Anybody else getting sick of modellers?

[Boudoir Guitar]

I've spent the last couple days hooking up all my gear through my 1x12 cab. Comparing modelers, comparing amps, trying to figure out what I like and don't like.

I know I don't like the Orange Rocker 15 amp. At its best, it's a decent cleanish tone. But it generally sounds very fuzzy and dark with any kind of gain, and lacks a nice low end. I've tried running all my modelers and all kinds of analog drive pedals into it and always the same thing.

The Blackstar Amped 1 is surprisingly better sounding as a standalone clean amp. It has much better volume control, more extended low end and cleaner high end response, and takes pedals (virtual and analog) better. However, running modelers into it feels a little more hit or miss. Running everything flat it sounds kind of dull and lifeless. Better when you run a tube response curve, although that feels odd given the modeling which should already be happening.

Been really thinking about trying a different amp, and there's some used ones nearby that are intriguing. One is the Fender Tone Master Deluxe, specifically the Creamback version. I feel like that would be the ultimate clean amp that you could add a few pedals too and just have a fun time compared to the big modeler into studio monitors thing.

The other is the Orange Super Crush, the 100 watt all analog amp. That's interesting for a couple reasons...it has more EQ controls and more power on tap than the Rocker 15 so would likely not have the same lack of lows/highs. The power section is also the same as a Pedal Baby, so would be an all analog class AB clean amp for a modeler.

I dunno...I keep trying to simplify and then keep finding ways to make that complicated.

(1).TM Deluxe is my go-to plug-a-guitar-I'm-trying-out-at-guitar-center amp because I know I can get it dialed into a decent crunch tone that I am familiar with. That said, I am not tempted to get one for 2.5 reasons. Reason 1 is that it uses a notched attenuation scheme rather than some sort of continuous power scaling or master volume or whatever. As with all of those systems I always find my preferred setting would be in between two of the notches. Reason 1.5 is related -- the attenuator on the back is super annoying, requiring the awkward reach around. Final reason is...to me, it just doesn't sound as good as either Fractal or Helix black panel models + Duncan PowerStage and my own cabs.

(2). I used a CR120 head into a Marshall MG 4x12 cab in a rehearsal space for about 6 months and was surprised at how well I got on with it. I was able to get a surprisingly solid light crunch tone and put an overdrive in front of that for solos and it worked well enough I didn't think about it at all. Also ran a Stomp into the effects loop a few times and it worked fine. But I also was playing with other people, a scenario where I'm surprisingly wildly less clinically nitpicky about tonal nuance. Huh...

 

[Alex Kenivel]

awkward reach around

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

I choose my words carefully.

 

[Frodebro]

not-a-v30 would probably sound better at lower volumes, too?

V30s are definitely not at their best at low volume levels.

 

[jellodog]

Been really thinking about trying a different amp, and there's some used ones nearby that are intriguing. One is the Fender Tone Master Deluxe, specifically the Creamback version. I feel like that would be the ultimate clean amp that you could add a few pedals too and just have a fun time compared to the big modeler into studio monitors thing.

I owned the TMDR at one point. I liked it at first and was beguiled by the convolution reverb. It was okay if you didn't directly compare it to another amp.

In the end it easily lost out to the Quilter SuperBlock US driving an almost identical creamback cab. I wouldn't recommend the TMDR; there are a bunch of better options out there, including the real tube Deluxe Reverb reissues, or other modellers via power amps.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

Does anybody here use the Helix as a set-and-forget amp?

Or is it normal to pick and set up another amp almost every other day?

 

[Sascha Franck]

Does anybody here use the Helix as a set-and-forget amp?

Most often, yes, but I experiment whenever I feel like. Which sometimes can be daily, sometimes not even once a month.

 

[Frodebro]

Does anybody here use the Helix as a set-and-forget amp?

Or is it normal to pick and set up another amp almost every other day?

I'm probably 95% set and forget with my FM9, unless I'm specifically looking for either a sound or effect that I don't already have in an existing preset.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Does anybody here use the Helix as a set-and-forget amp?

Or is it normal to pick and set up another amp almost every other day?

Just set up a Victoria Queen patch and Princeton patch and be done.

 

[FuzzyAce]

Does anybody here use the Helix as a set-and-forget amp?

Or is it normal to pick and set up another amp almost every other day?

Depends. I use it for recording (well, Native) a lot so I bounce back and forth, nothing is really set in stone so to speak.
If I'm just jamming on the Stomp, I usually hang out on a few different amps, each with their own boosts or drives. More times than not it's the WhoWatt or Dripman, sometimes a Matchstick. Straight up high gain could be a PV Panama or Cali Rec.

 

[Byrdman]

Does anybody here use the Helix as a set-and-forget amp?

Or is it normal to pick and set up another amp almost every other day?

I have about 4 go to amps on my Stomp XL, but check out some others depending on how much free time I have especially around update time. Duel Rec, Plexi, 2203, and a Vox AC30 for an edge of BU tones is what I have used a lot in the past direct into the return, but now I just started doing 4CM about a week ago and that is opening up a lot more "advanced" tones and options for me lately.

IME, I set it up pretty basic in the beginning, played it like that for a few months. Then I need it to do something I had not done before, so read how to do it and then set it up that way. Run it like that for a while with the better tones. Then I repeat the process.

So far here is my history with it - Basic Pedal Board with effects into the front>Amp Modeling into the Front>Amp Modeling with effects into the Return>4CM

 

[Sascha Franck]

Fwiw, I like checking out the various dirt pedal options in my arsenal, though, including both analog and HX-internal ones. But otherwise I typically stick with one pedal friendly amp and see how far I can take it. Right now, my favourite is the Grammatico GSG for anything allround and occasionally the new Xtra Blue for a more rock-ish base sound. Ah well, add the new Super Reverb which I would likely use for some bar jazz gigs, but they're pretty rare these days.
All this is just valid for my main pedalboard rig, though. For recording/home use, I don't always set it up but either use HXNative or, as of lately, as it went off the pedalboard, an Amplifirebox and some dirt pedals.

But regardless of what I use, I usually stick with the same 1-3 amp models. And IMO it's making quite some sense, too, simply because my entire "human system" needs to somewhat learn the feel of whatever amps and pedals, too. The GSG with a Nobels ODR-1 in front (a combination I absolute dig right now) feels entirely different than the Xtra Blue with a Kinky Boost pushing it, playing with them needs different playing adjustments.

 

[paisleywookiee]

Does anybody here use the Helix as a set-and-forget amp?

Or is it normal to pick and set up another amp almost every other day?

I think with modelers and general, I tend to stick to one model for awhile, and then change to something else. Like, for six months I only used a JCM800 variant. Then for another six months, I used a SLO. And so on. It’s why I like modelers. It’s not that I need 250 amps all the time. It’s just that I get tired of a sound, and want something else.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

I think with modelers and general, I tend to stick to one model for awhile, and then change to something else. Like, for six months I only used a JCM800 variant. Then for another six months, I used a SLO. And so on. It’s why I like modelers. It’s not that I need 250 amps all the time. It’s just that I get tired of a sound, and want something else.

This seems a good way to go about it. You wouldn't buy a Fender amp in store, and after a week replace it with another Fender amp. Give it some time to get used too. Find the nuances. Know her skill set. Don't try to make a Marshall into a Fender. Etc.

A bit like choosing your wife.

 

[jellodog]

You wouldn't buy a Fender amp in store, and after a week replace it with another Fender amp.

 

[FuzzyAce]

A bit like choosing your wife.

That's what they want you to think.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

That's what they want you to think.

True. I am just acting tough here for my on-line comrads. Let me be.

 

[FuzzyAce]

True. I am just acting tough here for my on-line comrads. Let me be.

Carry on.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

I think with modelers and general, I tend to stick to one model for awhile, and then change to something else. Like, for six months I only used a JCM800 variant. Then for another six months, I used a SLO. And so on. It’s why I like modelers. It’s not that I need 250 amps all the time. It’s just that I get tired of a sound, and want something else.

Can't believe you said "for a while" .. and then just said you do this for 50% of the year on one amp. I admire you.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

If you pick up the guitar and your first thought is “what amp am I going to play?” every time, modelers are exhausting.