Best desktop modelling amplifier (for me)

jaymenon · August 2023

My requirements are fairly simple:
Fender Blackface Cleans
Dumble / Mesa style overdrive

there’s just so much to read online and it’s very confusing. Would someone please advise me…?

Winny_Pooh · August 2023

Built in speaker or no?

I have a BOSS Gt-1000 core. Small, sounds great and has extremely low latency compared to other sub £1000 modellers.

TTony · August 2023

jaymenon said:

there’s just so much to read online and it’s very confusing. Would someone please advise me…?

You do realise that you're about to get recommendations for at least 10, completely different, options?

Reverend · August 2023

Obviously you need a full Marshall JCM 800 stack. And BC Rich Warlock. Hope that helps

jasonbone75 · August 2023

If you already have computer based recording then you won't get much better sound and tone options than the Scuffham S-Gear package. I tend to use the Overloud TH-U package due to the higher gain options! There is no denying the quality though. Both are fantastic for home use and rival any hardware units (with the caveat your host machine and audio interface must be up to snuff).

BluesLover · August 2023

Winny_Pooh said:

Built in speaker or no?

I have a BOSS Gt-1000 core. Small, sounds great and has extremely low latency conpared to other sub £1000 modellers.

Do you play this through a powered monitor, or something else?

Boss Dual Cube LX might be worth investigating, as an all in one desktop solution.

jaymenon · August 2023

Winny_Pooh said:

Built in speaker or no?

I have a BOSS Gt-1000 core. Small, sounds great and has extremely low latency conpared to other sub £1000 modellers.

These hardware digital modelling amps have latency?

I think I'll stick with my amp.

thecolourbox · August 2023

jaymenon said:

Winny_Pooh said:

Built in speaker or no?

I have a BOSS Gt-1000 core. Small, sounds great and has extremely low latency conpared to other sub £1000 modellers.

These hardware digital modelling amps have latency?

I think I'll stick with my amp.

Well I think they all will to some extent, but then also so will standing different distances from an analogue amp. I don't think it's problematic to be honest (unlike the latency you'd get on a computer plugin where the machine wasn't up to the job, for example)

Musicwolf · August 2023

jaymenon said:

These hardware digital modelling amps have latency?

I think I'll stick with my amp.

Hi Jay (and belated Happy Birthday for earlier in the week)

Unless you are sitting with your ear pressed against the speaker cone (not recommended) then your amp effectively has latency due to the speed of sound. Even if you are only a couple of meters away, at approx 330 m/sec you will experience latency of around 3 ms. I have both a Kemper and a Helix and additional digital latency is unnoticeable.

The big question for anyone considering whether to stick with a 'real' amp or go down the modelling route is - can you live without that amp-in-the-room experience? Until recently I owned a 50-year-old Fender Pro Reverb which sounded unbelievable, or at least it did on the handful of occasions that I used it due to the practical constraints of volume at home / amount of boot space taking it to rehearsals.

jaymenon · August 2023

Thank you Chris for taking the trouble to write such a long and detailed message.

Distance from the speaker:
Yes this is something that I hear often. However, whatever system I use I tend to sit at the same distance from my speakers. The latency that the system imparts, comes on top of (and in addition to) the latency created by this distance. With certain interfaces it has been really troublesome for me…

As for home use, I use this lovely 0.5 W amplifier (below) which sounds phenomenal. However, with an overdrive pedal, it can still become rather loud. So at the moment I’ve hooked up a Sequis elemental on a bypass switch, which I bring in only for overdriven sounds.

Add to that a microphone in front of the speaker leading to a stereo effects processor given me 100% wet modulation effects through a pair of studio monitors on either side of my 1×12.

… and it gets a little complex.

However, it’s a lovely little system and once set up it works beautifully. It just made me wonder though if there is a single little amplifier that I can plug into which will give me all the sounds at a controllable volume

https://i.imgur.com/qUANfh4.jpeg

thecolourbox · August 2023

Not relevant to anything in the thread really, but that last photo is a very satisfying looking setup.

jasonbone75 · August 2023

You should have lead with that post! Given all that gear already and your obvious content with the results just add a load box with IR built-in. All volumes plus headphone option and all of your rig sound.

rossyamaha · August 2023

Obvs the original and still the best. Yamaha THR innit. Does all the things and looks nice too.

Winny_Pooh · August 2023

If playing into a pair of studio monitors IMO the Boss Gt-1000 core or Fractal FM3 will sound better than the little amp (but perhaps not as "alive" as the little amp into the 1x12).

The benefits are in just having one cable and lots of great amps and effects. You can also travel, move it from one room to another and use headphones.

Unless money is an issue buy and then try. I use my modeller at home alongside two Great valve amps as well as for an effects unit when gigging acoustic.

flying_pie · August 2023

jaymenon said:

Winny_Pooh said:

Built in speaker or no?

I have a BOSS Gt-1000 core. Small, sounds great and has extremely low latency conpared to other sub £1000 modellers.

These hardware digital modelling amps have latency?

I think I'll stick with my amp.

Everything has latency. Guitarists have just forgotten about basic high school science.

Consider the speed of sound through air is approximately 340 metres per second. If you are on a stage 3m away from your amp then the latency in terms of how long it takes the sound to reach your ears will be 0.0088 seconds which is rounded up to 9ms. That's the lowest it can possibly be and it's likely a little more as there's bound to be additional latency in your signal chain. But that's not going to be something you'd notice.

There seems to be an internet idea that it's only possible to play guitar with zero latency and anything else is unacceptable. I've seen people complain about 3ms latency which is utterly crazy. If that was true then they wouldn't be able to play their guitar properly more than 1m away from their amps!

Edit - sorry I missed the earlier post by @Musicwolf ;

jakeolly · August 2023

Ive never thought i was bothered about latency and have have had loads of digital modellers, but they always left me a bit ‘cold’ either thro getting drawn into ‘ unlimited possibilities knob twiddling’ or them just not feeling right
Then i tried the a DSM & Humboldt Simplifier. It immediately felt and sounded better to me (and its defo not because Ive got bat ears)
Worth a try imho

Johnny333 · August 2023

For incredibly accurate DAW amp tones I'm super impressed by the Neural Amp Modeler. It's an open source free software using machine learning that's being constantly updated with new features by the community.

Power-Beef · August 2023

hollywoodrox · August 2023

My trumps have latency , it’s quite a few milliseconds from when it leaves your arse to smelling it

birtner · August 2023

vox adio has a good blackface mode and also a dumble and mesa option. And it looks like a handbag. It’s win win

stickyfiddle · August 2023

Big fan of the Yamaha THRs for simple plug& play boxes.

They take pedals nicely and can also be set flat/neutral if you want to use them with a modeller in front - I use an HX Stomp exactly this way

pt22 · August 2023

Hi Jay. I know you already have a line on a spark at a great price but if you want a Yamaha THR I can cut you a deal on mine I have listed.

Grampa · August 2023

Another THR vote, though I much prefer the older models over the new ones.

Nikc · August 2023

If you want a smallish one box solution I'd go Boss Dual Cube - I'm using a Street Cube in our garden room and it sounds really good and not just for the money etc.. just good. I went with the street cube because I also enjoy singing (although I might be the only one that likes my singing) and wanted that as an option as well.

I've used a Yamaha THR and found it to be pretty poor, actually that's not true it was horrid,I had a VOX G3 mini and it was/is head and shoulders better and also dirt cheap - My youngest has it now and its still plenty good enough.

andy_k · August 2023

When I record my guitars, which hasn't been that often recently, I always try to get a 'live' sound recorded, and a simultaneous DI via a splitter, this lets me at least play with some feeling and reaction to the 'live' sound I am hearing, via an amp / fx in the room, and I also then always have the option to use something like the Overloud Slate packages, or more recently, the NAM plugin.
Jay, you are well aware of the PC setup I am using, and I have yet to attempt any recording with it, but I will use the same approach when I do, a mic capture on one track, and a DI on a separate track, which can be messed with later with a VST ( NAM isn't an option yet on older OS ), It is always a simple matter of moving a section back or forward a few samples to correct any of the latency issues in the mixing process, but the 'live' mic recording will be the template.
We are talking milliseconds and ageing ears here, but if I am happy with the results, that is good enough for me.
I have had good results with my pedals into a Mooer Radar in the past, to get a fairly decent 'Live' sound , at a very low output.

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Best desktop modelling amplifier (for me)

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