If there’s a specific amplifier circuit that is your one and only true love, just buy that amp and a Suhr reactive load. If you need tons of tones, grab the modeler.
Maybe even just get the modeler anyway. Helix, AxeFx, Tonex…hard to go wrong in today’s market.
I wouldn't say that I only have one particular sound. I'm not in a band and I don't play live, I just play at home as a hobby, covering the bands and songs I enjoy. So I'd say my range of sounds can probably be covered with 5-6 amps. That said, part of this hobby (for me) is looking at which amps to buy, which pedals to buy, etc. Not having infinite room in my shelf requires me to be deliberate in which amps to get. Again, this is part of the hobby for me.
A modeler would of course give me access to infinite amounts more choices for far cheaper, but that also takes away from the process for me, causing me to not really feel any emotional connection to the choices of amp models. Having a digital model on the screen makes it feel almost.. like it's not even real. I don't know how to explain it. Coupled with the fact that I'm not enjoying sitting in front of the computer when dialing in or just chill playing makes me gravitate towards real amps still. I'm sure this is different for people that just see amps as a tool for their jobs.
That said, I still haven't found any tech in my city in my country and that part is quite scary. Maintenance requirements of real amps is probably the only thing (right now) that could make me go with the modeler route.
Sonically I think they are really close just like everything always sounds really close. Feel is hard to quantify especially without a blind test. I.e. if you know which is which, you may want one to be better than the other and it "feels better".
However with the tube amp you aren't second guessing anything and you aren't over complicating anything. It's the real deal. And usually your options are stripped way down which can be a great thing.
Of course a good load box is essential. Actually a used Torpedo which you can find for $100 all day should be fine. But running guitar to amp to load box into a modeler for cab sim and post effects, or even into the computer for that stuff is just fine for home use.
I'm really intrigued by a Helix 4 cable setup with my Friedman JJ Junior and Suhr Reactive Load. Helix handles effects before and after the amp, cab sim, amp channel switching, and all the patch/snapshot configurations. Amp makes the tone.
That's very true. I feel like many modelers expose a very large part of sound engineering that I'm not familiar or comfortable with. I'm a simple hobby guitarist, not a professional. Simplifying everything with limited options is perfect for me!
I currently have the Fryette Power Load IR. Not sure what the general consensus of that one is, I haven't heard that much reviews or talks in forums because Fryette's other units are more popular. I'm really interested in the Two Notes Torpedo Reload II, but might be overkill for my use case.
