I guess the question becomes for recording via FM3, can you cop those vintage non master tones, with a vintage guitar LP and then can I set up a non vintage LP to get those tones, again without the ability to own one through the FM3 or is it really impossible without a “real” amp. Best I can explain what I am seeking.
Yes, you can set up a non-vintage guitar to sound "the same"(tm). There are some differences, but IMHO they boil down to things like manufacturing tolerances and how the guitar (and its electronics) have aged. Seymour Duncan have taken apart a good number of vintage PAFs, and the Seth Lovers (and a handful of others) are wound on a winder that they bought from the Kalamazoo factory. IMO, they're as close as you're going to get. There are a handful of reproduction tone caps and pots that cop how the knobs work extremely well.
I'll reiterate that in the Bonamassa video you referenced, he's playing a modern production Gibson CS into a Lazy J amp, which didn't exist in the 50s. He's also referenced, in other videos, that you can do the same kinds of things with other modern guitars, and specifically referenced Epiphones. He's a collector. He has the old stuff because he likes it, is successful, and doesn't really care about spending money on much else. There are reasons Epiphones will sound different, but the differences won't stop you from making them sound great.
that video, for reference:
The other thing about the sound
in that video is that...you can't see any microphones. I'm not sure exactly how they did it, but they recorded the room sound, not the direct sound. A modeler is going to be a bit different from that unless you run it into a guitar cab and turn it up in a really big, bright, reverberant room. That reverb sound...is the room. The amp doesn't have reverb unless I'm very mistaken.
As far as the experience of playing....it's
probably going to be different. JB's Twins (he's touring with the modern Fender reproductions now) can get up toward 110dB
clean. His Dumbles and Silver Jubilees are all master volume amps....played crazy loud.
His old tech said that one day he measured 129dB behind the shields. JB said in a rig rundown that without the shields, it'd be too loud for anybody, including him. No, I don't know why he uses pairs of most of his amps.
Anyway....at those volumes, I'd bet almost no one can tell the difference. It's just too damn loud to hear detail as far as I'm concerned.
But....can you get a similar playing experience at more reasonable volumes, other than the experience of being near an amp that loud? Yes.
I love the High Power Tweed Twin model in the fractal to the point that I barely use other amps...I just change the SIC and IRs to get different sounds. Turn it way up, use the guitar controls, and it just "does the thing". It's a little weird to use because it's naturally so dark (I run the bass knob off or below 1, mids and treble up, presence usually up...it's an odd way to set an amp). But, it's a
great amp model, easily up there with the Tucana for me, both of which are better to my ears than the Dumble models. When you get the monitoring figured out, IMHO, it's a
better experience than I've had with the old amps I've played (which are, coincidentally, all Marshalls).
