Preface:
- I’m not an old fart
- I own and use modelers
- This is my opinion, no one will change it, and I’m not trying to change anyone else’s opinion
Modeling leans in to the tech-dork vibe, both in our interaction with them and the types of people and banter it attracts.
(Myself included)
The more Ive headed back in the other direction (analog) the more “fun” I’ve had. It’s an immersive and immediate experience, and I find it a lot more inspiring generally speaking.
I can’t imagine not having and using a modeler, they’re great, but they are just soulless computer dork boxes, and while algorithmically perfect, they completely remove the spirit of rock and roll from the equation for me. (Emphasis on “
for me”) They don’t trigger that “spark” or rush imo. I didn’t grow up wanting to plug into a computer and I don’t want all of my experiences playing guitar revolving around control room tones dictated by a studio engineering approach. There is a time and place for that, but as my
entire experience playing, nope.
Amps and cabs are the shit, and no amount of mouse and keyboard wielding in front of a pair of studio monitors is going to replace the experience of using them
for me, personally.
While I'm different, this is a post I can sign by 100%.
But: Lots of that just comes down to modelers just being bad in pretty much all aspects when it comes to usability. Especially this is noteworthy IMO:
"
no amount of mouse and keyboard wielding in front of a pair of studio monitors is going to replace the experience of using them for me,"
Yeah, right. Same here. I'm incredibly familiar with all things computer-ish, all things menu diving on hardware units and what not. I'm used to find my ways around quite quickly.
And still: Pretty much all UIs suck. Big time even. And it doesn't get any better when you compare things to the real analog deal. Any decent array of analog controlled things will mop the floor with each and every modeler around. This includes the ones easier to edit, such as the Helix, The QC, the Headrush offerings and what not.
They all completely (!) suck compared to, say, a well designed pedalboard.
No quick overview of whatever settings (say, of a drive and a boost pedal). No way to tweak them almost simultaneously, you need to switch back and forth to no end.
And it's even worse. There's one well respected unit known for it's incredibly bad onboard editing experience. But hold on, "it's got the best editor in town" - pardon? I mean, WTF has the best editor in town to do with twisting some hardware knobs, then immediately twisting the knobs of the unit next to it? Right, it's got one thing to do with it, namely NO thing.
As a result, even if you could possibly get as great sounds from a modeling environment, you possibly won't, simply because you give up before you're there, tired of that endless menu diving, back and forth clicking, reamping, slapping a looper in front so you can intensify your editing by not having to play, etc.
This is especially true for live when you simply don't have enough time to finetune things. So you have to get away with a less than great sound simply because there's no time to dive into menus during soundcheck. Seriously? Yes, seriously!
And it's the same when recording. When inspiration hits you, the last thing you want is to click around much.
Modeler makers don't understand these issues. Not even one of them does. Alternatively, they do, but they completely (!) ignore it.
There's not one single hardware modeler allowing you to setup things as if it was, say, like a huge loopswitcher controlled rig, kinda like a Bradshaw thing. Maybe you could get close using an Axe FX III and global blocks, but it'd still leave things left to be desired. Anything else doesn't even get into the ballpark.
You know; the rung you've used for actual recordings? 
