Fake Amps....the debate rages on

 
It seems like a case of a Kool Aid drinker having finally read the ingredients.
 
I am of the opinion that many, if not most fans of heavy™ music rely on an aesthetic that has been informed by their TV set and the music videos. It seems to me that most fans want to hear the sound of heavy™ music played back through the infrastructure of a television distribution network. It seems like we've had 20+ years of guitarists copying the guys that are copying what was once the sound of a Marshall stack squeezed through a 3" television speaker. It used to take some extra work to get that sound in there... but now we have presets.
 
With that in mind, it seems perfectly natural that bands that manufacture that specific sort of sound will use the same tools they used to make those sounds in the studio.
 
I am accustomed to live played heavy music that comes blaring out of amps being held under control by a player... right at the edge of insanity. If it's not heavy like that I generally surmise that it is just more fodder for the TV set generation.
 
I've danced with Buddy Guy as he ripped a hole in the sky with a guitar, a boost pedal, and an amp. He did it while he boogied through the audience with his 100' guitar cord. I refer to it as having been "experienced".
 
And, it's not just rock and blues. For example; The Charlie Daniels Band will rip you a nu one too. 
 
:-)
 
Yep.
 
It seems like some of the fans of heavy™ have to ignore some stuff like fake amps and cabs to get maximum enjoyment out of their genre.
 
No harm. No foul. 
 
:-)
 
Still, I can't help but thinking how much the fans would enjoy some wild and crazy heaviness if they ever crossed over the line.
 
:-)
 
 
 

I once saw Neil Young play after he tricked Sonic Youth into opening for him.
 
Sonic Youth finished their set by smashing their guitars and punching out some speaker grilles in the Marshall stacks. It was heavy™.
 
After the Sonic Youth set the roadies came out and kicked all the fake cabinets over and then Neil and Crazy Horse played the Atlanta Omni with little 30 watt combo amps through a screaming loud P.A.
 
It was sort of obvious that the Sonic Youth house mix had been constrained to stay below a certain SPL as Neil opened his set with the Star Spangled Banner played about as loud as you can hear.
 
The kids who had snatched up the good seats to see Sonic Youth literally started running backwards. It was heavy.
 
I was up in the balcony watching and thought it was entertainment at it's best.
 
It still puts a big smile on my face.

Keep on wrasslin!

I don't think I can say my thoughts on fake backlines any better than Geddy has repeatedly:
 

 

me, i gotta have a real amp.
 
i've played with all the sims, demo'd the axe fx units, owned some pods, about the only modern new device i haven't been able to try is the Kemper Profiler..
 
 
but in all cases, even tho it 'sounded' good, it never felt right.
 
uninspiring.
 
i really want to feel volume, and speaker excursion, and this interacts with my guitars in a way i understand, and can control.
 
there is ALWAYS a disconnect when running an amp sim or modeler.
 
 

THAT'S GREAT!!
 
LOL
 
WITH enough of those, you could cover an entire side of your house, like vinyl siding.
 
that would be so cool.......

Ha! Geddy. Love the Washer Stack!

sharke
Surely no worse than sticking a cucumber down your pants. And we all do that. 

In front or in back?  It does matter...

Well, it certainly doesn't make you cool.
 
(As a cucumber that is.)

mike_mccue
I once saw Neil Young play after he tricked Sonic Youth into opening for him.
 
Sonic Youth finished their set by smashing their guitars and punching out some speaker grilles in the Marshall stacks. It was heavy™.
 
After the Sonic Youth set the roadies came out and kicked all the fake cabinets over and then Neil and Crazy Horse played the Atlanta Omni with little 30 watt combo amps through a screaming loud P.A.
 
It was sort of obvious that the Sonic Youth house mix had been constrained to stay below a certain SPL as Neil opened his set with the Star Spangled Banner played about as loud as you can hear.
 
The kids who had snatched up the good seats to see Sonic Youth literally started running backwards. It was heavy.
 
I was up in the balcony watching and thought it was entertainment at it's best.
 
It still puts a big smile on my face.

I saw that show but in Cleveland. It was Sonic Youth and Social Distortion that warmed up for Neal Young. His sound, with his little amp, was the biggest of the three.
 
BTW the loudest concert I have ever been to was a Neil Young concert. But that show was in Cincy.

Hidden behind that fake full stack was an ADA 2x12 with a Line 6 POD Pro and a Peavey Classic 50/50 turned up to 4...  The FOH guy saw the setup from the front and asked to have it turned down until we showed him what was really going on - another interesting observation about how much impression counts.

Next thing you know they'll have fake guitars and fake players...
 
oh...wait...
 

I have enough global warming from eating anything with Habanero innit...

:-)
 
The way I heard the story... they went with the solid state option after most of the tube amps had burst into flames because the speakers were shorting out when the voice coils melted... or something like that.
 
:-) 

When I read that the photo was taken on Tri-X I got a woody.
 
Strummy knows what I mean. ;-)
 
 

spacealf
I was wrong. It was 28,800 watts.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McIntosh_Laboratory
 

 The Wall of Sound was comprised of 586 JBL speakers and 54 Electrovoice tweeters powered by 48 MacIntosh 2300 Amps (48 X 600 = 28,800 Watts of continuous (RMS) power.
 
http://www.wallofsound.ws/
 
And the guy who built it!