There is a seemingly endless supply of content online and in physical form comparing the two sides of this argument - should you choose an amplifier over a modeler, or vice versa?
Instead of adding to an already oversaturated area of discussion, I will instead provide my personal experiences in this area. At times I have used one or the other, and many times even used a hybrid of the two types (don’t tell the traditionalists!).
Modelers
There is a common misconception that the newer the digital version of a guitar amp, the better it must be. Whilst the technology has undoubtedly improved, and continues to do so exponentially, some of the older units still have a place in the modern guitarists arsenal. For example, Nuno Bettencourt stills uses a Boss GT8 from the early 2000s as part of his live rig.
Whilst I have used the Boss offerings in the past, I currently use a Kemper Profiler (mainly for studio work) and a Line 6 HX Stomp for playing live. Flying around the world can be expensive, so the size of the HX Stomp is a massive bonus for me - it fits in my guitar case or in my carry-on luggage with no issues at all. The Kemper stays in my studio for the most part, mainly due to the size of the flight case it is in and the weight. Also, now that I am living in Japan, it would be difficult to transport it on the train!
How do they both sound? Nothing short of excellent for the most part. Learning to dial in your sounds is a skill in itself, so there is definitely a learning curve to be had. Whilst many of the digital amps sound great, they don’t really respond like the real thing so you can’t always operate them in the same way - they don’t respond badly to the controls, just differently. The Kemper that I own is the powered version, so I can easily use a real guitar cab if I like.
What I really like is the versatility. For my personal reasons, I like that I can use a good impulse response to achieve a great sound in the studio or in a live situation. The actual sounds I use are relatively simple; learning to restrain yourself and not succumb to the paradox of choice is yet something else you must learn.
The biggest downside I have faced so far, aside from smaller issues that require just turning them off and on, is that you are occasionally faced with a dilemma that may have a simple solution, but not something you can figure out in the heat of the moment. For example, I was on tour in Belgium and was using the Line 6 HX Stomp. I had plugged into an amplifier’s ‘FX Return’ (more on this later!) so I could use the volume of the amp with the sounds of the pedal. However, the sound engineer also wanted to run the Stomp into the PA at the same time. Is that possible? Definitely with the Kemper and the larger versions of the Helix family, but maybe not with the Stomp. In any case, given that there was no time to sit and dive into the settings, we had to settle with using a microphone with the amplifier cabinet.
Amps
I used to own a Mesa Boogie Mark V:25, one of my favorite guitar amps. I enjoyed it for the sheer volume it could produce despite being considered a ‘low-wattage’ amp, but it was also very small and light, comparatively speaking. I don’t own this amp any more as it was built for use in the United Kingdom, which means the transformer was only capable of using 240v power - it would have been expensive to change this to work properly in Japan - all of my digital solutions having variable voltage so can be used anywhere in the world. The most important thing about this amplifier, is that it was just so inspiring to play, everything sounded good and I didn’t need to make any adjustments to achieve a great tone.
There is just something about having an amplifier behind you that is special. It might be the way the guitar responds, or how the air moves… no one really knows. I personally think it is entirely in our brains - no one in the audience can tell which way around you choose to go unless the device is on the stage. I also think certain amplifiers just simply look cool. The classic Marshall stack just oozes coolness in a way that other pieces of equipment can’t (you never hear someone say “Wow! Look at that Furman Power module!”).
Unfortunately, I have had a few issues with amplifiers over the years. Tube, also known as valve, amplifiers have a reputation for being unreliable or delicate. This is not always the case, but I recall a time where I was playing a show with my old Marshall JVM combo amp (the heaviest, biggest combo around!). Towards the end of the first set it went strangely quiet but it seemed to have fixed itself after the intermission. However, at the end of the last song it went “POP” and didn’t work anymore.
As a touring musician, you are often at the mercy of whatever backline is provided. You can load your sounds into a Line 6 Helix product from your laptop, or to a Kemper from a USB stick which is extremely useful. When I played a large capacity festival in 2015, we were assured there was an appropriate backline for our needs, they failed to mention that the amps were Fender Twins - the cleanest amp with the highest headroom. This was not ideal for a heavy metal show! Thankfully I made it work with the other equipment I had with me.
Your Choice to Make
As I alluded to in my blog post on guitar accessories, the choice is really for you to make; you must look at what you play, where you play and what changes there are going to be in the future. You do not need a Peavey 5150 with a 4x12 cabinet if you only play in your bedroom.
One very important point, something I discovered by myself some years ago, was that profilers and modelers always have a sound that is more ‘finished’. It is like they have been recorded and processed in a recording studio - in the case of the Kemper, that is even more true as the whole signal chain is copied. Guitarists simply aren’t used to playing their guitar and immediately hearing that processed sound, they always expect the rawness that comes directly from an amp. It takes a lot of practice and acceptance to overcome this.
As I explained at the end of this blog post, the biggest change in your guitar tone comes from swapping the speakers - this is the component that changes the electronic signal to an audible one that moves the air. Finding a preferred guitar cab, or an impulse response that you like, is going to be the key here. For reference, impulse responses (usually called IRs for short) are the electronic signature of a speaker and are indistinguishable. To reiterate an earlier point, no one is going to notice if you are using an amplifier or not - they will only notice if you sound good or bad, something easily achievable on both sides of the coin.
A common way of combining the two, and how I used the HX Stomp live for many years, is to connect the output of the unit to the ‘effects return’ on an amplifier. This keeps the sound consistent and is given power by the amplifier. Most modern amps have an effects loop, so you should be safe (just make sure you are not using an IR if you go through a cabinet). Another common method is called the ‘four cable method’ or 4CM for short - this is where you use four cables as the name suggests, and split the multi-fx board functions. The drive sounds and certain effects are put into the front of the amp, the ambient effects go through the loop - this is more akin to how the typical pedalboard would be utilized.
My Recommendations
Here are some of the products that I recommend, and I do so because I use them daily for live shows and for recording. I have mentioned them many times in this post.
Line 6 HX Stomp
Although my one is red, the functionality is the same. I believe Line 6 produced a red, white blue and even purple version of this unit at some point and in limited runs. The only difference between the standard black one and the others is the color. I only have the red one because when I purchased it, the black version was on backorder for three months whilst the red was available for only £30 more.
Kemper Profiler
There are few variations, though I own the powered rack version of this. The benefit is that it can power a cabinet all by itself and has some great routing options for live performances. Also, as it has 600W of solid-state power… it can get REALLY loud.
Impulse Responses
These can be tricky because, just like recording guitar, there is a fine art to getting it just right. Below I have linked a couple of companies that make great IRs and that I use regularly. The above products come with their own, though these companies specialize in the task.
https://www.drapsound.com/matteo-mancuso - I use the Matteo Mancuso presets that come with custom matched IRs https://mbritt.com/product-category/ir/
Final Thoughts
I don’t care which camp someone puts themselves into. However, I do get slightly annoyed when people argue either way. Arguments such as “tube amps are dead” or “digital amps sound awful” are completely nonsensical in this day and age. They are but a means to an end for guitar tone - do what you can with what you have and upgrade purely out of necessity or for specific functions.
Take the words of advice here, and go and dip your toes into the massive ocean of sounds that await you!
Alex
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