The Problem with Modern Amp Sims

Do you procrastinate by chasing "perfect" guitar tone?
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[@maxrice6990]

Another thing to consider: we don’t usually listen to electric guitar in a vacuum. If you have an amp tone dialed in and it feels like it’s lacking something, try layering more tracks and recording other instruments with it. You might find the guitar doesn’t sound so bad as you start combining it with other elements. :)

[@garethfox9272]

Good advice Max! Thank you!

[@michael5654]

Thank you! I came to this conclusion on my own, so seeing somebody else say it is reassuring :)

[@TayTayMakesBeats]

Not only that but sometimes the most delicious guitar tone can sound terrible in the context of a mix. Likewise some of the best music was produced using dirt cheap gear and/or stuff that would sound highly questionable if you solo'd the tracks. We all know how many people crave the lofi goodness that comes from gear and mediums musicians used to see as flaws overcome by revolutionary digital music tech. Nowadays much of that same digital tech is often seen as sterile, artificial, inferior to their analog counterparts, while other digital tech that was at one time seen as bringing a new level of fidelity and clarity to music production is now lusted after for the opposite reason (the crunch of 8 bit EPROM based drum machines, 12 bit samplers like the S950 and SP1200, the Boss SP202, anything made by Casio but especially whatever the hell the SK-1 is ext.) For guitars look at the continued popularity and legacy of Danelectro's lipstick pickups, fiberglass bodied Airlines and whatever you could get from a Sears catalogue in the 60s. Don't even get me started on classic solid state amps or how the tube distortion that turned the musical landscape upside down was only developed as an intentional feature after guitarists discovered the beauty of pushing an amp past its limit. A common theme here is that people did more than work around their flaws, quirks or limitations. They made those limitations iconic, doing things that only they could. If they had gear that didn't sound right in the music that was around instead of upgrading their gear they made something new and used what would conventionally be flaws as strengths. Love the ingenuity musicians have in the face of limitations.

[@maxrice6990]

@@TayTayMakesBeatsTotally agreed! Great points man, definitely inspiring.

[@Knosferatu]

It's called a cab. Also IRs

[@nosidemusic]

As a husband, father, producer, and artist this definitely resonates with me. Workflow is so important and I simply don’t have the time to drown in an ocean of options. Sometimes simplicity is the key and less truly is more. Fantastic video Mick!

[@Morroh]

I feel this comment. It gets a lot more challenging to balance everything in later seasons of life. As much as I wish I was 19 again with nothing but time to dedicate to passions, the game is now about finding the best tools that get the job done quickly.

[@colourbasscolourbassweapon2135]

@@Morroh i agree with you

[@riffmondo9733]

True. I just want to plug in and get a good tone quickly. All the options tend to overwhelm.

[@bread6085]

I feel like Neural DSP plug ins are a great option for people who just want to plug in and play. All the default presets sound awesome from the jump.

[@thomastucker5686]

I was recording an artist who has a JP 2C in the studio. We were short for time and wanted to track an entire song in just a few hours, we did just that. I pulled out a plugin, had him go through the rhythm track and dialed in what I thought was the perfect sound in a couple of minutes. Had we started firing up amps and mics, we wouldn't be able to just sit in front of the monitors and drop tracks. I pulled a Mesa Dual plugin for the lead, added just a chorus pedal plugin, sounds great. I took the simple approach, didn't dig too deep into speakers, mics, none of that. Where I thought this video was going, my thoughts, most of this stuff sounds about the same. It comes down to the performance. I love plugins because I have zero concern of external noise, like somebody opening a door, a cough, whatever. I have only been recording live drums and vocals. I love my Fryette amp and it sounds fantastic, but time is often hard to come by and the speed I can drop tracks with amp plugins has been huge. Of course, the times I cannot get to the studio, I sit at my desk and record track after track and when the wife yells, "dinner time" it doesn't become a song lyric.

[@jeremyserwer2586]

Yep! I also move pretty fast with amplitube or what ever. I don't go down rabbit holes, I just try and find serviceable sounds and concentrate on better parts to define the differences between guitar tracks. These sims are just tools and yes micing up an amp is impossible for me living in an Apt in SF. I have my productions mixed by some talented folks and they say that sims are finally at a place where they work just fine. These Mix engineers only re amp when the sim guitar part is the only thing going in a mix. The avg listener does not drill down on tones--they listen for the song!

[@animaegray]

Yeah, it's a real problem, but I would argue that one of the chief reasons in not the option paralysis per se, but rather not having experience with the production side of things. One of the biggest lightbulb moments for me was realizing that human hearing is very adaptive and you quickly get used to a certain tonality, whether it's objectively (in some sense) good or not. Meaning, you cannot simply tweak knobs until it sounds good because the brain can compensate massively for sketchy frequency response. A good example is to try and pull down a narrow frequency band, ideally around high midrange, try 2khz-6khz, very narrow Q, and pull it down around -6db to -10db. Listen for a bit, and disable the EQ. You'll hear a very very nasty screechy resonance now that you swear wasn't there before. It's because your brain got adjusted to hearing the tone with that cut on and when you turn it off it emphasizes the difference. It's the same exact issue with tweaking - you get used to how a certain IR sounds, you get used to how you tweaked the tonestack, the amount of gain, the EQ you put after the cab, and all that. It can be a terrible fatiguing sound, but if you got used to it you will be entirely oblivious of this fact. The only way to get out of this mess is to first have a monitoring system that you're reasonably sure is somewhat flat and then A/B your guitar tone to guitar tones found on records. There's a really big catch though - tones on records are double tracked (or even quad tracked) and it's relatively rare to catch a moment where the guitar is playing just by itself. But this exactly what you need to find - songs where there are snippets of just the guitar. Then you should grab either the left or right channels of this snippet to get rid of double tracking, and only then you can A/B this tone to yours. Also, as you get more into production, you'll realize that tone is not that important. Or at least not in the way that guitarists absolutely obsess over it. A great example is simply tweaking the amp knobs - when you do it while playing by yourself, changes are immediate and you're able to discern very minute changes. In a mix the situation is vastly different, the mix tends to bury the small details and those minute knob adjustments you were obsessing over are totally irrelevant, you just cannot hear them. The guitar is just one part of the mix and you need to leave your guitarists' obsession with tone and all that stuff behind, that's the point.

[@masterofreality230]

Yea its funny, I sometimes dont know whether my tube amp sounds bad for the first ten mins because it has to warm up, or if I am just not listening to it right at first.

[@TakeHit0]

Blasphemy

[@stiman1]

This is the first video of yours that I watched, it was recommended by the almighty algorithm. This is really well done, good job!

[@Morroh]

Thank you! 🙏

[@lacssbb]

You're right man, many of us has jobs and college degrees to finish or even to give some attention to our family and the little time that we had became even shorter by the phenomena of searching the right tone instead of focus in our songwriting and etcetera. Great video dude 🤟

[@lippi2171]

When it comes to guitar tone, I always aim for "good enough". It's about character. The mix and how it sits with the other instruments will do the rest.

[@adilO.o]

This video is the exact depiction of my life these last months… With two very young kids, I have very limited time to play and still spent 10% of the time playing and 90% of the time turning knobs in my DAW, blending IRs, auditioning profiles… The perfect tone I dial on Wednesday is utter trash on Friday and is reborn again on Sunday. I am caught in a negative spiral which completely killed my guitar passion. This video is really an eye opener. I have decided to delete 90% of my IRs collection and plugins. I am keeping only the essential ones and essential IR mixes. I am going to play more and fiddle less… Hopefully…

[@buwumet]

This is exactly why when I get a new amp sim or try one out, I usually give myself a week or two to constantly work on a few custom presets to match my taste with one to three for each standard sound (high gain rhythm, high gain lead, low gain rhythm, clean, and so on), so I have a few to choose from when writing. After that tone search period, I often get tired of crafting sounds in that plugin/sim, so I naturally gravitate toward writing and just choosing the right custom preset for the moment. If something is still missing like some weird modulating flanger delay effect chain, I will still add it later but can just start with one of my custom presets and add the desired effects, without really having to craft the sound again.

[@Unusednickname_1970]

This resonates with me. I’ve been down the modeling/profiling rabbit hole a few times and, in retrospect, it’s been a huge waste of time. I take full responsibility. These are powerful tools. However, I tend to spend a lot less time tweaking when I just stick to a good tube amp with pedals.

[@nebularain3338]

The problem with that is privilege. Not everyone can afford or has acceptable space for a tube amp and cab. Besides, real amps aren't infallible, and time can be wasted tweaking them as well.

[@Unusednickname_1970]

@@nebularain3338 very true. I do appreciate the benefits of digital gear, otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered with it.

[@TheMetaldudeX]

I’m learning guitar. Bought a boss Katana in 2020. I fell into this trap and spent more time finding a sound then practicing. I can’t play but fell into the gear trap. I returned it. I fell in love with the Amped roots free plug-in. Sounds good, models an amp bands I listen to use, don’t need to fidget around to get a decent sound. I just get to practicing.

[@HeadrushStudio21228]

This is why I use the amp knob. I don’t have the time or energy to craft my tone anymore. It’s just not worth wasting my creative energy

[@alexdenton6586]

In fact, the issue at hand stems from the abundance of choices. Having numerous options is undoubtedly fantastic, but it can also be paralyzing. In the past, the options for amplifiers were limited. There wasn't a wide selection available, and the control over them was fairly minimal. The same was true for effect pedals. Moreover, owning several was a costly endeavor, so people often made do with what they had. This limited selection was sufficient for most, as there was no alternative. Consequently, many musicians honed their skills with the equipment they had. One might think that the amplifiers of yesteryears were superior, but in reality, they were not. To be honest, they were inferior since they didn't offer the range of controls that are available today. However, their limited nature was, in some ways, advantageous. Today, my setup consists of a Positive Grid Mini and a Go, which I use daily, coupled with a JBL Party Box 310. They are exceptional in comparison to the tube amp that I used to have. Not only is the sound quality better, but it is also more minimalist, which I find to be a huge plus. However, it’s true that sometimes the sheer volume of options available today can be overwhelming.

[@espenbjrkvold5119]

I really feel this. This is the reason I went for an old fashioned tube-head and a captor box 😊 it limits my options and let’s me focus on enjoying playing guitar. Thank you for voicing my thoughts in a video.

[@Morroh]

Thank you for watching 🙏

[@vaanrodriguez]

i agree. I did the same i just have one sound now and i feel so much better and productive

[@mrnelsonius5631]

I went through a horrendous divorce (still am) a year and a half ago. I became broke with no savings over night. So the last year, I decided to never buy new software because I can’t, so don’t even look. I’m writing SO much now being forced to work with what I have. The biggest danger in todays plugin world is that we keep chasing the new without ever REALLY learning what we have. There’s a time for exploration but what an artist really needs to get work done is a finite set of tools to start and finish a project.

[@Morroh]

I’m sorry to hear your going through hard times. Honestly I had a similar situation happen to me a couple years ago. Seperation/pandemic ect. I had one guitar and a laptop/interface and was couch crashing. Having limited tools I started writing/recording and just playing more in general. As much as it sucks to say, the hard times can sometimes really put some gas in the tank when it comes creative expression.

[@mrnelsonius5631]

@@Morroh for real. Kind of the magic of art. Sounds corny, but it can transform pain into beauty 🙏

[@SlangJeezy]

I played guitar for about 10 years before falling out of it from just living life. About 15 years later and I recently got back into playing guitar, this time with the money to buy the equipment I could only dream of when I was first learning. I fell right into this trap. There have been so many technological advances when it comes to plug ins and digital interfaces, I forgot that I used to just plug into the amp and play. I now use a real amp, a real cab, and a few pedals. This is ALL I need to get to it and start playing. Great video. Good job bringing attention to a problem I’m sure many people suffer from.

[@savajovic2179]

That Laundry-time alarm bell… I felt it so deeply on this Sunday evening, before another week 😂

[@guylikesguitar]

Dude, this video hit really hard. I felt this phenomenon you talked about in this video some years ago. Since then I'm sticking to one single amp sim instead of craving the next newest Neural release. Also, the cinematography in this short video was amazing. Subscribed!

[@Morroh]

Thank you for watching and subscribing! As someone who is just now starting to take my camera seriously, I really appreciate this comment. 🙏

[@panorama_mastering]

This is so good; I really hope your channel blows up!! Such incredible care and intention put into this video; great work!

[@Morroh]

Thank you! I put a lot of time into this one. I would be thrilled if things take off, but for now I’m just going to enjoy making videos 😁

[@louderthangod]

That does happen to me but just as often I’ll find a tone that then inspires new song ideas and sometimes the process of just jumping around is relaxing and fun. Tying everything to productivity is just going to leave you frustrated most of the time. The best benefit of digital amps, especially with the Fractal and to a lesser degree the Kemper is that without knowing anything about electronics, you can take a stock amp and modify it in ways that don’t already exist which for me is huge because I have some unique issues that most amp makers don’t take into account. I still love real tube amps and their limitations can actually inspire creativity but customizing my digital amps has been very inspiring to give me what I want without having to have my own amp tech willing to tweak things till I get it right.

[@youtubecommentor4480]

2:15 “Life will find a way of reminding you that your time, is not infinite. Oh well, there’s always next weekend but didn’t you say that, last weekend?” Epic!

[@Fitzington]

This made me a lot less insecure about my tones actually. I dont really go down the hole of fixating on my tone for a long time but Ive always been super insecure about them. Cool video

[@Morroh]

Thanks for watching!

[@thomastucker5686]

I spent way too many years worrying about tone. The performance is the most important item on the list. Preparation is before tone. I played a live gig with a Line 6 Spider III with an SM57 in front of it. I didn't want to carry my Fryette 1/2 stack and I wouldn't get paid more for better gear at the gig. People remember the performance, not the tone. Too much attention given to tone. I say that and I am a tone junky, I just keep it in check.

[@XCenturionX]

This has become a huge problem for me over the years. I've spent more time searching for tone than actually writing music. Thanks for the inspiration

[@Morroh]

thanks for watching

[@DayBeforeTomorrow]

I've been using Scuffham Amps for years! It sounds great and the set-up is limited to amp controls (with cabinet tweaks on some models), convolver parameters, delay and reverb controls. You can also change/add IR's. It blows away Tonex, Archetype and Amplitube, IMHO!

[@beaugregory6527]

Dude you hit the nail right on the head with this video. I often will look at getting new gear and it takes me FOREVER because there’s just SO much nice gear out there today, not to mention vintage gear as well. It really does make me reconsider getting into these amp sims. I was just looking at buying a new amp and I figured instead of spending a couple grand I could spend a couple hundred on an interface and go to the races. But after watching this it makes me think that I should go with my original idea and go with a real tube amp that I know I’ll like after trying it in the store. Because I am definitely the type to look for hours and forget that I should just be playing instead. Very good video. Makes you open your eyes to the way things are now. It’s kind of sad really.

[@ar-bg2fi]

A couple months ago I bought NDSP's Tone King plug-in. I spent a couple weeks playing around with it and setting up some presets for my different guitars. Since then, when I want to play, I load up the plug-in, pick the preset for the guitar I'm using and I'm good to go. I think playing with tone is a lot of fun, but it has to be separate from playing guitar. Give yourself some time to set up and play around with a couple tones you like, but then when it's time to play/record, don't let yourself muck up the presets you made for yourself. Commit to and trust the sounds you set up beforehand.

[@reecemilliner1578]

I tend to approach my music sessions with a goal. Sometimes it's to write music while other times it's to get a good guitar tone which can effectively be considered sound design. The point of this is to keep the sound design sessions separate from the music creation sessions. That way when you want to write music, you take your presets that you created from the sound design sessions (or even other presets) and they're already made. I should also point out that I tend to look at things from a producer standpoint, which means the song should always come first before the guitar tone. You can spend hours coming up with a perfect tone, but if it doesn't work with the mix of the song, it's all for not.

[@Polyphemus.]

Ah... the good old ToneChasers! I suppose modern amp sims have created a lot more of these guys but they've always been around. I worked in guitar stores many years ago and I knew a few of these types of guys. One or two were even colleagues. I remember spotting a work mate laying out a heap of single D'Addario string packets all over the bench and jotting down the tension rating that was written on the back. Turns out he was trying to match the tensions across a set (well before companies started doing balanced tension sets themselves) because he thought it might give his tone just that last thing it was missing. He would also swear blind that certain brands of 9V battery would sound better than others. Poor guy, I don't think he ever found his Shangri-La. I'm not totally immune either but I think I've done ok on the tone chasing front. I save my option paralysis for Netflix.

[@masterofreality230]

Well, Netflix shut down because I was using a shared account, guess I will be doing more tone chasing!! lol

[@Morroh]

There’s another side to this coin… The search for tone is an integral part of the musicians journey. As our skills grow and we gain more experience, so do our sonic needs and taste develop. The sandboxes that are modern amp sims provide a much needed playground for us to explore and develop are taste to find what we’re looking for with our sonic pallet. Everyone has “that tone” in mind that they’re striving for, a cross of many of their favorite artists synthesized to absolute perfection. As these products become more and more commercial some company’s have afforded us great insight into our favorite artists tones and rigs, and I can say that being able to play through these rigs has lead to many moments of great inspiration. I could go on and on about the benefits of modern amp sims, but that’s a topic for another video… maybe some day I’ll make it ;)

[@Virtual-Media]

Well said! Living in a state of gratitude with options to have rigs that only the rich and famous could afford. Spent way too much time and money trying to acquire and setup gear that wasn’t practical in countless ways. It’s almost hard to watch a guitarist spending over an hour setting up for a 2 hour gig and another hour taking it down. Even worse when they fumble around in the dark to make tweaks for another song. Almost like the days when people use to say automobiles weren’t worth the hassle when you have a good horse in the barn..

[@squarelanguage]

It's like painting with watercolors, you just have to paint that first layer quick and let it dry, without adding too many colors

[@Cheezeeeee]

While I want to have a "less is more" kind of mindset, finding the tone (especially if I'm planning on learning a song/making a cover) is half the fun for me.

[@delvallo9652]

I agree with you 100% that many of the newer amp sims are virtually indistinguishable from the "real" thing, BUT, many people who use these sims also use other plugins like Superior drummer, fake bass plugins etc, and the resulting music production as an aggregate all sounds the same. Too sterile, polished, too perfect etc. There needs to be life and feeling in music recording. Of course this depends on the type of music one is producing, but in general my point stands that we are becoming too reliant on "software everything". Also, latency is a BIG issue for many. I have a brand new M2 mac and I still have to fiddle with buffers constantly to make latency acceptable when using a guitar sim. This is particularly noticeable if you have other tracks in your DAW session utilizing CPU like synths and processing. I would have included this in your video, meaning the amount of tech fiddling we have to do to get things working somewhat reliably, and that also takes away joy of writing/recording music. Great video though, the message is clear and relatable!

[@Morroh]

I fully agree, the amount of trouble shooting it takes to be able to get started inside the computer has always been a barrier. Its one of the prices we all have to pay in order to be our own producers. I also agree that music needs a prominent element of natural feel in order to translate to others. It’s a matter of convenience now, that also has its price.

[@kennethhymes9734]

A couple observations from someone who uses DAWs to make loose folky rock pop, essentially functioning as, and also emulating, the fabled rooms of instruments and devices and wires. 1. Making your own presets for a project, just a few, with a sense of mission about it, is huge for me. Put something in the room and leave it there, that's what the player gets, lump it (or tweak it obviously, i am being glib to make a point). Here are your amps. This is the primary vocal mic we have. These are the two organ sounds we will be using, and over there is the wurlitzer and ONE good synthesizer that fits the project. These are the drums we will be using. 2. Drier is better, almost always. Presets sell themselves to you with their juicy wide bigness, or their super attenuated hyper specific notching, or their amazing rhythmic squiggles. Every bit of that is going to hem your arranging and playing creativity in UNLESS they are a featured choice for a section, a very specific highlighted effect. In building a groove, dry and small elements are almost always going to take you further, for overlapping reasons. They leave room for other sounds and ideas. They allow scope for juicing them up later if need be. They nudge the arranger or producer into selecting source sounds which are inherently pleasing or persuasively organic. They therefore tend to read to the casual listener as more authentic and more human. Reverb and other effects phase and compete with each other, if you are not an historic genius, you are probably better off mixing a drier thing on the end. 3. Don't quantize anything you don't have to, and notice how bands actually work. The drums are pretty much always semi-microscopically ahead of everyone else, and everyone else is not the same amount ahead. That is not "wrong," it is performance in the real world. I use a grid, usually, but i have done effective DAW based rock by recording an acoustic guitar part of the whole song with no click, no grid, then playing other parts to that, drums from pads or keys with no or limited quantization, etc etc, and it was revelatory for me, because it made me wake up all over performatively, it made absolutely everyone i played it for ask where the band was recorded, and it kinda showed me a lot of assumptions i had about DAWs and how to use them. I don't NOT use grids, and i do quantize, but I think i learned a healthy wariness of all of those tools mediating performance. 4. I have noticed over time that the projects I have done that rely least on prefab tools and presets and effects (that is to say effects as noticeable effects rather than mixing tools), and most on playing and performance and instrument sound and groove and feel... these are the ones i still like, these are the ones most listeners prefer, these are the ones that start conversations instead of end them, figuratively speaking. All very pompous, apologies for being an old person who grew up when people wrote letters lol.

[@kennethhymes9734]

edit: "everyone else is not the same amount behind"

[@THE8-BITROAD]

Great comment, I think this explains it pretty much, why old recordings most the time sound much better than most of the new stuff, it's more about the songwriting and not over producing a song.

[@materedai4158]

And that's why I minimalized my setup and I try to take it even further. Try to use one device for tones, get 2-3 good tones (clean, dirt and lead) out of it, then delete everything else (from the computer and from the material world too). I have 4 electric guitars now, all in different tuning and i'm thinking about to sell some of them too and get only one that has a lot of guitar in it (i'm talking about an 8 string in standard tuning). I feel like you, I tried a lot of pedals, amp sims and a lot of fancy plugins just to find out that all I need is an HX Stomp and a Whammy V with one or two guitars really. We always seek perfection but we end up without a happy ending. Set the line just a little bit lower and you will be actually more productive and happier with your resoults. Cheers!

[@jasonstallworth]

Great video and solid points! I like to keep things simple as well!

[@kennethhymes9734]

Great, simple but crafted video. I agree with you about the plugs, we could stand in particular to have short lists of sensible descriptive names, no more 3000 names like "frost puppy" and "sunlight." More generally, art thrives on procedural limitation, and founders in the face of a blank sheet and infinite supplies. In writing lyrics, for example, your first keeper couplet or stanza tells you a hundred things about what your song is NOT, far more helpful in completing it than kaleidoscopic glimmers of what it could be. This, along with some serious reflection on Dolly Parton's critical observation that it takes a lot of money to look this cheap, are all you really need to know to make good and useful art.

[@ghost.bird.studios]

Awesome video, this is something I'm constantly struggling with as well. The better you get at production, the more gear you accumulate...the less creative time you have. Thanks for highlighting that, much needed right now!

[@Morroh]

At some point it’s good to remember why you started in the first place. For me it’s always been about the songs, and at some point along the way that got lost in the production. Thank you for watching 🙏

[@ghost.bird.studios]

@@Morroh exactly, it's a fine line to walk, especially if the songwriting side of it is still the main focus (which it is here too). So it's a bit of a balancing act, I'm dialing production work way back and focusing on my bands again because it's too hard to balance this stuff otherwise. I'll definitely be following your future stuff! - Mike

[@tomsolver4593]

I got tired of what sounds the best. So! Several years ago I bought a TC Helicon voice live 3 extreme. The A/Ds D/As are the best. I learned it pretty good and now. I’m out playing gigs every weekend (Sex, Drugs and rock and roll). Everybody that comes to hear my music has a great time and tells me I’m the best. It ain’t perfect, but how much time is there left in the world to have fun!

[@SuperMBARutgers2013]

I actually learned something unexpected from your video. Setting a timer before I start...adds a sense of urgency (if there isn't one).

[@soilent9618]

I actually use amp sims for the exact opposite of this. I use them because they're significantly quicker and easier to just plug in and go. I rarely tweak mics and cabs and all those other settings. I just dial in gain, boost, and low end and just go. Especially withe the Neural stuff. They sound so good right out the box I can get to wiriting and recording in no time. If anything, I maybe spend too much time noodling just because they sound so good. It's not the amp sim, it's the person. They know they should create, but they want to procrastinate. Even if they were recording in a traditional sense they'd probably waste a bunch of time with pedals and mic positions and all that. It's all just a form of procrastination at the end of the day.

[@BryanKyzar]

... this is sooo true, i cant even express it. This is exactly what happens to me every single time i try. I started laughing midway through this video because you just described my exact process... its like hell.

[@Tt-nt1iu]

Actual amp, load box, IR of your cab you made. Easy peasy.

[@8eight104]

I'm a professional musician. I started off using Bias FX for iPhone and have used iOS apps pretty much the whole time. I started doing music full time three years ago, and officially just got my first four figure paycheck from a tour with Rollo Tomassi, the Callous Daoboys, and Pound. Now I'm researching amp modeling options for a potential tour with Cordyceps in October as a guitarist. I'm new to this, but I have discovered a truth many professionals also realize too. Just do the damn thing. The Audience really only care about the song. I started doing open mics, and now I'm traveling the world. JUST. DO. THE. DAMN. THING.

[@alexandercanada1222]

just dew the damn thing

[@8eight104]

PS: I ended up getting a Quad Cortex

[@kettnsaeg]

Digital amps are awesome and I own quite a few of the NeuralDSP plugins. But lately I've realized that I'm getting way better results when I focus on the sound I get from my TWO physical amps a reactive loadbox and some good IRs.... and spend more time on making music. You've hit the nail on the head for my situation.

[@finchman7654]

First thing i did when going over to amp sims is pick an impulse response that sounded great and was pretty neutral tone wise and stuck with it!!!!

[@MarlonKingShow]

I remember as a teenager, I had 1 guitar 1 amp, and 1 pedal. Was wither distortion or no distortion. I defo have this issue, got at least 4 virtual guitar rigs. They are great production tools. But, that said, for my band, I general set the presets once then use 1 of 3 I have for rehearsal and record tones. If further adjustment needed for final release then so be it, but a lot of the times we reamp for final recording so it's just a means to an ends. Can be fun of course if you get exactly what you after though. Have fun whatever you do

[@tobiasheinrich104]

This can happen with hardware gear too, though, especially when people get sucked into G.A.S. With amp sims, option paralysis is at least free or very cheap.

[@Eayoub99]

I love playing with tones, its like sound design. That being said I wait to dial down the tone after the rest of the song comes together

[@chusssMusic]

I just have generic tones that are always ready when inspiration strikes, like clean/crunch/hi gain rhythm and lead. I don't dwell too much on creating the perfect tone. My priority is always produce new tracks, there is always a chance to make things sound better but I never allow that to stop my productions. I am old school so I appreciate all the new technologies but I only get the basics needed to proceed without digging deep in every option and possibility. Another point is that with time and practice you get really experienced on how to dial the tone you need in a very short time, for example, I can create the tone I need from scratch in less than 5 minutes, with the technology and modern digital workflow you can always re-amp or change the tone even after you record. Great video production by the way, keep going.

[@fallenshallrise]

The problem with all these amp sims is that they are all getting super close to cloning a tube amp sound, but it's the same amp. A JCM800 through a V30 - or a modded JCM800 style circuit with more gain - all with a tube screamer up front to rip out all the low end. The dream of modelling is not to have 1000 versions of the same sound, it's to have 100 different sounding amps without having to buy and store them all. Props to all the companies making their own unique tones or modelling all the weird and rare amps out there.

[@rockracerp89]

I was going down the black hole of guitar sim "analysis paralysis" but the reponse from my tone knob on my guitar was lacking on most sims. I experimented with a Vox MV50 that I kept as a backup live amp and just sent the headphone output with built-in cab sim to my interface. I could still use my pedals on the front end of the amp then add delay and/or reverb on the daw. My favorite amp is a Fender Blues Deluxe so I bought a Joyo Tweedy to set up the same way into my DAW. It also has a cab sim on the headphone output but offers an effects loop so I use it and have no worries about picking up room noise while tracking. I have compared it to amp sims, unless you a cork sniffer it works just fine. Now I just use the Vox and the Tweedy. It also works for the bass.

[@Morroh]

I used to do this with my Evh and a Darkglass elements pedal for live sound. I get to load a good cab sim that would go to FOH, but still have my cab for stage sound and access to all my effects. Best of both worlds.

[@mcpribs]

As a father of four, I could play with this stuff all day long…but don’t. I play a Stomp with a few pedals, and use one patch 95% of the time. Every time I hear it when I play, or listen to something I recorded. I love it! It is MY sound. The ability to hear something I created recorded, never gets old to me. Andy Wallace said that every time he hears a song he mixed on the radio, he loves it. Done, is better than perfect. Great vid! Thanks!

[@ianbest3677]

Yep, you're absolutely right. I got IK Multimedia Studio Max and the complete Arturia collections. I wasted so much time just trying different options. Now, I have a few presets and just work with those. Great video and music.

[@35milesoflead]

This is why some of us are looking at a DAW-less production workflow. I am in complete agreement about option paralysis. This is why I have had the same pedal rig for the best part of a decade. I have a Boss ME-80 for my elecric. A boss GT-6B for my bass. A pair of loop stations and a Boss multitracker portable studio. The reasoning is simple - the multi-fx pedals and the multi-tracker (BR-800) have the essentially the same simulations for cab, amp, fx chain. So dialling in tones is pretty simple as all devices use the same modelling engine and have pretty similar sounds. I can download patches for the pedals, but I can't change the fx models. I can demo everything on the loopers and record the outputs to individual tracks on the BR-800 when done. Or vice-versa. Demo ideas on the BR-800 and then record it on the loopers and multitrack it back into the BR-800. Sometimes to think outside the box, we must produce our music outside of the box.

[@JWVLL]

I agree with your take (also amazing video production, very captivating visuals and straight to the point). I went through phase of buying and trying each new amp sim, wasting so much time scrolling through presets and adjusting parameters. Though the past few months i started using ML Sound Lab amp sims because of their simplicity and it has changed my approach tremendously in a great way. My only issue (a recurring one for a long time) is latency, maybe a more expensive interface would help solve that.

[@Morroh]

I feel like most interfaces no longer have the latency issue. However if the plug-in is too taxing on your system that can definitely cause latency issues.

[@DmitryPuffin]

Bogren amp knob plugins are awesome because they don't spoil you with plenty of options. It just works. Also, a trick that I learned while producing electronic music is that you be great to split sound design and writing sessions. If you want to dial the tone - just do that. If you want to write riffs - get the preset you crafted or any other and play.

[@Morroh]

I have been strictly using the bogren amp knob stuff for practicing and writing for the exact reasons you’re describing

[@kelseygomez1027]

Mick, you hit the nail on the head. This is an issue I’ve dealt with more than I’d like. It gets to the point where I’m just ready to walk instead of recording all the ideas I have. Thank you for the breakdown, opened my eyes up!

[@Morroh]

Definitely an issue I have had as well! Thanks for watching Kelsey!

[@firstnamenonapplicable5138]

I think people nowadays forget that most revolutions in music came from using equipment the way it wasn't supposed to. Spring reverb was used to make a surf sound by cranking it, a guitar made for jazz is one of the most popular in rock music, distortion as a whole from pushing amps harder than they're supposed to be pushed, positions 2 and 4 on a strat, basically all modulation pedals were replication of studio screw ups or radio phasing etc. My point isn't that new technology giving more access is a bad thing though, just that there's too much put into getting the tone just right when most music in most genres was made in more limiting circumstances and still sounds good

[@Alchemic.Serpents]

Fantastic videography man! And definitely agree with the story behind this video lol

[@Morroh]

Appreciate that, thank you!

[@damusicmahn]

There is definitely something to be said about using a hardware modeler (Line 6 HX, Tonex, Axe-FX, etc.) or an actual amp (tube, solid state, or modeling) to monitor myself while I record the DI to reamp later (bonus of almost zero latency). This way during the recording session, I'm more about capturing the performance(s) and less dicking around to search for the perfect tone; I can do that later in the production process. Like another comment pointed out, writing, recording, and production belong in separate sessions. In fact, I just use a main guitar patch and a main bass patch on my Line 6 HX Stomp for practicing, performing, and monitoring, and don't venture much from there; I don't even touch my stash of amp sims, IRs, and/or plugins, even the ones loaded up in my template, until everything's been recorded. Bonus tip: DAW templates with your favorite plugins loaded up and routed are an immense time-saver :D

[@lucienlachance9604]

That’s why I like so much ML Sound Lab amps sims (at least the one I use). They work in standalone mode, got 2 main sounds and 3 or 4 presets for each sound. I think it’s great.

[@pikeysrock]

This is so true for me. I will say that by comparison I've spent years buying different amps, pedals, guitars, tubes, strings, even trying different picks in the pursuit of the tone I am chasing. So in my opinion I've spent much less time with plugins than I have with my amp. But there's been so many times I've sat down to play just a scratch track using my iPad and an hour later I'm just noticing my ass is asleep because I haven't moved. These tools are fun but can definitely become a rabbit hole. Overall though I would just say that I prefer my amps and pedalboard over plugins, even though the price difference is dramatic.

[@anxiousnation3820]

I haven't personally had this issue. I usually just dial in a tone and go.

[@slates1969]

This is bang on . I find myself spending more time tine shaping and tweaking than actually playing. Its almost a separate interest that in itself is not bad, but its very easy to get obsessed by it. Option paralysis is a very real thing

[@BrantleyAllen]

I'm kind of new to guitar though I've been playing bass for 45 years. I've got a number of amp sims: Rhino,. MMr. Hector, Waves PRS Supermodels and my favorite, Peavey Revalver. Even though the Aurora DSP products super cools with lots of options, for day to day playing and jamming I always turn back to Peavey Revalver. It's simple but has just enough options to make a difference. I use Mr. Hector for a super clean, Rhino for metal and Revalver for general rock. I like the MI placement options on Revalver. There are about 10 for each speaker and they do make a big difference in tone.

[@michaelrobinson9255]

Bro has the most aesthetic laundry room 😮

[@maailmanalku7271]

I did my loop through Amplitube, Guitar Rig, Bias FX, and Amp Room - and finally ditched all the amp sims for a Yamaha THR30 amp which has about 10 great sounds in it and a wireless receiver, and since then I play way more guitar and compose much more than I did before. I still use the Amp sims for mixing songs, but at least I play the guitar and enjoy it.

[@laz288]

Wow great video. I came from Tube Amps and went with Modeling in 2006 with AxeFx 1 mainly for curiosity and convenience for gigs. After a week I gave up completely trying to replicate my tube amps and find the perfect sound. Even today. Such a waste of time. Like haircuts, no one cares but you how perfect your sound is. I started using the modeling as a new sound and wrote to that. Spend 99% of your time on the song and 1% on the tone. Your video pointed out what no one is talking about. 8 thousand parameters in a modeling setting does nothing but sell products since we live in a world of more features is supposedly better. Amp and pedal sales are at the highest ever because of their simplicity. Tells you something.

[@impheris]

recommendation: when you think your sounds is "not quite there" just stop and start playing, you have already wasted too much time. The problem with modern guitar players is that you want the "perfect tone" right on the vst plugin, let me tell you something, the "perfect tone" does not exsist, not even in a real cab, you need to have context from the mix and the main problem is that you want to create the "perfect tone" based on a mix, if you are lucky enough and find the isolated original tracks from that mix, you will find out that the guitar sounds different from what you thought. Just create a simple sound that works with your "palm mute" technique and also with melodies, lead, solos etc... with an equalization that you feel related to, and that's it... You will create your perfect tone IN the mix

[@marcblum5348]

Very clear and to the point advice. Don't try to optimize anything for the sake of perfection. There has to be a reason and a well defined goal in order to do so. Optimization without a clear criterium when you're done is that black hole. Better to stick to "Fair enough." as a general rule.

[@raffitchakmakjian]

bruh! This channel is gonna blow up mayyyyng. I produce electronic music but I also play the guitar. I find the same issues with synthesizer plugins and electronic music production. Too many options, too many production tricks, too many compressor and eq plugins. Anyway, was shocked at the number of subs, I thought you were internet famous for sure. Love the cozy feels.

[@Morroh]

I don’t know how you electronic producers manage, I own massive and every time I open it up I have an anxiety attack on where to start 🤣 thanks for the kind words! Comments like these are keeping me going, thank you 🙏

[@hendrixplek]

I'm writing a post rock album at the moment and the approach I take is this: I'm using guitar rig 6. as it's the most versetaile, best sounding, and best feeling amp sim of all the ones i tried. So, I thought out a basic rig with all the necessary fx. I use the twin reverb model on all my guitars, for heavy guitars i use only the distorrion of the pedal models. and I also setup a wrting template for my daw, with everything i might possibly need, such as different synth pads, piano, strings, horns, and stuff like that. I also loaded up basic eq and comp settings on each channel. Everything is color coded, bussed amd ready to go. This changed my life completely. No messing about for hours, to find the "perfect" tone and whatnot. I can worry about all that in post production. IMO it doesn't make any sense anyway to craft that perfect tone you're after without the context of the other elements in the arrangement. I would highly recommend to put in the hours of setting up a writing template, to eliminate as many repetetuve tasks as possible and to pave the smoothest path possible for your creativity.

[@hendrixplek]

Oh, and I prepared pedal switch automations for every single pedal of every instance guitar rig, in my case 1 main clean guitar, 3 leads for layers and shit and heavy L/R. So, if I wanna decide to "stomp" a pedal sim at any point in the arrangement, I can just pull it in, instead of wasting time of drawing in an automation clip everytime. I'm using FL studio btw

[@masterofreality230]

Oh man, I was just talking about this yesterday. Sometimes I wish I would have never plugged my guitar into an interface. I have thousands of plugins, but I still prefer plugging into a tube amp with a few pedals. I dont as much, because I like the better volume control and ease of routing on a pc.

[@vaanrodriguez]

Great Video bro, it was me many years ago. Specially dealing with Impulse Responses until i really got tired of exploring unlimited effects and sounds that now days those plugin give us, and i bought a HUGHES KETTNER TUBEMEISTER 20 that can be connected direct to my audio interface and know that is my basic sound, i dont deal more with so much options and i just play the guitar now. So you really reminded me a lot of those old days moving digital knobs and the next day looking for a better sound that never came.

[@TheDanimatorsChannel]

I relate to some extent but what helps me feel better is I will pull up the isolated guitar track of a song from a band I like, and I quickly realize if I got that EXACT tone with an Amp plugin something would still feel like it wasn't good enough because I, and many people get to "Stuck in their own head" That forever need to "Just tweak a little more" When in reality a good song is a good song, and while you don't want a shitty tone, its not worth killing yourself over getting it "Perfect" A great tone thats not "perfect" will often sound right with the song and grow on you over time.

[@DragonboltBlastter]

This video hits hard... Just rocking a basic amp sim for writing and ''chasing tone'' with my 100w Marshalls!

[@nickg2431]

As someone who started with the very first generation of modellers and still going with new ones (replacing nearly all my amps) i have some good advice. 1/spend a fixed period of time on sounds then move on to actual playing. 2/Try the sound in the context of a track as well as in isolation.This is a gamechanger. 3/THEN REMEMBER, you will need multiple sounds when recording or playing different styles as one amp/pedal/set of parameters will sound "better" in one track and "worse' in another. 4/your "signature sound" will come from one amp,pedal(s) and parameters not 25 or 30.This is important,very important if you wish to stand out and its what nearly all the greats did.

[@dabanjo]

I've been using the Simplifier. It has 3 amps, easy controls, and all the ins and outs you need.

[@Morroh]

Never heard of this, looks really cool!

[@dabanjo]

​@Morroh It is great. Imo it has the best clean and real amp sound. They just came out with the Simplifier mk 2. I'm getting it asap.

[@Cyb3rSynaps3]

The perfect name for this phenomenon is "chasing the tone dragon". Being addicted to finding the "perfect" sound rather than actually playing, creating, and enjoying music.

[@jamalio801]

"And then you're out of time" THAT'S REALLY ME

[@raggedclawstarcraft6562]

I just got gx100 and super happy with default presets. I just plugged in and started playing. And it has 96+ presets out of the box, so yeah. I just picked one I like the most and... here I go. I guess I will tackle on creating something of "my own" like only half a year later. And I must say, psychology sees perfectionism as a disorder for a reason, and there is also a proverb: "best is the enemy of something good enough".

[@accentontheoff]

Do you tweak the presets or do you use them as they are?

[@raggedclawstarcraft6562]

@@accentontheoff yes I tweak them a bit. Still learning this thing.

[@accentontheoff]

@@raggedclawstarcraft6562 Got it thanks.

[@pnwdrifter5680]

Totally. I recently aquired the Tonex thing, and wasted countless hours. It's bad enough to waste time tweaking a real amp, or tweaking in post after recording. But it now insane. I realized it. And now I just play my real amps. I can plug in and make music right away.

[@masterchef3019]

I’m kind of an analog guy by nature. “Less is more” has always been a huge part of my musical process since I was classically trained, and I have made some of the most blazing and futuristic math rock on a Fender 57 Bandmaster tube amp. Modelers are awesome and give you nearly infinite choices, but there’s something about having a “set” tone that gives me more ideas

[@chrisbraddock2825]

I forced myself to just print the guitar audio to a new track as if it were a real amp. I can still tweak that but changing amps and cabs and mics qas at least removed from the process.

[@davimadmac]

incredible video, editing and everything, you know how to surface the emotions that come with all this useless time finding the perfect tone

[@Morroh]

Thank you for watching!

[@needsLITHIUM]

I find it most useful to use in the box guitar amp sims to replicate the sound of my actual gear, and of my hardware amp sims, so that way it is purely just a tool. I seek out the best free and paid amp and pedal sims of physical gear I already own, or plan to purchase for usage practice. That whole "limitations force creativity" thing is true, as is "keep it simple" and that's what works for me.

[@alrecks619]

i had a shared license of Archetype Nolly with band that i worked with and it's safe to say that i'm more comfortable with the ancient TSE X50 i have been using for more than 5 years rn.

[@Morroh]

Tsex50 still sounds great!

[@barbatron100]

I have two modes: Messing around with plugins mode, and making music mode. Messing around normally ends with a guitar to midi converter, (jamorigin) and some wacky synths, loads of granular and shimmer delays. For making music, I have a simple setup, mimicking a jc120 with a bit of reverb. That's it. In this way, I can really listen what I do, without all the fluff.

[@FrequencyAlchemy]

Dead on, brother! I literally purged 5 different amp sims, and way too many EQ’s, compressors, channel strips, yadda-yadda! I narrowed my sound down to one company and finally started writing again. When I’m finished I send it off to a producer friend and let him have at it. The newfound freedom is exhilarating!! Thanks for the post

[@apothecide.2]

I feel this on a spiritual level

[@colehart]

That Orson Welles quote struck me. Good video.

[@evilwahwah]

LOL - so true! Fiddle all weekend with the sounds and then times up - and it was all just different , not necessarily better. I recently settled into one single amp config and 2 IRs (one for low gain, one for hi gain) and it was liberating to not have to worry anymore about tweaking sounds so I could focus on songwriting, arranging, and recording. Congrats on your new channel, very strong debut with this and your other videos. Keep ‘em coming!

[@ethanpradhan3024]

When i first got a cheap interface and a bunch of amp sim plugins, it was overwhelming with the amount of options. I now use an orange micro amp for personal practice and an nux mg 30 modellers for live shows and making covers

[@HiMalSaru]

Very well put into words, I will love to watch more of your videos. Subscribed ✌️

[@Morroh]

🙏 thank you!

[@thisisflojo]

I had this problem a while ago. Collect tons of IRs, spending way too much time messing around with presets and tone. And one day I just realize that the tone doesn’t matters that much, normally a preset can get you 80% there. And the IRs don’t matter that much(when you’re messing around) So now I just choose a preset and play, record. I always leave the “tone adjustment” til mixing.

[@horestra]

Dude you’re so right. I don’t create music but I learn to play music, regardless the consequences are the same. No time to practice but a lot of time spent on tweaking without even knowing if the tone is good or not because you’ve never played a real tube amp.

[@viktorkoning1442]

That's such a good point! Clean video btw.. you are gonna blow up soon

[@adnanpek3825]

Using IRs with IR loaders instead of the plugins' own cabin simulations makes a difference like night and day for most plugins. If you boost your guitar with a real pedal, the results can be amazing with some plugins. You can try connecting it from the instrument input of your sound card or the line input with a di box.

[@LeMans512]

It’s like searching Netflix for a movie to watch and after 45 minutes you turn off the tv and do something else.

[@davesegal2631]

Reading these comments I realize that I am not alone. I use a Headrush pedalboard and very early on I relegated myself to a handful of models and settings. When the new update comes out with new models and pedals I actually delay in getting it because I don't want to spend a Saturday tweaking with a rig. My Go Tos? Straight into a 5150 with a great IR or straight into a JCM 800 with a great IR. That's it.