Recording Digital Modeling vs. Tube Amp. Big Difference?

[sea]

I have Roland VG-99 and it does a pretty good job on tacks from what I can hear, but I never have miced a great Tube Amp like the Mark V.

So I was wondering (for those who have both) can you hear a difference when micing your tube amp vs. using something like a VG-99, ToneLab, POD, etc?

I also have used my VG99 as a direct input for my guitars and then used Waves GTR3 and other guitar amp software.

Any thoughts?
Jamie

 

[MusicManJP6]

There is a big difference! Now, with an AXE FX the difference is much less, but with just about any other modeler you'll be able to tell a difference.

 

[litesnsirens]

It really does depend on the modelling device or software... i record in Logic now which has great modelling... I prefer to use the models because the actual guitar signal is dry and I can totally change the tone of the the guitars without having to re-record the track... sometimes a great guitar tone on it's own isn't a great guitar tone in the mix...

 

[HaggertysMusic]

The bottom line is there is still no substitute for a great amp well mic'ed. Modeling has its place... but whenever I have guitars in the front of the mix, they will be mic'ed.

 

[Newysurfer]

I have Roland VG-99 and it does a pretty good job on tacks from what I can hear, but I never have miced a great Tube Amp like the Mark V.

So I was wondering (for those who have both) can you hear a difference when micing your tube amp vs. using something like a VG-99, ToneLab, POD, etc?

I also have used my VG99 as a direct input for my guitars and then used Waves GTR3 and other guitar amp software.

Any thoughts?
Jamie

Are you kidding :mrgreen:
You're asking if cheap $500 jack of all trades digital MFX's sound much different to a plus $2000 tube amp.
Looking at the price differential alone I could say they sound 4 times better but it's probly more like 10 times.
Even my $600 little Egnater Rebel 20 tube amp sounds 3 times better than the cheap MFX's.
Mic any decent tube amp and you'll never bother recording with a cheap MFX again

 

[cbardbg]

Alot of it depends what you are looking for. The modeling packages go for versatility. They give lots of amp, cab & mic choices. But any particular amp, cab & mic model combination won't be able to compete with the real thing. You also need to understand that the models are going after what they sound like "recorded". Comparing the sound you are getting from the models with what you are hearing out of your amp in the room is not a fair comparison. The modeling packages can make sense if you want the sound of a lot of different amps/cabs/mics and don't have the 30K it would take to buy them all. You can also experiment with hybrid approaches - For example, take the slave out of the amp and run it into a modeling package for cab and mic models.

 

[jdurso]

Honestly to me its more in the skill/experience of the person recording it than what you're using. If you have a professional studio with a professional engineer to work with then i'll take the real thing 100% of the time. BUT for an amateur recording or for someone that does have the right equipment/space to do a decent recording with a GOOD multi-fx unit or computer software can get you the sound you want much easier and offer you flexibility (reamping) that is much harder to come by with the real thing. Also you have to consider using a MFX or software has benefits in that you can record when ever you want with little to no setup time and at whatever hour of the night and still get a loud amp tone without waking up the neighborhood. For myself I actually prefer a mix of the two... record direct and mic'd this way you have your amps tone and then you can play with the direct track and reamp it however you want.

 

[pathos45]

one word for this thread. MESHUGGAH...they go livepods to the pa well the one guitarist the other guitarist goes vetta IIhd to pa. And i gotta say they have some of the best tone when it comes to metal. Butttt in my own personal testings, yes multis are nothing compaired to tubed. But as someone said AXE fxs has done some amazing things with multi effects. But like theo ther guy said you get what you pay for. Hence why axe unit is so much money. Also nothing sounds better to me than a good old stomp pedal compaired to multi effects.