Guitar amp with presets?

[funsongs]

Interesting thread and choice.
I'm not an electric guitar guy, and the first amp that came to mind at the beginning of your post was the Blackstar... due to bang-for-the-buck;
cause I've been lusting for a small amp to complement my Classic Vibe Tele (which has rarely been out of its case since I bought it years ago!)... I know "shame on me."

I'd sorta settled in mind on one of the Fender Blues Jr models - but the ones mentioned in this thread (small & light-weight, with modeling) were making me re-think my choices.
Now I'm anxious - like the others - to hear YOUR review of the one you decided on. Even those little 5-watt Fenders are popular - but not cheap.
I'm holding out for small & cheap. LOL
Your Mileage May Vary.

[lesmac]

Now I'm anxious - like the others - to hear YOUR review of the one you decided on. Even those little 5-watt Fenders are popular - but not cheap.

No worries Peter! I'm looking forward to receiving it.

I'll be interested to see how the clean and breakup sounds compare to my Deluxe Reverb clone.

[funsongs]

Now I'm anxious - like the others - to hear YOUR review of the one you decided on. Even those little 5-watt Fenders are popular - but not cheap.

No worries Peter! I'm looking forward to receiving it.

I'll be interested to see how the clean and breakup sounds compare to my Deluxe Reverb clone.

FYI: Here's what my Tele looks like - and that 5-Watt Fender Champ. "Delicious" - but not cheap.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMAmwOrbtMo

[Telefunkin]

Hi Lester,
I'd got it in my mind that you were still getting a Yamaha THR, and I had some interest in that amp, so I was going to ask how you were getting on with it (and actually typed in some questions here). Then I looked back through the post and realised you'd changed your mind and were going for the Blackstar instead . I'm still interested how you're getting on with that one though. Are you finding that it does what you wanted? Is it good for traditional cleaner sounds, not just rocky stuff? It'd be great if you'd be willing to share any thoughts you have on it.

[lesmac]

by Telefunkin » Sat Jan 09, 2021 5:37 am
Hi Lester,
I'd got it in my mind that you were still getting a Yamaha THR, and I had some interest in that amp, so I was going to ask how you were getting on with it (and actually typed in some questions here). Then I looked back through the post and realised you'd changed your mind and were going for the Blackstar instead . I'm still interested how you're getting on with that one though. Are you finding that it does what you wanted? Is it good for traditional cleaner sounds, not just rocky stuff? It'd be great if you'd be willing to share any thoughts you have on it.

Hey Graham,

It's OK but I haven't used it a lot since I got it. It is a small cab and you can't get the thump of a 12". You can get some clean sounds.

I would advise to put your money towards a Kemper. [note to self ]

[Telefunkin]

Thanks Lester,
I guess Scotty on Star Trek was right after all ....'You cannae change the laws of physics!'

I don't think I'll ever be brave enough (or wealthy enough) to splash out on a Kemper, so I keep my eyes open for cheaper solutions. There seems to be a rash of options nowadays and although that's better than no options its really confusing which way to go. I really can't record loud amps, and although I fancied building an isolation cab and stuffing it in my garage, that has its own practical issues. I'd love to run one 'jet engine loud' like Time Pierce does, but that's not going to happen . See 38s onwards here....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rijqBhMrCGk

Back to earth, plain guitar or through most pedals sounds and feels anaemic, so I don't do it. I get some mileage from a Boss Katana that I can mic or take a DI from, but it doesn't put a big smile on my face. I can get heavy rocky sounds from a Moor Live pedal which is good because its reasonably quiet but I'm not so keen on the clean/edgy sounds. I've tried an external cab sim pedal (Nux Solid Studio) but it tends to sound boxy to me. I've also tried the free Two Notes Wall Of Sound software, but that also sounds boxy to me. I've got amp sims in Cubase and also Guitar Rig 5, and I can get some really good results from them too. However, there's something far less immediate about playing through any software though, and although the flexibility of being able to change the sounds after recording is fantastic, the DAW latency can be awkward. Its still not like playing through an amp. I've got an old Marshall JMP1 rack preamp, and its not bad, but not wonderful either (and the built-in cab sim isn't good), but at least its immediate.

Recently, I've been wondering whether to buy a Two Notes Torpedo Cab M+, which claims to be the perfect pedal platform (and I have tons of pedals). Oh, and don't forget the Humboldt Simplifier, and the Atomic Ampli-Firebox. Both impressive!

Then again, the Two Notes Captor X would allow me to run a proper amp (and I have several) into it and get the immediacy plus silent recording. I'm not so keen on anything with phone app control (I'm a Luddite) but at the moment, that would be my favoured option. Sadly, they're not cheap, so I'd better save up!

Of course, there's always the other end of the market, the Joyo Preamp House, and its hard to pick too many holes in what this offers for the price.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t26WNX_C_yE

Maybe there are too many options, and Scotty would probably laugh at all of this debate!

Anyway, I hope your quest for tone satisfaction eventually leads you to something great. Let us know. Good luck!

[Cameloide]

Is anyone here using a small amp that has clean and crunchy tones. I want something to play through that has some variation so I can be inspired latency free whilst DI-ing into virtual amp simulators. [Using a DI with thru]

At the moment going through my pedals into a deluxe reverb isn't doing it for me. Even though it breaks up early I have to crank it a bit too high to balance with the monitored song. It is a bit of a one trick pony to track with also. Maybe a Superchamp? Just thought I'd ask here before having a good look.

Edit:

I don't want anything too complicated with heaps of presets but something tweak able.

Actually I think I just need something like this [not insanely expensive]:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... ects-pedal

I know you already ordered something so I'm a little late to the party, but I had been using that technique for the last few years. I've got an Egnater 1x12 cab that I mic up in my bedroom right next to my studio room and keep the heads in the studio room with me, so I'm not right by a loud cabinet. The Egnater Rebel 20 head is pretty versatile, with a built in attenuator that let's you go from 1 watts to 20 watts (so you can record at pretty low volume but still get the master channel tube breakup). It's also got 2 separate set of Tubes so you can use EL84 (british sound) or 6V6 (american sound) or blend them however you want. I've got a cheap VHT head and a Jet City Pico Valve that also can go from 1 or 2 watts up to 5 watts.

However, I got somebody staying with me now, and to avoid blasting them out in the early morning hours I've just been setting my PC audio buffer size really low (64) and recording di with almost no noticeable latecy. And I just started using Neural DSP Archetype amp sims, and I'd easily take them over the kemper, fractal, line 6 or any of the other amp plug-ins I've tried. Anyways, just wanted to chime in in case anybody else is looking for similar solutions.

[Ted]

And I just started using Neural DSP Archetype amp sims, and I'd easily take them over the kemper, fractal, line 6 or any of the other amp plug-ins I've tried. Anyways, just wanted to chime in in case anybody else is looking for similar solutions.

Which Neural Archetypes are you using? I'm a big fan of these. When they had them for half-price on Black Friday/Cyber Monday I finally jumped on two of them-- The Cory Wong for clean tones for sure. And then it was between the Nolly and Plini-- I went with Nolly (actually the Nolly has some really cool cleans too that are somewhat unique).

If you like the Neural stuff, the STL Tones Tonehub is kind of similar. I did a free trial and was impressed with their stuff too.

Like I said, I think Amplitube 5 can finally hold its own with the Neural stuff. Sometimes you do have to tweak Fender amps to break up or stay clean depending what you want. I watched the reference video of the Tele going through the 5 watt Fender Champ that Les posted- then I grabbed my Tele and played around with a Fender Champ in Amplitube 5 to see if I could get close. I had to mess around with my volume levels at every stage but it came pretty close. Maybe not quite as bright and dynamic.

I'll be honest though-- I never liked playing through big loud amps, especially clean ones, unless it's in a live setting with a drummer, etc. I actually prefer the compressed mastered sound that I hear from something like an amp sim coming back through my monitors most of the time. I've been thinking about trying re-amping some of my recordings using my Fender Cyber Twin one of these days. I don't need another interface but I might pick up the Axe I/O primarily for its re-amp capabilities.

[Cameloide]

And I just started using Neural DSP Archetype amp sims, and I'd easily take them over the kemper, fractal, line 6 or any of the other amp plug-ins I've tried. Anyways, just wanted to chime in in case anybody else is looking for similar solutions.

Which Neural Archetypes are you using? I'm a big fan of these. When they had them for half-price on Black Friday/Cyber Monday I finally jumped on two of them-- The Cory Wong for clean tones for sure. And then it was between the Nolly and Plini-- I went with Nolly (actually the Nolly has some really cool cleans too that are somewhat unique).

If you like the Neural stuff, the STL Tones Tonehub is kind of similar. I did a free trial and was impressed with their stuff too.

Ha! Great minds think alike...wouldn't you know I fell for the Black friday sale too. And i got the Cory Wong 1st and then debated between the Nolly and the Plini and ended up going with the Nolly as well. Now I got something to look forward to on Black Friday, cause the next sale like that I'll probably get the Plini and one of the bass plugins at least.

I'll have to check out the STL Tones stuff. I hadn't heard of it.