The Guitar Thread • Page 83

Congrats on your new polytune!

 

It's my new favourite. I love the sound when it's on.

 

triggered?

 

Only by you cropping the headstock so that I don't know what you're gripping for sure!

Besides, I said I had GAS. I never said I didn't own an LP type...

 

lol it's a gibson, fair enough

my 2nd guitar ever lol got it when i was 15

 

So a bit of a random question for people but what are peoples thoughts on the traditional amp/pedal combos vs using something like amp modelling plugins?

I currently use a couple of NeuralDSP plugins and hook my guitar up to my audio interface but I’ve started thinking about the amp + pedalboard combo (it kind of annoys me I need to turn my entire computer on to play)

 

i use a helix which is just modeling in a pedalboard platform. i love it

 

Tough question. I personally don't like practicing with plugins. They're super useful for recording and playing along with stuff, but I've always found the response just a little off. I tend to always find that there's just a slight bit of latency or something which means I don't like playing through them with nothing else. On the plus side, plugins give you huge studio style sounds at low volumes.

When I'm practicing at home, I nearly always use my Bias Spark now (had a Yamaha THR before that). You get the more immediate feel of playing through an amp, but still the "big" sound at low volume (since these amps are basically guitar hifis). Also, no need to fire a computer up, you just plug in and play.

I still have my amp and pedals, but I tend to use those a little less, just because it's harder to get it sounding as good as the Bias at an apartment appropriate volume. You get so much flexibility with the pedals though and it's a lot more fun to play around with those than the Bias app. Also depends what amp you have and your volume concerns too.

Maybe depends what you want to play at home too and what sort of effects you fancy using.

 

Thanks for the response! A couple of other people I spoke to also mentioned the response feeling off with plugins as well.

I’ve been looking at a Boss Katana so thinking I might give that a try before diving too deep into thing and see how I feel as o like the idea of just being able to plug in and practice.

 

I used a Boss Katana for years and loved it! Great amp overall and you can dial in awesome sounds. I ended up getting a low watt tube amp and then use my Strymon Iridium with headphone option for late night playing/recording.

Honestly, I think the Katana could be a great option because you can dial the volume down a ton and still have a nice sound. Or play it loud if you want/can. I kind of miss mine. It takes pedals very well, I think. I went deep into the software and modding the onboard effects, it was a ton of fun.

 

a good and properly done impulse response in the box is indistinguishable from an amp now

i still just like a good analog preamp/amp sim pedal direct in with a little room reverb

 

I used the Katana in a rehearsal space and was really surprised at how well it took pedals (I like to stack drives), given that it's a relatively cheap solid state amp. Boss really smashed that one out of the park.

 

Ive had a buncha low watt tube amps for home playing

AC4 sounds great if u like the vox thing

Blackstar 5W is fun but feels more like a toy

Currently have a Marshall dsl 1 watt that also feels a bit like a toy, but actually sounds like a marshall and has a less plastic sound than the Blackstar. I don’t really play high gain unless im fuckin around in the eddie land, and clean channel is pretty useless at bedroom volumes but you can get a relatively usable breakup on the gain channel if you roll off the guitar volume. Trouble is the gain stage doesnt really bloom til 4-5, so im always fighting against the amp’s intended tone zone. I leave this amp on the .1 setting, which is quite loud

I also have an Origin 20 that has a 1 watt setting, but that amp doesnt come to life til 7 or so. Not usable at home whatsoever. Its a pretty cool amp, I haven’t put it through an external cab, but the speaker in it reveals its smallness as soon as you’re with a drummer.

All that said, I think some of the most usable tones ive found at home are still my AC30 with the volume way way down and a 79 Mesa Boogie i have with the volume at 0, which is still sorta loud

 

I practice with my fender bassman 100 and know my neighbors hate me

 

I've never really taken the time to dive into sims/plugins/etc. I really like how my Dr. Z sounds with my board even if it's way too loud for playing on my own.

 

Combo tube amp w/pedals at home.
Wouldn't mind trying Fractal Axe-FX or similar when playing a gig. Hauling the Deluxe Reverb around isn't fun.

 

I'm currently in the process of reteaching myself guitar since I've barely played in the last year or so. I'm starting with beginner lessons online it has been very easy for the most part since I've known most of the chords/techniques, but man I did not realize how bad I am at playing to a beat. I didn't learn using a metronome or ever really play with one in the past, so playing with one now has been a depressingly humbling experience.

 

i've played guitar most my life but still don't know as much as i should...

if i were to put the same bridge humbucker into a jazzmaster and a strat, would there be much of a tonal difference there?

 

There would be some, everything from the weight difference between the two, wood they're made of, neck shape, hardware differences, strings you're using, exact position of the pickup in relation to the bridge etc etc is gonna have an effect on tone. However both being solid body fenders it will probably be fairly subtle unless the build quality between the two guitars is drastically different like a squire vs a MIA

 

this guys channel is fucking brilliant haha

 

Any recommendations for an acoustic thats around $300-$400 that doesnt suck? Im not in a band, i domt preform or anything like that. Just want some decent to play in my apartment. Ive been eyeballing the yamaha storia iii but im not sure about it.

 

Yamaha acoustics are very good.

Recording King’s sound pretty good, and are cheap, but I’d go for a Yamaha

 

I got a 1970 red label Yamaha a few months ago for $500 and it sounds great

 

Dude’s guitar tone is perfect for shoegaze/dream pop

 

Just got BIAS Amp 2 and BIAS FX 2 for $90 total. I've never used amp sim software before so I'm nervous but also stoked to maybe not have to use my cheap amp sim pedals anymore and be able to do re-amping too, if I want, instead of re-recording everything if I'm not happy with the tones.

Anyone use these? Do they rule? Do they suck? Did I make a wise purchase? Am I a dum-dum?