What was your first Digital Modeler?

I'm starting to see some YT vids (specifically recall one on the red kidney bean) about how those modelers were actually pretty good. Don't know how you do that with a straight face. Yes, it may have seemed great at the time, but so was Atari Pong at one point! It's fun to reminisce once in awhile, but I don't want to go back to that! :p
 
This got me nostalgic with old gear. Just before my introduction to Fractal I was using Digitech GSP1101 around 2010 which I really liked. I was using poweramp and cabs
 

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I'm starting to see some YT vids (specifically recall one on the red kidney bean) about how those modelers were actually pretty good. Don't know how you do that with a straight face. Yes, it may have seemed great at the time, but so was Atari Pong at one point! It's fun to reminisce once in awhile, but I don't want to go back to that! :p
ya - Ryan at Plague Scyth did some vids like that. With a lot of the units I had early on, I really did not know what I was doing - there were good sounds in there that I was not qualified to extract at the time.

 
It was the kidney bean for me too.

I was a flight attendant travelling all over the world at the time, so it wasn't about 'quality', it was about portability. It was an amazing experience to pull that little unit out of my suitcase and be able to play my cort (which also fit in the suitcase) at any hotel I happened to be in.

Edit: I had one of those Rockman's at one stage...loved it!
 
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Pod XT Pro, which I still own, though it's on Reverb right now. My friend came over my house with a brand-new Vetta shortly after they were first released, probably around 2002. It was pretty great at the time, and a good intro to modelling. When I later moved into a tiny loft apartment, picking up the Pod made a ton of sense.

Amusingly I just plugged back in my Bass Pod XT Pro, it's still pretty good as an effects unit.
 
ya - Ryan at Plague Scyth did some vids like that. With a lot of the units I had early on, I really did not know what I was doing - there were good sounds in there that I was not qualified to extract at the time.


You can definitely coax some usable tones out of many of them. I'd wager you could play live (in a band setting) in many situations and no one would know the difference.
 
Somewhere early on prior to getting Axefx Ultra I had ordered one of these cuz Dave Mustaine had a Rocktron Prophesy so for sure if I got one I could start sounding / playing like Dave - the store stopped stocking them and could only offer a discounted demo transferred from another store so I cancelled my order and asked what was similar - they said nothing really but mentioned Axefx directly from manufacturer (they couldn't remember the name of the manufacturer) - went home and googled (or AltaVista'd / Yahoo'd it more likely) "Axefx" - saved for a few more months ...
went through a whack of rack style stereo amps + various Fr speakers also, trying to find a magic tone whilst learning my power chords
 
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The first was probably the Scholz Rockman. I had one of the “Rockmount” rack adaptors for it. Years later, I used a ART SGX2000 for a time, recording a few demos with it. I did play around with the original POD and some Roland synth stuff, but never gigged it. Gave up on digital at that point.

Long after that, I heard monster guitarist Dann Huff playing on a Eleven Rack, and had to try it. I can say this was the first time digital sounded truly giggable, and used it for a bit less than a year. Convinced now that digital could actually cut the mustard live, I decided to try the Axe Fx (the Ultra was the flagship at the time) and was mind-blown by the tone and capability. I’ve been gigging FAS gear ever since, currently the Axe Fx III Turbo.

I own and regularly play some great tube amps. Love them, and don’t see it as an either/or proposition. I use both. But it’s been the Axe Fx at 90% or better of the gigs since 2011. Just too easy not to.
 
When modeling started I thought the L6 bean sucked, so decided to try a Johnson J-Station. That thing wasn’t too bad! I did quite a few recordings with it back in the day. It was in a box for a looooong time and I pulled it out a few years ago to sell it. Plugged it in to make sure it worked and was still quite impressed with the tones.
 
I've only changed rigs and gear a few times. Had always wanted a Marshall, so when I got my half stack, that served me well for many years, until I got the chance to split my chorus into stereo, and play through 2 at a time. WOW! After that, I went to a stereo rig based around an ADA MP-1 stereo tube pre amp, and a Mesa 50/50. Couple effects units and again, I was set for a couple decades.

It was only after getting reinvigorated about playing guitar that I started looking for a "pro-grade" multi-effects processor, and learned of Fractal gear. I kinda expect the III to take care of any "itch" I may have for the rest of my life. My band mates have always complimented me on the tones I was able to get out of my gear, so I rarely went gassing for much more than what I had at the time.

signed, A Very Satisfied Customer
 
I tried the Line 6 Pod & a Spyder amp but never liked them or bought one. I ended up getting a Hughes & Kettner Zentera combo amp to have at home for practice & that was a pretty good sounding amp. Too bad they just bailed on it. My main rig for 25+ yeas was a Mesa Triaxis 2:90 with a TC G-Force for FX. What led me to Fractal was I finally got fed up with the crappy reverb in the G-Force & TC bailing on ever doing any updates. I heard the Fractal effects were really good so I got on the waitlist for the original run of the Axe Fx II to use as an FX unit. I liked the amp modeling enough I used it for a while instead of the Triaxis, then for a while in 4cm with the Triaxis & eventually full on FRFR. The Triaxis 2:90 rig has been gone for about 3 years now.
 
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Not sure if the original Boss ME-5 counts as a modeler... I guess probably just a multi-effects.

ART SGX-2000 (with X-15 controller) was my main rig for a while.

Next was was Johnson Millennium 2x12 which I liked a lot. I preferred the Johnson amp models over the other models. I got good tones and effects lot of that. Man was that thingheavy!

I bought the J-Station, too. Still have it somewhere.

After that, I moved to a tube rig with a good deal on a Carvin Quad-X preamp. That thing had something like 18 preamp tubes! Paired it with an H&K VS50 power amp (with both 6L6 and EL34 tubes, I recall). Tubes after that until 2013 and my first Axe Fx II.
 
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