I have Bias FX2 which is supposed to be better but its still nowhere near as good as NeuralDSPās stuff and its always trying to sell you more amps/pedals etc, so it doesnt get used a lot now.
The most āliveā amp modeler I have tried is Neural Amp Modeler with some downloaded amp captures, its free too, its just not as polished as some paid ones.
Regarding dynamics, I feel like there is very abrupt change from clean to getting an unpleasant sharp āhashā sound on equipment I have tried. Is a SS or tube amp generally better? I combat this with aggressive filtering on a modeler, but I wonder what an analog amp does.
I went full digital because of the ultra flexible options and wiring, guitar and vocal combo, free AI amp modelling, tons of cab IRās online etc. I did it because I like to tinker and it took me a while to get it all working well enough. Was worth the journey though.
Since I also sing with a cleaner acoustic setup, the flat PA speaker serves both goals to complement my acoustic amp.
Iām not selling anything, youāve got to play over what you want, like and appriciate.
There is so much charm in plugging in a cable switching it on and get jamming.
The older I got and the more I played, the less GAS I got and Iāve sold (and still sell) most of my pedals. I want small, portable rigs and I want tech to tinker with. Iāve explored 20 to 25 years and meanwhile the stuff I dreamed of is hear AND affordable 
Yes, I still love my 90ās Blues Deluxe amp AS WELL
Play what you love, love what you play.
If you want to try something else; enjoy the journey
Use what works for you.
Iāve been digital since I started, being a reasonably new player. My setup now is a Fender Tone Master Pro plugged into my Fender GTX50 (in FRFR mode), while also plugged into my audio interface straight into the PC for recording.
Iām pretty comfortable with tech stuff.
Many reasons why people use digital at home. Tube amps are too loud, pedals are expensive and both take up lots of space. This setup has almost any amp or pedal sound I could want. And can get top notch sound even with headphones on while the family are asleep.
Good digital modelling stuff is really easy to use. And sounds great.
Truth be told this is a very heavy leaning solid state amp forum (largely Boss Katana). It is what it is. Tube amp discussions are few and far between. Once you learn to dial in a tube amp, it is hard to deny the way that notes bloom and the way that sound waves move through the air. I donāt think of myself as old school or anything else, I just think that tone is an important element of being a guitar player. As a result, I would never talk anyone out of buying a tube amp.
Amps and pedals are tools, think of them in that context. A master woodworker can make you a Windsor chair using nothing but power tools and CNC processes or they can use a water-powered mill and nothing but hand tools. The chair doesnāt know the difference nor will anyone who sits in that chair. One is not superior to the other; they are both means to an end and that final product is what matters.
I use both. I mostly rely on a digital headphone amp for practicing to avoid teeing off the neighbors. Still, I also have a couple of tube amps that will get me anything from a dirty look or, quite possibly, a flaming bag of doggy droppings on my doorstep.
The first phone I remember was like this one; ready for a dial, but not yet. They were hard to text with.
Cool comments.
Thanks to all for the input.
Yep, time for sure does move fwd.
Many very good reasons it seems to move towards digital.
Sometimes I do long for a land line for my telephone though. Sometimes it be nice to not be so connected to the outside world.
In my mind, perhaps the best is that it seems you can connect digital stuff to your computer w/o having a audio interface. That would be a big win as you wouldnāt have to get the interface. Large saving in dollars. That, and the lack of having to have pedals (or the cost of pedals) w/o all the cabling.
Cool that others like to play in the garden too. I play on my back stoop.
Funny though. My SS amp weighs in at just under 50 lbs. Itās a pretty large cab too and I find it hardest to move of the three amps I got.
Iāve got 2 small tube amps that weigh around 30 lbs. Those are the ones that go outside if I want to do elec. I mostly donāt take pedals outside and just plug and play and I like that. Just simple āmeā tones that Iām getting at that point. Granted I still got my reverb and tremolo to play with if I gotta play with my amp.
In reality though, I likely take a acoustic outside 4 of 5 times. Itās just too easy to do that.
The small foot print of digital seems to be a big win too.
I could free up some space in my dining room if I got rid of three amps. But not much the way I got my gear put together. All in a bay window of my dining room in space that wouldnāt be used anyway.
I appreciate this discussion.
I just kinda wondered why most discussions here about amps always seems to lean towards digital. And I must say, that new gen. 3 katana looks and sounds pretty darn good. But I donāt like it so much that Iām gonna get GAS and go score one.
In the end for me. I feel fine as to where Iām at. I got the solid state and tubes covered. Just no computer driven stuff. I went used an almost all my gear.
I was just curious about many discussions of amps here and near all conversations lean to digital. Now Iām getting the answer as to why that is.
And fwiw. I do feel technology challenged. I know enough to get by, but I feel Iām out of control when I use any of that gear from a smart phone right up to my pc.
Perhaps another reason I feel old and like my old technology amps.
Thanks to all for their input.
fwiw.
The amps I use are:
-Peavey redstripe bandit 112, 80w solid state. Pre used.
-Supro blues king 12, 15w tube (hybrid). This is my usual outside amp. Pre used.
-Fender '65 princeton reverb-amp reissue, 12w tube. New.
I could be happy with only one of these amps as I like the tones I get out of all of them. But it is nice to have different flavors every now and then.
Digital?
Its a good thread for beginners like me
So Tube amps are too loud to play when there are neighbours around
Thatās not completely true. There are small tube amps that will work at low volume, even my Mesa can be kept to bedroom levels, but generally speaking they donāt really start to sound their best until the volume gets wound up. Itās like driving a vintage Ferrari in central London ā¦ itāll work, but youāre not really getting the best from it or using it as intended.
Hi Deborah
No, certainly not, I have a solid state 300 watt, which I accidentally ā¦ cough ā¦ bought 35 years ago, now I bought a tube VOX ac15 c1 when I started my real guitar adventure and it can be quiet enough without the neighbors to irritate, but loud enough for a small hall ā¦ but it is also in an AC10 version ā¦ I have not read it all above but I think it is a kind of example when it comes to preferences (reason),
Greetings
Hi Deborah.
Tube amps donāt have to be loud (my opnion). I find the amps I got sound fine at lower volumes, but.
Iāve been finding that if I turn up the tube amps to about half volume (and above). Thatās too loud. But, I control that with my guitar vol by turning the guitar down. Then it becomes a reasonable volume again + I get the advantage of driving the tubes a bit harder in the amp. Then I get the cool dynamics of a tube amp at lower volume.
Also,
my supro is a master vol. amp. You can overdrive the preamp and keep the master vol. down. Then ya get the overdrive you want but at lower vol. I really dig the vol. control I have over this amp. It works well to keep it low in vol. yet sound like itās breaking up from overdrive (if thatās what I want).
The princeton reverb is a non master vol. amp. It just has the one vol. control. To get it to overdrive, it does have to be loud. Certainly not neighbor or family friendly. Yet again, turn the guitar down. You lose the overdrive but the amp becomes more dynamic to touch, whether your striking the strings hard or soft. The amp reacts to that. On the princeton, if I want overdrive, I confess, I use a overdrive pedal and just keep the vol. low on the amp for neighbor friendly volume.
Keep in mind, a princeton was originally marketed as a student amp. It just morphed into something that was desirable for itās great tones that it produces.
I donāt play so loud much anymore (not that I donāt turn it up once in a blue moon). So this is how I compensate if I really want some overdrive or some touch sensitivity from the amp at a reasonable volume.
Thanks for the asnwers @HappyCat @roger_holland @mathsjunky
Im trying to understand the differences between tube amps and digital amps so this thread was interesting to read
I still own a starter pack guitar and amp ( a tiny fender frontman ) but I 'll probably get some money in august or september and will be able to upgrade my gear
So im reading everything on the subject to decide whatās best to buy later 
its really great to read the forum to learn
I have some of both - 4 nice tube amps, a Helix Floor and a Fractal Axe FX3.
Love the tube tones as much as the next guy, and have stubbornly been holding on to at least a hybrid rig for live use. That means that Iām playing a digital device/modeller (the Helix) but with a tube amp connected in 4cm. So all tone comes from tubes, but I get the convenience of presets + effects in one place.
Also - and this is important when playing live - it gives me a nice backup solution. If my amp head dies, then I can at the press of a button switch to full modeller tones and go directly to PA system.
However, even this hybrid setup needs to be fairly loud to sound the best, and weāre moving towards more silent stages. The latest modeller I got, the Axe FX, is so completely convincing in terms of tones that Iām seriously considering going 100% digital in the near future for live useā¦
Might still keep the tube heads around for recording, but even thenā¦ the AxeFx sounds so nice!
Actually, you reduce the drive from the guitar that you got by turning the gain up so the net change at the finals is zero from a signal point of view. This results in more noise therefore less dynamic range to use.
Keep the guitar volume high and use it for small adjustments, not your major volume control.
I"ve tried a bunch of modeling amps, and they sound good, but a simple tube amp always seems to sound better to me. The cleans are about the same to me (digital vs. tube), but I prefer the sound of the tubes generating the overdrive & distortion.
I have no need for a portable amp, as I travel/outdoor play with my acoustic.
Iām really happy with my Monoprice (Stage Right) 15W tube amp. On the 1-watt setting, I can get good edge-of-breakup, overdrive, and distortion tones at a low enough volume to not wake someone sleeping 1 floor above me. It also has an effects loop so I can record all the amp tones into my looper. Best $200 I ever spent.
YMMV
I am so glad to have stopped playing electric guitar. I get so caught up in gear I would be owning and messing with so many amps, I would barely have time to play guitar, or be able to afford one, in addition to all the sound gear.
āWow! Look at that amp stack and pedal board! Amazing! Where is your axe?ā
Ahaha ! Funny Joshua ! Donāt worry, it gets better after a few months of GAS. Then, you find a few tones that you like and you reuse them most of the time.
Actually, no, at least not in the power amp where a lot of people say the tones are (largely due to the interaction with the output transformer and the speaker).
āDriving the tubesā means pushing a high signal through them. So, unless you are using an attenuator which absorbs the power, however you reduce the volume, you will be reducing the signal, and, this, NOT powering the tubes.
Which is why a lot of tube afficionados suggest load boxes.
Cheers,
Keith
