Amp Modeling Software or Stack Amplification?

[cjbrents]

My fellow guitarists,

I come to you once again asking an odd question.

It was suggested to me awhile back that it would be killer to have a software-based rig. What this means is to use an amp modeling software
(i.e. Revalver, Amplitube, Guitar Rig) on a laptop, running that laptop through a preamp, and then through a keyboard amp - because keyboard amps allow for a wide range of tones.

The route: Laptop -- PreAmp -- Keyboard Amp.

Would this be a good idea? Has anyone done this before? How does it do with live sound/stage performances?

Thanks in advance for those who respond.

 

[cyb]

you could also use a powered FRFR speaker instead of a keyboard amp and get great results. I have done this with my computer, although not at gig volume. If you have a reliable laptop with no concerns about crashing during a gig I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work great and sound awesome.

 

[TomAwesome]

A lot of people do something similar, actually. A couple things, though:

1. As mentioned above, you'd probably be better off with a PA wedge than a keyboard amp.

2. Using a laptop makes things a bit more complicated and introduces more variables that can go wrong, plus there's the issue of latency. For what you seem to want to do, I think some purpose-built modeling and effects hardware like a POD or an Axe-FX would be easier, more reliable, and probably even cheaper.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

As someone who uses computer amp modeling and VSTs, I agree with above. I have some noticable latency problems that does make it a bit challenging to play on time. It's good for jamming on your own, but with a live band there could be some timing issues.

 

[jeleopard]

I got a Mac Book Pro (the new 2012 model) and I can plug my guitar through the direct in and fire up POD Farm and I hear no latency. I even tried to listen for it. Feels just like a amp.

(sure, they're kinda super expensive.... But...)

 

[cjbrents]

I'm stuck with an amp for now. I just thought it would be awesome to do something like that, but latency issues would seriously piss me off. I will definitely experiment with it at home and maybe a few band practices beforehand to see if its right for me. I guess I'm just a tone freak.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[JPhoenix19]

As one who's used a laptop-based rig (I use Guitar Rig with the Rig Kontrol 3 interface) for the past few years, I'd recommend it if you have a little computer skill and are willing to change configuration settings to optimize your performance and minimize latency. Without optimization, latency and stability can be an issue. The extra work can be worth it, though, since with a laptop rig you can potentially choose from any of the software available to find what you like best. There's also the selection if cab impulse responses to choose from, as well as studio effects you can use to polish your sound. The sky's the limit with a laptop rig. I'd recommend at least trying it out, especially if you have access to an older dual-core laptop that you can dedicate solely to amp modeling. I've optimized and old Lenovo G530 with an older intel Pentium dual-core processor to run Guitar Rig with < 8ms latency on good audio quality.

That said, for most purposes a dedicated Modeler like a POD, Axe-Fx, or Eleven Rack can be more than sufficient and you reduce your time spent to just tweaking instead of worrying about hardware/software configuration.