• Guys, we've spent considerable money converting the Les Paul Forum to this new XenForo platform, and we have ongoing monthly operating expenses. THE "DONATIONS" TAB IS NOW WORKING, AND WE WOULD APPRECIATE ANY DONATIONS YOU CAN MAKE TO KEEP THE LES PAUL FORUM GOING! Thank you!

Any Jazz Chorus Fans Here?

Amp360

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 16, 2012
Messages
852
No, the past couple tours anyway - from Death Magnetic on, they've been using modelers live. Far easier to dial in a million different sounds for each song then carrying a pile of amps and racks. A few things are still outboard, at least from the rig rundown I saw, but most sounds and effects are from the box.
TBH if |I was playing out regularly I'd probably invest in one also - again easier to carry, plug into the PA and good to go.
As much as I prefer the real amps at home, with the right programming the modelers these days sound almost as good, and no one in the audience can tell the difference anyway.
People seem to be either really for modelers or really against them. I've had people provide me with song patches; others tell me they don't want modelers used. It's a crazy world we live in!

I like the convenience of modeling, but I don't like spending hours tweaking presets. I feel like I spend enough time in ProTools every day, so to have to sit there are craft tones when I could plug something in is a mind-numbing necessity sometimes. That being said, back in the 1990s, I had friends who loved tweaking their GSP-21s and Quadraverbs for hours, so those guys probably enjoy the aspects of modeling that I despise. It's like modding a guitar. Some people buy a brand new fiddle and have new pickups and plastic ordered before it arrives. I like to buy something and play it. Neither approach is wrong, but I would rather play guitar than chase tone.

I would walk into a gig with a modeling guitar and tablet in a perfect world. This is also my worst nightmare. Kind of like that Twilight Zone where the guy dies and ends up in heaven where wins every bet and it turns out he's in hell.

For most rock/blooze music, the average player could get away with a clean sound, a semi-clean sound, and a lead tone. Two of those would work. We've seen a crazy escalation of time/money spent on gear. When you think about what the average pop/rock player in the late 80s had to what the average blooze/Americana guy has today. Guitar players rely more on special effects, technology, and a less pure signal path today than at any point in the history of electric guitar.

The homogenization of guitar playing and tone makes modelers the perfect palate for what's happening in music. I'm not saying this to put anyone down or complain about it (I own an AxeFX and Kemper), but it's where guitar-playing culture is right now. Many players who use real amps sound like they're playing through modelers to me. If you told me that the modern blooze tone-chasing guys played through Digitech racks, I would believe you. I find it fascinating that they don't because that's what it sounds like to me. It's an Emperor has no clothes kind of thing about the expensive tone being confused with a good tone, IMHO. Something can be played with technical proficiency on a '59 Les Paul through a Dumble with the best preamp, microphone, etc., but if the song is just a boring excuse for an even more boring flashy guitar solo, does it matter? Maybe it does. I have no idea!

Anyways, sorry for the rant, it was a long night. I can tell you that The Boss is using modeling as well.
 

somebodyelseuk

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 10, 2020
Messages
454
I was a teenager in the '80s, started playing in the early '80s. Everyone who recorded a clean sound, especially with chorus was most likely to be using a JC120. It was the go to clean amp back then.
 

Amp360

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 16, 2012
Messages
852
I was a teenager in the '80s, started playing in the early '80s. Everyone who recorded a clean sound, especially with chorus was most likely to be using a JC120. It was the go to clean amp back then.
That or a Rockman, which has also started making a comeback!
 

Reddart

Active member
Joined
Feb 26, 2004
Messages
286
No, the past couple tours anyway - from Death Magnetic on, they've been using modelers live. Far easier to dial in a million different sounds for each song then carrying a pile of amps and racks.
And yet, Kirk Hammett will pull out a different guitar for each song, but sound the same no matter which guitar it is. 🤷‍♂️
 
Top