Thoughts On Modeling Amps?

[Muzz]

I checked out the Marshall modelling amp with valve power stage and one 12Ax7 in the preamp stage, last week, it sounds great, very versatile

take a look at this vid

The convenience of not having to lug around a big sports bag filled with cables, effects racks, seperate pre amp etc makes it a tempting option.

I posted a vid of me playing my practice Behringer 45 watt modeling amp in the electronics section but I'll chuck it up here as well

Those things are so good for dropping round to your friends house for a practice/jam

[guitar2005]

With all the nice amps out there for so cheap, I don't know why anyone would bother with modelling.

Blackstar, Egnater, Marshall, Vox, Orange & Fender all have great little tube amps for cheap that can sound great. Even the older Valvestates from Marshall sound pretty good for the money.

If you need all the different tones and want to experiment, the Vox Tonelab is very good. I haven't tried the Marshall JMD:1 yet though.

[Tim37]

there are a few advantages.

1 volume control

2 versitily

3 lite wieght

i wanted a small amp that could do a decent early tweed style sound at low volume yeah i could have got a champ 500 off ebay for around the same price as the mustang i but you still have to turn up the volume to get good brake up and tone i wanted something i could practice with at midnight and not wake the neighbors. as far as the

Even the older Valvestates from Marshall sound pretty good for the money.

i traded a vs65 for the mustang i found the marshal lacking in a lot of things it did clean ok but the gain was just harsh plus the whole amp was lacking in the bass area it just had no low end.

btw when im wanting to let loose i do have a working dog boxer that is a great amp but for that few minutes befor work or late night play or just a light amp to carry around and let get beat up the $100 mustang has its place.

[Muzz]

Yep, I am a die hard valve lover, but I agree there are lots of pros to modelling amps, the first one

Fun

My modelling amp cost $240 and it was worth it just to see my friends face when I hit the footswitch and broke out into the harmonized lead from Detroit Rock City all by myself

Lots of other good reasons to have one, if you play gigs long enough with a valve amp at some time you will hear a horrible whining sound and you will look around to see smoke coming out of your amp, you have about 5 seconds of sound left. Unless you have your moddeling amp close by, then you simply plug that into your speaker or the PA and keep going. I wish someone had told that to Steve Stevens before his amp blew as Billy Idol was tearing towards the stage in a hovercraft at a football grand final some years back, biggest Wah, Wah, Waaaah I have ever seen.

I love my Marshall valve amp so much I am married to it, but I know it's a prehistoric relic made for an age where bands played huge halls with only a vocal PA. 100 watt valve stacks are ridiculously over powered for most uses these days (perhaps that's what I love about it). And I agree with you Guitar2005 that a smaller head like the Blackstar 20 is a great option.

The Vox Tone lab does sound good, you know its a modelling preamp with a single 12AX7 in the preamp stage, exactly as the Marshall JMD has a modelling preamp with a 12AX7 in that stage.

I agree with Tim also, valve amp versus modelling amp doesn't have to be an either or situiation, you only live once, spoil yourself, get one of each

[3DogNate]

Anyone tried one of these?

Have been using one live for the last 2 years.... love .... love... love it. With the mustbebeta firmware and IR cabinets it really close the gap quite a bit against the AxeFX. But paired with the Control2 foot controller and given the awesome signal routing in the GSP I'd take the GSP over an AxeFX anyday for live performance.

[Prostheta]

I downsized from big amps/cabs (1960A+5150/JCM800, Trace Elliot 4x10+AH300/12) to this:

I wouldn't mind a Line6 HD750 head with a 4x10, but only if it had dual modelling like the X3 Pro...which it doesn't. My favourite patch for grinding bass is a hybrid of an Eden Traveller with an SVT. Just an SVT doesn't give me what I want. The Vetta II on the other hand looks very fun for guitar, but what I have at the moment is extremely compact and flexible for what I need it for. Practicing, a little recording and generally enjoying playing without pissing off the neighbours (which we now have).

[westhemann]

Maybe you should have a look at the word "downsizing"...?