Live Use: Great Amp Sound or Great Recorded Sound?

rrogers

Inspired
Is there a difference? For example, I recently realized that I have gravitated to having the sound of a recorded guitar when playing live. In other words, I want what I feed the mains to have the complexity common to many of my favorite recorded tones.

Does anyone else take this kind of approach (which I realize may not be valid in a truly scientific view of acoustics)? If so, have you found any particular IRs or tricks that have assisted you with achieving what you want to hear?
 
you didn't have a choice years ago. modeling and digital gear is still new to a wealth of the guitar playing population, so some people will still always go with the live amp sound, versus a nice recorded-type sound.

my gigs usually require me to use whatever has the most control, and that is typically more of the "recorded" sound. the axe gets me that by default; i don't really do anything special other than not having a loud blaring amp on stage.

is there something you feel you're missing currently to get that sound?
 
I don't feel like I am missing anything other than knowledge. Until the Axe my user experience was solely with loud tube amps, a few pedals, and the venerable 57 in front of the cabinet. I have spent a considerable amount of time recently on reading/researching recording techniques and signal chains, and doing that has lead me believe I may find investing in cablab along with a few commercial IR packs may help me further improve my tone.

I'm just interested in finding out if there are any "you have to try this" techniques that work well with achieving a highly polished/complex recorded tone through the PA (and my monitors of course).
 
Not exactly your scenario I'm sure but food for thought. While buying Cab Lab and IR packs won't hurt you it certainly isn't necessary. I've been working on exactly what you speak of and I pretty much nail it with an Ultra in a slightly different concept. I play in a hybrid band whereas I go into the studio and record the bass and some keyboards and have a friend in Dallas record drums for me. Sometimes we will invite a steel guitar or pianist as well. Then we mix live guitar (FAS) and a vocalist into the equation via backing track for a duo gig.

I've been playing for 45 years and it is with no doubt the hardest, most complex challenging band situation I have ever been in but the sound is polished, realistic and consistent.

The gear you use to amplify yourself will have a great impact but it is also what you surround yourself with. Your instrumental partners. If you put the Axe into a band that sounds like a garage band you will not be able to differentiate the 'recording quality' of the Axe because you will sound like a garage band with a damn good sounding guitar player :) But even in it's raw nature the Axe has been a polished record ready product since the Standard and Ultra days. The XL series is just over the top.
 
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