I would guess this has more to do with someone’s need to validate their choice of gear, and feeling attacked by a different attitude, than anything else.
If you think me, I currently own one tube amp with 2×12, one modeler and one solid state amp.
So no dogs in fights here either.
To answer the thread question:
The most easily spotted difference between my current tube amp and modeler is that the amp has wider dynamic range. It's a modern amp that can go from pristine cleans to ridiculous amount of gain, and when I set it to the sweet spot I can go from, what I consider, high gain to almost clean just by riding the volume knob and changing pick attack force.
This is much harder to achieve on Helix, I can almost get there, but not quite. But guess what, that's why presets are there.
Is this fEeL? No. It's dynamic range.
The second difference is that initial transient sounds different on amp, in this case better. You know, that moment when the pick hits the string, it sounds fuller, like there's more tone across the board in that short amount of time.
Is this fEeL? No. It's something that can probably be measured with an EQ curve and something that people who understand electronics probably know exactly what's going on inside the amp and transformer. I'm not an electrical engineer so I don't know how to define it, but I sure as hell know it's not feel.
The third difference is that it's easier for me to play through my current tube amp than though Helix. And by easier I mean it seems that the amp it's better at masking my sloppy playing
Not sure why. Maybe it's the room reverb, maybe it's the fact that I play Helix exclusively through headphones so every little mistake is teleported directly into my brain. (If someone mentions latency, I'll find out where you live.)
Is this fEeL? No. It's me having to improve my timing and precision.
"Feel" is nothing. "Feel" is on the exact same shelf right next to fairy dust.
100% real possibility
what’s absurd about feel when it comes to playing an electric guitar?
Without defining it, everything. It's so ridiculously wide term that it can mean absolutely everything and anything. Not just when it comes to playing guitar, but for every activity ever. Doesn't matter if it's playing guitar, scuba diving, painting, driving a bicycle...
- Hey, this brush doesn't feel right.
- Why?
- It's too wide and the bristles are disheveled.
- There you go.
- Hey, this bike pedal doesn't feel right.
- Why?
- It's too tight and it hurts my foot.
- There you go.
- Hey, this guitar modeler doesn't feel right.
- Why?
- What do you mean, why?! It's the fEeL man! You either feel it you don't! Jeez... This guy doesn't feel the feel.
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