Is now the time to finally switch to digital?!

ColWilkie

I've been back and forth over the years, and did have a Kemper for quite some time.  Been super happy with my Friedman BE100DLX, and ever changing pedalboard (which has ben surprisingly stable for a few months!).  

With all the recent noise around the recent Quad Cortex release, I thought I'd give the plugins a go again just purely out of interest.  Having seen a video on input gain specifically for NeuralDSP, I was amazed to find the plugins sound sooooo much better now with my Audio Device gain at 0.  Played both the Mesa and Asato plugins, and found myself having a lot of fun.  So much so that I only switched my amp on last week to see if I felt I was missing much.

I have to be honest, was more impressed than I thought I would be.  Have spent the last few nights pouring over QC and FM9 videos pondering if I should jump fully in and replace my current rig.  This is with a cheap pair of iLoud Micro speakers.  I have good headphones, but prefer using monitors.

Not going to rush this time.  Wondering if anyone else here has in more recent times made the switch and have any regrets?  I don't gig, currently just playing in my home office so moving around kit isn't really the benefit.  I've found the main justification to be closer to my iMac and being able to jam along through studio monitors.

dangriffiths

If you want to keep board I would say Tone X. Sure the software is bad but once you get it setup and sounding good (roughly 1 hr with a paid for capture) it is excellent and cheap to try. 

octatonic

dangriffiths said:

If you want to keep board I would say Tone X. Sure the software is bad but once you get it setup and sounding good (roughly 1 hr with a paid for capture) it is excellent and cheap to try. 

+1.

I have a Tonex on my gigging board for a situation where the tube amps are not appropriate (stage volume) or if something goes down. It works great.

ColWilkie

Thanks guys. I did try the Tonex software but found I was getting better results with neural. Maybe I need to give it some more time, seems to have a lot of praise and good value! 

Nerine

I’m on my second FM9, and it’s back up for sale. It’s a KILLER piece of gear and it sounds great. It really does, but it just doesn’t make me smile quite as much as a valve amp does. Plus I get option paralysis, and I always second guess myself when dialling in sounds on it because I have no reference for what a real amp should sound like in my room. 

ColWilkie

Nerine said:

I’m on my second FM9, and it’s back up for sale. It’s a KILLER piece of gear and it sounds great. It really does, but it just doesn’t make me smile quite as much as a valve amp does. Plus I get option paralysis, and I always second guess myself when dialling in sounds on it because I have no reference for what a real amp should sound like in my room. 

Thanks mate, that’s very helpful.   Kind of what happened when I had the kemper and ended up with my first Friedman based on one of the profiles I loved. Think I’ll hang fire and just use plugins and have my main rig on standby.  Spent a few hours with it today and still brings a grin to my face.  

I’m terrible for jumping in and making rash decisions! 

hollywoodrox

I think the two will still co exist for many years ,for most it’s a personal choice   Or may be 
  Decided by what venues they play regularly eg silent/quieter stages 
  Even Danny 1969  who enjoys his fender HRD has a digital option of his pod go .
 

A lot of nice amps can also be as easy to walk in with as a digital floor pedal setup 
  Thankfully we have a good choice at most prices in both camps 

CHRISB50

I started asking myself the same question a while back, and started a similar thread on here...

What to do? Real amp or modeler? - Digital & Modelling Discussions on theFretBoard

I ended up getting a Fractal FM3. I'm still in the honeymoon stage at the moment but I love it so far.

thomasw88

I don't think digital is there yet.  Tried the helix, boss options and have a tonex one.   Tonex one sounded best of the three into the return of an amp. It'll do as a backup for sure.
Previously I've had a lot of digital options ranging from modellers, to amp modellers, and all in one effects boards (HX effects, Fractal FX8)

None of them sound as good as my pedalboard into  silver stripe Peavey studio and they're not even on the same planet as my  bad cat amp.  They all seem to need to tweaking far more than a normal pedal does.  I do use digital effects ie Boss DD500, Strymon Mobius, and Neunaber Immerse 2 so its not snobbery that way.

 I don't think the digital drives on the modellers compare to analog drive pedals.  I've found that with the line 6, Boss, Fractal etc effects, even had a couple of Strymon Sunsets.       They just  weren't anywhere as good as what I have on my board.  Delays,  modulations, compressers, eq etc are all perfectly usable in the main, although I haven't found a modeller tremolo which can get close to a strymon mobius or flint etc.

'Ive not tried the latest fractal or QC etc but from what I've read they all have their own foibles.  Going to wait till the next gen of modellers come out. 

Rkphilpot

I went through a similar thing with the HX Stomp, saw all these videos claiming it to be the only pedal you need.
I spent a week with it and I just didn't like it. That's not to say I'm one of these "anything after 1970 is rubbish" advocates. I'm all for digital, I just worked out that I much prefer the simplicity (and enjoyment) of getting a new pedal and turning the knobs to see what sounds come out, I also like different amps for different reasons. With the HX stomp I found I cant deal with all the menu diving, despite it being a very good interface.
However I am looking at a small pedalboard with an IR-2 as an ampless solution, something that would meet me halfway I feel.
I think for a lot of people, me included, the journey of finding something new and playing with it is just as exciting as getting there. Putting all my money and options into one digital box doesn't excite me in the same way. Having said that, when I look at Rabea's rig I'm super envious. That's the game we play I guess.

It seems that QC is still very much in demand, if you buy one second hand and decide its not for you I don't think you will lose much, if any money on it.

ColWilkie

Thanks everyone for all the input.  I'll continue to dip my toes in with plugins for the time being, and may end up picking up a QC at some point to add to the rig.  I doubt I'll be selling off my main rig (at least not in the immediate future), it might be useful to have both for a period of time while the technology continues to mature.  Never say never though!

Danny1969

hollywoodrox said:

I think the two will still co exist for many years ,for most it’s a personal choice   Or may be 
  Decided by what venues they play regularly eg silent/quieter stages 
  Even Danny 1969  who enjoys his fender HRD has a digital option of his pod go .
 

A lot of nice amps can also be as easy to walk in with as a digital floor pedal setup 
  Thankfully we have a good choice at most prices in both camps 

Yeah I think a lot of us have some kind of digital option. More recently though I've been using a normal pedalboard with a Nux MP2 on the last pedal for the amp and speaker sim. That little thing cost like £55 and to my ears just sounds more realistic than the Line 6 stuff.  The singer in my indie eighties uses my POD Go now when we play live. 

For live use I just prefer an amp, pref a valve amp but I gigged at a festival last week using the supplied Marshall AVT and that sounded fine. You climb on stage with the amp and a pedalboard, plug them into the mains and 2 signal cable later you are ready to go. So quick, so easy and so analog sounding which is what I want. 

In my jobs as sound engineer and electronics engineer real amps have an advantage too. Another guitarist  comes on the stage with their amp and you just shove the same mic on it that you used for the last band. Everyone on stage can hear it before you even put a bit in the wedges. We have stereo DI's and can do multiple IEM mixes etc so can deal with stuff like Kempers / Helix just fine but it's not as quick as just moving a mic. I did a festival 2 days ago with 4 bands. All except one used real amps so was completely effortless changeover wise 

From an electronics point of view I worry about the longevity of floor modellers with internal power supplies. If you do a lot of festivals my advice is try and keep it out the sun. Ever felt how hot a 60 watts or so laptop power supply gets indoors sometimes. Now imagine that power supply buried in the bottom of a modeller sat in the sun for 2 hours. 

The manufacturer  won't tell you this but how long your modeller lasts is directly proportional to how hot you let it get. So be careful outdoors in the summer. 

UnclePsychosis

For me, the digital sounds are there but digital gear just fundamentally isn't as fun as "real" stuff.

Since I'm currently playing 100% for my own enjoyment then the more fun option wins.

If I was gigging in a wedding band, say, then I'd probably feel differently. 

ColWilkie

Really good feedback guys, much appreciated!  Interesting insights into advantages from a sound engineers perspective.  You often have modellers touted as being far simpler - it's clearly not as black and white as it appears.

Also good point on it just being fun.  We're incredibly spoiled as guitarists these days with all the options

CHRISB50

Completely forgot I posted already  

As you were! 

Bidley

I've had my Helix for about 6 years and have only used real amps in the studio since. The fun aspect is relative, and I like fiddling about with other amps and FX whenever I feel like changing it up. Saves me buying and selling pedals and amps. And gigging is much simpler.

Roland

Bidley said:

I've had my Helix for about 6 years ….

I’ve been digital since 2009. It strikes me that a lot of the noise comes from people who are changing to or from digital. Those of us who are happy with what we’ve got don’t often to talk about it. Certainly the ability to pull an effect out of the library has saved me money over the years. Currently experimenting with different phasers.

DiscoStu

I've decided to go digital due to suffering a slipped disc earlier in the year. 
I've gone for a full-fat Tonex pedal and so far it sounds amazing and I haven't even downloaded any 'better' captures yet so it's looking promising so far. 
I need to get a Fender FR-10 though and everywhere is out of stock so I can't really try the Tonex out fully yet.

nero1701

I've really stepped back a bit on my digital set up after reading a bit here and recently the fractal thread. 

I've a full fat tonex, a fm3 and a 2notes opus. 

I've plugged the fm3 in today, and instead of jumping into 059 Delux tweed. I started making my own patch. 

Deluxe verb vibrato into a greenback. 2 spring medium reverb. 

Tweaking from there.

Heartfeltdawn

Digital works for me. Tonex has been a revelation in providing great sounding amps that rival Fractal. 

For me, I play a lot of clean stuff. I don't want a load of amp distortion. Johnny Marr-type sounds, Cocteau Twins, all of that works perfectly with a digital setup. Going hybrid (low cost overdrive pedals), Tonex One, and digital pedals is great for me. Building up a new board as I type

ColWilkie

Heartfeltdawn said:

Digital works for me. Tonex has been a revelation in providing great sounding amps that rival Fractal. 

For me, I play a lot of clean stuff. I don't want a load of amp distortion. Johnny Marr-type sounds, Cocteau Twins, all of that works perfectly with a digital setup. Going hybrid (low cost overdrive pedals), Tonex One, and digital pedals is great for me. Building up a new board as I type

I've checked out some of the Tonex stuff, now including profiles of my very own amp.  It's really impressive for the price of entry.  

One thing I did find with some of the plugins I've been testing, is that clean sounds tend to be significantly lower in volume to anything with some gain.  Balancing them can be a little tricky.  It's probably user error