The joy of upsizing

[la szum]

I’ll even go one further and say the thing everyone hates:

The feel and response of analog gear is so much more satisfying than digital. Even if the two sounded identical

The feel thing is negligible at best for me these days. I find them equally satisfying, and bouncing between
their differences and similarities never really leaves me with any hangups, and I use a digital and analog rig
pretty much every day. Each leaves me.

Unlike my playing which is more like

 

[FuzzyAce]

I’m pretty sure I’m headed down the path of having one solid modeler, a handful of amps, and mountains of pedals

 

[laxu]

I’m pretty sure I’m headed down the path of having one solid modeler, a handful of amps, and mountains of pedals

I'm waiting at the end of that rainbow already.

Things you will enjoy:

• Knobs, knobs, knobs! Just turn a knob, no menus in sight!
• Real guitar cabs.
• Lack of excessive options.
• Pedals are fun.

Things you will miss:

• Those scenes are just real nice so it's one button to toggle sounds. A lot more complicated to program and manage even with MIDI.
• Presets. Found that cool tone that works only with one of your guitars at specific settings on that pedal? Well take a picture and turn those knobs to that setting when you need it.
• Visibility into what your presets do, if you have them.
• Not having to spend money on extra pedals to do things your current set doesn't.
• Not having to deal with power supplies, cabling etc.
• Even a small pedalboard weighs a surprising amount when compared to an equivalent size modeler.

 

[la szum]

Still happy for ya, Met!

 

[OrganicZed]

I'm waiting at the end of that rainbow already.

Things you will enjoy:

• Knobs, knobs, knobs! Just turn a knob, no menus in sight!
• Real guitar cabs.
• Lack of excessive options.
• Pedals are fun.

Things you will miss:

• Those scenes are just real nice so it's one button to toggle sounds. A lot more complicated to program and manage even with MIDI.
• Presets. Found that cool tone that works only with one of your guitars at specific settings on that pedal? Well take a picture and turn those knobs to that setting when you need it.
• Visibility into what your presets do, if you have them.
• Not having to spend money on extra pedals to do things your current set doesn't.
• Not having to deal with power supplies, cabling etc.
• Even a small pedalboard weighs a surprising amount when compared to an equivalent size modeler.

Your point about presets is one of the main things that pushed me into the modeling realm. I was running analog pedals into a tube head and cab, but it lacked body unless I turned the volume turned up to about about 3/10 on the control (107-110 dB in the room). That was bad for my hearing (ringing in my ears after playing more than a few minutes) and my wife wanted none of it, so I only got to play that way when she was not home. It was awesome and I still do that on occasion, but I wanted to be able to play guitar more frequently than that and in a way that wasn't going to kill what is left of my hearing.

I bought a load box and IR loader with headphone out to try and solve the need for lower volume. It became apparent that the settings I used with the cab didn't inspire me when playing though headphones. Every time I wanted to switch from the headphone setup to the cabinet setup I had to re-cable things and spend the first few minutes getting the amp dialed in again. It was a major inspiration killer and I would go weeks without switching back and forth because it didn't feel worth the effort for one evening of playing.

The thought that I could make individual presets configured for a specific guitar through a specific cabinet or speaker system and recall them in seconds was very appealing. Digital modeling makes it easy to switch rigs and that is one of the reasons I play my digital gear way more than my analog gear. There is almost no time penalty for deciding that I want to play with another pallet of sounds or to use a different monitoring rig. I have everything routed so can use over the ear headphones, IEMs, studio monitors, "FRFR" speakers, or a pair of 4x12 cabinets in stereo and all it takes to swap between them is a few button presses and flipping on the power switches.

If I want a real amp, I just swap my cable to the proper amp input, power it on, and go. I could do even more with the analog gear integration since I have load boxes, tube power amps, and analog pedals, but I just haven't found the desire to make it happen.

We are in the golden age of gear.

 

[laxu]

Your point about presets is one of the main things that pushed me into the modeling realm. I was running analog pedals into a tube head and cab, but it lacked body unless I turned the volume turned up to about about 3/10 on the control (107-110 dB in the room). That was bad for my hearing (ringing in my ears after playing more than a few minutes) and my wife wanted none of it, so I only got to play that way when she was not home. It was awesome and I still do that on occasion, but I wanted to be able to play guitar more frequently than that and in a way that wasn't going to kill what is left of my hearing.

I bought a load box and IR loader with headphone out to try and solve the need for lower volume. It became apparent that the settings I used with the cab didn't inspire me when playing though headphones. Every time I wanted to switch from the headphone setup to the cabinet setup I had to re-cable things and spend the first few minutes getting the amp dialed in again. It was a major inspiration killer and I would go weeks without switching back and forth because it didn't feel worth the effort for one evening of playing.

The thought that I could make individual presets configured for a specific guitar through a specific cabinet or speaker system and recall them in seconds was very appealing. Digital modeling makes it easy to switch rigs and that is one of the reasons I play my digital gear way more than my analog gear. There is almost no time penalty for deciding that I want to play with another pallet of sounds or to use a different monitoring rig. I have everything routed so can use over the ear headphones, IEMs, studio monitors, ""FRFR"" speakers, or a pair of 4x12 cabinets in stereo and all it takes to swap between them is a few button presses and flipping on the power switches.

If I want a real amp, I just swap my cable to the proper amp input, power it on, and go. I could do even more with the analog gear integration since I have load boxes, tube power amps, and analog pedals, but I just haven't found the desire to make it happen.

We are in the golden age of gear.

That's why you have a few different rigs so you don't have to overhaul everything. I have my modeler plugged into my studio monitors or headphones, and my pedals into real amps and cabs.

I figured I don't really care about real amps if I'm going to be just running cab sims and studio monitors. The digital modeling does that just great.

But obviously it's just way more inspiring to play at 90-100 dBA @ 1m volumes, and that's where real amps and cabs are just more fun.

 

[AFKAEjay(retired)]

The feel and response of analog gear is so much more satisfying than digital. Even if the two sou

If you miss the advantages of digital …maybe try digital versions of preamps into the return of a tube amp.

When I toggle between real/digital preamp in a 4cm setup…sounds and feels the same to me.
Full models into amps is close, but for me, this was the last nail hybrid needed.

 

[metropolis_4]

If you miss the advantages of digital …maybe try digital versions of preamps into the return of a tube amp.

When I toggle between real/digital preamp in a 4cm setup…sounds and feels the same to me.
Full models into amps is close, but for me, this was the last nail hybrid needed.

I’ve struggled with hybrid rigs in the past. Maybe it’s worth trying again, but I always felt something off… like the parts were disconnected.

 

[James Freeman]

Can I coin the phrase "gear yoyo"?
It's when you buy and sell the same piece of gear perpetually until you cease to draw breath.

Some people here had over a dozen Rectifiers... bruh wtf.

 

[JiveTurkey]

FWIW; I was doing all sorts of experimenting with the FAS stuff, my MultiWatt and the LX over the weekend. The MW in Modern mode was KILLER as a power amp. I ran my JVM gigging preset through it as well as my Recto Red Modern preset on the FM through it and it was chef's kiss. It can be done.

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

Can I coin the phrase "gear yoyo"?
It's when you buy and sell the same piece of gear perpetually until you cease to draw breath. […]

No more FM3s for me this year. I promise.
But I will definitely necro-buy another ENGL Artist Edition.

 

[EOengineer]

That's where I'm at now...I had three different modelers and one mediocre tube amp. So I sold one of the modelers, getting a decent tube amp, and already planning on what modeler to use with 4CM lol. Might have to find another HX Effects

I’d recommend the LT - the lack of input impedance settings really neuters the HXFX and there’s a significant group of us that have experienced persistent noise issues with the HXFX. Obviously you have experience and maybe it doesn’t match mine, but I definitely put that purchase squarely in the REGRET column.

FWIW; I was doing all sorts of experimenting with the FAS stuff, my MultiWatt and the LX over the weekend. The MW in Modern mode was KILLER as a power amp. I ran my JVM gigging preset through it as well as my Recto Red Modern preset on the FM through it and it was chef's kiss. It can be done.

I was wondering how that would work - presumably you could feed the preamp model into the fx return and then when you use the modern mode you get the negative feedback happening for real at the power amp. I wanted to try this but my G has the stupid parallel loop that makes it weird.

 

[Mongillo19]

No more FM3s for me this year. I promise.
But I will definitely necro-buy another ENGL Artist Edition.

Youve heard about FM3 but what about FM9

 

[metropolis_4]

The feel thing is negligible at best for me these days. I find them equally satisfying, and bouncing between
their differences and similarities never really leaves me with any hangups, and I use a digital and analog rig
pretty much every day. Each leaves me.

Unlike my playing which is more like

Getting an amp again was actually a big wake up call to me on how much it matters to me. For better or for worse this seems to just be the way my brain works

 

[JiveTurkey]

I’d recommend the LT - the lack of input impedance settings really neuters the HXFX and there’s a significant group of us that have experienced persistent noise issues with the HXFX. Obviously you have experience and maybe it doesn’t match mine, but I definitely put that purchase squarely in the REGRET column.


I was wondering how that would work - presumably you could feed the preamp model into the fx return and then when you use the modern mode you get the negative feedback happening for real at the power amp. I wanted to try this but my G has the stupid parallel loop that makes it weird.

You can't separate power amp and preamp in the FAS though. I did feed the FX send of the MW into the tube preamp amp model of the FM9 set up to match the Recto Red Modern power amp. Very, very close. Switching to the Recto's clean or channel 2 in Vintage mode was weird this way though. I did like it a hair better with the FM Recto preset into the MW for that little bit of sizzle flavor vs. the LX.

Another thing I did was duplicate FX chains, where one feed went back to my amp's fx return with necessary post FX. Then the second chain, from the send going into the FM power amp block; and into a duplicate chain of effects, into cab emulation out to FOH. I didn't test both at the same time to make sure it worked but I did re-remember that this would be useless with a Boogie if you wanted to use it as a channel switcher as the power amp modes/topologies are so different from one another.

 

[Jarick]

I’d recommend the LT - the lack of input impedance settings really neuters the HXFX and there’s a significant group of us that have experienced persistent noise issues with the HXFX. Obviously you have experience and maybe it doesn’t match mine, but I definitely put that purchase squarely in the REGRET column.


I was wondering how that would work - presumably you could feed the preamp model into the fx return and then when you use the modern mode you get the negative feedback happening for real at the power amp. I wanted to try this but my G has the stupid parallel loop that makes it weird.

Yep I sold my HXFX because of noise issues. I liked it okay but strongly prefer the HX Stomp or Helix interface. I've heard newer ones are better but it still makes me nervous.

 

[Karl Houseknecht]

I’ve been downsizing over the last year. Only digital solutions. Sold off a bunch of guitars. I kinda sorta miss having amps but I know what will happen if I buy a few again. They’ll sit unused outside the house and I’ll sell them because I sell what I don’t use. Still kinda miss them though.

 

[TSJMajesty]

I’m pretty sure I’m headed down the path of having one solid modeler, a handful of amps, and mountains of pedals

You'd want some guitars to go with that too, amirite?

 

[Aelred]

Fwiw, I recently bought my first 50w head (upsizing from Lunchbox heads), an Engl Artist Edition 50:

Joys

• Exploring the tones from all that glass (for me)
• It inspires me to play, and play better due to the clarity of both Clean and Crunch channels

Sorrows

• I’m GASing for a 100w head with Clean, Crunch and Lead channels

I have a 1x12 with a Greenback that can handle 100w (G12-150) but is too small to house a 100w head on top.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Fwiw, I recently bought my first 50w head (upsizing from Lunchbox heads), an Engl Artist Edition 50:

Joys

• Exploring the tones from all that glass (for me)
• It inspires me to play, and play better due to the clarity of both Clean and Crunch channels

Sorrows

• I’m GASing for a 100w head with Clean, Crunch and Lead channels

I have a 1x12 with a Greenback that can handle 100w (G12-150) but is too small to house a 100w head on top.

Dual 112 cabs are