Uncle Larry's take on digital amp modelers

Jim Amsden said:
Tom Bukovac, a.k.a. "Uncle Larry" (https://www.youtube.com/@501chorusecho) has posted a couple of recent videos expressing an opinion on real amps vs digital amp modelers. He says they're about 50% there and mentions high-end artifacts, fizz, lack of clean thump, and the issues with multi-tracking digital modelers accentuating the issues.
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These comments are boilerplate canned comments that all anti- digital guys use to justify their bias. You see the exact same comments on forums all the time.

Most of its unfounded but keep in mind there are a bunch of cheap crappy modelers out there that don't help matters.

I have designed and built over 400 vacuum tube amplifiers, and Fractal knows how to model them. It's very obvious that the Fractal engineers understand them too. All the deep dive settings, etc. I know exactly what those settings and what they affect Tone wise on a real amp. And the behavior is dead on.

Most people's negative opinions are on consumer grade so called modeling that has been around a while filling up shelves at Guitar Center, and never playing or experiencing good modelers.
 
baron55 said:
These comments are boilerplate canned comments that all anti- digital guys use to justify their bias. You see the exact same comments on forums all the time.

Most of its unfounded but keep in mind there are a bunch of cheap crappy modelers out there that don't help matters.

I have designed and built over 400 vacuum tube amplifiers, and Fractal knows how to model them. It's very obvious that the Fractal engineers understand them too. All the deep dive settings, etc. I know exactly what those settings and what they affect Tone wise on a real amp. And the behavior is dead on.

Most people's negative opinions are on consumer grade so called modeling that has been around a while filling up shelves at Guitar Center, and never playing or experiencing good modelers.
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Are you "the" Baron amp guy? If so; always wanted to try one.
 
Sixstring said:
Who cares :rolleyes: sick and tired of self proclaimed critics and what they think, use what you like and play your guitar.
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No kidding.

They all have one main goal: engagement. That means getting you to watch their content, "like" their content, and post a comment. Engagement equals fame and money. And nothing engages people like anger, fear and gossip. They don't care whether you actually like their stuff or not, as long as you watch it and comment on it.

Case in point: look at your YouTube feed. What percentage of the videos in your feed are negative? If you're like most people, it's way over 50%. And it's your duty to consume and regurgitate what they "feed" you. Right?
 
Rex said:
No kidding.

They all have one main goal: engagement. That means getting you to watch their content, "like" their content, and post a comment. Engagement equals fame and money. And nothing engages people like anger, fear and gossip. They don't care whether you actually like their stuff or not, as long as you watch it and comment on it.

Case in point: look at your YouTube feed. What percentage of the videos in your feed are negative? If you're like most people, it's way over 50%. And it's your duty to consume and regurgitate what they "feed" you. Right?
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This is why I control the content I watch! Most people don't bother to set the perimeters on their YT page. If one goes looking for it then thats on them and thats their choice, but I gladly engage the filters . YT has become the analogy of slowly boiling a Frog, with the sale and slow re making of it, it has become a wide open commercial TV channel for content creators.
 
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Dave Merrill said:
Do you know if he's tried a Fractal, ideally with pretty recent firmware?
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This is the golden question to me, what gear have they actually tried to form this opinion.

Plus, I really do enjoy his videos, but he gives me the impression he thinks only vintage gear is the way to go, which is clearly wrong,

I'll still watch his videos, but it doesn't change the fact iuse and enjoy my Fractals
 
ak301 said:
This is the golden question to me, what gear have they actually tried to form this opinion.

Plus, I really do enjoy his videos, but he gives me the impression he thinks only vintage gear is the way to go, which is clearly wrong,

I'll still watch his videos, but it doesn't change the fact iuse and enjoy my Fractals
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^^^ This.
 
A couple of things, first as guitarist, we are clinging to 70-80 year-old technology, even in trying to replicate it with modeling. Second, modeling is an attempt replicate the sounds of this old technology. It all works in certain scenarios. The Fractal works for me because of the variety of sounds and effects available at your feet. But I still love my tube amps and they are much more dynamic, especially clean and slight breakup. If you are playing a heavily saturated and distorted sound, I don't think it matters.
 
Meh, if you don’t know how to use something or get the best out of it, it’s never going to sound or feel exactly how you want. Just like when players first try and I’ll in “real” amps and cabs, you gotta learn that too, then learn how to get it to sound good in a mix etc. Same applies to modelers. I doubt he has spent the time needed to learn the modeling unit to learn it enough to be able to make that decision. But hey, whatever. His use case is vastly different than that of most users too.
 
If someone’s bread and butter is tube amps I can’t see them being a big fan of modelers

I doubt guys who own gas stations are real into electric cars either, not exactly good for business
 
lqdsnddist said:
If someone’s bread and butter is tube amps I can’t see them being a big fan of modelers

I doubt guys who own gas stations are real into electric cars either, not exactly good for business
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Maybe so, but i don't see Bukovac's identity necessarily tied to tube amps. He's just a really good and very experienced player, Tim Pierce for the slightly counterculture set. I bet he could switch to a modeler without losing many sessions, or subscribers.
 
The tide has already shifted though, but old salty road dogs are going to stick with what they know. Some people are stuck in the 80's, some the 70's... Amp it up, i'm good not breaking my back and all I get are compliments.

I've tried plenty of modelers along the way, and am always curious about the next new thing. Think if once we played a Crate solid state amp, and then never looked at anything digital again... no thanks. You are missing out.

Played a gig recently with 3 other bands, all had tube amps, our band was the only one using modelers. When I got done, no less than 3 of the guitarists came running up to me asking what I was using and gushing over the tone. As much as I hate saying it, Horses for courses, use the right tool for the job, they are just tools.
 
Jim Amsden said:
I would love to see Cliff and Tom in a discussion that addresses Tom's issues. I suspect we'd all learn a lot from that.
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Why? Is he a software engineer?
Or do you think this YouTube star is going to make some magical non-scientific suggestion that Cliff and his team of wizards have not already though about?....or received as a suggestion from the hundreds of touring artists using the Fractal products?
 
BBN said:
Why? Is he a software engineer?
Or do you think this YouTube star is going to make some magical non-scientific suggestion that Cliff and his team of wizards have not already though about?....or received as a suggestion from the hundreds of touring artists using the Fractal products?
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Not a software engineer, but not just a "YouTube star" either. Check the Wikipedia article about him, he's done some stuff.

His contribution wouldn't be technical, it'd be as an experienced player, reacting to how it feels to play through the gear.
 
Sixstring said:
Who cares :rolleyes: sick and tired of self proclaimed critics and what they think, use what you like and play your guitar.
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I agree 100%. Tom is a great guitar player but I couldn't care less about his snobby opinion. sorry. IMHO his opinion means absolutely NOTHING. It's his opinion! Some folks still believe the earth is flat also! So?
 
I have an uncle who says that you should always push the gas before shutting the car's engine down.

the dude your opinion GIF
 
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