"Fletch" wrote:

Remember, modelling is also emulation. Repeat after me:
eemmmuulllaaation. It emulates, does not precisely, exactly, can't
tell the difference, recreate your favourite amp.

Yeah, but most of them emulate amps the way a rubber doll emulates a
woman. *Maybe* better than nothing in a pinch, but not particularly
satisfying.



What it does do is give you access, so to speak, to a whole lot of
amp types you could not realistically afford.

I think I've decided that I'd rather have a few really good tones than a
whole variety of weak sounds. I like the sound through a little Fender
Champ better than just about any emulator. That's obviously a
preference issue though, and others may choose differently.

I don't have an AC30 here so I can't get that sound. I wouldn't use a
Pod to fake it though. I'd bring in someone with an AC30 to do it.



And it does so fairly well.

See, this seems to be what it comes down to... one's individual
expectations of what's okay. Some people seem to consider some of the
emulators acceptable, others find the somewhat artificial nature of
their sound intolerable.

Recently I was at the controls while a guitarist was just noodling
around through a DI straight into Pro Tools. I dialled up an amp farm
just for ****s and giggles. At first he said "Cool! THAT'S more fun
than playing dry!" but after about five minutes he asked me to turn it
off. He found the artificial nature of the sound distracting -- he was
paying too much attention to what was wrong with the sound rather than
just concentrating on playing.

Fletch is right. An emulator will NOT replace real amps in a real room
with a real mic. Whether or not any of them will be "good enough"
depends on *you*. You might be satisfied, or like me, you might just
find them annoying (like a cheap reverb).

Like everything else, you gotta go listen for yourself.

--
"It CAN'T be too loud... some of the red lights aren't even on yet!"
- Lorin David Schultz
in the control room
making even bad news sound good

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