Why still a Drive pedal and so many Amp models? (it’s not about the nr of Amp or Drive models)

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After almost 10 years of using Axe FX in studio and on stage lately i came to this,
sharing my thoughts to see how others approach this...

1) I don’t need more than 2-3 amps. If you give a shot and use the same IR and Speaker setting, i think most will agree most amps sound almost the same. Like there are tens of Marshalls...100w Plexi can do all what others do in my opinion. I would only choose a modern version over it if the ghost notes/that vintage-dirty vibe was getting in the way.

2) Beside fuzzes and special sounds why a drive block? A drive block to get a plexi lead out of a fender...yes it’s nice but i can choose a plexi as an amp instead. Or stirring the soup, if Gilmour could carry around 4-5 Hiwatt Heads and turn the master all the way up.(no even at stadium gigs he could not, read bunch of times that he was already too loud.) I think he would not have used most of his pedals. Turn that master of Hiwatt Jumpered all the way up...and you can get from clean to edge of break up...or saturated lead sound to growl...anything.

What do you guys think? There is no wrong or right with these stuff...and you can get great results with a lot of different ways with the axe fx...but things got way simpler for me lately with this mind set...2-3 amps, 8-9 IRs, drive block only for fuzzes. Though with FX i still go crazy and can hit the cpu limit🤭(just with kitchen sink presets)

edit: should have mentioned, this is mostly about amps like hiwatt, matchless, fender, plexi or similar. I don’t play mesa, engle etc. And i am also having this approach when i go FRFR and stay all “in the box”. When i use a traditional guitar cab, things change...
 
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There was a recent thread with much discussion about this topic:

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/drive-pedal-heaven.164342/

A drive pedal can pre-EQ the signal before the amp and also overload the input of the amp. These are things that don't happen with an amp alone and get tones you don't with just an amp.

Sure but you don’t need the drive block for it.
Amp boost selections gives you most of the pedal eq options and without the extra compression and distortion of the pedal.
 
Not as seamlessly.

if you need more than 2 channels/amps than yes you are right. But if you can go with 2 amps than...you know it can be done seamlessly.

But i kinda agree with you, i have for most my guitars 3-4 different sounds per amp...like clean/edge of break up/crunch/lead...and in this case with my way there is a gap when you switch since you need to switch amp block’s channels.
 
Different strokes for different folks? If it’s working for you do that. Other people like other things. There’s no “right way” for guitar tones. I’m not a Marshall guy, but I can sure as shit tell a difference between the mark IV models and the triaxis and the jp2c and the c++ and I use them all for different things. At the same time my ear doesn’t hear a lot of difference between all the Marshalls or the Fenders but I know some people can And that’s cool too. I’m not a pedal guy but I’ve liked throwing the new ocd pedals on a band commander or something and doing different stuff than I’m used to. Everyone has a sound in their head that they want to sound like, how you get there is what’s cool about this box.
 
why so many guitars? Shouldn't one with single coils and one with humbuckers be enough?

ofcourse, but i still also have 9 :) though with guitars it’s maybe a different story since it’s not only about the sound, its also about how it feels in your hand and how it inspires you.

Don’t get me wrong i am not saying there should not be so many drive types, amp types etc. What i am saying/sharing is: this way things got really easier for me since i am also one of those who can have option paralysis and loose a lot of time trying things out. Maybe it would help some others, or maybe one of you can make me use the drive block again:)
 
Different strokes for different folks? If it’s working for you do that. Other people like other things. There’s no “right way” for guitar tones. I’m not a Marshall guy, but I can sure as shit tell a difference between the mark IV models and the triaxis and the jp2c and the c++ and I use them all for different things. At the same time my ear doesn’t hear a lot of difference between all the Marshalls or the Fenders but I know some people can And that’s cool too. I’m not a pedal guy but I’ve liked throwing the new ocd pedals on a band commander or something and doing different stuff than I’m used to. Everyone has a sound in their head that they want to sound like, how you get there is what’s cool about this box.

i got you, in my case i am almost never ever in the high gain/mesa territory (should have mentioned) so i am mostly talking about vox, plexi, dumble, matchless or similar.
 
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Well for one, if I wanted to use the Axe FX with my tube amp, not having drive blocks would make it a non-starter.

But for someone who is totally “in the box”, I’m with you — I don’t really use drive blocks along with my amp blocks.
 
Well for one, if I wanted to use the Axe FX with my tube amp, not having drive blocks would make it a non-starter.

But for someone who is totally “in the box”, I’m with you — I don’t really use drive blocks along with my amp blocks.

another good point, which i should have also mentioned...this is all about in the box and also FRFR. With traditional guitar cab or through a tube amp, it’s a different story.
 
There's an interaction between drive pedals and an amp that sound and feel different than an amp on its own. Whether it's the tone circuit (i.e. the tubescreamer -T808 OD- "mid-hump"), the gain structure of a distortion (M-Zone, Shred Distortion) or the tightness that a clean boost offers (Esoteric ACB, FAS Boost, FET Boost) are things that can't quite be replicated with just an amp.
 
There's an interaction between drive pedals and an amp that sound and feel different than an amp on its own. Whether it's the tone circuit (i.e. the tubescreamer -T808 OD- "mid-hump"), the gain structure of a distortion (M-Zone, Shred Distortion) or the tightness that a clean boost offers (Esoteric ACB, FAS Boost, FET Boost) are things that can't quite be replicated with just an amp.

this is exactly the point where i don’t agree. In my experience/for my taste...that tube screamer infront of plexi (just as an example) is degrading the amps natural sound. I can almost always get better drive tones just using the amp and maybe the boost in amp block.

Try it, set your drive+amp combination. Than turn of the drive and try to get there again just with the amp block. Almost always when i do this and A/B, amp block alone wins. Especially in the studio/at recording sessions.
 
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There are many roads to happiness.

as also mentioned in my post :) I would be actually really interested in what you think about this. Just giving as an example: with 1 of the drive types beside fuzzes and an amp block...that sound you would come up with. Did you try achieving that tone just with an amp block? Do you think you can’t get there without the drive block? In my case when i do this, i cant remember almost any time where i felt like it was better with the drive block...that natural amp sound is either almost identical or it wins for me. (if you missed my edit in my first post: i am not talking about mesas/rectos/engles etc...and i stay in the box/dont use the axe infront of a tube amp)
 
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