the HOME of DOOM!

Goetic Circle - "The Book of the Cult of the Infinite Within"

http://www.myspace.com/goeticcircle

The Vox Lil' Night Train = 2 watts of crunchy ass-kickery

http://www.voxamps.com/modernclassic/lilnighttrain/

http://www.zzounds.com/item--VOXNT2HSET

killer band: Wall of Sleep

 

Bio:

The doom metal band called WALL OF SLEEP (founded in 2001) is one of the most recognized bands of the hungarian underground metal scene. Built on the remains of MOOD (1993-2001), their traditional doom metal sound is based on twin guitar harmonies and classic heavy rock elements, which are rooted on the sounds of 70's and 80's.

They released their epic album, the 'Sun Face Apostoles' in 2006, with the guest appearance of doom icon Scott Wino Weinrich (Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, The Hidden Hand etc.).The year after the album called'...And Hell Followed With Him' was released by the swedish 'I Hate Records', so their reputation further increased.

Through some West-European tours and festivals (like Doom Shall Rise and Stoned From The Underground in Germany) they shared the stage with some great bands like Crowbar, Trouble, Mastodon, High On Fire and Darkest Hour.

Armed with a new vocalist, WALL OF SLEEP unleashes their brand new full-length, titled 'When Mountains Roar' this year...

http://www.myspace.com/wallofsleepdoommusic

Lexicon MPX-550 dual-channel multi-effects unit

Here's a video by my friend Dave running thru the factory presets of his new(used) Lexicon MPX-550 dual-channel multi-effects rack unit:





This particular model's no longer available new, but they have other versions... sounds killer!

http://www.lexiconpro.com/product_list.php

King Diamond undergoes triple bypass heart surgery

http://www.thegauntlet.com/article/232/20656/King-Diamond-undergoes-triple-bypass-heart-surgery.html

KING DIAMOND’s wife Livia has posted the following update at the official band fan club Covenworldwide.org:

"Let me catch you all up on the past couple of weeks' happenings, because it affects many things. On Monday, November 29th, King had to be transported to the nearby hospital by ambulance. After several different tests were done and the EKG machine showing abnormalities, the doctors recommended that he get a cardiac catheterization.

Cardiac catheterization is a procedure where the doctors lead a very thin tube up from the leg and into the heart, where it injects dye into the bloodstream. Then a camera at the end of the tube takes many pictures of the heart's arteries, looking for blockages. After this was done, they determined that King had several heart attacks, and three of his heart's arteries were the cause: one was completely blocked, the second was 90% blocked, and the third was 65% blocked.

The only solution to this was an open heart triple bypass surgery.

If you are interested in the details of how this surgery is performed, please look it up online. I will only touch on the basics. The sternum (breastbone) is cut in half and pulled apart, to expose the heart. Veins are harvested from other places of the body, in King's case it was his left leg and chest wall. The person is then hooked up to a machine that practically does the job of the heart, circulating and oxygenating the blood.

The heart is then stopped, and the lungs collapse (the lungs stop working since the blood is being oxygenated by the machine). The surgeon then sews the harvested veins in place, bypassing the found blockages. Once the surgery is done, the surgeon moves the ribs and breastbone back into place and wires it together. The chest is closed as well. They use an electric pulse to start the heart and a breathing machine is lead into the lungs to restart breathing.

King's surgery took approximately seven hours.

Everything went well, and King was taken to ICU for recovery. He was walking and eating solid food already 2 days after the operation, and he was the first one in the history of the hospital who walked on his own power from the ICU to normal care. 10 days after the ambulance took him to the emergency room, he is at home and is recovering well. It will be a few months before he feels completely normal and is without pain.

He would like to mention here that he's eternally grateful for the wonderful staff at Centennial Medical Center who took care of him. Dr. Kourlis, Dr. Kamili, Dr. Alang, Nurse Christie and Nurse Thomas among many others made sure that he got the best care and attention he could ever have hoped for.

They were always very nice to me too, letting me stay overnight in the ICU after visiting hours were over.

In light of this, he will be taking a break from music and the music business altogether until further notice.

He very much wants to write new music, finish the DVDs, and go on tour, but for now, all those things are in the distant future and he's not thinking about them.

Please understand that the King Diamond band is not stopping, disbanding or anything of the sort. King's health is first priority, and when everything is going good with him, the music will resume.

Thank you all very much for reading this and STAY HEAVY."

Jex Thoth - "The Banishment"

http://www.myspace.com/jexthoth

yet MORE proof that Gibson has completely lost the plot

EVIDENCE:  a JONAS BROTHERS signature Gibson Melody Maker guitar!


No, I am NOT making this up...


http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Melody-Maker/Gibson-USA/Jonas-Brothers-Melody-Maker.aspx

NEW from Schecter for 2011: Gary Holt(Exodus) signature V!

Gary Holt (Exodus) Signature V-1
The new Holt model is a redesign of Schecter’s popular V-1 shape, now with the longer ‘wing’ on top. This striking axe is trimmed in a blood red binding throughout AND is armed with exclusive red EMG 81/89 active pickups … delivering attack, sustain and power.



The 24.75” scale mahogany neck is set into the offset ‘V’ body with an Ultra Access neck joint… for unparalleled access to the 22th fret! The rosewood fingerboard is emblazed with a red Exodus ‘goat-head’ inlay at the 12th fret.

An Original Floyd Rose locking tremolo system provides rock steady tuning, even with torturous dive bombing. Gloss Black finish, Grover tuners and Black hardware are standard. A Lefty version is also available.

http://www.schecterguitars.com/

What is the difference between delay and reverb?

“I don't really understand the difference between delay and reverb. Do you have a course that explains it clearly, and everything else I can do using effects?”

Suppose you have a great singer and a great backing band. Or a great singer and a great set of virtual instruments in your DAW. Shouldn't the recording and eventual mix and master sound great?

Well yes. If you are recording music that is meant to sound like traditional acoustic and electric instruments, then all you need are great performances, and a professional quality of recording, mixing and mastering.

But sometimes you might want a little more.

And sometimes the reality is that not every link in the chain is up to full professional standards.

Often when everything else is right, it is the acoustics of the studio that don't shape up. It is very difficult, for example, to get a good recording in an ordinary room in a house or apartment.

And software instruments often have a very dry sound. This is intentional, because you can always do things to a dry sound, but if the sound already has reverb locked in, you can't take it away.

And sometimes...

Well sometimes you want to use the recording studio as an instrument in its own right. You want to use all of the techniques and tricks of the recording studio to create an amazing sound.

So what we need are effects, as we call them.

The most fundamental effect is reverberation.

If you record an orchestra or acoustic band in an auditorium, you can capture the natural reverberation there and then, and you won't have to add any later.

But it takes time to get the mics in exactly the right places to capture the balance between direct and reverberant sound that is best. So broadcasters (whose time is extremely tight) put up microphones that are quite close to capture the direct sound of the instruments, and specific ambience mics, to capture the reverb. Then they can easily mix them in the right proportions from the console during the sound check.

In the studio, it is often best to use acoustic treatment to achieve quite a dry sound.

As I said earlier, if reverb is imprinted into your recording, you can't take it away. So if you start with a dry sound, you can always add reverb later if you need to.

Also, if you have a band in your studio, if there is too much natural ambience or reverberation, the sound of one instrument will spill into the mics of the others. You will find that all of the individual tracks have the sound of the rest of the band in the background. That will hinder your ability to mix well.

But if the studio has a dry acoustic, leakage between instruments will be much less. And you can add reverberation artificially as little or as much as necessary. All of the instruments will be much more controllable this way.

Delay is like a primitive form of reverberation. In the early days of recording technology, reverberation could only be created using an 'echo chamber', which is an actual room rigged up with loudspeakers and microphones to create reverb.

But in those early days, they could create a single echo, or a repeated echo, using a spare tape recorder in a special way.

We are all very familiar with the sound of delay through hearing, since birth, countless recordings that use the technique.

So it can still sound good now. Of course we don't have to use a tape recorder to produce the delay, we use a plug-in.

Another effect from a past era of recording is phasing, which in its subtle variations is also known as flanging or chorusing.

Phasing produces a rich 'swooshing' sound that can be very attractive to the ear. Of course it can be overdone, but so can any effect. The trick is to use it sparingly, when it will have its most useful influence on the listener, and subtly so the listener doesn't get tired of it.

Another effect is harmonic generation.

We are often told how useful it is to have 'warmth' in our recordings. You can use a vacuum tube microphone or preamplifier to achieve warmth. This is fine, but like reverberation earlier, once the warmth is burnt in to a recording, you can't undo it.

Too much warmth can be irritating to the ear. But fortunately there are plug-ins that will improve warmth in a controllable manner. So you can make a clean recording and add warmth later.

Don't have a warmth plug-in? Don't worry - we can show you how to generate warmth from first principles, using only the equipment and software you have already.

Finally, for now, there is pitch shifting.

You can use pitch shifting in a variety of ways. One is to correct the tuning of a slightly out-of-tune singer. This is more often necessary now than it used to be, because all the background instruments are now digitally tuned. Tuning in the past used to be done by ear, hence the singer could be a little more loose without anyone noticing.

Pitch shifting can be used in other ways, for example to make a vocal or instrument richer and fuller. Or you can create a harmony line from an already-recorded melody.

Or...

You can use the Auto-Tune effect!

Some would say that using Auto-Tune to extremes is a fad that is well due for going out of fashion.
But it is used so extensively that any recording engineer or producer should be familiar with it.

To use the Auto-Tune effect you would have to have Auto-Tune, or a similar pitch correction plug-in, installed in your DAW. If you don't have it, we'll give you something else to work on that will also help advance your knowledge of pitch shifting.

In summary...

You can improve your knowledge and skills in all of these effects through the Audio Masterclass Professional Reverb and Effects Course.

All Audio Masterclass Professional Courses are entirely project based. We set you interesting, challenging, and often tough, projects that you can carry out in your own home recording studio.

We will listen to your work and grade you on each assessment point, then give you helpful advice on how you can improve the quality of your work still further.

You can find more information on Audio Masterclass Professional Courses here...

www.audiomasterclass.com/pro-courses/


****DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated in any way with Audio Masterclass Professional Courses, I am simply sharing useful information.

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III guitar amplifier demo

the new Hot Rod Deluxe 3 from Fender has a bunch of upgrades and is a killer all purpose amp:



http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=2230200000

an 8-string guitar for $399?! YES, it's true!

I don't personally have a need for 8 strings... 7 maybe, but 8's just too much for me, but I know there are players out there who LOVE 8-strings(like my buddy El Montu!). Well, if you're wanting to sample the 8-string madness, but don't wanna plunk down big money for something you may or may not dig, THIS is the thing for you:

Omen 8
Due to the overwhelming success and appetite for their 8-string guitars, Schecter’s newest offering is the Omen-8, THE most affordable 8-string on the market, Keeping with the standard features of the Omen line, it includes a basswood body, a rosewood/maple bolt-on neck, high output Schecter Diamond Plus pickups, GraphTech Black Tusq XL nut, an 8-string TOM and chrome hardware. A double graphite rod system is employed in the 26.5” scale neck for added strength and reliability. The new model is offered in Walnut Satin and Gloss Black.



A Lefty version is also available in Gloss Black. 

Street price = $399.99  (holy crap that's cheap!)

http://www.schecterguitars.com/

SWEET deal on music software bundle

Dynamic Duo 

ACID Music Studio is a complete recording studio experience—the central nervous system of your home studio, where loops, your own recorded audio, and virtual instruments driven by MIDI data all come together. Toontrack Music is in the business of making virtual instruments that deliver the great sound of real drums. Using EZdrummer is like having a top notch session drummer on call 24/7. Load EZdrummer in ACID Music Studio, design your own drum kit, then play it using some of Toontrack’s 8000+MIDI files and enjoy real, editable drum tracks with the kind of character and punch that only top studios can kick out.

And that’s only the beginning! Tweak your drum mix right inside EZdrummer, with total control over levels and routing. ACID Music Studio’s deep interface and 3000+ loop set, paired with EZdrummer's ingenious approach to drum production, make this combination of products unbeatable. ACID Music Studio software and the EZdrummer virtual instrument—a truly dynamic duo!

bundle cost: only $99.95!  That's a helluva deal!

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/buy/dynamicduo?keycode=64402

That's a helluva deal!  If I didn't already own both of these software titles, I'd be all over it!

Digitech GSP1101 - SLEEP Orange amp tone

Demonstrating an original tone designed by me using the Digitech GSP1101 rack preamp/multi-effects unit - this tone is suitable for playing stoner rock/doom stuff, like the GODS of that genre, SLEEP and their classic albums "The Holy Mountain" and "Dopesmoker".



The gear modeled in the GSP1101 for this tone are an Orange OR120 head, a 4x12 cabinet of Celestion Vintage 30 speakers, an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi fuzz pedal, and just abit of Lexicon Hall reverb.

[Video Tutorial] Connecting the POD HD500 to an Amplifier Using the 4 Cable Method

This video tutorial demonstrates how to set up your POD HD500 in the 4 cable method with your amp using its own effects loop.

Fastway - "Say What You Will"

This song kicked my ass - and everyone else's too - when I was in 10th grade at high school, circa 1983.  Man, what a freakin' CLASSIC!

2 quick samples of the Digitech GSP1101

I've only had the unit for less than a week, so I'm still learning it's ins & outs...

http://www.digitech.com/products/Multi-Effects/GSP1101.php

a package from UPS... what have we here?

hell yeah, baby!!!

3 simple reasons why the Axe-FX sucks ass

1. no USB

2. no audio interface for recording

3. no headphone jack


ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?! 

No, I am not.  This is absolute NO BRAINER stuff.. and it ain't there.

For $1500-2000 for the regular and Ultra models respectively, this is a travesty.



Even if I HAD the money to spend on this - which I don't - I wouldn't do it.  I'll stick with Line 6, BOSS and Digitech, thank you very much.  (yes, I left out the Eleven Rack - it's also abit limited for the hefty $900 price tag, plus the whole Pro Tools tie-in makes me nauseous)

FREE guitar cabinet impulse responses!

Not satisfied with your amp cab sounds?  Replace em!

Free Redwirez IR Library • Marshall 1960A • Celestion G12M-25s

Ah, the legendary Marshall 1960A. Pretty, ain't it? With its grill-cloth glistening in the bar-light as this beast muscles out power chords in an amaranthine haze of smoke, hot lights and adoring fans... this cab positively reeks of rock... the raucous, beer-soaked, unapologetic kind. Oh, and it sounds great, too.

It was the first cab we ever sampled and is still one of our favorites, so it seems fitting to release these IRs into the wild on Redwirez' birthday.

I know... we had you at "FREE" but here are some highlights just the same:

• Loaded with four, well-traveled 25-watt Celestion G12M "Greenbacks"
• 17 industry standard mics, so explore countless tonal possibilities:

AKG C414B-ULS Audix D6 Audix i5 Beyerdynamic M160 Coles 4038 Electrovoice RE20 Heil PR30 Neumann KM84 Neumann U47

Neumann U67 Neumann U87 Royer R121 Sennheiser MD409 Sennheiser MD421 Shure SM57 Shure SM7 TAB-Funkenwerk SM57

http://www.redwirez.com/free1960g12m25s.jsp?ref=home

http://www.redwirez.com/

Egnater Tweaker 40 Demo

Hell yeah!!







street price = $599, available March-April 2011

Electric Wizard - "Dopethrone" live

Damnation Festival Leeds U.K 24th October 2009:

 

The Devil's Blood Promo Video & Interview

Dutch occult rock act The Devil's Blood has posted a new promo trailer in support of the debut album "The Time of No Time Evermore," which features live footage of the band and commentary from founder and guitarist SL. The video clip can be viewed below. "The Time of No Time Evermore" was released in North America on May 25th, 2010.





Interview source:   http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=56251

Dutch act The Devil's Blood has more in common with Blue Oyster Cult than with Emperor, yet somehow this Satanic rock and roll band has managed to grab the attention of fans of the most underground extreme metal. The group's first full-length celebration of the left hand path, "The Time Of No Time Evermore," saw its North American release this month, and The Devil's Blood is currently gearing up to bring their unholy sermons to the European festival circuit.

Discussing the recording process for the album, main song writer and guitarist SL commented, "A lot more time was available for us to explore the furthest depths of the material and to make sure there would be no detail unpronounced. It was a grueling schedule but that is exactly the type of situation you need to translate damnation into art." SL went on to discuss the truth behind every fan's interpretations of the album's lyrics and shared some thoughts on major occult figures.

xFiruath: Where did you record “The Time of No Time Evermore” and how were the recording sessions?

SL: We entered The Void Studios in Eindhoven, The Netherlands on the first of April in 2009 and worked for about 40 days. The sessions went very well. A lot more time was available for us to explore the furthest depths of the material and to make sure there would be no detail unpronounced. It was a grueling schedule but that is exactly the type of situation you need to translate damnation into art.

xFiruath: How has your sound changed from your earlier demos to your full-length album?

SL: Every release had its own aesthetic and atmosphere. This is something the song, or rather the theme of the songs, dictates. Things also evolve due to a growth in professionalism and a clearer perspective and creative drive. A maturing process of sorts. We will never release the same thing twice when it comes to song writing and we will always let the songs decide how they should sound.

xFiruath: Obviously the lyrics deal with the devil, but what are the specific lyrical themes on the album?

SL: I would suggest you read and listen. It is unwise for a poet to explain his poetry. Each interpretation is correct in the frame of reference that brought it on. No truth exists but the truth experienced. A completely subjective power of creation and destruction.

xFiruath: Despite having a more “rock and roll” oriented sound you guys have managed to get the attention of fans of black metal and death metal. How do you think your music managed to catch their attention and how do you feel about being idolized by a group of people who normally don’t care for more “mellow” music?

SL: This is not really for me to say but I think it might have something to do with our spiritual nature. Black metal fans might have an inherent inclination towards left hand path energies. This does not count for the majority of fans though, and like many other scenes they might simply like us because they enjoy good music; which we also offer.

xFiruath: Have you ever considered using any of the conventions of more extreme metal in your music, like growls or heavy distorted guitars?

SL: We have.

xFiruath: As a band with clear influences from Satanism I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts about figures like Anton LaVey and Aleister Crowely, who tend to be polarizing figures in the occult world.

SL: Neither of whom where Satanists in any form that I could see. I have great deal of respect for Aleister Crowley and read his work regularly. There is much to be found in his work which is of great value for all interested in the occult. LaVey is nothing but a humanist trying to get people focused on themselves by praying to themselves. This is absolutely nothing to with the worship of the God of the left hand path. Satanism is for me the worship of death and chaos. All that which seeks to break free of bounds. A gateway to total freedom.

xFiruath: Are there any plans for upcoming tour dates?

SL: We are currently preparing for a number of festival appearances throughout the summer in Europe. Also we will be appearing in Calgary, Canada for the Noctis festival in September.

xFiruath: Have your lyrics and overall theme ever caused you any problems with the crowd or getting shows booked?

SL: No, quite the contrary, things have been growing for us at an alarming rate. All opposition will be swept aside.

xFiruath: What bands do you personally listen to in your free time?

SL: I listen to a lot of different musical styles; everything from rock to black metal to classical music and roots music. I enjoy music as I enjoy art; always looking for new interesting interpretations and inspirations.

xFiruath: Anything else you’d like to discuss?

SL: Thank for your attention and we hope to plague your dreams with our poison for a long, long time.

Katatonia - "Tonight's Music"

How do I connect my subwoofers to my mixer?

“How do I connect my powered subs ( I think my powered subs already have a built-in crossover) to my mixer? Through the auxiliary or main output?”

(We will presume here that the subwoofers have internal power amplifiers, as it makes the explanation simpler. The same would apply however if the power amplifiers were external, it's just a little more hooking up to do.)

Your question does not specify whether you are using your subs for monitoring in the studio, or for live sound. Let's assume for now that you are in the studio.

We do not recommend connecting the subwoofers directly to the mixing console in any way.

The reason for this is that every studio needs a monitoring system that above every other factor is consistent. It's nice to have a wide frequency range, nice to have low distortion, nice that it goes loud enough.

But all the other factors take second and progressively lesser places in comparison with consistency. If your monitoring is the same from day to day, you can learn to work around any imperfections. And since no monitor system is perfect, this will always be the case.

If your monitoring changes from day to day, then really you won't have a clue what you are listening to and your mixes will be dreadful.
So the only possible reason for connecting the subs to the mixing console would be so that you could make adjustments, and that is precisely what you should not be doing at the console in the studio.

All adjustments to the monitoring system should be done among the crossovers, amplifiers and loudspeakers - nowhere else. You should take as much time as you need to optimize your monitoring. And once you have decided on the best settings, leave it alone!

Setting up a subwoofer system is easier than it used to be.

In the 'olden days' the monitor output from the mixing console would connect to a crossover that would separate the mid and high frequencies, which would go to the power amplifiers for the main monitors, and the low frequencies, which go to the subs.

These days, the crossover is more likely to be built into the subwoofer. Take for an example the Wharfedale EVP-X18PB. This has a single 18 inch drive unit powered by a 400 watt amplifier.

In addition however it has connections for the left and right stereo signals from the monitor output of the mixing console. These lead internally to a crossover that separates the lows from the mids and highs.

The mids and highs go to two outputs, which you can then connect to the amps driving your main monitor loudspeakers.

The lows from the two channels are summed and are used to drive the sub. The sub has a level control so that you can blend it with the output of your main monitors. There is a phase switch too - to test this put the speakers close together, and use the setting where you hear the most bass.

Combining the two channels into one sub is a useable option. Low frequencies are not particularly directional. Of course it's better to use two subs if you can afford it.

The key to using subs successfully for monitoring is to match the output from the main monitors and the subs at the crossover frequency. This is difficult to do unless you have an acoustic level meter, but if you play the subs on their own and listen to the highest frequencies they produce, then lock these frequencies in your head and listen out for them when all of the monitors are playing. Balance the sub(s) so that this band of frequencies is at the same subjective level as all the other frequencies.

Live Sound

Although in theory in live sound it would be nice to think of the main speaker stacks as gigantic hi-fi speakers, in practice there are benefits to be gained from subjective optimization from venue to venue. For a fixed installation, studio practice as described above applies. For a traveling PA, then you can either do it the 'proper' way, or connect the subs to the console so that you can tweak the sound more easily.



source:   http://www.audiomasterclass.com/question-time/index.php?p=how-do-i-connect-my-subwoofers-to-my-mixer&a=52

POD HD500 in action!

Glenn DeLaune is an amazing dude when it comes to using guitar amp modeling technology, as evidenced by his AMAZING tutorials he's done with the BOSS GT-10, Line 6 POD X3 Live, and now, the POD HD500:

Angel Witch - "Angel Witch"

another long lost classic from the AMAZING NWOBHM era...







 

Iron Maiden may have come out at the top of the heap - and deservedly so - but they weren't the only ones from that scene that totally kicked ass.  Yup, even Def Leppard had balls back then... before Mutt Lange emasculated em. *rolls eyes*

Warning: Severe Brutality Ahead (yes!)

Cannibal Corpse “Scalding Hail” live at Scion Fest 2010

the myth of 'tone suck'

The following graphic shows the sound frequency levels of a BOSS GT-10 multi-fx board, a true-bypass stompbox(off), and a computer's soundcard all by itself, i.e., nothing going on at all...

So basically - as you can see in plain view right here - unless you're using complete shit cables, or your gear is broken, there is virtually NO DIFFERENCE whatsoever... in fact, the only notable difference is waaaay down around 30hz - which the majority of people can't even hear.  So quit worrying about all the CRAP you read in online guitar forums and stop making things more difficult than they are!

GO PLAY YER DAMN GUITAR!

Nile - "Kafir!" LIVE in New York City

http://www.nile-catacombs.net/

http://www.myspace.com/nilecatacombs

The Case Against True Bypass by Pete Cornish

source:  http://www.petecornish.co.uk/case_against_true_bypass.html

"Hey Pete, do you use True Bypass?"

Look out there's a lecture coming:

The "true bypass" function, which is promoted by some, can create dreadful problems with a system that uses many pedals. Take for instance a 15 ft guitar cable linked to ten pedals, each linked by a 2 ft cable, and then onto the amp by a 30 ft cable. If all pedals have "true bypass", and are off, then the total cable length hanging on the guitar output will be 63 ft. This will cause a huge loss of tone and signal level particularly if the guitar is a vintage type with low output and high impedance. The amp volume is then turned up and the treble control increased to compensate for the losses. The inherent background noise now increases by the amount of the gain and treble increase and is usually, in my experience, too bad for serious work. If one of the pedals is now switched on, then it's (hopefully) high input impedance (and usually low output impedance) will buffer all the output cables from the guitar and the signal level will rise due to the removal of some of the load on the pickups (i.e.: 17 ft instead of 63 ft of cable). The treble will rise and the tone and volume will not be as before. If that pedal was say a chorus or delay, devices which are usually unity gain, then your overall signal level and tone will vary each time an effect is added...not a very good idea.

Some pedals have an input impedance which is far from high in real terms; the input impedance of the vast majority of amps is 1 Megohm (one million ohms) and in my experience there are few effects pedals that have the same input impedance. A load on the guitar of less than 1 Megohm will reduce the volume and high frequency content of the pickup signal thus giving rise to complaints that "this pedal looses tone/volume" etc. Many effects I have tested have an input impedance of less than 100 Kilohms (ie: only one tenth of the amp input impedance) and cause serious signal losses in the effects chain.

My system, which I devised in the early 70's, is to feed the guitar into a fixed high impedance load, which is identical to the amp input, and then distribute the signal to the various effects and amps by low impedance buffered feeds. This gives a constant signal level and tonal characteristics, which do not change at all when effects are added. The proof that this works are in the recordings of our clients: Roxy Music; The Police; Queen; Pink Floyd; Bryan Adams; Lou Reed; Dire Straits; Paul McCartney; Sting; Jimmy Page; Judas Priest; Black Sabbath....

So the answer to your question re "true bypass" is no, I do not use this system in my Effects Boards/Racks as it can seriously degrade your sound. All my current effects pedals (excluding Vintage Series) which are derived from our large systems have, as the main input stage, a fiendishly clever pre amp that has the same characteristics as the input of a tube amp (1 Megohm/20pF), a highly efficient filter to eliminate the possibility of radio breakthrough and a low output impedance so that any following pedals/ cables etc. will not impose a load on the guitar signal. This pre amp is fitted to all our large stage systems and has always met with huge approval; not only from the guitarist but also the PA operator who is so happy to have constant level and tone presented to his mixing board. I go further with large systems and provide several inputs, each with the isolating pre amp and a gain compensation pre amp so that many different guitars can be level matched into the system. In addition a 20 segment PPM type display provides visual indication of signal level in our Effects Boards and Rack Systems.

©Pete Cornish 2003

Line 6 Pod HD400 Multi-Effects Pedal Demo

It sounds strange, but I was more excited about the POD HD before I saw the videos, both this one from Premiere Guitar and the ones from Line 6 themselves... but I haven't played thru it myself yet, so take that for what it's worth. *shrug*


**EDIT** confirmed release date: in stores and online October 8, 2010

Available in stores and online October 8, 2010

Available in stores and online October 8, 2010

NEW! Line 6 DT50 guitar amplifier

Truth be known - and I am always truthful - I am more excited about this amp than the new POD HD... don't get me wrong, I still wanna check out the POD HD in person, rather than just online videos, but I'm just sayin'...



We take an in-depth look at what it's like to use DT50 and how all of this advanced technology combines into an incredibly versatile and inspiring guitar amplifier. Learn how we've made the analog components just as dynamic as the HD Modeling.



Learn more about DT50 at http://line6.com/dt50

DT50™ Specifications

DT50™ 112 combo

• Advanced HD modeling technology
• Reinhold Bogner’s most flexible tube design
• (2) 12AX7 preamp, (2) EL34 power amp (25W/50W)
• Simple and straightforward 2-channel design
• Each channel: Drive, Bass, Mid, Treble, Presence, Reverb, Channel Volume
• Master volume
• High and Low inputs
• Reconfigurable analog components (Class A/Class AB; Pentode/Triode)
• Complete, one-touch analog reconfiguration (via Channel select switch)
• Low-power mode
• 1x12" Celestion® custom G12H90 speaker
• L6 LINK™ in/thru connection for POD® HD integration
• Serial effect loop with level control
• Footswitch jack for channel switching
• XLR direct out with cabinet simulation and ground lift switch
• 4, 8 and 16-ohm speaker outs

DT50™ 212 combo

• Advanced HD modeling technology
• Reinhold Bogner’s most flexible tube design
• (2) 12AX7 preamp, (2) EL34 power amp (25W/50W)
• Simple and straightforward 2-channel design
• Each channel: Drive, Bass, Mid, Treble, Presence, Reverb, Channel Volume
• Master volume
• High and Low inputs
• Reconfigurable analog components (Class A/Class AB; Pentode/Triode)
• Complete, one-touch analog reconfiguration (via Channel select switch)
• Low-power mode
• 1x12" Celestion® custom G12H90 speaker; 1x12" Celestion Vintage 30 speaker
• MIDI in and out
• L6 LINK™ in/thru connection for POD® HD integration
• Footswitch jack for channel switching
• Serial effect loop with level control
• XLR direct out with cabinet simulation and ground lift switch
• 4, 8 and 16-ohm speaker outs

DT50™ head

• Advanced HD modeling technology
• Reinhold Bogner’s most flexible tube design
• (2) 12AX7 preamp, (2) EL34 power amp (25W/50W)
• Simple and straightforward 2-channel design
• Each channel: Drive, Bass, Mid, Treble, Presence, Reverb, Channel Volume
• Master volume
• High and Low inputs
• Reconfigurable analog components (Class A/Class AB; Pentode/Triode)
• Complete, one-touch analog reconfiguration (via Channel select switch)
• Low-power mode
• MIDI in and out
• L6 LINK™ in/thru connection for POD® HD integration
• Footswitch jack for channel switching
• Serial effect loop with level control
• XLR direct out with cabinet simulation and ground lift switch
• 4, 8 and 16-ohm speaker outs

DT50™ 412 cab

• 2x12" Celestion® G12H90 speakers
• 2x12" Celestion Vintage 30 speakers
• 8-ohms
• Straight front with slant baffle
• Closed back
• Constructed of 11-ply poplar
• Solid, heavy-duty casters
• Recessed handles

The Devil's Blood - "Christ or Cocaine" (live)

here's their myspace:  http://www.myspace.com/thedevilsblood

I'm sure they have a facebook too, but I abhor that site so much I couldn't be arsed to go there...

this band is so freakin' awesome... and unique. There are alot of 'retro' bands around today - unless you're mired in the soul/brainless abyss that is pop 'music', then you wouldn't know - but The Devil's Blood is a step above most of what you'd find. They get compared to Blood Ceremony alot, mainly because both bands feature female lead vocals, but in my mind, that's apples to oranges - they're both very tasty fruit, but even though both are classic rock mixed with prog elements mixed with psychedelia, and an evil-ish heaping helping of Aleister Crowley, Vincent Price and Roger Corman thrown in for good measure, they're nothing alike.  But BOTH rock!!

The PGS Recording Process

The guys at ProGuitarShop dot com make the best gear demo videos on the 'net, hands down - here's how they do it:



http://proguitarshop.com/

Fender G-Dec 3 FUSE Software Demo

A look at the Fender Fuse software that comes with a G Dec 3 which allows you to edit sounds and backing tracks, transfer to and from the amp and load your G Dec 3 just the way you want it.



http://www.fender.com/features/gdec3/#/home

Line 6 unveils new POD HD amp modellers

I got this here: http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/line-6-unveils-new-pod-hd-amp-modellers-280188

PRESS RELEASE: Line 6 Inc, the industry leader in digital modelling technology for music-creation products, ships a family of new POD HD multi-effect pedals, which debuts 16 brand-new Line 6 HD amp models, and much more.

"HD amp models deliver sonic depth, character and realism like never before," remarked Mike Murphy, Category Manager for POD and PC Products at Line 6.

"Over the last few years, we've had teams working on assembling a museum-quality collection of vintage guitar amps, restoring each amp back to its pristine state, and developing new HD amp modelling technology. The result is a collection of amp models that far exceeds our expectations and is the biggest news in POD since POD itself."

The 16 HD amp models offer an incredibly wide array of amp tones, and they do so with previously unachievable realism. They are inspired by a variety of immortal modern and vintage guitar amplifiers including a Fender Twin Reverb, Hiwatt Custom 100, Supro S6616, Gibson EH-185, Divided by 13 JRT 9/15, Dr. Z Route 66, Vox AC-30 (Top Boost), Marshall JTM-45 MkII, Park 75, Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, ENGL Fireball 100, and more.

(Recognizable amplifiers modelled for previous POD products have been re-modelled for POD HD using the new HD amp modelling technology.)

In the largest research project ever undertaken by Line 6, the HD Amp Modeling campaign required the development of an entirely new suite of software and hardware tools. These tools were built to capture, analyze, and translate into DSP code every nuance that analog circuitry imparts to the creation of an amplified guitar tone.

POD HD500, the flagship of the three-product family, features a comprehensive collection of digital and analog ins and outs, a 48-second looper, and over 100 M-class effects.
Made popular by the Line 6 M13 and M9 Stompbox Modellers, M-class effects excel at everything from vintage fuzz to modern pitch effects. Modelled after classic stompboxes and rack gear, or custom-designed by Line 6, M-class effects include tangy choruses, syrupy sweet reverbs, distinctive delays, and much more.


POD HD500's back panel includes quarter-inch balanced and XLR unbalanced outputs, XLR mic input, stereo FX send and return, MIDI in and out/thru, S/PDIF and more. PODHD300 and POD HD400 feature full sets of ins and outs, a 24-second looper, and more than 80 and 90 M-class effects, respectively.

Prices start at £259 for the POD HD300.

Bugera 1990 demo

here's a quick vid I recorded this evening of the new amp head:



Bugera 1990 amp head thru Marshall 4x12, playing a stock Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus... I kicked in a Digitech Bad Monkey overdrive halfway thru(annotated).

NO post-production EQing whatsoever was DONE, recorded with a Shure PG57 instrument mic, slightly off-axis about 3 inches from grill cloth.

In retrospect, I had just abit too much gain dialed in on the amp itself, but hey, whatcha gonna do? LOL

Sleep - "Dragonaut"

If you can't get off on this piece of stoner rock awesomeness, then you have some serious problems...

I got a new amp head

MHP CODE GREEN

http://www.machineheadpedals.com/CG.html

A fuzz that is the clear winner when bigger is better. A fuzz that is not an oscillating noisemaker or bedroom toy - the treble content is controlled to provide squarewave detail without harshness. With it's interactive Punch and Shove controls, the MHP Code Green is remarkably flexible in spite of it's monster fuzz capabilities.
 

With the interactive knob mixes you can get:

- tight dampened fuzz tones that punch
- loose fuzz tones with exceptional saturation
- as much squarewave harmonics as needed
- nearly endless sustain, should you need it
- a crisp and defined chop at any setting
- strong, authoritative low end
- pronounced lower midrange that cuts through 

The MHP Code Green also features:

- fairly low noise operation despite the amount of available fuzz
- great tones into crunchy amps, small amps, and those that don't typically fuzz up well
- ample boosting and headroom despite the amount of available fuzz
- great cleanup with a twist of your guitar's volume knob, at any fuzz setting

The MHP Code Green is completely hand built with a handmade overbuilt circuitboard, one at a time. $129.00 shipped (domestic).

SATYRICON - "The Pentagram Burns"

Lovepedal Announces Guitar Center-Exclusive Superlead Pedal

The British stack-voiced Superlead will be available only at Guitar Center.

White Plains, MI (September 17, 2010) -- Lovepedal has announced their latest pedal, available exclusively at Guitar Center. The British stack-voiced Superlead features Gain, Drive, and Tone controls with a Mids switch. Here's a description of the pedal from Lovepedal:

The Superlead packs thick, cranked British stack tone into a user-friendly, 3-knob pedal. Turn the gain down for a tough, percussive chunk, or crank it for singing, liquid lead tones with sustain for days. A two-position Mid switch offers your choice of boosted mids for a thicker sound or a more open voicing that lets the tone breathe. Whatever setting you choose, the Superlead delivers impeccable tone that responds to every nuance of your picking. Guitarists rejoice, your quest for the ultimate drive ends here.

The Superlead will be available on October 1 at Guitar Center for $129.

For more information:
Lovepedal

Source: Company Website

no, your eyes do not deceive you - POD HD

Sorry, I need just a minute to compose myself...

I was on YouTube watching an amazing performance by Free of their classic tune "All Right Now", with of course, the incomparable Paul Rodgers on vocals... in the discussion thread underneath, I spied this lovely bit of interplay:

amandamatic2424 - When it comes to rock and roll voices, Paul Rodgers is king. No one is better.

shanedawisawsom1234 - no michal jacson is the king but i gotta ad mit he is prety awsome

um... wow.

Sorry, I need just a minute to compose myself... I threw up in my mouth just a tiny bit.

We won't even get into the mind-numbingly horrendous butchering of the written English language, but let's just marvel in the shining brilliance that is "shanedawisawsom1234"'s complete and utter musical retardation.

Michael Jackson mentioned in the same breath as Paul Rodgers?!  What's next - Deep Purple featuring Lady Gaga?

here, watch this - you'll feel better:

this kid makes you look like crap

a young kid from Finland totally kicks your ass at guitar... {mine too :0( }



and he's playing old school Metallica, not this weak crap after Bob Rock sodomized them into Rolling Stone magazine's version of 'heavy metal'... so he's got good taste in REAL metal music.  *horns up*

the Blackstar HT-1RH - a new one-watt valve amp head

Blackstar's Artist Relations manager Joel Richardson and The Stooges guitarist James Williamson give Total Guitar an exclusive first look at the Blackstar HT-1RH - a new one-watt valve amp head.

NEW from BOSS! The ST-2 Power Stack

From fat crunch to ultra high-gain distortion, the ST-2 Power Stack delivers famous BOSS distortion with a stunning amount of power that’s akin to coveted tube amps and professional amp stacks. The SOUND knob simultaneously blends gain amount and sound character, so you can quickly dial up anything from vintage crunch and punchy drive to full-assault distortion. To add further detail to your tone, simply tweak the onboard two-band EQ to taste. The ST-2 is one very unique distortion pedal, calling on BOSS’ years of amp modeling research to bring you real stack sounds in a compact stompbox.

• Original distortion sound reminiscent of tube-based stack amplifiers
• Provides a wide range of tones, from vintage crunch to ultra high-gain modern distortion
• Faithful and accurate response to picking nuances and volume changes
• SOUND Knob controls both gain level and sound character
• Two-band EQ with dedicated BASS and TREBLE knobs
• Road-tough BOSS construction

go here for more information...

Fender Deluxe VM 40W 1x12 Guitar Combo Amp

you might wanna consider adding this to your list of amp candidates:

Fender Deluxe VM 40W 1x12 Guitar Combo Amp Specifications:

Series: Vintage Modified Series

Type: All Tube Amp

Output: 40 watts into 8 ohms

Ohms: 4 or 8 ohms

Speakers: 1-12 in. Celestion(R) G12P-80, 8 ohm Speakers, (P/N 0076501000)

Channels: Two Selectable Channels (Clean and Drive)

Features: Real Tube Amp Performance Combined with a Complement of Essential Effects, All new DSP Platform, Effects Loop with Send & Return, Two Speaker Output Jacks, Standby Switch, 3/4 in. Baltic Birch Baffle

Controls:
- CLEAN CHANNEL: Volume, Treble, Bass, Drive Switch

- DRIVE CHANNEL: Drive Switch, Gain, Volume, Treble, Middle, Bass, Reverb, Effects Adjust Switch (Chorus/Delay), Time/Rate, Delay On/Off Switch, Mix, Chorus On/Off Switch, Depth

Covering: Black Textured Vinyl with Silver Grille Cloth

Weight: 40 lbs. (18.2 kg)

Dimensions:
- Height: 17.5 in. (44.45 cm),
- Width: 24 in. (61 cm),
- Depth: 10 in. (25.4 cm)

Power Handling: N/A

Tube Complement: 2 X 12AX7, 2 X 6L6

Cover: Black Cover included, P/N 0075455000

Accessories Included: Cover, P/N 0075455000, 4-Button Footswitch, P/N 0075485000

Footswitch: Uses 4-Button Footswitch Included, P/N 0075485000,

Button Functions: Drive, Reverb, Delay, Chorus

************************************************

here's a guy jamming thru the amp with a Les Paul:

and the same guy playing the amp with his band, to hear it in context with other instruments:

Fender Deluxe VM 40W 1x12 Tube Guitar Combo Amp *

*I have no connection with this vendor... or any vendor, for that matter.

How should I use an equalizer with a limiter?

“Could you tell me please whether the equalizer should go first, then the limiter. Or should the limiter go first?”

Whether an equalizer should be placed before or after a limiter depends on the purpose you are using the limiter for.

Sometimes a limiter is used as an extreme form of compression, for musical purposes. In this case you can place the EQ either before or after the limiter, depending on what you want to hear. Try it both ways and choose whichever you prefer.

However limiters are more normally used when you don't want the signal to exceed a certain level. This would be the case in mastering, and you would use limiters in live sound and broadcasting too.

In addition to the above, you may also want the signal to come up to a predefined level, not merely not to exceed it. In this case you would set the limiting threshold so that the signal frequently triggers the limiting action.

Since equalization can increase the signal level, then it must come before the limiter. If it comes after the limiter, then the signal may go higher than the level you have set.

You may be using EQ to reduce certain bands of frequencies, in which case the signal level will be lowered. Even so, the equalizer should come before the limiter, otherwise there is little point in the limiter being there in the first place.

So, for musical purposes place the EQ where you like. For signal control purposes, the equalizer should go before the limiter.


source:  http://www.audiomasterclass.com/

Morbid Angel - "Immortal Rites"

now THIS is killer death metal.

um... was that an oxymoron?  ...or a pun?  *shrug*

the NEW Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier

unlike many "upgrades", which often screw up the original deal, Mesa has again proven why they're at the top of the heap...

Behemoth - "Alas, Lord is Upon Me" UNCENSORED

not safe for work or kids.  Seriously.

POD Farm Plug-In Application how-to video

from Line6 support's youtube channel:



Here's the page for Reaper, which is a really good, capable, & easy-on- computer-resources low-cost DAW.

Tony93666 presents: "Barack Obama has a purty mouth"

Q: How is Barack Obama like a maxed out credit card?

A: They're both plastic and worthless.


 Tony93666 presents: "Barack Obama has a purty mouth"



*all guitars & drum programming by me. Images collected from across the web. Stupidity almost overwhelmingly furnished by Obama aka 'Barry Soetero'.

AMP-MODELING SOFTWARE AND VINTAGE AMPS GO HEAD-TO-HEAD

AMP-MODELING SOFTWARE AND VINTAGE AMPS GO HEAD-TO-HEAD




By Mike Levin
source:  http://emusician.com/tutorials/showdown-clubhouse-amp-software/index.html

BONUS MATERIAL Take the Listening Test!


Conventional wisdom states that while guitar-amp modelers are good at capturing the essence of the vintage amps they emulate, the actual amp will always sound superior. Naturally, you won't hear that from amp-modeler manufacturers, but you hear it all the time from engineers, producers, and musicians. It's one of those truisms that people in the audio field generally take for granted.

I've been a user of amp modelers (both hardware and software) in my studio for many years. I've used them to record tracks for all sorts of projects, including commercials and albums; in fact, the electric guitar sounds on my own CD were recorded entirely with modelers. I even fooled a “golden ears” engineer colleague of mine who heard my CD and was shocked to find out that no amps had been miked for it.

Still, in my mind I've generally subscribed to the conventional wisdom about amp modelers and assumed that if I had, say, a real Marshall JCM 800, properly miked, the British 800 patch in my amp-modeling software would sound inferior by comparison.

Nevertheless, I've also wondered what would happen if modelers were put head-to-head against the amps they emulate. Would it really be that obvious which is which? Would the real amp always sound superior to the modeler? At an editorial meeting last year, while thinking out loud, I raised the possibility of doing such a test for a feature story, expecting the idea to get rejected because of the logistical challenges it would engender. Much to my surprise, EM editor Gino Robair approved it, saying to me, “Make it happen.”

The Planning

As excited as I was about the assignment, the idea of turning it into reality was a bit daunting. First, I needed to find someone in charge of a studio that had a vintage-amp collection who would agree to host the testing. Second, I'd need to assemble a group of qualified experts willing to give up an afternoon to serve as panelists. Third, I'd have to acquire the software from the various manufacturers. Fourth, I'd need to work out a methodology for the test that would allow me to make accurate assessments.

The first hurdle was the studio. I initially tried a studio in Nashville that had been recommended to me, but it was too booked up for the owner to commit to letting us use one of the rooms for a day to do our testing. One day I was talking to Rich Tozzoli, who is a friend of mine and an EM contributor. He suggested I try a studio called the Clubhouse, which is located in Rhinebeck, New York. I had recently been in touch with Paul Antonell, its owner, about getting some quotes for an EM story on reamping. Tozzoli said that the studio had an excellent vintage-amp collection (their amps had been modeled by AudioEase for the guitar-amp portion of its Speakerphone software), so I asked Antonell if we could do the tests at the Clubhouse. He said yes, and we set a date of September 13 for the testing.

Paneling

The next challenge was finding the panelists. With the help of Tozzoli and Antonell, I was able to locate a number of producer-engineer-guitarists with excellent credits who agreed to be on the listening panel (see Fig. 1).

FIG. 1: The panel (from left to right): Pete Moshay, John Holbrook, Rich Tozzoli, D. James Goodwin, and Paul Orofino.

The panelists were D. James Goodwin (Thursday, Parliament-Funkadelic, Motion Picture Demise), John Holbrook (B.B. King, the Brian Setzer Orchestra, the Isley Brothers, Fountains of Wayne), Pete Moshay (Hall and Oates, Daryl Hall, Paula Abdul, B.B. King, Barbra Streisand, Fishbone), Paul Orofino (John Petrucci, Blue Oyster Cult, Anthrax), and Tozzoli (Al Di Meola, the Marsalis Family, David Bowie).

All of the panelists had lots of experience recording guitars through vintage amps in commercial-studio environments. Most also had experience with amp modelers, especially the tried-and-true Digidesign Pro Tools HD standby, Line 6 Amp Farm.

How to Do It?

I wanted to include all the modelers on the market that emulate specific vintage amps. Because I needed to be able to switch seamlessly between modelers during the listening tests, and in an attempt to keep some limits on the number of products involved, I decided to stick with software modelers only. That ruled out hardware-based modelers.

Considering how vital its PODs are to the modeling field, I felt particularly bad about omitting Line 6. I found out through the company that it was on the verge of releasing POD Farm, a software-only modeler, but it wouldn't be available in time for our testing.
The products I ended up selecting were Digidesign Eleven, IK Multimedia AmpliTube 2 and AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix, Line 6 Amp Farm 3.0, Native Instruments Guitar Rig 3, Peavey ReValver MK III, and Waves GTR3.

I initially considered having a guitarist in the studio to play through the amps and modelers live, but I ultimately chose to record DI examples in advance. Once at the studio, I could instead send these files through the amps using a reamping device and through the modelers within Pro Tools.

Some people will say that using a prerecorded track through a reamper takes away from the natural interaction between guitar and amp live in a room and the loading of the pickups that occurs. That is a valid point for certain types of guitar parts, but the truth of the matter is that plenty of tracks get recorded with the guitarist either in a different room from his or her amp or recorded through a DI to be reamped later. I also felt that using the prerecorded DI track would assure that the performance would be identical when it was pumped through the amp and the modelers. This would level the playing field and remove the possibility that a better performance on a particular pass would influence the panelists as to what sounded best.

I contacted all the software manufacturers to request copies of the software to use for the testing. I was a little concerned that they might balk at being part of a test that could possibly indicate that their products weren't able to duplicate the sound of vintage amps convincingly. However, that was not the case at all. My contacts at the various companies were all quite agreeable to the idea and seemed confident about how their products would fare in the testing.

Methods and Parameters

After doing some research on various product-testing methodologies, I decided that a single, very basic blind test would be the most appropriate — that is, a blind comparison of the same example played through the amp and the modelers, with the panelists voting on which they thought was the real amp. In addition, I would ask the panelists to say which of all the sounds was their favorite for each example.

FIG. 2: The real things (from left to right): the 1964 Fender Twin Reverb, the 1980 Marshall JCM 800 with 4 5 12 cabinet, and the 1963 Vox AC30 Top Boost.

Particularly tricky was trying to find common amps between the modelers and what was in the Clubhouse's collection. Although the general impression is that all the modeling software emulates the same basic group of vintage amps, it's more complicated than that. The Clubhouse had a couple of amps that most of the modelers did: a Vox AC30 Top Boost and a Marshall JCM 800. The studio had a 1963 version of the AC30 and a 1980 version of the JCM 800, so we were in business with those two.

Finding common Fender models, however, was more complicated. The studio had a '69 Bassman, but most of the software packages emulate the '59 Bassman. The circuitry between the '59 and '69 amps is quite different, so I had to rule out using a Bassman. Meanwhile, some of the modelers emulated Deluxe Reverbs, and some Super Reverbs, but the most commonly modeled Fender amp (other than the Bassman) was a Blackface Fender Twin Reverb. Luckily, the studio had such an amp, circa 1964, so that became the third amp in the testing (see Fig. 2).

Get with the Programming

Because there were only three amps that had enough matches among the modelers, I decided to do two tests for each amp, using different settings on the amps and modelers for each test. I recorded a short example through a DI that was stylistically appropriate for the particular amp. I used my ESP 400 Series Strat (with Lace Sensor pickups) for most of the examples, but I also borrowed a Les Paul from a friend for a couple of them.

Once the DI recording was done, I tweaked the software models of those amps in my studio, making the basic parameters (such as the amount of gain and the tone settings) of the various modelers' sounds as similar as possible. The one x factor was that I wouldn't have access to the real amps until the day of the testing. Then, I'd have to quickly adjust them so their settings would be similar to those I'd used on the modelers.

As the date of the session got closer, I realized that instead of trying to run the DI tracks through the modelers in real time at the studio, I could bounce the tracks through the modelers in advance, and just bring those files with me to the Clubhouse. This would make it easier for the studio to run the examples back-to-back for the panelists. Because amp modelers tend to be CPU intensive, having four or five of them open simultaneously would have been a major strain on the studio's Mac Pro and Pro Tools HD system. An additional advantage of using the prerecorded examples was that I could include Peavey ReValver, which, at the time of the testing, didn't have an RTAS version and therefore couldn't be run live in Pro Tools without using a VST-to-RTAS wrapper. (Peavey plans to have released an RTAS version of ReValver by the time you read this.)

The Big Day

On the day of the testing, I arrived at the studio around noon. I'd asked the panel to show up at 2 p.m., figuring that two hours of setup time before they arrived would be sufficient to tweak the sounds on the amps and get the audio files and Pro Tools sessions transferred to the studio's computer. I brought session files for the six examples, which contained the audio files bounced from each of the modelers and the unprocessed DI files to be sent through the Reamp (from manufacturer John Cuniberti) to the actual amplifiers.

One thing that took a lot of time was changing my Pro Tools session files to match the output scheme of the studio's Pro Tools interface. Then it was a matter of getting sounds dialed in on the real amplifiers for each of the examples, writing down settings, and making sure that the volume levels of the actual amps matched those of the files from the modelers. I also had to pay attention to the input trim level on the Reamp, because that governed how hard we'd be hitting the amp, which would impact the sound.

FIG. 3: The author (left) and Eli Walker (right) work to get the session configured and the volume levels evened out for the testing. 

We set up the amps in a room called the Library, which sits next to the main live room. The reason we did this was that we didn't want the panelists in the control room to hear even the faintest bit of amp sound bleeding into the control room when the actual amp was being fed from the Reamp.

Despite the able efforts of Clubhouse assistant engineer Eli Walker, the process of setting up took longer than expected (see Fig. 3), which meant that the panelists ended up sitting around for an hour waiting. Normally this wouldn't have been a problem. It was a nice day, and they were sitting in the studio's backyard, geeking out with tech talk.  Unfortunately, one of the panelists, John Holbrook, had a limited time window, and the delay meant that he couldn't stay for all the tests, which was a shame.

Let the Testing Begin

We were finally ready to start the listening session at about 3 p.m. The panelists sat in the control room, and I handed out scoring sheets to each of them. They would listen to the various versions that were routed through the studio's Neve console and an EMT Plate reverb. The monitors were Genelec 1031s. For each of the six examples, the panelists would listen to the various versions consecutively. They would have no prior knowledge of which was the real amp and which was a modeler. I asked them to write down which version from each group was the amp and which was their favorite.

Amp: 1964 Blackface Fender Twin Reverb
Modelers: Amp Farm 3.0, AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix, Eleven, and Guitar Rig 3

FIG. 4: Goodwin, Orofino, and Holbrook take notes during the testing session.

Twin, example 1, was a clean, rootsy, country-influenced example that was played on the ESP Strat and featured both chords and lead work (see Web Clip 1). As the five versions were played, the panelists scribbled down notes (see Fig. 4). So which was the real amp? “To me, it's obvious,” said Goodwin. “I have a couple of ideas,” added Tozzoli. When I revealed the answer, sure enough, Goodwin, Tozzoli, and two of the other three panelists had guessed which was the real Twin. The fifth vote was for the Amp Farm version. “If it's this easy to pick out the amp in all the tests, it's not going to be a very interesting day,” I remember thinking.

But as it turned out, I needn't have worried. On Twin, example 2 (see Web Clip 2), which was more of a rocking rhythm part (although still fairly clean), only two of the five panelists picked out the version with the real amp. Interestingly, the Amp Farm version got the other three votes. Although Goodwin had guessed the real amp, he said that he also liked the AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix version. So did Orofino: “Nice, very tight sound,” he commented. Moshay, the other panelist who had voted for the real amp, liked the Guitar Rig version. “It was good,” he said, “although a little flat sounding.”

Because of the extra time spent during setup, Holbrook had to leave after the Twin examples. Now the panel was down to four.

Amp: 1963 Vox AC30 Top Boost
Modelers: Amp Farm 3.0, AmpliTube 2, Eleven, GTR3, Guitar Rig 3, and ReValver MK III

For AC30, example 1 (see Web Clip 3) — a crunchy, British-style, '70s-like rhythm part that I had recorded with the ESP Strat — only Goodwin guessed the actual amp. The other three panelists each chose different models, which indicates to me that either the AC30 is an easier amp to emulate than the Twin or a crunchy amp sound is easier to simulate than a clean one. Tozzoli commented that the Guitar Rig version sounded “damn good.” Orofino's favorite was ReValver, which he said had more-focused mids. Moshay also liked the ReValver version, as well as the one run through AmpliTube.

AC30, example 2 (see Web Clip 4), was another crunchy rhythm-guitar track — this one played on the Les Paul. This time, nobody could tell the real amp from the modelers. Moshay thought that the Waves GTR version was the amp, saying it sounded nice and crunchy. Tozzoli and Orofino guessed it was the Guitar Rig version, while Goodwin thought it was the Eleven version. Interestingly, when voting for which one they liked best (as opposed to which one was the real amp), three panelists chose No. 5, which was the real amp. Tozzoli also liked the ReValver version a lot.

This round of listening sparked an interesting discussion. Moshay noted that overall, some of the modeler versions lacked a bit of dimension. “With simulators, a lot of time what happens is that all the time all the tone just comes right to the front; there's no push to the low end,” he said. “An amp will have a little push when you're pushing air. It's almost like a multiband [compressor] — we'll just take all the frequencies and flatten them. And they're all like high, mid, low, balanced flat, as if you brickwalled it. Whereas on an amplifier, the bottom end of an amp will push on certain notes and not on other ones; you get a little thrusting going on.”

“On the amps, I've noticed consistently that you hear more of the guitar,” said Goodwin. “You hear more of the character of the guitar, whereas the modelers seem to homogenize the character slightly more,” he added. Orofino noted that on some of the modeled tracks, there was a compressed sound that was a giveaway.

Amp: 1980 Marshall JCM 800 through a Marshall 4 × 12 cabinet
Modelers: Amp Farm 3.0, AmpliTube 2, Eleven, and Guitar Rig 3

Marshall, example 1 (see Web Clip 5), was a heavy passage played on the Les Paul, with both chords and lead, and was intended for a high-gain sound. Two of the four panelists, Moshay and Goodwin, were able to discern the real amp, but notably, none of them chose it as their favorite. Moshay said, “If I were mixing, I'd choose No. 1,” which was the Eleven version. Tozzoli liked that one best, too; he thought it was warm sounding. Goodwin and Orofino liked the Guitar Rig rendition best.

On Marshall, example 2 (see Web Clip 6), which was played on the Strat, only Tozzoli guessed the real amp. Moshay and Orofino thought it was the Eleven version. Goodwin guessed it was the AmpliTube.

As for favorite sounds, Orofino picked the one played through Eleven, which Goodwin thought was a little more open sounding than the others. Moshay also chose that as his favorite. Tozzoli and Goodwin liked the AmpliTube version best. Thus ended the testing session.

Lessons Learned

In total, the panelists were able to tell the real amp from the modelers only 38.5 percent of the time. (emphasis added ~ Tony)  Although this wasn't a huge sample, I think it's fairly safe to conclude that given the right conditions, modelers can sound as good as the amps they emulate. The fact that these panelists, who work with amped guitar sounds virtually every day, couldn't distinguish the amps from the modelers in so many instances presents a very strong case in favor of amp modelers.

There were times when the simulated amp sounds were more obvious, especially with the clean-sounding Twin examples. That jibed with my own observations over the years that modelers have a much tougher time getting realistic clean sounds (in the Twin examples, the panelists picked the real amp 60 percent of the time). But on the crunchy and distorted sounds, the modelers were able to fool the experts 75 percent of the time. (emphasis added ~Tony)


If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have done as much advanced tweaking to the modeled sounds in an attempt to make them sound similar. In some ways, I may have detracted from their sound by doing so. This was especially true for Eleven on the AC30 examples, which I had to program rather hastily on the day of the testing. In retrospect, a better approach might have been to use the modelers' own presets for the various amps being tested, which might have shown off the software's abilities better.

It should be noted that these tests were set up to compare the sound of the amps against that of the modelers, so I have stayed away from drawing any conclusions about which of the modelers sounded best. That would have required a whole different approach to the testing. In fact, all of the modelers in the tests elicited positive responses from the panelists at one time or another during the day. (See Web Clip 7 for a wrap-up discussion by the panelists about the testing.)

Overall, I was very satisfied with the results of this experiment. Although vintage-amp aficionados might disagree, my take-away from the day was that modelers are not the second-class substitutes for actual amps that they're often portrayed as being. Rather, they're an excellent alternative that can often sound just as good as the amps they emulate. And, of course, modelers give you a choice of many different amp tones and cabinet configurations, are much cheaper (not to mention lighter) than real amps, come with tons of built-in effects, allow you total recall, and often have automatable parameters. Sure, there are times when nothing beats a vintage amp. But according to what I observed in the testing session, that's certainly not a hard-and-fast rule.

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Mike Levine is the executive editor and senior media producer of EM. He wishes to thank Paul Antonell from the Clubhouse, the panelists, and the software manufacturers. To listen to the same files that the panelists did, and to see if you can guess which sounds are the real amps, see Web Clips 1 through 6.