"modeling technology" and Artists & 75% of the time..lol

SeeD

Fractal Fanatic
Hi,i just got to see this video of Steve Vai demo`s of the Synergy stuff..
Here you can hear Steve say that he don't really like the `modeling technology`
So the next time you guys hear him say this modeling is the next big thing,he is not really truthful

But erverytime i hear the Synergy stuff it`s not 85 % the real deal.. this is what gets me!

So how can Steve sit there and say this things..?

And another thing is, the next time you guys see a Rig Rundown on youtube.. 75 % of the time.. the artists say.. ahhh i cant play another amp then this amp here..and this guitar here.. and THIS CAB or these pickups (road crew, what is the pickups ? lol) and remember this the next time you see this stuff.. the reporter says, what speaker is in the cabs..and thay say...ahhhh hmmm i think it`s v30..or thy just say Celestion (lol) they dont know!!

Sorry about this post..but i just don't get the artists sometimes. A lot of them talk out like thay cant play a gig if it`s not ..this.. or this. But 75 % of the time they dont know what speakers (75 % of the sound is the speaker)



 
Key point to remember here, he was sitting on the Synergy stand - presumably being paid to do so.

Synergy is (from my understanding) part of the Dave Friedman empire, and his opinions are well known and discussed.

If Mr Vai was that against modelling - why is he using the Fractal effects models? Those are models just like an amp is.

And equally, I'm presuming he uses plugins in Pro-tools, those are models too.

Reality is - he is a very gifted musician, everything else - he doesn't know anymore than the average guy on the internet!
 
Oh and to add, whilst I think the Synergy idea is an interesting one - it's far from new, I remember Randall and Egnator doing them too.

To me, it's an extremely simplistic view of amplifier design and one which really doesn't stack up - how can (say) I go from a Deluxe, to a Plexi, to something else - and claim 'it really does sound like the amplifier', these are pre-amps. The amplifier is so much more than that, different power supply, power amp, transformers, speakers, cabinet.

Yet somehow all this can be encapsulated in a preamp because it uses real tubes?

C'mon! I think it's interesting, and I wouldn't mind a play with it - but I've played with the Egnator generation of models quite a bit, they were great - but they weren't half as accurate as my III
 
It is mr Egnator that makes the Synergy stuff. And yes it is old tech

I was thinking more of the i can play without (insert stuff) things. More overall that i (myself) `i don`t get it`:)
 
I wonder why he hasn't released a good album since .... 1995?

For the rest, guess follows the money in his gear public talks, he is an excellent business man.
 
Key point to remember here, he was sitting on the Synergy stand - presumably being paid to do so.

Synergy is (from my understanding) part of the Dave Friedman empire, and his opinions are well known and discussed.

If Mr Vai was that against modelling - why is he using the Fractal effects models? Those are models just like an amp is.

And equally, I'm presuming he uses plugins in Pro-tools, those are models too.

Reality is - he is a very gifted musician, everything else - he doesn't know anymore than the average guy on the internet!

Seriously - I literally just saw a video of him a month ago or so - I think it was from the Generation Axe tour, and he had two Axe Fx he was plugged into.
But like someone else said - Synergy probably approached him and gave him a bunch of money - so of course hes going to promote and say what he has to say about other technologies.
Still love the guy though...
 
It is just my opinion, I've seen careers spawning more years that drove artists to other creative destinations more appealing to me. But again, it is just my personal opinion.

I never considered myself an artist, so cannot feel offended, sorry.
 
Seriously - I literally just saw a video of him a month ago or so - I think it was from the Generation Axe tour, and he had two Axe Fx he was plugged into.
But like someone else said - Synergy probably approached him and gave him a bunch of money - so of course hes going to promote and say what he has to say about other technologies.
Still love the guy though...
Absolutely, and I hope my comment wasn't taken as me bashing him -- He's an incredible talent and an inspirational player.
Honestly, I was most disappointed by the video because when I first saw the YouTube video, I thought "Oh man, Synergy now has a Carvin / Vai-tone module" -- which they don't.

I don't think of Synergy as offering (or trying to offer) exact replacements for you Deluxe or 800 amps, but rather, it's just another tool to get you in that neighborhood of sound. As someone pointed out earlier, an amp is so much more than just the pre-amp stage.

Synergy pre-amps are just tools -- if you like them and get good tones out of them, go for it. If not, don't.
 
Yeah he has a few interviews in the same setting, all the while shitting on modeling. I don't get it, unless it's monetary. Someone needs to ask him sit down and take the pepsi challenge.

He points to the rack and says "look i have 16 different amps in this giant rack" all the while the axe fx right above takes 2 spaces and has infinitely more sounds.
 
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so steve aint a fan of the axe amp modelling?
i always thought it was he was tied to legacy he coudnt endorse or use any other amp or amp modeller?
 
The whole carvin legacy amp thing has always seemed a little strange to me. So many years bound to that brand and you never see anyone else playing/endorsing them and they have never been the "cool" thing to have. Hell, I have never even bothered to try the model in the AxeFx!
 
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The whole carvin legacy amp thing has always seemed a little strange to me. So many years bound to that brand and you never see anyone else playing/endorsing them and they have never been the "cool" thing to have. Hell, I have never even bothered to try the model in the AxeFx!
I'm with ya. Even the V3M got modeled in Amplitube; frankly, I don't get. They all seem rather middling. That was my first tube amp and I sold it as fast as I could. Nice cleans, but boring fizzy OD channels and a useless "recording out" jack. Some people love them. To each his own, I guess.
 
The whole carvin legacy amp thing has always seemed a little strange to me. So many years bound to that brand and you never see anyone else playing/endorsing them and they have never been the "cool" thing to have. Hell, I have never even bothered to try the model in the AxeFx!
Legacys are actually pretty great. They have a unique tone and feel to them. The axe fx II really nailed it and the axe fx iii just made it better. There was a post about them somewhere on this forum, I think, that detailed the tone settings and I was shocked at how accurate the tone and feel was to a real legacy. They even modeled Steve Vai's personal legacy.
 
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Some people don't want to like modeling, and that's just fine.
The most talented artists are often the most tied to 'something' about their tools/equipment. For guitar players, a lot of them are still tied to tubes.
We all know Steve could get the same tones out of the Axe. His tone is nothing special, it's his playing that makes him sound amazing.

In speaking with another very familiar/famous guitar player, he noted that he loves the Axe, but still uses tube amps. He also acknowledged that he feels like the tech is there, but it's the comfort and familiarity that people are tied to. And that one day people will be looking at him like - 'why is that guy still taking out tube amps, what a dinosaur.'

....take everything with a grain of salt
 
well, modelling would probably get him closer results to the sound of the real amps.
what he keeps forgetting is what a huge part the specific poweramp section of an amp can have (particularly the ones that rely on power amp distortion). as well as amp specific speaker enclosures and not to mention the specific speakers used in certain amps. most amps sound exactly the wav they do because of this and not only because of their preamp section alone.
the only module I found immediately "close" was the Bassman. the others needed a bit more imagination. most likely because of the above mentioned missing key elements...
 
Legacys are actually pretty great. They have a unique tone and feel to them. The axe fx II really nailed it and the axe fx ii just made it better. There was a post about them somewhere on this forum, I think, that detailed the tone settings and I was shocked at how accurate the tone and feel was to a real legacy. They even modeled Steve Vai's personal legacy.

O.K. then I will have to check it out.
 
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