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Old 01-30-2013, 03:21 PM   #25
Gooey
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Swamp Ape View Post
1) 1) ...1a) I can use any of the amp sims I have any time of day or night without dragging out a bunch of gear, rearranging my room, waking up the neighbors, etc. The primary disadvantage of sims isn't tone or quality - rather it's the lack of physical speakers pushing air, and the fact that the unpredictability and distinct character of live amps is absent.

1b) I don't feel like your "paint by numbers" metaphor is very accurate - the wide array of available amps, effects, cabinets, impulse responses, etc makes possible tons of things I wouldn't be able to do otherwise. That said, I tend to use them more for boosting tone behind my "real amps" or late night experimentation than as a default mode of working.

2) Are you planning on using this setup in live situations, or is this purely for recording purposes?

3) Picasso was a wild experimenter with new technologies, more interested in unique effects he could achieve through burgeoning mediums like cinema and various types of printmaking than being worried about how this newfangled stuff would supplant oil paint and brushes. It might be wise to follow his example and look at advances in amp simulation as a tool you can use to expand your palette, not as some kind of affront to your sensibilities.

If you're genuinely interested in the ways that digital reverb and digital amping are related, do a bit of reading about impulse response and cabinet modeling vs room modeling. It's too much to get into in this thread.
1a) Having to be quiet in the middle of the night (or at any other time) isn't a concern for me. I live in the middle of nowhere, and can scream like Sasquatch trying to emulate Eddie Van Halen playing through 10 Marshall stacks cranked to "11" if I want to.

The disadvantages of sims are matters of opinion. If sims work for you, then far be it from me to try to change your mind. That would be like telling you to use coffee that's from a different country of origin. Of course it works the other way around too. And my opinion is that it is not simply a matter of being able to push air with speakers (though I agree that that's one way in which real amps are superior to sims). I also disagree with the idea that unpredictability is an advantage, at least for me it isn't.

1b) I stand by my paint-by-numbers metaphor. It may not be perfect. But it conveys an adequately accurate picture of my reaction to the suggestion that I use sims. I don't really want to engage in any more exploration of it. But to try to make my perspective clear, your points about how sims make things available to you that wouldn't be available otherwise (while being a good, valid point) doesn't have any bearing on my situation. I don't want to have any of those things made available to me. You're speaking as a guitarist. I am speaking as an equipment designer, which brings us to -

2) I'm not planning to use this personally, for playing live OR for recording. Well, I should probably say at least not mainly for doing things like that.

3) Picasso was a wild experimenter (or maybe practitioner) of sorts, but in the realm of creative expression more than in using new technologies (at least I'd say so, not being all that educated about Picasso - I should have used a different artist as an example). But again you're missing my point (perhaps because of my inadequate metaphor). You sound like you think that you're talking to a guitarist. But my inclinations and perspective have much more in common with say, Jim Marshall and Leo Fender than they do with Jimmy Page, and Eric Clapton. And I don't give a damn about whether or not sims have supplanted or will supplant point-to-point wired tube amps. What it is that I consider to be an affront to my sensibilities is your suggestion that I SHOULD embrace sims because I should see advances in amp simulation as a tool that I can use to expand my palette. Such is absolutely not the case.

No, I'm not "genuinely interested" in (pursuing) the ways in which digital reverb and digital amping are related. I've read practically everything ever written on the subjects of impulse response, and how it pertains to cabinet and room modeling, and DSP in general.
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