Scott Henderson Discussion

[gurnisht]

Hi Scott,

Did you hear about Neural Amp Modeler?

It's an open source and free modeler that's suppose to be better than the previous plugins because it uses new and advanced deep learning algorithms.

There is a Youtube video that compares several modelers (in a null test to a real amp) and the results are very impressive.

Is there a chance that you could please try it, or even possibly make a model of your tone?

Here is a link to the Facebook group of the project (it doesn't have a web page) and there are details in the pinned post:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/neuralampmodeler

Also here is a link to the community page of the uploaded models:
https://tonehunt.org/

Thanks!

[Scott Henderson]

Yes, I tried their Soldano plug-in and thought it was terrible. Only for people who have no idea what good amps are supposed to sound like.

I have no doubt their other stuff sounds equally bad. That being said, a good amp modeler beats a bad amp any day - and it seems that people who rave about amp modelers have only heard bad amps.

[gurnisht]

Thanks for the quick reply!

I'm not talking about Neural DSP, I have some of their plugins (I like the Tim Henson plugin actually for clean tone).

The one I'm talking about is called Neural Amp Modeler, it's free and is in a whole different level of accuracy (but has a similar name...).

Edit: I see that the FB group is closed and requires a join request. So here is a direct link to download from Github:

https://github.com/sdatkinson/NeuralAmpModelerPlugin/releases/tag/v0.7.2?fbclid=IwAR04uWXNiwkz-I5ha9-EwN0jeKl4ZE8NYvlSH2YE1S0ao4dU6USsm-WzDjk

And a demo video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO9Zxk7Ptdg

[Scott Henderson]

Weird that they'd call it that name when Neural DSP has been around for awhile - they couldn't think of a more original name?

The demo video isn't inspiring me to download it - sounds completely generic to me, but that doesn't mean I think it sounds bad, but also doesn't mean it'll sound as good as my amps.... If I wasn't so busy tracking right now I'd spend a few hours with it - maybe after I get a few more tunes done.

[dizzy]

Gurnisht

Have you tried the kemper?
That was the best one I ever heard but lots of stuff has come out since then.

If you’ve tried the kemper, how does this compare to the kemper?

[gurnisht]

Hi Dizzy,

Unfortunately I haven't tried Kemper. But I have too many guitar plugins and to my ears it's the best so far. I tried a JCM2000 model with the new York SH IR files and was very impressed (I have the real amp too).

If it helps, it uses a very similar technology to the new Tonex plugin/pedal, and from the little I've read in The Gear Page, people say it's better than Kemper.

[Scott Henderson]

I downloaded it but couldn't get it to work. I'm running Digital Performer on Mac OS 10.14.6. It failed the scan in Digital Performer, and the stand-alone app had the circle with a line through it, so it may need a higher operating system than mine.

[dizzy]

I’m curios how the software plugins deal with modeling the behavior of the amp’s front end.
It seems like the results would vary greatly depending on the mic pre?
I always liked my kemper much more when I put a really dynamic overdrive pedal in front. Like a Lovepedal cot.

[blackstratblues]

I tried out NAM ancd was pleasantly surprised that it 'felt' pretty damn good to the fingers. Cleans up like a real amp. Here's a quick video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rYXtcBigBI

And here's one using HX Native as a virtual pedalboard in front of NAM:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FYKvE2Y8SU

[Thumberstrummer]

The main issue with these modelers IMO (but haven't tried the NAM yet) is that they probably sound like a real amp for the listener, but the kind of feeling I get when I play through them is totally different from a real amp.
There's a kind of physical interaction between me and a good (tube) amp that I can't get when playing through a modeler.
After several tests, I came across a good compromise with the modelers packed on my Line 6 HX Stomp paired with HQ IRs, that at the moment I'm managing through an external device (a Strymon Iridium performing as a sole IRs loader, w the amp sim feature switched off). They come handy when I'm supposed to quickly track some guitars for third parties, or to snapshot new ideas for a song, or to track down a raw demo. But I get unsurpassed results when matching a traditional amp with good quality IRs (e.g. the YA Kerry Wright SH IRs pack). The amp provides the kind of response I expect (even in silent mode through a power attenuator), and that's a core part of my playing, and the IRs play a key role in transferring properly the amp tone to a recorded track (especially at home where micing a cab may be not practical), or to the audience when playing live. My 2c
_________________
Germino Club 40 plexi replica + EJ Strat w Suhr ML st. pups. I'm not asking for more so far (but... who knows...?)

[Chickentonight]

The feeling weird is problem for me also with digital amps. Can't put it to words but there's something off playing modeling gear. Maybe it's kind of same thing as looking at AI generated photos of people. Synthetic, plastic, just somethings not right.. Or maybe Im just old, heh...