Amp sim player looking at getting a real amp - worth it?

[PuckishGuitar]

You know I think I just realized why I'm so interested in trying something other than my monitors - if I so much as stand up, it'll change how I'm hearing my sound. Does this still happen with more premium monitors?

Get some risers for the monitors so they will stay at ear level when standing and sound “correct”. You still need to maintain the triangle shape between the speakers and head and will not be able to walk around the room and play, but gives you some flexibility on sitting or standing for comfort.

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

The fun with these small tube amps begins from low volumes too!

Yeah, for sure, I don't disagree on that; however, 'low volume' is pretty subjective as everyone as their own idea of what that means. Because of that I usually urge a lot of caution before doing tube amps (even low watt ones) at 'bedroom' levels.

But yes, you can definitely get great tones from tube amps at lower volumes with a lot of amps on the market right now, but it also depends on the volume taper for each amp as to how successful it will be at 'low volumes'.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

Amps are love. Amps are life. Don't buy some cheap crap though. Get a bitchin' head (many, many options both tube and SS depending on your tastes and what you have access to) and a decent 4x12, you'll be much happier.

 

[projectjetfire]

Amps are love. Amps are life. Don't buy some cheap crap though. Get a bitchin' head (many, many options both tube and SS depending on your tastes and what you have access to) and a decent 4x12, you'll be much happier.

Until he has to move the 4x12, esp when his landlord kicks him out for his screaming riffs through it

 

[Shask]

Until he has to move the 4x12, esp when his landlord kicks him out for his screaming riffs through it

I play my big stereo tube rig at around the same volume as I play my modeler through my studio rig. Not sure why everyone thinks big tube amps and big cabs have to be super loud. I use a 200W tube poweramp.

 

[ATRguitar91]

If you like the tone you get from your amp sims, the best amp to pair with that is a solid state poweramp into a cab.

I'm partial to little $30 class D Hifi amps and whatever can you can find locally. Will sound great at whisper volumes and cheaper than a combo.

 

[Convenient Cabbages 69]

At this point I'm more or less zeroed in on the Marshall DSL40 combo + a distortion pedal or the 5150 Iconic 1x12 by itself. I want tubes.

Choosing is agony.

 

[SalsaWood]

I want tubes.

Gooooood.

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

At this point I'm more or less zeroed in on the Marshall DSL40 combo + a distortion pedal or the 5150 Iconic 1x12 by itself. I want tubes.

Choosing is agony.

5150 iconic unless you prefer the Marshall “British” sound.

Lots of people are selling their tube amps these days so don’t forget to look around on local used market.

 

[budda]

5150 iconic unless you prefer the Marshall “British” sound.

Lots of people are selling their tube amps these days so don’t forget to look around on local used market.

A boosted marshall is also similar to a 5150 imo

 

[Shask]

At this point I'm more or less zeroed in on the Marshall DSL40 combo + a distortion pedal or the 5150 Iconic 1x12 by itself. I want tubes.

Choosing is agony.

Yeah, I dont really see the point of upgrading in this situation unless you go tubes.

I would think the Iconic would be better for more modern sounds, and the DSL for more classic rock type sounds. The closed back cab of the Iconic will make it modern chug better than the open back DSL.

 

[Convenient Cabbages 69]

Spent all day driving around testing shit, here's some thoughts should anyone care

Marshall DSL40 combo
Oof. No. Nono. Not for any kind of modern metal, anyway. I can see why people dig these amps they're great if you're into what they're putting out, but they just dont have the tones that I like. I also hated how weak the EQ controls were and something sounded off about its reverb.

Iconic 5150 40w combo
Oh yeah baby thats more like it. Tone shaping for days, gain until infinity, this thing will literally shake walls but can be brought down to home use levels too. tight tight tight with far better cleans than the marshall too. If I had to nitpick, and I do, I'd say it has a tendency for kind of a fizzy top end sizzle that I didnt personally dig too much but that can be dialed out with relative ease. Looks sweet in white. I came close to buying it, but I didnt for one single reason: I couldnt put out of my mind what this thing would sound like with a darker IR. This made me reflect upon all the other advantages that simulacra hold over the real deal.

Surprise twist: tonemaster pro into the fr12
After this brief tube excursion I'm back exactly where I started with modeling. This cab looks and feels like an amp in a way that studio monitors really dont, and messing around with a modeler is just too damn convenient and flexible.It will probably be my next gear purchase.

 

[TedEH]

Marshall DSL40 combo
Oof. No. Nono.

It might have been a different thread, but I vaguely remember commenting before that the DSL40 (I had the 40C version) is sort of a very low-common-denominator tube amp. It's not a "metal amp", even though you can squeeze that out of it with the right boost, if you really wanted to.

I went from cheap practice amps, to tube heads, to fractal, and I think that if you were doing that path the opposite way around, starting from digital and going to tubes, the DSL40 would be a high-friction way to get there. None of the digital patches I've ever come up with were anything similar to the DSL, for better or worse.

I couldnt put out of my mind what this thing would sound like with a darker IR

I would think a bright amp and a dark IR would be a good pairing. It would have the gain character you get from the saturated high end, but without having to just live with all the hairiness of it.

 

[budda]

Fm3+fr12 make OP go brrrrr

 

[wheresthefbomb]

I would think a bright amp and a dark IR would be a good pairing. It would have the gain character you get from the saturated high end, but without having to just live with all the hairiness of it.

I don't have experience with IRs but I've always found that pairing "dark" with "bright" is a great way to get balanced tones. I like darker-sounding guitars into brighter amps and vice versa. Same with dirt, most fuzzes sound best into a brighter amp, whereas the RAT's harshness is done some real favors by one with darker character (or just running it into a fuzz first lol)

 

[Shorts_Mike]

If you have the space, $$$ and ability to make noise, go with a nice tube amp. Its the most fun, interactive and best sounding playing option in my opinion and would compliment a setup that already has a digital option. I have and use both as well. Truth is, playing straight into an actual physical tube amp is quite different than a digital platform. The way all of your gear interacts and how you have to control it is definitely not the same between the two. Theres a bit more of a learning curve to navigating tube amps, but a good cranked amp sounds and feels much better to me (not that digital sounds bad).

 

[Shask]

Spent all day driving around testing shit, here's some thoughts should anyone care

Marshall DSL40 combo
Oof. No. Nono. Not for any kind of modern metal, anyway. I can see why people dig these amps they're great if you're into what they're putting out, but they just dont have the tones that I like. I also hated how weak the EQ controls were and something sounded off about its reverb.

Iconic 5150 40w combo
Oh yeah baby thats more like it. Tone shaping for days, gain until infinity, this thing will literally shake walls but can be brought down to home use levels too. tight tight tight with far better cleans than the marshall too. If I had to nitpick, and I do, I'd say it has a tendency for kind of a fizzy top end sizzle that I didnt personally dig too much but that can be dialed out with relative ease. Looks sweet in white. I came close to buying it, but I didnt for one single reason: I couldnt put out of my mind what this thing would sound like with a darker IR. This made me reflect upon all the other advantages that simulacra hold over the real deal.

Surprise twist: tonemaster pro into the fr12
After this brief tube excursion I'm back exactly where I started with modeling. This cab looks and feels like an amp in a way that studio monitors really dont, and messing around with a modeler is just too damn convenient and flexible.It will probably be my next gear purchase.

IR? Who thinks about IRs when you are playing an actual amp, lol. IRs always sound worse than the real thing, IMO.

You could always put a darker speaker in the Iconic combo. Something that would tame the high end and better handle the low end. Maybe a Swamp Thang would sound good?

 

[ATRguitar91]

Spent all day driving around testing shit, here's some thoughts should anyone care

Marshall DSL40 combo
Oof. No. Nono. Not for any kind of modern metal, anyway. I can see why people dig these amps they're great if you're into what they're putting out, but they just dont have the tones that I like. I also hated how weak the EQ controls were and something sounded off about its reverb.

Iconic 5150 40w combo
Oh yeah baby thats more like it. Tone shaping for days, gain until infinity, this thing will literally shake walls but can be brought down to home use levels too. tight tight tight with far better cleans than the marshall too. If I had to nitpick, and I do, I'd say it has a tendency for kind of a fizzy top end sizzle that I didnt personally dig too much but that can be dialed out with relative ease. Looks sweet in white. I came close to buying it, but I didnt for one single reason: I couldnt put out of my mind what this thing would sound like with a darker IR. This made me reflect upon all the other advantages that simulacra hold over the real deal.

Surprise twist: tonemaster pro into the fr12
After this brief tube excursion I'm back exactly where I started with modeling. This cab looks and feels like an amp in a way that studio monitors really dont, and messing around with a modeler is just too damn convenient and flexible.It will probably be my next gear purchase.

I think the best thing for someone in your situation is a hybrid setup, where you can play amp sims through your monitors or a poweramp and cab.

The way I have my setup is that I have my HX Stomp always hooked up to monitors and poweramp and cab, so all it takes is a snapshot change and I'm going through the cab.

A lot of times when people are looking for the amp in the room tone, they're really just looking for the sound of a cab in the room

 

[Steinmetzify]

I couldnt put out of my mind what this thing would sound like with a darker IR

Bruh.

This is SSO. Please go grab a Herbert and a Suhr Reactive Load. We’d all appreciate it if you did, and you’d REALLY appreciate it if you did.






Seriously tho, tube amp into reactive loadbox kicks ass and you’ll dig it.

Find the tube amp you like the best, grab a box and run it into that, use whatever IRs you dig.

It’s super fun.

I legit use a Herbert into a loadbox and whatever IRs I want to use that day and it slays.

 

[Marked Man]

Other people have touched on this, but again there's a lot more to it. Properly set up reference speakers are an entire lifestyle, not just a spec sheet for speakers. Spending 100$ on some stands or DIY panels will go further than just plopping high dollar speakers down on an Ikea desk.

The directionality of speakers is a speaker thing, doesn't matter which ones. Front mounted, rear mounted, front ported, cabinet, monitor, flat faced, oblate- doesn't matter. They go where you point them and after that it's your own responsibility. The only real advantage you get with a standalone combo or half stack is the tone and volume. If you don't need these things I wouldn't suggest you rush to get them, and some tube amps don't even sound best at lower volume. It's better to feel these things out and develop personal taste before jumping in, unless you need to hurry up and get something together for a live show. In the latter context a half stack or combo is going to be your no-brainer. In your bedroom context the same thing will require a load box and if you want to record DI to throw your modeling bag at start researching now, which is more steps for basically the same thing for no reason.

Personally if I didn't want to reserve the right to jam out occasionally I would probably rock a variable (low) wattage tube head into a 2x12. I have no volume restrictions where I live. I can shoot guns in my house if I want to (allegedly). A 4x12 is just unnecessary, especially once you get into understanding the volumes needed for proper SPL balancing, excursion thresholds, and tube saturation- at which point with a 4x12 I'm blowing the fucking doors off my small house. Still fun, though. Do you need that? Probably not.

Sure you do.