More and more guitar players are trading in their old-school guitar amps for modelling options – and you should be the next one to do it.
Image: Adam Gasson
The discourse online about real amplifiers versus modelling and emulation is just that: discourse. While it’s healthy to explore different avenues, the conversations bring up points that may not matter as much as you may think.
Realistically, an amp modeller can never replace an amp, but I’m here to say that modern amp modelling is good enough to consider, the pros of portability, reliability, form and function outweighing the difference between a real amp and a modeller. Even that statement might ignite some fiery discussion, so let’s get down to brass tacks.
Better Than The Real Thing
An emulation of an amplifier can never really sound like an amplifier, but that doesn’t mean they sound bad. Older amplifiers and boutique designs alike are often hand-wired, meaning while the quality control might be higher, they’re more susceptible to characterful imperfections. These are ironically why we love our own amps so much – or lust after someone else’s!
Digital reproductions of amps will perform exactly the same in every condition, there’s no imperfection. Real amplifiers, especially those equipped with valves, are heavy, cumbersome and require consistent servicing. While digital modellers may require software updates or repair from time to time, the wear-and-tear is minimal.
The reason an emulator can’t really replicate an amplifier in a room is because of how a speaker cabinet and its speakers push air after being amplified by a circuit. The size, arrangement and layout of speakers in a cabinet change how sound and air is pushed in every direction, adding different layers of frequencies in front (and behind!) the amplifier that also bounce around the room.
Here’s the kicker: even a real amplifier is often mic’d up, either in the studio or on the stage. The crowd won’t really be hearing your amp in an ambient space, they’ll be hearing the mic’d sound, often digitised, mixed and amplified through a PA. Hell, even at bigger venues you’ll be hearing this mic’d sound in your monitors or in-ears, and in a recording it’ll (usually) be a digital version of your mic’d amp. So the difference between a real amp and a modern emulation? Negligible.
Modern amp modelling has come a long way. Early incarnations of amp modelling left a lot to be desired, the presence, heft and nuance of an amplifier’s circuit being lost in the capture. Today, amp modelling seems to be about as good as it can get, seemingly really tough to pick in a blind test, and it continues to improve. Digital solutions allow guitarists to access plugins intended for use in mixing, as well as a growing number of increasingly accessible and affordable options. Early adopters of professional-sounding emulations and modellers were expected to fork out thousands, and the modern day sees world-class sounding solutions in increasingly tidy, pedalboard friendly packages.
Pedal Power
What’s more, how rare is it these days to see a guitar player that doesn’t have a fairly substantial pedalboard at their feet? It’s almost a given that someone is going to be using multiple pedals that can be used to subtly shift and shape our sounds, or overtly process them for more special effects like chorus, delay and abrasive distortion.
The problem though, is that sometimes we’re required to turn on or off multiple pedals at once, requiring either compromise or tap dancing maneuvers to engage multiple pedals at once. The system offered by most modellers allows you to create and toggle between different patches, i.e. multiple settings saved as a single patch, allowing you to create different patches, either with a base tone and multiple effects or for totally different tones.
For example, a single stomp on a pedal can switch an effect-laden patch to a dry one, or even switch to a whole new amp between sections of a song. The digital effects are all available inside the modellers so you require a smaller pedalboard, the units themselves being set up in a way that you require less footswitches depending how your patches are set up.
Speak The Truth
Another huge part of improved amplifier emulators are the leaps and bounds that cabinet emulation has taken via impulse responses, microphone emulation and even detailed nuance of speakers and cabinet construction. Cabinets and speakers play a huge part in the low end of a tone, your choice helping palm mutes to bloom, adding dynamic and weight to your playing, further helping to develop a realistic feel to emulations, instead of just a great tone.
Multiple ‘mic’ options give you more control over that end of your sound than the mics used at a venue, and you’re less susceptible to mics on cabinets getting bumped and changing your tone dramatically. Anyone who’s tried their hand at recording will know that movements of mere millimeters of a microphone can shift your tone from weighty, balanced bliss to fizzy, grating buzz.
What’s more, amplifier emulators bring emulations of mics that are often relegated to the safe confines of a studio, like big tube condensers, vintage ribbons and more. In this instance you’d likely set up your sound, cabinets and microphones and all, and send your tone direct to front-of-house (FOH).
The risk here is that you’re still at the mercy of the front of house engineer to treat and mix your sound, but this is no different than a real amp mic’d up!
Perfect Balance
Another thing to keep in mind when choosing to make the switch to digital is if you’re in a two-guitar band. It can sometimes sound unbalanced when only one guitarist in the band has gone digital, especially so when sending sound directly to FOH. The ambient sound of a cabinet in the room, especially smaller venues, can leave a digital rig feeling thin and lacking air and space, despite all the huge advancements in cabinet emulation.
All of this is to say that digital amplification and modelling has come a long, long way since the early days of stock plugins, kidney-shaped digital modellers and the like. While the emulation of pre-amp sections has come a long way, the technology to emulate the sound of an amp in a room helps us to more accurately recreate our favourite tones, all recallable at the touch of a single button – no tapdancing!
Writing off a technology only serves to ensure you’re left behind. There’s nothing to lose as an amp devotee, you’ll either confirm your commitment or find a new avenue for tone!