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**Shawn Lutz** · 07-29-2005, 01:25 PM

Re: A revelation....

isn't the Vetta or HD's an attempt to make it look it isn't a modeler?

I think they would be more acceptable if frankly they sounded as good as the amps in which they model, meaning every nuance of them, not just sorta, kinda like it.

As technology continues to improve and improve and more people use them then they will become widley accpeptble. Also a lot of people opinions of modelers are based off the old stuff, it has come a long way since the first version or the Pod.

**jgcable** · 07-29-2005, 01:42 PM

Re: A revelation....

So Shawn, you don't feel that asthetics have much to do with an amps popularity?

**GodOfRhythm** · 07-29-2005, 01:43 PM

Re: A revelation....

I can't speak for the public, but to me personally aesthetics do not matter at all. Surely I'll have the normal 'eek' reaction to something out of the ordinary. But if a purple, flickering thing with yellow LED's gives me the greatest sound I've ever heard, you can be sure I'll be playing it! Just throw a blanket over it? [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

**Twisteramps** · 07-29-2005, 01:45 PM

Re: A revelation....

I don't think a Vetta looks like a tube amp - it looks like something from a Flash Gordon serial to me. I actually get people coming up to me between sets at gigs because it doesn't look anything like a tube amp. "what the hell are you playing through" is a typical question.

I have had several people also come up to me at gigs where we played with other bands and tell me that my guitar sound was better than the other guys... who were using tube amps. Not just other guitarists but non guitar playing folk too.

Pete

**Shawn Lutz** · 07-29-2005, 03:11 PM

Re: A revelation....

[ QUOTE ]
So Shawn, you don't feel that asthetics have much to do with an amps popularity?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think to some extent yeah, at least for me it does matter. I like classic looking Marshall head type of amp looks. I don't like short heads or the THD amp look. But if I could get great tone out my wristwatch I'd use it regardless of how ugly it looked [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I think some ugly amps can do well if they sound great, take Orange for example, they are ugly as shiot to me but they sound great are doing well.

**Shawn Lutz** · 07-29-2005, 03:15 PM

Re: A revelation....

[ QUOTE ]
I don't think a Vetta looks like a tube amp - it looks like something from a Flash Gordon serial to me. I actually get people coming up to me between sets at gigs because it doesn't look anything like a tube amp. "what the hell are you playing through" is a typical question.

I have had several people also come up to me at gigs where we played with other bands and tell me that my guitar sound was better than the other guys... who were using tube amps. Not just other guitarists but non guitar playing folk too.

Pete

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah but Pete I'm sure you were 10x the player than the other tube guitar players [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I know we're all kinda anal about gear and amps but if you are a great player you can sound very good on thru anything...whether it was tube, solid state or a modeler.

**khabibissell** · 07-29-2005, 04:02 PM

Re: A revelation....

I think the biggest thing with tube amps is that you can rarely turn them up loud enough to get them singin' at a gig. Take my Recto for example. I like mids... I usually have them at 2 to 3 o'clock plus. At low volumes, the tone is very glassy and thin. Crank it up and it's a different story. I get so frustrated when I show up at a gig and the sound guy is like "lower"... "lower"... eventually, my volume is at 1, the amp sounds like shit, and I have to rely on the monitors to hear myself. My playing is inconsistent as it is, and this situation makes it worse. That is one of the reasons I bought the PowerBlock. Now I can get great tone using my POD XT Live, regardless of volume.

I used to see bands that were using SS/Modelers and immediately dismiss them as not knowing what is up. Anyone with a rig like that OBVIOUSLY can't play... Live and learn. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

I don't think modelers sound EXACTLY like the real thing, nor do they have the same "feel" while playing. One thing they do offer is great tone and versatility, all in a compact package. Besides, good tone is good tone... who cares where its derived from. A modeler doesn't look as "cool" as a tube halfstack, but looks aren't everything.

**quiksilver** · 07-29-2005, 04:26 PM

Re: A revelation....

Yes, I do think they would be more readily accepted if they had more wicked looks. Line 6 is already catching onto this with the chromed-out HD147 and the black/chrome Pod XT Live, but your ideas sound pretty cool.

Like Shawn, I dislike the look of short heads. My favorite looking amp head is Soldano with the black diamond grille.

**Twisteramps** · 07-29-2005, 05:02 PM

Re: A revelation....

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I don't think a Vetta looks like a tube amp - it looks like something from a Flash Gordon serial to me. I actually get people coming up to me between sets at gigs because it doesn't look anything like a tube amp. "what the hell are you playing through" is a typical question.

I have had several people also come up to me at gigs where we played with other bands and tell me that my guitar sound was better than the other guys... who were using tube amps. Not just other guitarists but non guitar playing folk too.

Pete

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah but Pete I'm sure you were 10x the player than the other tube guitar players [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks man. Actually, I just loaded my Vetta with a recording and acted like I was playing. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Pete

**CodeOfHonour** · 07-30-2005, 02:27 AM

Re: A revelation....

I personally do not care about the looks of my amp. As long as it gives me some massive sounds I am fine with it.

**Newc** · 07-30-2005, 04:02 PM

Re: A revelation....

Cosmetics aren't nearly as important as the sound coming out of the speakers. Period. If a crap player is making horrible sounds, I'm not gonna blame it on the amp, I'm gonna blame it on the player. A pretty amp can't make a crap player sound good.

Khabib - If the sound guy says "lower" (assuming you've got miked cabs live), walk over to the board and drop his fader each time, and educate him on how amps sound better when cranked, and that he needs an education in live sound engineering [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

**metallicarocks** · 07-31-2005, 03:03 AM

Re: A revelation....

I think the solution is simple:

If it's a quiet gig, use solid state stuff or modeling.

If you can crank it, bust out the tube amps!

My complaint about the modeling amps is the high end fuzz that the heavily distorted sounds usually get. Does anybody else hear that? It's like an extra fuzz that certainly does not need to be there in the higher frequencies, rough guess somewhere between 2-5khz. It's my first hint that a guitarist is using a modeler.

**Inearthed** · 07-31-2005, 06:23 AM

Re: A revelation....

HD147 is one of the slickest looking amps I've seen, it looks very cool on a dark stage with the blue lights and all. Almost like a piece of alien technology or something.

XT Live and GT6 both look great... They appear to be built like tanks and that's what counts.. The only thing I don't like about the XT live is how they made the control guard and control knobs a shiney chrome yet left the rest of the stuff (other than the volume/wah pedal) black for the most part. Why not offer some sort of backlit / illumination on the writing around each switch? Finding the right buttons on a dark stage would be tough! Same goes for the GT6.

**Mordor** · 08-01-2005, 03:15 AM

Re: A revelation....

As Newc said cosmetic is not as nearly important as the sound of the amp,but a spider2 with a jcm800 lookin chassis would be ubercool!

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