I remember back in the days of the ultra, and early firmwares of II there was something "special" about the models. There was something a little extra about their response that was so addicting... You know when you're having one of those days where you are just "on point" with your technique, and then you go rolling your cab around in your recording room until you find the magic sweetspot that just comes alive? That's kind what it felt like to me, like the amps were experiencing a synergistic affect with the (virtual) space that they were in.
I very often didn't experience this when plugging into actual amps without putting a lot of time in. I'd have to adjust how I play per amp, and some days I just flat out didn't have "the tone" in my hands, so why bother moving the cab around and going the extra distance? In the later firmwares for the II, the advances in realism with the models echo'd my experiences with the amps. They sounded great, but it was garbage in -> garbage out, so if I wasn't giving up the goods, I wouldn't be getting magic back... They didn't "help" me sound great, they just faithfully waited for moments of greatness.
My III came in two days ago, and I can't get over how flattering it is, while maintaining the intense realism the later FW's achieved. It really is scary good... But now the amps are reacting in that old "hyper-real" way that I used to love, on top of that realism. Trying it side by side with amps I own like a blackface Bandmaster and a 70's hylight Hiwatt, the EQ and timbre are probably closer than two specimens of the same amp, but the response... Feels like they are more alive, more harmonic content, and the dynamics are idealized... It feels like there is a hidden "talent" knob in there that Cliff broke off after hitting 11.
Just incredible...
I very often didn't experience this when plugging into actual amps without putting a lot of time in. I'd have to adjust how I play per amp, and some days I just flat out didn't have "the tone" in my hands, so why bother moving the cab around and going the extra distance? In the later firmwares for the II, the advances in realism with the models echo'd my experiences with the amps. They sounded great, but it was garbage in -> garbage out, so if I wasn't giving up the goods, I wouldn't be getting magic back... They didn't "help" me sound great, they just faithfully waited for moments of greatness.
My III came in two days ago, and I can't get over how flattering it is, while maintaining the intense realism the later FW's achieved. It really is scary good... But now the amps are reacting in that old "hyper-real" way that I used to love, on top of that realism. Trying it side by side with amps I own like a blackface Bandmaster and a 70's hylight Hiwatt, the EQ and timbre are probably closer than two specimens of the same amp, but the response... Feels like they are more alive, more harmonic content, and the dynamics are idealized... It feels like there is a hidden "talent" knob in there that Cliff broke off after hitting 11.
Just incredible...
