Do we need Guitar Amps???

[petercreasey]

Over the past 15years I have been the owner of ( in no particular order):-
Fender Blues De luxe
Fender Blues junior
Fender Hot Rod deluxe
Fender Deville
Vow Cambridge
Vox Valvetronix, (probably all of the range)
Vox AC15 AC30 AC15 Hand Wired
Pinnacle
Fender Super Champ X2
Roland Cube
Boss Katana 50 and Artist
Peavey Delta Blues
and probably others that I have forgotten
I have enjoyed ( most) of them but have found that having changed to the Joyo AC Tone last year I am happier with my sounds than I ever have been
I don't pretend to have mastered "that sound" that has not been my intention ( some of the Shads sounds I don't enjoy) but what I have found is that with amp simulation I can achieve everything I want both at home and out and about, all I need is my little pedal board ( 2 AC tones and a Zoom G1) , my volume pedal and an active monitor and I can play ( when we are allowed to again )anywhere that has a PA what ever the size of the room and with just my monitor for small rooms.
I have no intention of returning to amps.
Having read threads about guitar amps recently I wonder what the thoughts of folks here are regarding the future of Guitar amps?

[Hank2k]

Hi Peter

Interesting subject this. I am a bit of a gear head and love trying different options etc.

There are a number of professional guitar players these days using modelling options either direct to the PA or with a powered monitor like you mention and i must admit i really like the concept. It really depends on venues etc but you can get a great sound these days so simply in a small little package its definitely becoming more common.

A couple of friends play in theatre shows and they use a HX Stomp unit direct to PA and carry everything in one bag with their guitar! I think like i said on another post recently a lot of shadows type players and certainly bands need to have the Vox amp on stage for the look and a lot of players say they will only use Valve amps etc. Its all personal preference and a lot of it depends on what you are using it for. Ive done a couple of gigs with a Cliff tribute and have just used the zoom g3x with Joyo actone straight in to the PA and used in ear monitor system to hear the guitar and backing and got a very acceptable sound, a lot really depends on the PA. The less gear i have to carry the better for me these days!

[dave robinson]

It's a matter of whether it fits in with what you're doing. playing in a live band with acoustic drums or working totally DI with an electric kit, or solo with Bts, or solo with live backing.
I have used the DI method for the past forty years, dependant on which of those scenarios applied.
I went back to having a dedicated amp when we got playing in bands again.
That said, Past Masters have successfully used total DI at several venues more recently using the electric kit, but we still use 'old 'school' methods as well.
It's far easier to achieve the required sound, tone and feel these days with the available equipment, compared to what it used to be when we had to use a DI box. The skill is in getting the sound of the guitar to fit in with the surrounding backing.

[roger bayliss]

I too have played both ways, getting great sounds through PA .

I think heavy rockers who like their amps driven with overdrive , fuzz etc and like to use amp feedback would likely stick to the amp route , because working the amps at volume produces interaction between guitar and amp. But for clean sounds mostly a sim and PA is as good as an amp if you ask me. Cannot for instance imagine someone like Gary Moore getting the right interaction with a PA type arrangement although it is possible.

For convenience and ease , the PA Method is great, if you do not want to lug heavy gear around., especially getting older !

[bor64]

My first time without amp (and with in-ear system) direct into the PA, was just after the Line 6 POD was available 20 ish years ago.
It sounded great in the hall....on stage it was a nightmare... the in-ear system sounded cr*p.
After two numbers I pulled one of the earpieces out, to hear myself from the PA what I was doing.
So I got a new in-ear system....FM , what a disaster that was....the first time was with the October 2000 Shadow Music Day.
Our performance was recorded in a building, that was also used(unknown by us) by the local FM radio station...
So I couldn't use my in-ear at all...so I got my sound from my Matchless amp and my band mates sound true the PA reflected on the walls, so there was a micro delay. So I had to alter my timing a smidgen....bandmates were still on in-ear with leads.
On top of that, it was filmed and the camera pillock tried to give us a darker tan with his lighting... so I got blinded while I start playing TFC and couldn't see what I was doing on my maple neck for a few tunes....
It's still on YT

Luckily the gear got better and now it's much easier to play without amps!
I've done gigs with a guitar, vol pedal, YMS ,AcTone and in-ears, all fitted in two cases...punters happy as Larry so was my back!

Roger, the heavy rockers of Within Temptation are using Kemper, so the have the same sound everywhere....



Cheers Rob

[RUSSET]

With my last reincarnation of playing in a live band in front of a real audience which finished about 8 years ago, we went with a good Yamaha PA & pedals, directly into the PA. Being guys now in our early '70s, we couldn't bring (or lift) large amps any more. Anyway with a 20 channel PA, the great benefit was also being able to get the instrument & vocal balance right every time. The only person with a backline rig was our Bass player, & the drums were an electronic Roland kit. We just needed adequate wedge monitors & we were away.
Our Lead guitarist went through a Roland VG processor pedal thingy, which was very good if you took the time to study the encyclopedic manual. I don't think he ever got through it, but hey, we were there to play, not study. I had a simple Zoom G3 pedal with which I set parameters for an excellent acoustic simulation patch, being the band's Rhythm guitar. We were playing general '50/'60s music In general with maybe a few more modern songs thrown in too.
In short we found it was the way to go, in our situation. With all the latest technical advances in music kit, I wholeheartedly recommend anyone looking to play live to look into this option.

Tony.

[richard_kolendo]

In theory no we don’t but nothing beats the crunch and sound of a proper amp. Function gigs and gigs with live bands will always use my amp where possible. I also do a lot of theatre pit work where there is a call for a ‘silent pit’ and everyone is on in ears with personal monitor mixes. I end up using simulations from my POD HD500X (I can’t afford a Helix!) or a BluBox amp simulator/DI.

Each type of set up has it’s place combined with person preference.

[nivramarvin]

I had to find out that an amp is essential as soon as an acoustic drum kit is involved, otherwise I simply lack the pressure. Even when rehearsing with the band, virtual amps didn't work for me because my colleagues can't pinpoint me when the sound comes out of the PA boxes. For that, I gladly accept the tug with my Boogie MK.2, especially since gigs with the band are becoming increasingly rare.

My small pedalboard includes a compressor (Marshall ED-1), distortion (Mooer UltraDrive), overdrive (Marshall BB-2), an AC tone for the shadows sounds, a chorus pedal (t.c. Corona!), A tremolo, a Boonar Delay and a NoiseGate. A volume pedal, looped into the amp's effects loop, is also indispensable for me.

I have recently been using this pedalboard for most of the gigs I do with backing tracks, but instead of the heavy combo I use a PreAmp (Hughes & Kettner Attax) that goes directly into the mixer. It has three channels and offers versatile sounds from Clean to Santana.

For very small gigs I play with an adapter (iRig HD2) into the iPhone with AmpliTube software.

[Boon]

Hi there, Iv read this thread with great interest, age has caused me to cut back on carrying masses of gear. I have recently sold my fender twin and replaced it with a boss katana artist 2, ive been using a katana 100 for small gigs for a while and knew the amp to be a fabulous piece of kit. Lately I've had option to play some gigs that required a silent stage and seeing as I never used amp modelling before I just took my boss setup and ran it through a hughes and kettner red box, I'm sure you'll have seen one but here's a link to the old version I have
http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/201 ... ic-di.html
It's just a simple speaker emulator but I had no real arguments with the in ear sound and never changed any settings on my board. Needed a wee spot of reverb from the desk though!
Shaun

[MeBHank]

You and I have already discussed this in person, Peter! Ignoring the previously mentioned benefits of saving weight and space, here's my two penn'orth:

I've had a few vintage amplifiers and I will always love the sound. However, like Robbo, amps are only for use with a band now, for me. Valve amps have a sweet spot which is never in the quieter ranges. I find I often need to drive an amp too hard for the size of the room, or otherwise feel like I'm not getting the full benefit of the amp. Then, as Dave says, you have to consider the backing track, which needs to be loud enough to compete with the sound of the amp (which, of course, needs to be miked to get a satisfactory spread). As a result my gigs used to be way too loud.

Like you, Peter, as you know, I'm using a Joyo. When I stopped using vintage gear on gigs I fully expected to receive less compliments on my sound, but I was wrong. People still gush over it. I do hear ways I want to improve my sound (entirely reliant on budget), but the AC Tone is in no way a weak link for me. It's superb. Nowadays I need little-to-no sound check other than simply making sure the PA master volume level is right! I even find it easy, when using distortion, to get good amp-style feedback when required.

I used to spend an hour constructing my most basic rig. The extra equipment needed simply to facilitate the use of an amp? One extra guitar cable, a mic on the amp, an extra mic lead and a small mic stand. You have to position the amp to get the visual right. Then the amp mic (SM57 for me) needs to be sound-checked in isolation merely to get the position on the speaker cone correct to capture the right tone. All extra cables then need to be coiled/tidied for presentation once connected. That all takes a lot of time. Thanks to modern technology, including my AC Tone, a column line-array PA, and an old mobile phone for backing tracks, my record set-up time for my whole rig is now six minutes. In the past this simple gear has allowed me to play one care home session and two pub gigs in a day, with very little time spent concerning myself with equipment.

For me the overall show is far more important than showing off gear and faffing over equipment settings. No matter how much I didn't want to believe it when I was younger, the audience doesn't care what amp or echo I'm using. I wish I'd listened to the people who told me as much years ago. My anorak ego wouldn't let me listen. There are way too many guitarists with colossal egos who fawn over their own gear and/or love to haul huge, expensive rigs with them. Nah. Audience interaction, likeability and setlist structure/flow are infinitely more important. A clean stage with some simple (or not!) lighting, with as little as possible equipment cluttering the performance space makes for a far more impressive visual than any guitar amp, no matter how pretty your own gear might look to you. The impression I once gave my audiences was 'equipment geek'. Now my focus is on fluency of the show and a simple stage presentation; my jacket offset, on my general guitar gigs, by a pair of jeans and aged Beatle boots, just to make it look as though I'm not trying too hard.

Sorry, I digress...

Basically, get on with the music as simply as possible and make your life easy. Modern technology means all the sounds are there for you.