I guess I want a "modeler"?

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Well...

I am very impressed with the Youtube videos. The sound is great! Lots of good tones there, some I'm not remotely interested in but some that I am, too.

However this whole adventure has led me to re-think my rig from top to bottom and that starts with the output... Headphones are not really cutting it, I don't get any sustain or feedback that way.

So I really need a decent clean power amp, some FRFR speakers, a nice MIDI pedal, a decent rack case... This is getting up in the $3500 range. I could buy a pretty decent amp for that.

So I started thinking about a modeling combo. Decided to try some out. I went and had a look at the Peavey Vypyr and some Line6 stuff, and as I'm wandering around the store, I start looking at the Mesa/Boogie Express and Roadsters, see a Stiletto Ace combo and turn around and see something among some random amplifiers with a "Boogie" badge and a 5-band EQ... Have I just stumbled on an old Mark IV? No... It's a fucking Mark V 1-12" combo.

Now, I realize these are not impossible to get right now, but they not real common, even online they're sold out of a lot of dealers. And I about shit a brick to see one in my home town Guitar Center of all places. I just happened to go there, they just happened to have it... Fucking random, I love it.

So, it's not a modeler, and I can't go from SRV to Judas Priest in 1.5 seconds, but it makes sounds I like, and I'm sure with a Hot Plate and/or my old Hughes & Kettner direct box I can get a good recording.

[hippietim]

Oh, I'm sure the Axe-FX sounds better (it should, it costs 15x as much as the Vypyr 15). I just wanted to point out that even the cheap modelers are getting pretty good at the "tube sag".

I just realized that the Vypyr and Axe-FX both use SHARC DSP processors. That might explain the similarities.

Sorry but the Vypryr isn't even close to the Axe-FX. The similarities are like comparing a 486 to multi-core Xeon.

The SHARC isn't "a" DSP processor. It is a family of DSP processors. There is also the TigerSHARC family of DSP processors. It is substantially better. Like Line 6 stuff, the Vypyr uses a SHARC processor. The Axe-FX uses a TigerSHARC. The chip in the Axe-FX costs 20-40x more than the one in the Vypyr. In fact, several of the Vypyr amps sell for less than the cost of the TigerSHARC chip alone.

[Grandturk]

Now, I realize these are not impossible to get right now, but they not real common, even online they're sold out of a lot of dealers. And I about shit a brick to see one in my home town Guitar Center of all places. I just happened to go there, they just happened to have it... Fucking random, I love it.

So, it's not a modeler, and I can't go from SRV to Judas Priest in 1.5 seconds, but it makes sounds I like, and I'm sure with a Hot Plate and/or my old Hughes & Kettner direct box I can get a good recording.

Wait... so did you buy it? I expect a full review... pics, vids, sound clips...

[Spivonious]

Sorry but the Vypryr isn't even close to the Axe-FX. The similarities are like comparing a 486 to multi-core Xeon.

The SHARC isn't "a" DSP processor. It is a family of DSP processors. There is also the TigerSHARC family of DSP processors. It is substantially better. Like Line 6 stuff, the Vypyr uses a SHARC processor. The Axe-FX uses a TigerSHARC. The chip in the Axe-FX costs 20-40x more than the one in the Vypyr. In fact, several of the Vypyr amps sell for less than the cost of the TigerSHARC chip alone.

Well the 486 and the quad-core both run x86 code

I guess it's the analog amp in the Vypyr that makes the difference then, because IMO even the Vetta sounds super processed. Is my $90 practice amp going to replace a $1500 processor? Of course not.

[hippietim]

Well the 486 and the quad-core both run x86 code

I suppose my comparison wasn't good since binaries from a SHARC do not run on a TigerSHARC directly.

I guess it's the analog amp in the Vypyr that makes the difference then, because IMO even the Vetta sounds super processed. Is my $90 practice amp going to replace a $1500 processor? Of course not.

I have yet to hear a Vypyr in a real situation. You should read up on them - they've had horrible quality problems with them.

[Spivonious]

Yeah the guy at GC said that Peavey was planning on doing a recall. I played mine it the store and it sounded fine, and it will only be doing light duty as a practice amp, so I'm not worried. If it does fail, it's got a 3 year warranty.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Wait... so did you buy it? I expect a full review... pics, vids, sound clips...

How could I NOT buy it? I mean, there it was, there I was, our eyes met across a crowded room...

Yeah, I don't really believe in "fate" so much as taking advantage of random shit life throws at you. I know if I hadn't bought it I'd be thinking "Sheesh remember that time I was at GC and they had a damned Mark V right there..."

I'm not sure I made the right choice (obviously I get the usual 30-day return thing, though) for my purposes, although I still have my little Korg thingy for quiet practice, but wow it sure is a lot more fun to play through a 12" speaker than it is to play through 1.5" headphone drivers, I can get sustain and feedback even at really reasonable volumes. And I'm pretty sure my old H&K Red Box MkII still works, and I can use the Boogie's Direct Out to the Line In on it, and run that to the mixer.

[Matt_B]

.....it sure is a lot more fun to play through a 12" speaker than it is to play through 1.5" headphone drivers, I can get sustain and feedback even at really reasonable volumes.

I never used headphones with the Axe-FX. I'm always running a pair of recording monitors and have no issues getting feedback at low volume. I hate using headphones.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

I hate using headphones now too.