Poll: Are guitar and bass amps a thing of the past?

[DrKev]

Bassists and guitarists…

The most excellent Ryan Bruce just posted this video, stating that most bands he sees when he tours find his use of physical amps on stage to be strange. Do you think amplifiers are on the way out? Is it genre specific? What’s your preference at home and/or on stage?

 

[xjbebop]

Not only no, but heck no...

 

[racerx]

I like both! I personally love the simplicity of using a Princeton or Deluxe Reverb, or a small bass amp like the Darkglass stuff (or any of the great small form factors) for live gigs. However, it is hard to argue with using modeling equipment for rehearsals or tracking. My band rehearses almost completely digital now and we're able to keep the volume down and play all night (and have a pretty great fidelity recording when its all said and done).

If I had a full-time support staff and/or was a touring musician, I'm sure I might change my tune a bit, but I think there is a place for both. We aren't stuck in the 90s anymore and the digital stuff is beyond impressive!

 

[Epiplatys]

I don’t have an answer, but I know what it is for me: NO. In capital letters.

I grew up feeling the punch to the chest when hitting the strings, feeling the feedback between the speaker and the strings/pickups. Seeing how the body responding to the playing hearing and feeling the sound, the room or avenue ramble. If those things are missing, more than half of the fun is gone.

 

[wannarock8]

I like playing through guitar amps. I like the tones I get with a good mic in front of a good amp. What the future holds, I don’t know.
I‘ve kind of abandoned using a bass amp though. When I play bass, it’s always through a Tech 21 box direct to the sound system or recording interface these days. I’m getting the nicest bass tones I’ve ever gotten.

 

[beej]

I think he's right on a lot of that. It's hard to beat the convenience of playing at home/recording with modelers, and it's a certainly lot cheaper to tour with them- weight is money. Most of the touring backlines I've seen in recent years are modelers.

That said- the thing we all love about tube amps isn't going away. I don't think it's age specific; there are tons of young guys playing through tube amps. I'd bet there will aways be a certain crowd that loves tubes, as much as there's a crowd that wants digital.

Of course this same debate played out with instruments for years- and still what mostly sells is what was popular back in the 50s & 60s. Hard to imagine a world where guitar players are getting more open minded

 

[b80plays]

I sort of have the best of both worlds. I use a Kemper through a Marshall 4x12 and it's glorious. I still get to move air on stage and match the stage volume of the drums and FOH gets a clean and consistent signal.

BUT, this is the solution to my current needs. Tube amps will always be relevant and in many cases a necessity.

I do really love my Kemper, though!!

 

[Aargr1]

I don’t have an answer, but I know what it is for me: NO. In capital letters.
nulls brawl
I grew up feeling the punch to the chest when hitting the strings, feeling the feedback between the speaker and the strings/pickups. Seeing how the body responding to the playing hearing and feeling the sound, the room or avenue ramble. If those things are missing, more than half of the fun is gone.

I've been a physical amp guy for years. I love the feel and sound of a tube amp pushing air, it's just a different experience than a modeler. That said, I'm always tempted by how convenient the digital rigs are for gigging. Has anyone here made the switch and not looked back?

 

[xjbebop]

too many people fall for the bs that floods social media rather than paying attention to real world...

 

[Musikron]

Team Fractal 100% for the last 10 years, wouldn't change it for anything. I'll never buy another amp or effect as long as I live.
Now cabs and guitars are another story.

 

[Epiplatys]

I own and Fractal FXIIImk2 and a QC. Enjoy both, and use both for practice. Especially when it is hot and I don't feel like firing up a tube amp.

But to answer the question: am I looking back? No in a sense I don't see a modeller as a valid contender to a real tube amp. More precisely I see the modellers as a convenient tool that is not giving anywhere the experience to enjoyment of a good tube amp setup. But still great in its own right and serves its purpose.

If I had to choose one, it would not be the FXIII or QC. Probably my Bogner or Engl.

 

[DrKev]

Just realize i started the thread and never answered myself!

I don't want to live without the sound of a real 10" or 12" guitar speaker pushing the air. Even set pretty quiet, it's just a playing experience that no [mic -> guitar speaker -> headphones/monitors] can reproduce. That said, when I need to play without disturbing anyone else I have a Neural Amp Model of my rig (Mesa Express 5:25 combo with a Greenback) and I have my Yamaha THR5 desktop amp too. And I don't have space or funds for a bass amp so I make do with the Brainworks SVT-VR plugin, or even go through my guitar amp.

 

[NickNihil]

Especially when doing my doom/shoegaze/doomgaze stuff, amps are essential. Even half stacks in small venues, which for ALL us players AND fans, are still actually essential to the experience. It's not just about tonal qualities and volume, it's about how much it disperses throughout the space. I was even running a Thunderverb 200 with volume at 2 o'clock and it sounded glorious-not just to me on stage, but audience and sound engineer all had HIGH compliments for the sound. So yeah, it may be genre specific, but at at least if you're dooming, you better come correct, and that means big f'in amps. Granted, fly rigs are necessary, even for doom bands-saw a fabulous Chilean doom band here in Seattle called Quatrro (IIII). Naturally they went with ampless fly rigs, and yeah they killed it. Great set, tone was there, but it was a bit of an uncanny valley. Sound with far less physical presence and dispersion. It was weird.

I'll also add that when I was gigging in a classic soul band for weddings and whatnot, I went both with amps and ampless at various times (I was also tastefully using a Fender Princeton, as that's clearly not the gig for big f'in amps, or I was using the UAD Dream '65 straight to board). I could get that UAD set up to sound pretty great, our drummer/band leader was psyched at first because he liked the super clean stage for the sake of showmanship, and he had his own mix into his in ears he could control himself. But after a while, even he was like, "I want you to bring an amp again." So yeah, there are times when the ampless/fly rig route is the way and it can certainly work, but, unless your sound is only capable of being produced through a PA setup, amps are rule.

 

[jazzyitalian]

I'm a traditionalist. But not old school in the sense that I would use a 1981 Boogie 400. Tube amps with cabs are my jam.

 

[Fr0g]

Saving to buy a Green Matamp later this year, I love my Quilter aviator cub US, I love amp sims on my computer, It's good to have options

 

[Xenedis]

I have used, and still use, traditional amps.

I have never had the big stuff (you know, 100W heads and quad speaker cabs), as for me, it is overkill, too loud, too heavy and too bulky. My 30W tube comp amp is too loud, and heavy enough.

I have only ever had combo amps (for guitar and bass), and these work for me. It is what I know.

I have not really looked into alternatives, to be honest. I have used my computer as an 'amp' and 'effects rig' on a few occasions for playing at home via an audio interface, and that gives me lots of options as well as the ability to easily record; but most of the time, I either play unplugged, or I plug into my standard amp and effects rig.

Use whatever works for you, I say. Having options is good.

 

[BUC]

I've used modellers for since the first Line6 Axsys. There was a time I couldn't really afford tube amps so modellers were it.

Now I have a little more disposable and my studio has both.

Modellers are just so damn convenient for recording and gigging.

But I still don't think they really get anywhere close to just plugging into a tube amp. It's almost a completely different experience. I'm not sure the audience can tell at all, but the player sure can.

I actually broke out my old PodHD the other day for giggles and rand it through an FRFR and OMG. A few of the tones were good but I can't believe how poor some of them were.

 

[DrKev]

But I still don't think they really get anywhere close to just plugging into a tube amp. It's almost a completely different experience. I'm not sure the audience can tell at all, but the player sure can.

The thing about most modelers is that they are great at reproducing the sound of a mic'ed amp and speaker. But our ears are not microphones placed close to a speaker. They have a radically different frequency response and are positioned far away. And our brains do a great job removing the room reverberation (as any one who placed a mic at our playing position can attest).

So yes, it *is* a fundamentally different experience. No modeller can do that. For stage, recording, headphone/IEM use, and low volume listening, modellers are truly fantastic and offer multiple advantages, no question. But it's not the same experience as being a human being plugging into a physical amp and speaker in the same room as you.