Headphones and valve / tube amps

[jugglindan]

I built electronic kits in my early teens, played guitar in my later teens, then got distracted and did drawing for a while, got distracted and learnt juggling (I can still do a solid 4 balls and shaky 5), got distracted by guitar again (getting my first electric), recently started building pedals again...

It just goes around and around.

[Andy40]

Dick Smith electronic kits by chance?

[jugglindan]

Dick Smith electronic kits by chance?

You bet!

They were awesome

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk

[Andy40]

Snap! they were the best.

[Joe Garfield]

Well I’ve learned at least a little something since I started this thread Particularly, ‘cabinet simulation’ and ‘power amp simulation’ are two different things and can be a significant part of the experience. Most of the demos I’ve watched had a tube power amp plugged into either an active tube power amp, or a modeled amp with an emulated cabinet.

Then there are different types of emulators: passive analog, active analog, and digital. On top of that, there are room effects (ie, reverb.)

On one hand, I could consider the Two Notes CAB M which is basically amp modeling software in a pedal box. It converts signal to digital and can apply everything from custom cabinet impulse responses, EQ, mic positions, room dynamics, etc to the signal, then convert back to analog. There will be a small amount of latency and I’d really prefer not to have that much processing in my guitar signal. But it’s a really complete solution, albeit not cheap at $320 usd.

On a second hand, there are active analog cabinet emulators, like Suhr A.C.E. This is another pedal sized device that applies filters and EQ to the sound. It’s obviously much more limited than the above product and still has no room effects. Still close to a $300 usd solution that may not have enough reverb. There are cheaper ones but they’re usually less convincing.

On one foot, I was considering an inexpensive IR loader just to try (NuX Mini Studio.) For $100 it seems like an inexpensive way to try custom IRs (can buy additional IRs from Celestion which have mic positions and therefore maybe some room effect.) There’s no amplifier modeling, the pedal doesn’t come with power cord, and may not cover enough reverb so when you add these products on it’s really a $200+ solution. But since the modeling is limited to IR only, the latency is a little lower at least. Also I don’t want to go down a rabbit hole of buying cheap equipment only to realize I wish I had better equipment. It’s hard to say if that would be the case or not.

Living on the most remote set of populated islands in the world, and in a time of a global pandemic, doesn’t help the process! It’s not like I can walk into a store and try out a few things. The stores aren’t open and most of them don’t have what I’m looking for.

[jugglindan]

I feel your pain. It can be very hard to cut through all the options when you can't try before you buy. No amount of reading reviews and specs, or YouTube videos takes the place of hearing yourself play through something with your own guitar.

Yes, you are right that a lot of different elements are needed to get the sound right. Even my clean sound has a lot of processing (buffer, light gain, light post-gain compression, reverb, amp, cab sim). That's one thing I like about lunchbox amps like my THR10C. It has all the basic elements built in - 8 amp sims, 5 cabinet speaker sims, reverb, plus the option of delay, phaser, flanger, chorus, compressor, noise gate. And I can mix and match. I tend to use the Blues Jr amp sim with the Bluesbreaker 2x12 cab sim. It makes it richer to my ears than the Fender 1x12 cab options.

Are there any online vendors with a good return policy? That might give you the safety net you need.

[Joe Garfield]

Hmm... ‘modeling amp’ = digital.

Coming from a guy with exquisite taste in amplifiers and a preference for analog pedal circuitry, I think you just sold me on the Two Notes CAB M. =)

I saw a video of Pete Thorn using IR software. There was a tone where he moved the mic away from the speaker and you (I) could “hear the room” - it honestly felt like I was in a room with an amplifier being played.

Considering what I’m after, maybe it’s silly to try to avoid some kind of digital modeling.

[Joe Garfield]

I guess another option is a free trial of Wall of Sound - I don’t want to use my PC when playing, but maybe a trial isn’t a bad way to see if I like using modeled tones.

[jugglindan]

Hmm... ‘modeling amp’ = digital.

Coming from a guy with exquisite taste in amplifiers and a preference for analog pedal circuitry, I think you just sold me on the Two Notes CAB M. =)

I saw a video of Pete Thorn using IR software. There was a tone where he moved the mic away from the speaker and you (I) could “hear the room” - it honestly felt like I was in a room with an amplifier being played.

Considering what I’m after, maybe it’s silly to try to avoid some kind of digital modeling.

I am happy to keep suggesting things that push you in the other direction

But really, I think the only way to cut through all the options is to let your ears be the judge. Even Youtube videos are very limiting. It's not your gear, your guitar, your room, and you have no control over all the other things they do to the sound. My favourite example is this review of the Guv'nor pedal. Sure, it's a great pedal but it's demoed through a wall of cranked Marshalls (note the ear protection)!


Also, I agree with the analog over digital. My current pedal building efforts are part of my plan to slowly replace digital effects with analog ones. Later this year I plan to build a tube amp, although I will likely keep the THR as well.

[Joe Garfield]

Yeah that’s what I realized - I went back and looked at the demos that influenced my decisions, and realized there was more going on than I realized at first.

I think Two Notes CAB M is a pretty safe bet. If i don’t like the amp modeling I can turn it off. If I don’t like the IR I can make my own or buy from Celestion. Or at the very least I can just use EQ, reverb, etc.

It seems like every guitar purchase I made since I started at 16 was some kind of sacrifice. So while expensive, it also feels good to get some premium gear. And I guess it’s gear that should hold it’s value reasonably well if it doesn’t work out. I had credit from a return at Amazon a few months ago so I just applied it to the CAB M