Last night I decided to try out Universal Audio's new Tweed amp model for the Apollo and UAD platform. I have a lot of the UAD plugs, and use the effects processors in my work. Most are very good.
As many here know, I'm not a big fan of amp modelers, so some of my remarks may be attributed to confirmation bias. However, last night I recorded a demo of my new McCarty with this model, to see how it'd work in the context of a track where I might use a Tweed style amp, so I composed something. I posted the link elsewhere, but here it is as well. I think it turned out pretty well:
https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/tweed-model-mccarty-4
Frankly, if you listen to this recording, you might think it's a real amp, you might not. I think the outcome is pretty close, but not 100%. Warmth is missing. However I could get away with this recording on an ad, no problem.
I did have a hard time getting the amp to respond the way my tube amps respond. It felt noticeably stiffer. It didn't respond quite as naturally to the pick attack, and I found myself stumbling a little more than usual (stumbling when playing is pretty much the name of my game!).
Nonetheless, a useful track.
But you know, there's nothing like a listening comparison.
So take another listen to that modeler demo, and listen to things like how the notes bloom and sustain, whether they sound rich or thin, soft or hard, etc.
Now here's a link to a recording I did with the DG30 with the McCarty Singlecut, an amp I think falls nicely into the Tweed style camp, and as you can hear, there's a nice warmth, fullness, and looseness to the amp that really shines through compared to the model; it's also much more easy to play through, the notes sing. And it has that elusive elasticity that I think the models lack:
https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/hammer-dg-mstr-2
And something also in the Americana vein with the maple neck McCarty into a Lone Star, a stiffer amp than the DG30, but still a joy to play through compared to the model, and probably a better tube vs modeler comparison as both employ the bridge pickup on a McCarty:
https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/americana-ls-guitar-v2
Listen, I'm no paragon of guitar skills, I realize that. Other players may feel differently, but listening to those modelers vs the real amps, something is still missing, and playing through the Tweed model didn't give me the colors I get with the tube amps. The model also wouldn't sing on sustained notes the way a tube amp does, even when it's in a recording booth and I'm in a control room.
I didn't include any HXDA clips because it's unfair to compare a Marshall style amp to a Fender-ish amp. I used only the SM57 modeled mic with the modeled amp, and both real tube amp recordings were done with SM57s against the grille.
Hopefully when you hear the real amps in my clips, you can hear the differences between them and the amp model in the first clip.
This isn't to say the model is useless - I'd use it on a track in a pinch. But for me it falls less into the realm of "inspiring instrument" and is more in the category of "workable tool."
As many here know, I'm not a big fan of amp modelers, so some of my remarks may be attributed to confirmation bias. However, last night I recorded a demo of my new McCarty with this model, to see how it'd work in the context of a track where I might use a Tweed style amp, so I composed something. I posted the link elsewhere, but here it is as well. I think it turned out pretty well:
https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/tweed-model-mccarty-4
Frankly, if you listen to this recording, you might think it's a real amp, you might not. I think the outcome is pretty close, but not 100%. Warmth is missing. However I could get away with this recording on an ad, no problem.
I did have a hard time getting the amp to respond the way my tube amps respond. It felt noticeably stiffer. It didn't respond quite as naturally to the pick attack, and I found myself stumbling a little more than usual (stumbling when playing is pretty much the name of my game!).
Nonetheless, a useful track.
But you know, there's nothing like a listening comparison.
So take another listen to that modeler demo, and listen to things like how the notes bloom and sustain, whether they sound rich or thin, soft or hard, etc.
Now here's a link to a recording I did with the DG30 with the McCarty Singlecut, an amp I think falls nicely into the Tweed style camp, and as you can hear, there's a nice warmth, fullness, and looseness to the amp that really shines through compared to the model; it's also much more easy to play through, the notes sing. And it has that elusive elasticity that I think the models lack:
https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/hammer-dg-mstr-2
And something also in the Americana vein with the maple neck McCarty into a Lone Star, a stiffer amp than the DG30, but still a joy to play through compared to the model, and probably a better tube vs modeler comparison as both employ the bridge pickup on a McCarty:
https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/americana-ls-guitar-v2
Listen, I'm no paragon of guitar skills, I realize that. Other players may feel differently, but listening to those modelers vs the real amps, something is still missing, and playing through the Tweed model didn't give me the colors I get with the tube amps. The model also wouldn't sing on sustained notes the way a tube amp does, even when it's in a recording booth and I'm in a control room.
I didn't include any HXDA clips because it's unfair to compare a Marshall style amp to a Fender-ish amp. I used only the SM57 modeled mic with the modeled amp, and both real tube amp recordings were done with SM57s against the grille.
Hopefully when you hear the real amps in my clips, you can hear the differences between them and the amp model in the first clip.
This isn't to say the model is useless - I'd use it on a track in a pinch. But for me it falls less into the realm of "inspiring instrument" and is more in the category of "workable tool."
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