There are many advantages. Less maintenance, lower stage volumes, better for in-ear-monitoring use, sound consistency, less weight to carry, and the ability to explore hundred of amps sounds with a single device eg. check https://wiki.fractalaudio.com/wiki/index.php?title=Amplifier...
Linking to an endorsement page doesn’t tell the whole story.
I would be pretty surprised if Metallica were using the technology you are describing. They have an extremely consistent setup that has worked for decades and an effectively infinite budget.
That’s just one concrete example.
I think a lot of the comments in this thread are missing the fact that if a player thinks a thing has irreproducable properties, they may be happier and more creative while using it.
Metallica IS using this in every single concert they have played after they experimented with them in the Antartica show. AxeFX II, but I saw AxeFX III in a recent photo.
I just returned a Helix because of lackluster... everything. I'll try modelers again in a few years. I think of tube amps a lot like I think about Vim.
I want to preface by saying I love playing with music instrumentation and other audio software and it’s long been on my list to learn more to play with ideas much like OP so hats off to Keith for releasing this software.
But as far as guitar instrumentation goes— I have a lot of respect for good solid state amplifiers—think Roland Jazz Chorus—that are not modelling another sound but a very intensively tuned original instrument.
As for physical, electrical amplifiers versus a software emulated version I just can’t see the point in using one outside of the [potential] convenience.
Now, if your goal is to take that signal and twist it into something new altogether that’s different. But if I want to sound like an AC30 I don’t know why I would use something like hats just trying to sound like an AC30 versus something that is and AC30.
Lacklustre has always been my experience. Like leaving a tube amp too quiet—not saturating the tubes. It just tends to sound dull.
Outside of "convenience" they're attractive for the flexible routing and parameterization. I can only realistically deploy 4 tube screamers and a handful of delays before someone notices they're all set almost exactly the same way. I'd love to replace the combinatorics with presets, and although MIDI routing is an option, it sure would be nice if a compact reliable digital solution sounded good.
So that's why I want it to be good... But it's not.
Sure, I hear you— but then are you really looking for good modelling? Or are you looking for an entirely novel sound processing that just drew inspiration from the physical devices? I understand the latter. I don't understand the former... except for maybe as an exercise.
The Helix is honestly pretty awful, so I'm not surprised you returned it. I spent some time auditioning modellers a few years ago, and my reaction to the Helix was "LOL! Seriously??"
The Kemper is far more credible, with the AxeFX system and and some of the better amp sim plugins you can buy from (say) UAD following behind.
There's only one criterion for success- blind taste test with my current rig. At this point I need mathematical proof or someone to risk something (money) for me to try again. No offense, but other people's ears have always let me down.
Yeah I didn’t get this statement. I only play tube amps, and most guitarists I know only play tube amps. I actually don’t know anyone that plays a modeling amp. Maybe they’re more popular outside of my sphere, but even with popular YouTube guitars players, they all play tube amps. Mostly Fender.
I never saw the point of getting a real tube amp unless you play exclusively in a studio or rehearsal room.
The volume required to crank and get the best of it sounds it makes it too loud for almost any residential area.
One of the best features of modeling amps is that you can get the sound of a cranked amp set at a high volume, with low/moderate real volume or even with head-phones.
Even in a rehearsal room, real amps are too loud and make the band members start competing for volume. Low stage volume and in-ear-monitoring allows me to play better.
This is really only an issue if you're driving 100 watt amps to the brink to get higher gain. You can buy 20 and even 10 watt tube amps that sound fantastic and are much more manageable.
Guitar players always think you need a gigantic marshall stack to get good tone when for most people that is way too much and they'll never hear it the way it's supposed to sound.
Low wattage is still too loud for home / apartment. You need something in the milliwatt range, and those are (unfortunately) very rare. They’re not too hard to make but there is some extra expense and there are some patents in that territory.
Milliwatts? Rubbish. Kids have been playing rock and roll through AC15s or 22W Deluxe Reverbs (or louder!) in garages and basements for decades. A 5W Champ or similar certainly can get loud but is fine for bedroom or apartment use, at least during daytime hours.
As a teenager I played a Hot Rod Deluxe (40W!) in my parents' basement with no real complaints.
Crank your AC15 and play it in the basement, it will destroy your hearing pretty fast without protection. I used to take a homemade 5W amp outside and hear it echo in the woods. Fun times. Quick math—the Vox AC15 has speakers with around 100 dB SPL@1m,1W sensitivity, so if you’re cranked then it’s +24dB, and if you’re 2m away then that’s -12dB, and that’s 112 dB SPL, somewhere around “car horn” or “chainsaw” on the loudness chart. Medical literature puts it at under 1 minute before permanent hearing damage.
It’s not like a stereo where 15W is weak. A 15W guitar amp is pretty damn loud.
If you don’t crank it then I don’t see the point. Or don’t hear it, anyway. I can’t stand the sound of a clean Vox. It’s gotta have some grit.
It takes all kinds. If you’re running your tube amp below breakup, you might as well just use a solid state amp. It’s only under overdrive conditions that you get compression. Outside overdrive conditions, there is not really any clue that you are using a tube amp. Mostly linear is mostly linear.
It could be that you just like the volume. The speakers in the AC15 are fantastic. Or it could be you don’t think of it as gritty, but I do.
I have and have restored a few fender blues juniors and they are all quiet enough for residential. Just crank the volume but keep the master at 1-1.5. It’s not ideal, but you do get the desired sound.
Take it as a fact that you’ll commonly have higher standards than your audience. This applies to software, actors, musicians, whatever.
That, and your experience affects your performance. It’s easier for an actor to act in a room full of props and other actors, versus a green screen. Easier for a musician to make music with the gear and tone that they prefer.
"...Take it as a fact that you’ll commonly have higher standards than your audience. This applies to software, actors, musicians, whatever..."
Can you explain this a bit more? I do not see this is commonly true, it is the exception and not the rule in many cases of 'someone and their audience'.
It might be true that that 'someone' believes it, however misguided.
Any form of art or engineering requires a huge amount of background knowledge and/or practice experience, and artists and engineers should have a better grasp of the technicalities than the audience.
But audiences tend not to care about specifics. They care if you can live up to expectations and provide the experience they expect. So if a performance is lacklustre, or a piece of software is stupidly designed from their POV, they'll know something has gone wrong - but they won't know (or care) exactly why.
Amateurs and wannabes tend to fethishise equipment instead of art. There's a lot of "If only I had that equipment I could do this properly."
The reality is that expensive pro-grade equipment only ever adds a final layer of polish. It's also good at not getting in the way with unnecessary frills and complications.
So a world-class professional with a budget guitar will always outplay and outperform an amateur with a pro-league instrument. No exceptions. And a professional photographer will always take better photos with your phone than you will. And so on.
The professional may notice some polish is missing and they may have to work harder than usual - but they will be able to do the job, while an amateur won't, no matter what they're using.
Indeed, and I'm conscious of this as an amateur with a pro-league instrument. ;-) I spent many years playing a student grade instrument, had used it for countless performances, and nobody ever complained about my sound.
But a nicer instrument is a pleasure to have, and provides me with the assurance that anything wrong with my sound is strictly a matter of improving my own abilities. So it's a challenge to live up to the quality of my instrument.
I'm not an electric guitarist, but this is a dilemma that every musician faces at some point. Being a musician can involve an obsession for quality that can't be explained in utilitarian terms.
One thing is that the audience only has to tolerate your sound for a couple of hours, and can always seek refuge at the bar or just go home. You have to hear it over and over, night after night. You also have to hear it at home. As an amateur, most of my playing time occurs in my own living room.
Another thing is that there's a layer of the performance above the basic sound of the instruments, that the audience might perceive even if they can't quite put their finger on what it is. It's what separates a great performance from a dull one. We're all trying to find what that thing is, and it involves exploration on many fronts, including how we choose and optimize our instruments.
It's harder to tell the difference when recorded (although it's not that hard). The bigger problem is around what it feels like to play. Even the best modelers do not have the "feel" of a tube amp and that will influence the way you play.
I follow a lot of Metal artists. And many have switched their live setups to modeling amps long ago. The amount of different tones and effects they use (in a single song) just make that all the more practical. It's also a lot stuff to haul and setup at the venues.
Even Metallica is running all digital for their love shows. Although they do still mic up for studio work.
No one has mentioned Kemper yet, and Kemper - made by the same programmer who developed the Acccess Virus DSP synth - is the go-to modelling system for pros and serious wannabes.
This is really a solved problem. DSP won. You can freight multiple valve heads around if you really want to, but no one in the audience or the rest of the band is going to notice, never mind care.
Maybe on the low end of the market, but tube amps still reign supreme for most serious players.