Mozzi
https://imgur.com/user/BAMozzy/posts
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2018
- Messages
- 4,155
To my way of thinking, the modeling guys and gals impose the less acceptable limitation on themselves, because they compromise their sound by using a flawed copy instead of the original. I think it serves them badly, but that’s their call.
And its this attitude that I was referring to. Just because you can hear the difference doesn't make one version 'inferior' or that they are 'compromising' their sound. Its not flawed until the artist who recorded the piece decides that their sound is 'flawed'. If they decide its just as good for them, then its not flawed or a 'compromise'
Its like saying the SE Paul's guitar, the SE Custom 24 etc are 'flawed' or a 'compromise' on their tone because they are different from a Core version, and as these are 'modelled' on the core, these mist be the 'flawed' version, the artist is compromising because they haven't spent 4x as much (or more) on the US made versions.
You could go further and say all the re-issues are 'flawed' and artists are compromising because they are buying a guitar modelled on the orignal guitars. There are a LOT of digital pedals recreating things like Tape Delay, Spring Reverb etc - none of which are inferior and at most, they are 'different' and its subjective as to which someone may prefer - just like the subjective nature as to whether a person prefers an SE or even a CE Custom 24 over a Core Custom 24.
If an artist is happy with the sound, whether that sound has been amplified by Valves, pushed out by a Cab and recorded via a Mic or just a DI from an Axe-FX, Helix or Kemper, then neither are a 'compromise, not inferior. Artists may actually prefer a modeller over a Valve and that wouldn't make valve inferior, just a different technology. Its up to the artist as to which they prefer or where they prefer to use the technology if they happily use both. Both are tools to an artist and a method to give their instruments the voice that they want others to hear. Where the artist chooses to use Digital options, whether that's just a single Pedal recreating Tape Delay and/or Spring reverb, whether that's the whole pedal board (like a Helix or GT1000), whether that's the Amp head (like a Kemper) or Cab/mic or the whole backline, that is their choice and not a flawed compromise for them.
Its like dismissing electric vehicles because the combustion engine is the traditional method of powering a car. Saying the electric vehicle is flawed because it doesn't sound as good as a V8, doesn't have the range and takes too long to charge at the moment. But one day, the electric vehicle could replace the combustion engine and those in Electric vehicles saying the combustion engine is flawed as its noisy, polluting the atmosphere, not as efficient etc etc. Both are viable today and both perform the same task of transporting people around and look at what has happened to Diesel cars. A lot of cities won't allow Petrol cars on the roads in a decade or two.
As far as I am concerned, Modellers or any Digital options, regardless of where in the Signal chain they are - even if they are used for every part, that does not make them flawed or a compromise but a tool for musicians to use as they want, where they want and as much/little as they want. The PT15 for example is still a Valve amp but with modelled cabs and speakers. An example of using BOTH as a tool to the musician. It doesn't make it flawed or a compromise because its not using a real cab and real mic. I have NO intention of getting rid of my Valve amps and would happily use digital models of Pedals instead of the individual versions. I wouldn't feel like my sound is flawed or a compromise and a multi-FX pedal, like a Helix, can be very inspiring regardless of whether I use the amp/cab/mic modelling. There are Speaker cabs that offer modelling of speaker types as well as offering Flat Response Full Range as an option too. This offers the modern musician far more options to find their sound, experiment with Pedals and FX that can spark inspiration, don't need a big studio to have 30+ amp heads, 20 different cabs with different speaker types and 10 different mics to capture the sound they want. Its not a compromise for space but an avenue to open up much more choice, more creative opportunity etc.
If you want to stick with 'Oil paints', that's up to you but that doesn't mean that artists who choose acrylics, water colours, even pencils or charcoal/chalk produce flawed or inferior works of art because they didn't use 'oils'. I can happily accept that at the moment, digital technology isn't necessarily capable of recreating the feel and reaction as a Valve amp yet, not that that is the 'be all and end all' and may not matter at all to some musicians and their preferred genre, but that doesn't mean that the sound is inferior and flawed or the artist is compromising because the artist may want and even prefer the sound they have, prefer the response even if its not what you prefer.