itself.

 

[sdevino]

I agree the PODs et al have a their own unique sounds but so far I haven;t found any of them to be useful for recording with a few exceptions.

I am sure they are getting better though.

Steve

 

[MisterBlue]

Originally posted by kent L T:
I like using my pod through my mesa boogie Mark IV into a 12" altec. The best of both worlds. The pod is kind of sterile by itself.

Are you just using it in mono or am I missing something? Hmmm, I guess it would work pretty good for the modelling part but leaves a lot of the stereo effects potential unused ... :roll: Just wondering.

I also have a Mark III and have been considering doing the same thing but was worried how the thing would sound in mono.

Thanks,

MisterBlue.

 

[MisterBlue]

Also - and I know I will get blasted for bringing this up - what do people think about the sound of the V-AMP2 (yes, the B company). I tried it in a "headphone rehearsal" situation (great way of practicing :tu: ) because I didn't want to rip my Pod Pro out of my studio rack and thought that some of the sounds were rather usable. In the end we concluded that the unit lacked some of the bottom end compared to the Pod.
On the other hand, when mixing, I always end up HP filtering the low end of the guitars and keys anyway but it seemed that when playing with the band it wouldn't develop enough "fatness" (or is it phatness?).

Please (!) don't turn this a political, ethical or whatever mudfight. I am only interested in opinions about the sound of the thing.

Thanks,

MisterBlue.

 

[falkon2]

Originally posted by MisterBlue:
Please (!) don't turn this a political, ethical or whatever mudfight. I am only interested in opinions about the sound of the thing.

omg digital modeling sux get a REAL AMP and mic u n00bs

On a more serious note... I know someone who absolutely loves the sound of the V-Amp. It's the first thing he got besides a tiny practice amp, though, so his opinion may be somewhat biased.

Edit: Oops, misread that... no opinions about the V-Amp2

 

[Kent L T]

I only wish I had two Mark IVs to run in stereo.

 

[Davedog]

I tried a POd once....but when I approached it with my guitar cord it jumped up and flew off to the mother ship......I've heard stories about guys needing to block a wheel of their old equipment vans and finding the Pod to be a great substitute for a brick......Theres something very wrong and alien about the attack and decay of these things....the tone, once its going, is fine...full of harmonics and truly playable controlled..all that crap....but the END of the sound....truly creepy.....Makes ya wanna check the closet for a body snatcher or sumthin.....Fender Deluxe Reverb on seven with a packing blanket thrown over it in a vocal booth......AhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhTONE!!!

 

[MisterBlue]

Davedog, it's easy to tell that you are kinda new at this and probably don't really have that much experience. For starters, the Pods get usually crushed within a minute when you try and stop a van or truck with them. Don't argue, just nod. A Fender Deluxe Reverb works actually much better for that purpose and it doesn't even need the packing blanket over it (although it admittedly doesn't hurt either).
So, if we agree that the Fender amp is better to stop trucks from rolling away it's a simple conclusion that in return the Pod is likely to do a better job at ... ? What more do I need to say.

Now, for real killer results, what you want to try is a PodXT (on 7 !) with a packing blanket. Now you're talking.

MisterBlue.

 

[Kurt Foster]

Originally posted by MisterBlue:
..... if we agree that the Fender amp is better to stop trucks from rolling away it's a simple conclusion that in return the Pod is likely to do a better job at ... ?
MisterBlue.

sucking wind ... the best sound a Pod makes is when it's hitting the bottom of a dumpster ... (if miced correctly).