Anyone ever use modeling effects?

[Diamond Dave]

Wow--quite the thread, Dru!

I have a Fender Mustang I. I'm not much of a player but the modeling amp's onboard features and the Fuse software pretty much give you any tone you want. You can also download settings from the "Fuse community" if you're really trying to dial in a certain player's tone and some guy in Toledo already nailed it. Or you want to experiment with what others have come up with. Or whatever.

[mc1]

oh, yea, i also used to have a fender g-dec. it was a lot of fun and made some pretty nice sounds. and i have a roland cube 60 that i used mainly for clean sounds that is a pretty good amp.

[Davis Webb]

I use the Korg Pandora, circa 10 years ago, still in great shape. Has onboard drum patterns and bass lines can change the key. Tons of effects.

That being said, I have ONE setting I use for rock and ONE setting I use for clean. The rest of it is pretty cheesoid.

But the settings I do have are more than enough for me.

I have tried many effects modeling systems and the best I have seen are in the GR55 guitar synth by Roland. That beast truly does it all and IMHO, the best.

The nice thing about my Pandora, is that when I play out, I simply run a line out to a clean PA and darned if it doesn't hold its exact tone amplified.

Sadly the current Pandora has no bass line in it, but does have drums. The sounds are supposedly better but I didn't find it that amazing.

I had the POD and I had the ME70 by Roland and neither thrilled me, I sold them.

When you find that ONE sound you want, you are a...lucky man. Not easy to get it with modeling.

[jonfields45]

I preferred A. So I guess it makes sense I use a Zoom MS-50G modeling pedal (runs 7 hours on two AA NiMH batteries and fits nicely in my gig bag) into a PA or acoustic amp, for all my electric tones.

The one thing the Tremolux has in its favor is you don't need to spend 15 minutes tweaking it. Turn it on and turn it up.

Jon

[redir]

I think A was 'recorded' louder. The output from youtube will be the same. Hence it had that gainy head to it, it also sounded a bit compressed to me. I liked the sound of both.

As for modeling I have not messed with it in years and when I did it was not very good. I still have a Korg, something or other, and like it for just practicing on. I like my old tube amps and pedal interface on the floor. It's simple.

Originally Posted by barefooter

I really did not know which amp was which, but I thought A was a little more aggressive/responsive in the sound and maybe a slight increase in gain (to my ears).

That was my thoughts as well.

[Methos1979]

I used a Zoom A2.1u multi-effects/DI into a Genz Benz Shenandoah 85 acoustic amp when I was using a Taylor T5 in an acoustic duo to get the closest acoustic guitar sound I could.

Then I went over to full acoustic and continued with the Zoom but just couldn't get a tone I liked. Just the other days while struggling to get a good tone I unplugged everything and plugged the guitar straight into the amp and voila! Instant great acoustic guitar tone.

The down side is that there were some great uses for the Zoom pedal - I could dial in effects like reverb, chorus, delay, plus it had a built in expression pedal that could be set up as either a volume or effects expression pedal. Plus the built in tuner. So no all that is gone. I can honestly live without the effects since the amp has decent reverb built in. But it was nice to have.

I am looking for some sort of multi-effects pedal that has the ability to do everything the Zoom did without having to use the modeling. The Zoom does have a bypass mode but it bypasses everything, so why bother.

[kirkham13]

I have a mustang 3 as well as a 40 watt dual 6l6.... I rarely play the mustang. Mustang is great but lacks the feel and depth of soundstage I guess you could say the tube amp offers. Both great amps and both have their strengths. My choice is a strat straight into a tube amp... Or if I'm really pushing it I'll try a little compressed fuzz on top...

[jonfields45]

I recently did the firmware upgrade to my Zoom MS-50G, and besides a few new effects, the tuner works dramatically better. Jon

[LouieAtienza]

I use a Roland GR-55 which models guitars, as well as effects and amps. For recording it's great, and it does make it easier to gig instead of carrying around a bunch of guitars, pedals, and cabinets. I've previously used a VG-8, VG-88, and VG-99... though for some reason i really really like the sounds on the VG-8. i believe Steve Stevens currently uses the GR-55, and I know that Marty Friedman and Joe Perry used VG-88s on tour...

[Tuffythepug]

I used a Line 6 spider 2x10 combo for a few years before selling it to a friend. I think it is a very nice modeling amp with a lot of good features. I ended up going the other way with a Fender Blues Deluxe 40w tube amp. I use a chorus pedal and a tube screamer now and then. That's really all I need these days. My band mate uses a Pod sometimes and he likes the versatility it provides.

[MikeBmusic]

The old solid state VS tube amp argument will go on long after I'm pushing up daisies. (As with the old modeling FX vs 'original' FX argument).
I always say: it depends on the type of music you are playing.
Also, if you are able sonically to adjust the tone on your amp to get what YOU WANT.
A lot of newbies/youngsters cannot do that (including those who can't tune a guitar without some kind of tuner).

I have a Line 6 Spider IV amp. Many of those who deride Line 6 modeling have not tried out the series IV amps, which greatly improved the tonal issues
of previous generations. I used it with a Beatles tribute band where I played acoustic and electric guitars and keyboards - the perfect solution. I could set presets based on the song requirements for easy switching, no delays between songs while I messed with things, and I could even switch instruments DURING songs, along with the amp settings, for example While My Guitar Gently Weeps acoustic to organ (and back) and Sgt Pepper's Reprise to A Day In the Life - electric to acoustic to keyboards.

[rhubarb]

Originally Posted by guitararmy

At church we use a Line 6 POD XT Live floorboard for electric guitar and the bass version for the electric bass.

It really cleaned up the stage, as we went to Aviom in-ear monitors at the same time.

I'm not very good at programming the floorboard but get by with the presets.

+1 at my church.

[blue]

We all want natural overdriven tube sounds, but that isn't always viable, and you are limited to what you can do.

If you just want to get your feet wet, I highly recommend one of the line6 direct to computer boxes. Mine is the Tone Port DI which I got 6 years ago or so. They come with software, and either go to amp or you can go direct from the box to headphones for middle of the night work.

A great way to record into garageband and other recording software, with or without the line6 modeling software that comes with it. For instance Garageband simply sees it as an "in" and you can use the Garageband modeling stuff, which is surprisingly versatile, though in the version I have it is less than intuitive. If I go too long without using it, I forget how to do some things and have to relearn.

"Last year's" boxes are always in the closeout sections of musician's friends and places like that. I think I paid $49, but it was the simplest one. As you go up in price you get nicer things like Mic inputs for recording acoustics and vocals with real mics, and multiple inputs, and more refined controls on the box itself. At that price, if you like it, you can buy a reconditioned laptop to take to gigs to control it!

I also picked up a digidesign modeling pedal at a garage sale for $4.50 Lots of fun, good enough sounds for anything short of recording.

[LouieAtienza]

Originally Posted by Davis Webb

I use the Korg Pandora, circa 10 years ago, still in great shape. Has onboard drum patterns and bass lines can change the key. Tons of effects.

That being said, I have ONE setting I use for rock and ONE setting I use for clean. The rest of it is pretty cheesoid.

But the settings I do have are more than enough for me.

I have tried many effects modeling systems and the best I have seen are in the GR55 guitar synth by Roland. That beast truly does it all and IMHO, the best.

The nice thing about my Pandora, is that when I play out, I simply run a line out to a clean PA and darned if it doesn't hold its exact tone amplified.

Sadly the current Pandora has no bass line in it, but does have drums. The sounds are supposedly better but I didn't find it that amazing.

I had the POD and I had the ME70 by Roland and neither thrilled me, I sold them.

When you find that ONE sound you want, you are a...lucky man. Not easy to get it with modeling.

I had the first three Pandoras. The first one (I believe blue) I think sounded best. The second one did have some simple bass lines to go with the drums, you can choose the key to play in. I always thought the PODs sounded too brittle. The Roland stuff is great but there are so many variables it's almost overwhelming.

[YamaYairi]

I use a Vox VT50 amp. It has amp modeling and all kinds of effects. I leave it set on the AC30 setting. Sounds like the Beatles. Great sounding amp!