I'll Never Ditch the Digital Gear Even Though I Own A Vintage Amp - Here's Why

[@AlecBourneMidiMadScientist]

A really good summation John. I reckon the pure value of the guitar community is what reigns, digital allows us to share everything, from that we can all enjoy a piece of work but also tweak it to our liking and build something new to give back to the group - and so the music grows.

[@martyhuff1969]

I’m a fan of both digital and analog gear. I am a Fractal fan boy and love the Tonex and Nano Cortex also. I’ve tried pretty much all of the digital stuff and we are fortunate to have so many options. The experimentation aspect you mention is at the top of the list for digital. Additionally it lightens the load and makes set up and tear down super fast at gigs. I love both but end up digital at gigs 99% of the time.

[@MilesReedMusic]

I also have modeling devices as well as tube amps, overdrive, effect pedals etc… One of the points you made about “if I liked it in the digital realm, perhaps it’s something that would be useful to buy” I have been able to try many things in the modeling world that helped me find the things that I like! My first experience with a King of Tone was a modeling version, now it’s my main overdrive pedal. The other thing I learned is that if I only need an effect for 30 seconds a night and the model version sounds great, I’ll use it in my hybrid rig. We have the best technology of the past and the newer technology at our disposal…..I choose to use whatever helps me reach the sounds I’m after!

[@thomaschilds8781]

Probably the strongest case you've made on this front to date. I'm sold! I do love being awash in the output of a 12inch guitar speaker though, when opportunity allows.

[@Ganther100]

Digital technology keeps getting better and better. It has become a vital and worthwhile investment in addition to using tube amps. As a surviving musician I will always be prepared for the silent stage scenario. Imagine being called for that big gig opportunity and not being prepared to adapt to going digital? It’s not just about having knowledge of the gear. It’s also about gaining experience with how it feels to use it.

[@10sassafras]

I understand the appeal of using an artist’s presets. Accessing the hundreds of tc tone prints for delay and reverb over more than a decade has been fun and informative.

[@Chris_Nouvelli]

I bought a Katana Gen 3 artist to go with my 100w Katana Mk2. I upgraded my desktop setup so I can learn to use plugins. But the fact remains that I WANT an FM3. I want to go to band practice with nothing but a guitar and bag. I don’t want to lug my Katana around (even though it’s incredible). And I know what I’m like - I’ll find the core tones that I stick with and question whether it was worth getting a modeller for just those. But I’ll be able to answer ‘yes’ because of the sheer value of something like an FM3 compared to the ‘real thing’. Just to recreate a Mesa would save you at least £2,000 by using a modeller.

[@JDStone20]

The only thing that matters is if it works for you, and you like the sound. That is it. Look at all the great guitarists in the past who made so much with so little, they either made do with what they had, or they modified what they had to fit them. We have so many options and so much fantastic gear, and what do we do? Do we make good songs or play great music? Not as much as we navel-gaze about gear.

[@israelr6636]

Excellent point

[@picksalot1]

That Preset by Tim Pierce is stunningly beautiful. I wonder how much the analog gear would have cost to recreate it, and if it is even possible. I agree with your views on the value of digital gear, and have been using Modelers for a long time. I just saw a YT video where Tommy Emmanuel said that he and his brother Phil played the Closing Ceremonies to the Sydney 2000 Olympics "live" using two Line 6 Pods to three billion people world wide, as Amps wouldn't work in that situation!

[@10sassafras]

The list of advantages of digital over analogue reminds me of the advantages of solid state over tubes in about 1971. It’s all true and slightly beside the point.

[@markandclairethomas2062]

Many aren’t bothered about recording at home . Learning songs then meeting up with band mates for practice , then playing a gig is all many want to do . Not worrying about all the hassle with a modeller . Just turning up with a guitar , amp and a few pedals is all many need or want . 👍

[@Jimmy4Thumbs]

Tasty tones today, John! Makes me want to go out and buy a FM3 or FM9. Now I gotta see if I can get close to this on my Stomp XL!

[@areallyboredguy5825]

I feel people need to accept that there isn't a one objective best thing that is good for everyone and if you don't use it, then you just aren't getting "good tones"

[@Ganther100]

These are all great reasons for using modelers. Would love to see a video on stacking parts with modelers and the how/why they “turn to mush”. What are some ways to prevent this from happening?

[@BrandonShagg]

I just got Helix and I lost all GAS

[@darrenlivy]

That's nearly the same for me. I still have GAS for guitars!

[@AlecBourneMidiMadScientist]

It'll come back, have no fear of that. I bought the helix floor and Variax and eventually settled on a katana air ex for monitoring with digital FX as back up. Perfectly content with this set-up. Even just the katana air as a mobile stereo rig I can get lost in sounds for hours each day - BUT 😂 Pedals are freaking lovely toys and getting hands on and comparing the different takes and workflow is great fun.

[@lenwhatever4187]

Pretty hard to tell over youtube. Really, it comes down to what inspires you. most of the sound is in the fingers anyway and for that inspiration matters. Basically even a discerning listener will have trouble telling the difference once recorded, eqed, compressed (either way), etc.

[@chrisgmurray3622]

The only difference is that with a tube amp, you're playing the amp as well, because certain characteristics in the circuit design, or componentry, and speakers and the room the speakers are in, all give a certain cumulative amplification envelope and alter the way you play in such a way as to have a certain feeling, as well as "tone". If you begin playing through tube amps and are then required to use non-tube digital line level representations as your " amp", you will flounder, trying to set up for something that the digital approximation can't deliver in the playing experience, and may realise was a side effect of older technologies, the part it plays in making the sound feel real not canned, and it's tricky because people who start off from analog tube use won't realise how much they actually have grown to depend on, in their live or recorded music, that isn't reproduced in the digital realm. If it's possible to feel inspired and not to play as if on rails with line level devices instead of actual amps, then obviously you're spared from having to use attenuators or ( as Tim and many others do) have a separate room,maybe with blankets over the speakers, or cheap sound proofing, and mic's set up running lines to your usual bedroom or office studio. There's always a way to use big amps live .I used 100 watt Marshalls for nearly twenty years, playing everything from weddings, twenty firsts, corporate christmas parties, political rallies, charity concerts, and also some bar and club gigs using the same gear. You just have to learn the real basics of how to set your amps up to sound best in each situation ..; it isn't rocket-science, but most guitar players nowadays spend all their time and energy playing around in effects menues or modelling-amp catalogues and editors. Any time left over from that usually gets dominated by working on technical chops or new lick ideas, and by the time they hear the dinner bell, they're almost completely ignorant of how their older gear can be set to work in any application. For convenience and KZbin stuff with a loaded laptop or interface, obviously you may not want to warm up your vintage Fender, Vox, or Marshall amp and wait til the hum is low to record something that'll be consumed from a limited bandwidth recording on a lap top or smart phone and played through those awful speakers or worse, through some bluetooth ear-buds. For music recorded as background for a dance video, or online or broadcast commercials or jingles, that's the cool-headed pro doing his workman-like best to earn a crust, but when the feeling takes you in a live moment or home playing, you may want to enjoy that special trance moment as a surfer in the dynamic character of some older style gear. I've decided not to try and re-invent the wheel, and just use the same gear I had since the late eighties and early nineties which after service over the years still works better than anything I've seen or heard in the modelling world. If I found something that worked for me and with me, I would buy it unless it cost more than a couple of thousand dollars ,( £1000), and so far I haven't found anything better that isn't astronomically priced, so I'll stick to reliable gear. Who knows? In a few years some amazing new gear might get me interested, and I'm always interested in new stuff, but so far, because I'm doing only basic musical gigs, rather than commercials or KZbin, I'll keep an open mind, but a closed wallet.🎸🎶

[@captainx9900]

John I’m torn between FM3 & 9, purely because it appears u gotta go reverb low res route for more complex presets on the 3. Also conscious the FM9 Part 3 of the ‘Trilogy’ (or equivalent.) may drop any day now- your thoughts? Love ur playing

[@rockstarjazzcat]

Would that we could know what level the GoT stuff was dialed in at!!! But yeah, I'm at least as invested in analog as I am in digital, and have been for a very long time. Does it serve the song...? Ultimate end of story. Cheers all, D

[@jmendi55]

I get the impression that Tom Bukovac doesn't record at all at home. That's a luxury very few of us are fortunate enough to have. A lot of his home schoolers wouldn't be able to record at all without modeling being available. I have real amps. I have an old Mesa Mark iic - FORGET recording at home with that ever. On 3 it will give you a nose bleed. I also have a Princeton Reverb and even opening that up to 5 is still too loud if I'm doing something at 11:00 at night. The other thing I find kinda funny and a little disingenuous is that there's no music more processed and digitized than than derivative beer/tractor/love my dog bro country crap that comes out of Bukovac's Nashville. Quantized to the nano-beat, auto tuned so it sounds like something from a sci-fi movie and no more than 5 chords. For that you need a $50,000 strat, a $10,000 deluxe and a Klon? When all is said and done the guitars sound like 10 takes done on a Helix.

[@Ten2More]

If a dude enjoys hot dogs, it isn’t fair to tell them hot dogs aren’t as good as steak. Be happy.

[@Dreamdancer11]

Guitarist are notorious to keep fighting battles that they have already been won....

[@johnplaystheguitar123]

But do you own the Deluxe Reverb? What is the custody situation between you and Jake?

[@Dan-of-NJ]

Real life vs. Digital tones says it all. I've tried and digital/modeling is good, but not memorex.

[@antoonhermans8953]

I never understood this need from people to copy someone's sound or rig , find you're own and start making music you're way !

[@johnplaystheguitar123]

Why do people like Tom Bukovac care about tube amps? Most studio work for guitar is done tracking in the control room isn't it? Like rarely in the same room as the amp/cab. There is no interaction between guitar and amp in room then. Even Angus Young recorded from control room with his wireless and that wireless boost was key to his sound. I get Tom has really good ears but for most mere mortals you're not in the same room as the amp when recording anyway so it becomes indistinguishable if using amp/loadbox, moddeler, capture, plugin, IRs etc.

[@darwinsaye]

There’s no need for anyone to “ditch digital”, but it shouldn’t be thought of a a replacement for real amps either. Would you stop riding a real motorcycle just because they have video games where you can virtually ride a motorcycle? At this point, all the digital vs real amp arguments in the guitar community are just pointless.

[@Twominutedevotions]

I think the analogy might be more akin to riding an electric motorcycle with a sound system that digitally plays 96k audio of engine sounds at the same DB level as a normal Harley. Most people wouldn’t know the difference if they hadn’t owned one. Tom Bukovac knows, studio engineers and producers know. But random guy at a stop sign doesn’t.

[@darwinsaye]

@ Yes, but my observation was advocating that we just stop making arguments for *one or the other*. What you’re saying (“the average Joe can’t tell digital from analog) is not incorrect, but it is still just carrying on the competition between the two, as if someone has to choose one or the other. The point of my own analogy was that a normal person can have a real motorcycle and also have a motorcycle simulation game, and they shouldn’t feel the need to defend either as valid.

[@buzzcrumhunger7114]

First 😅…what time are you recording these if you’re posting them around 14:00? Just curious. Cheers 🍻

[@DirtyDavesDirt]

Big fat NO! Sorry, but all you need is a decent load box and some impulse response’s.

[@ukguitarnoodle]

put a drummer next to any subtle tone and who cares ....

[@tuentc4817]

Siempre el mismo video …..-debe ser duro tener que hacer vídeos todos los días . Voy a darle un descanso al canal

[@vintagetone22]

Digital mean fake .end off.music in the 60s and the 70s and 80s were made by valve amps and real gear .thats why they lasted all these years.🎸👍🎸👍🎸👍🤟👍🎸🎸👍🎸👍🎸👍🎸👍🎸👍🎸👍🎸👍🎸👍🎸👍

[@patricelecanu6150]

do not pooo

[@patricelecanu6150]

sorry made a mistake your right !!