Amp Sims vs. Tubes: The Winner Is . . .

You. Yes, you. No matter your preferences, there’s a cornucopia of options for all guitar players. That’s wonderful, but the potential downside is analysis paralysis. Can a sim sound like an amp moving air? Should you pair a sim with a physical cabinet or an FRFR (full-range, flat-response) speaker system? Can you combine analog and digital technologies seamlessly? Do traditional tube amps still have a unique sound?

Today’s rigs are more modular than ever, so you can mix and match multiple technologies. If you wonder whether creating your ideal guitar rig is possible, then the answer is almost certainly “yes.” But it’s crucial to define your needs as precisely as possible and research the gear to find what will best satisfy those needs.

A complete guitar rig has several “modules”: 

The speaker and cabinet are where your sound meets the audience.A power amp provides the power needed to drive the speaker and cabinet.A preamp brings up the guitar’s output to a level that can drive the power amp. Effects modify your tone beyond what an amp delivers. Effects can go before or after the preamp in a pedalboard or work in conjunction with an amp’s effects loop. With many digital systems, effects can also insert after an emulated cab. This helps re-create guitar tones that depend on processing a miked amp’s sound in the studio.

Also, note that room acoustics and where you place your cabinet in a room influence your overall sound.

Analog vs. Digital vs. BothBut First, What’s Your Philosophy?The Holy Grail: The Sound & Feel of Air Moving in the RoomAccessorizing with EffectsAlso, Consider the Extras

Analog vs. Digital vs. Both

Many modular elements can use analog or digital technology, so potential solutions vary widely. At one extreme, traditional, tube-based guitar amps remain popular. But some amps bend that approach. For example, the Vox VT100X 1×12-inch 100-watt modeling combo amp looks like a conventional amp but mixes analog and digital technologies. It includes an analog tube preamp and then turns toward digital with 11 power amp models and 13 stompbox effects.

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At the other extreme is an à la carte system. Start with a speaker and cab (e.g., the Marshall 1060A 300-watt 4×12-inch angled extension cabinet) fed by a power amp from companies like Orange, Marshall, Soldano, Mesa/Boogie, ENGL Amplifiers, and so on. Then, add a tube preamp and individual analog and/or digital stompbox effects on a pedalboard. This type of system will be more expensive (and perhaps unwieldy), but it offers infinite possibilities for customization. 

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Many guitarists choose a system between the two extremes, mixing and matching components to accommodate specific budgets, musical genres, and gigging or recording scenarios.

But First, What’s Your Philosophy?

Go to any guitar-oriented online space, and you’ll see raging debates about amp-sim-based digital setups versus traditional analog rigs. For live performance, a weekend warrior who started in the golden age of rock will likely want a classic guitar going through an all-tube amp — that’s the sound they know and love. But players raised on sims in home studios often want to reproduce digital’s definition and flexibility. To them, playing guitar live through a tube amp seems limiting.

This mirrors the difference between trying to capture a live sound in the studio and trying to reproduce a studio sound live. Neither is inherently better than the other; they simply involve different preferences and goals.

But it’s also time for a reality check. With live performance, the gear a guitarist chooses is usually about having a better personal experience onstage rather than accommodating the audience. If your audience likes the music, then they won’t care if you use a tube or solid-state preamp. However, your onstage experience is a vital part of the audience’s reaction. If your gear makes you happy, then your audience will pick up on it and enjoy your performance just that much more.

The Holy Grail: The Sound & Feel of Air Moving in the Room

Many guitarists believe this experience is possible only by playing through a traditional guitar amp and cab. Others feel the same experience is possible when amplifying emulated amp and cab sounds with an FRFR speaker system. Years ago, the advantage of traditional amps was authentic tone, while the advantage of emulated setups was convenience. However, technological advances have narrowed if not eliminated the “authenticity gap” between the two approaches. 

Early sim adopters used FRFR systems based on PA systems, like the QSC K series and QSC CP series, JBL EON speakers, Electro-Voice ZLX powered monitors, and comparable products from Turbosound, Alto Professional, Mackie, and Behringer. However, these are designed for high fidelity, not character. Guitarists soon realized that rolling off the highs gave a more realistic tone, as did rolling off the lows for a more open-back cabinet feel. Proper speaker placement also made a significant difference. Placing a PA’s powered monitor speaker on a pole interacts differently with a room than a tilted guitar cab sitting on the floor. 

PA systems and PA-style FRFR systems, such as the HeadRush FRFR-112 2,000-watt 1×12-inch powered cabinet designed for guitarists, remain acceptable for reproducing a studio sound live. However, they may not give the “air moving in the room” vibe some players want.

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To reach that goal, powered cabs like the Laney LFR-212 800-watt active guitar cabinet and Friedman ASC-10 500-watt active modeler/profiler monitor deliver FRFR response with traditional cab construction. This allows room placement like a guitar amp. Although the response is flat, unlike PA speakers, the “feel” is like a tube guitar amp when paired with high-quality digital effects and amp emulations.

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Another variation is augmenting an FRFR cabinet with DSP. Then, the cab can reproduce different speaker and cab sounds. For example, the Line 6 Powercab series models several different speakers and can load cab IRs. The Kemper Kabinet 200-watt 1×12-inch cabinet emulates 19 different cab types. It doesn’t load cab IRs, but you can load those into a Kemper Profiler via Kemper’s Rig Manager software.

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The Strymon Iridium amp and IR cab pedal is yet another option. It has the form factor of a pedal, an analog preamp, and DSP to emulate different amps and cabs. It can drive an FRFR system, feed a PA, or provide an amp/cab sound in the studio when going direct. The all-digital IK Multimedia TONEX pedal / amplifier / pedal modeler delivers the same functionality, including features not found in related products.

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Finally, some guitar players use amps for onstage monitoring and send direct feeds to the PA. Amps that provide direct outputs with emulation simplify this process. For instance, the Line 6 Powercab emulates a miked amp for its direct output. This can go directly to the PA.

As to whether FRFR systems, combined with modelers, can give the same “air moving in the room” feeling as a traditional amp, the answer is “yes” — and “no.” On the “no” side, the powered monitors in PA systems generally diffuse sound over a wide range. Guitar cabs tend to focus the sound more. These different approaches interact differently with the room. The amp approach delivers a classic, focused sound, while the PA system approach is often better for creating a studio sound in live performance. 

On the “yes” side, a modeler with convincing amp and cab emulations, realistic presets, and the right speaker/cabinet system and placement delivers authentic guitar tones for all but the most particular guitarists. Close your eyes, and you probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

Accessorizing with Effects

Effects pedals and multi-effects expand your sonic palette even further. Like amps, you have a dizzying array of choices. Let’s sort them out:

Individual pedals. Using more than a couple of individual pedals requires housing them in a pedalboard. You’ll also need patch cables. A power supply is advisable to avoid replacing batteries constantly (along with a barrier strip to accommodate wall warts with odd voltages or form factors). The pedals can be analog, digital (like the Universal Audio UAFX collection, IK Multimedia X-series, and Eventide pedal line), or a mix and match.Digital multi-effects. This field has exploded recently, and overall sound quality has improved dramatically. These processors aim to provide a complete system, from an optimized guitar input to a power amp–friendly output that can drive a guitar amp or PA system. Current hot multi-effects include the Neural DSP Quad Cortex quad-core digital effects modeler/profiling floorboard, Line 6 Helix processors, Headrush Pedalboard, Roland GT-1000, and ISP Technologies MS Theta Pro DSP Michael Sweet preamp and multi-effects pedal. The convenience of a complete effects system, with built-in amp and cabinet simulation, is off the hook. Furthermore, all the devices mentioned above include effects loops for patching in external hardware.

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Amp effects loops. Many guitar amps have effects loops for integrating external effects and multi-effects. The loop sends a post-preamp output and loops back into the amp before the power amp. So, effects can go between the clean guitar output and amp input or prior to feeding the power amp by using the effects loop after the colored/distorted preamp sound. Effects loops are a convenient way to combine the analog world of traditional guitar amps with analog pedals and/or the flexibility of compact, digital multi-effects devices. There are even multi-effects designed to work specifically with effects loops, like the TC Electronic Plethora X5 TonePrint multi-effects pedalboard and Line 6 HX effects processors. They don’t include amp simulations, which shaves a few bucks off the price.

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Also, Consider the Extras

Some guitar setups can move fluidly between the studio and stage. If you’re into home recording as well as performing, then other features may relate to your specific needs and workflow.

For example, IK Multimedia has developed an “ecosystem” of guitar products. The company’s digital pedals include Librarian software for organizing presets, can access the ToneNET online preset collection, and serve as effects within AmpliTube software (either plug-in or standalone). The TONEX pedal can also capture your amp sounds in the studio and convert them into models that load into TONEX for live performance. The ecosystem also includes hardware audio interfaces and re-amping boxes.

Line 6 is another ecosystem-oriented company. The floor Helix is an ideal host for Line 6 Variax guitars, and compatibility with Line 6’s L6 protocol allows for interconnecting various Line 6 devices. Free HX Edit software makes it easy to edit and store presets and set lists and load them into your hardware. Perhaps most importantly, Line 6 Helix Native software (DAW plug-in or standalone) duplicates the complete flagship Helix multi-effects inside your computer. This makes it easy to develop presets in the studio and then transfer them to Helix for live use. You can even “throttle” the software to create presets compatible with lower-cost units with less DSP, like Line 6 HX Stomp and Effects.

Kemper has expanded its original Profiler into being an amp head that can feed the company’s Kabinet. The company also makes a Kemper-specific foot controller. Rig Manager software manages Profiler rigs and performances. And because the Profiler has its own Wi-Fi chip, you can use Kemper’s iOS Rig Manager app with a mobile device to talk directly to the Profiler.

What’s more, many multi-effects and individual processors can serve as USB audio interfaces for computer-based setups. Those with home studios and sophisticated audio interfaces may find this unnecessary. However, if you’re on the road with a laptop, then a processor with USB interfacing may save you the trouble of packing an audio interface. 

Now, Go Forth & Set Your Priorities

And let me emphasize: your priorities. There’s no shortage of people who will say that “X, Y, Z” gear is so superior to “A, B, C” gear — then, they’ll get into mindless online arguments with those who think “A, B, C” gear is so superior to “X, Y, Z” gear. But inspiration is where you find it. 

The primary place to find inspiration is within yourself, but there’s no doubt that gear resonating with you can be inspirational. It doesn’t matter whether inspiration comes from a $30 effects pedal or a $2,000 multi-effects; all that matters is that you’re inspired. You know what puts a smile on your face. Trust that smile.

To paraphrase Robert Fulghum: “Always remember the grass is not always greener on the other side — it’s greener where you water it.”
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