I've had this discussion with some of my fellow musicians from time to time: if you can't easily hear the difference between two amps on a recording, what's it matter which one you play?
I think it matters, and not just for how a particular amp inspires the player.
When we talk about how amps respond to one's playing, to one's pick attack, whether it has a lot of sustain, whether it accentuates the note attack or rounds it off...so many factors that can be discussed, these are things we simply lump into a category, Feel.
For me, the way an amp Feels is a Thing. An important thing. In fact, one of the most magical things about my HXDA is how well it responds to picking dynamics, how elastic it feels, how the notes attack and sustain, etc. I love how the amp works with me, instead of working against me. My other amps work in different ways, all good, but their feel is undeniably different.
One reason I'm not crazy about modelers is that they feel different, but that's a topic for another time ('m talking about hardware at this moment, not software or things that employ software to create a sound, such as a hardware modeler).
As much as I dig the sound and functionality of, for example, my Lone Star, the feel of the two single channel PRS amps I have puts them in a different league -- not necessarily better for the given player -- just different.
The feel of the DG30 is, when I play it, immediate. The attack is fast, very percussive, pick attacks come through very nicely, etc. It decays a bit faster than the HXDA, which makes it very well suited to certain styles.
Conversely, the HXDA has a more searing attack, sustains longer, breaks up earlier, and has a more forgiving and elastic feel.
Both of these amps sound so gorgeous (to me) that I would have a hard time doing a project without both of them.
The Lone Star has a crapload of headroom on the clean channel, so I mainly use it for that, or for a slight crunch. The gain channel is certainly very cool, but I like the feel of the HXDA's response for soloing, it just is a better fit for me (and it's also smoother and more elastic).
So what say you on the question I started this post with -- if you have two similar sounding amps, that would be hard to tell apart on a recording, does it matter to you whether the amps have a different feel? Is feel even a thing you care about, or is it just the tone?
After we're done with this, we can address the question of whether black tolex'd amps sound different from paisley, and whether I would sell/trade body parts for a leather covered PRS amp.
I think it matters, and not just for how a particular amp inspires the player.
When we talk about how amps respond to one's playing, to one's pick attack, whether it has a lot of sustain, whether it accentuates the note attack or rounds it off...so many factors that can be discussed, these are things we simply lump into a category, Feel.
For me, the way an amp Feels is a Thing. An important thing. In fact, one of the most magical things about my HXDA is how well it responds to picking dynamics, how elastic it feels, how the notes attack and sustain, etc. I love how the amp works with me, instead of working against me. My other amps work in different ways, all good, but their feel is undeniably different.
One reason I'm not crazy about modelers is that they feel different, but that's a topic for another time ('m talking about hardware at this moment, not software or things that employ software to create a sound, such as a hardware modeler).
As much as I dig the sound and functionality of, for example, my Lone Star, the feel of the two single channel PRS amps I have puts them in a different league -- not necessarily better for the given player -- just different.
The feel of the DG30 is, when I play it, immediate. The attack is fast, very percussive, pick attacks come through very nicely, etc. It decays a bit faster than the HXDA, which makes it very well suited to certain styles.
Conversely, the HXDA has a more searing attack, sustains longer, breaks up earlier, and has a more forgiving and elastic feel.
Both of these amps sound so gorgeous (to me) that I would have a hard time doing a project without both of them.
The Lone Star has a crapload of headroom on the clean channel, so I mainly use it for that, or for a slight crunch. The gain channel is certainly very cool, but I like the feel of the HXDA's response for soloing, it just is a better fit for me (and it's also smoother and more elastic).
So what say you on the question I started this post with -- if you have two similar sounding amps, that would be hard to tell apart on a recording, does it matter to you whether the amps have a different feel? Is feel even a thing you care about, or is it just the tone?
After we're done with this, we can address the question of whether black tolex'd amps sound different from paisley, and whether I would sell/trade body parts for a leather covered PRS amp.
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