Modelling Amps and Amp simulations in Multi Fx units need a complete re-think. They are inherently hampered by processing maths to make sounds representative of real amplifiers and analogue effects units. A real amplifier is much more responsive and much quicker because it doesn’t have to represent a sound as a mathematical entity. It’s just a reaction of amplifier gain stages and sound being pushed through tubes (valves). As such it is a much more streamlined and direct process not hampered by maths calculations.
It could be analysed with calculations but these calculations are not responsible as such for the sound created. Observing physics isn’t quite the same as experiencing a phenomena. Modelling processes rely on maths which basically slow the whole sound generation process down. OK you can get the calculations process down to milliseconds but there still exists some latency in comparison to the almost seamless process involved in real amps and analogue pedals.
As for modellers you may as well give up the fight because even in the very very expensive modellers the latency still exists and presents itself as a falseness that is omnipresent because it is a made up process rather than a set of reactions taking place in gain stages and valves.
Another thing about Modelling Amps
Another thing about Modelling Amps and digital fx units is that it can actually make your guitar playing worse without you being aware of it. This is because of the inherent delay as modelling technology applies the maths to make the sound. As I previously mentioned because of the delay, even though every so slight, it has an effect on the player in that you are waiting a fraction of a second longer to hear what you just played. This latency affects the players ability to move on to the next phrase or chord as latency is then being applied by the player themselves as they await and evaluate the response from the speakers ( Projected Sound). It generally makes for a lumpy style of playing which feels somewhat unconcious. In contrast to the immediacy of the analogue technology of valve/ tube amps and/or analogue pedals which process the sound fractionately quicker which allows the player to evauate what they have played fractions of a second more quickly which translates to a smoother playing style.
I did once believe in the modelling technologies and believed that it could or might one day catch up with the processes going on in analogue gear. However there is still a large gap between the 2 methods of sound production and I don’t see any more development will catch up with real sound generation. Also at the higher end of the modelling spectrum the prices have become so incredibly high as the technologies become more complex often requiring greater and greater CPU power whilst valve/tube amp development is getting much cheaper.
Each step forward in the modelling amp technology seems to come with a large hefty price increase. Conversely the cost of real valve amps has dropped to much more affordable levels whilst offering greater range of flexibilities. The features that they offer such as working at low power and volumes mean that tube amps can play anywhere from a bedroom apartment to large venue. Previously Tube/valve amps were just all extremely loud and this is one reason why we began to see an increased interest in getting a much more manageable alternative that offered a similar experience to playing through a valve amplier ( hence the development and interest expressed in developing Amp Modelling Technologies). However now what we are seeing is that the tube and analogue technologies are the parts of the market offering the greatest levels of innovation in developing a product that is affordable and desireable in terms of sound quality. Replication of a valve/tube amp sound is no longer of paramount importance since the technology is much more obtainable with manufacturers offering a much greater product range. We don’t need to mimic any longer, we don’t need to find ways to tame 50 watt or 100 watt tube beasts, we can have the sound at a better price point and which allows us to adapt the sound to the environment that we are using it in. The need for Solid State Digital Amplification and Amp Modelling is dead now ( as Amp Modelling has reached or is nearing it’s limitations). The Valve/ tube amps and the analogue pedals have reinstated themselves again as the choice of most audiophiles.