As a guitar player, is audio interface your only option?

[GM3]

Nope....
Your telling me you have the control from your guitar you can get with tubes with anything Line 6 .?

Yes. How much is real and how much is in your head? There's countless people who tweak their systems with power cables and all sorts of things which make absolutely no difference. They'd swear on their mother's graves they can also all hear it and that they're definitely not imagining it. How many would believe it's not real?

Have you ever done a blind test vs one of the latest gen modelers? Here are some people who did...

Spoiler: 2 clips

Lots of blind AB tests, do they sound exactly the same? No, but even 2 amps don't sound the same, so real vs model can't be identical either. But good enough, most audible differences come from settings imho. Ex:

Spoiler: clip

Line 6 doesn't have my amp as they are made for me & my playing style...

What's your amp and your playing style? There's many rare and almost unique amps, as well as boutique... Hard for me to imagine someone not finding at least a couple amps they'd like in there, but I guess ymmv...

For guitars... It's more subjective because guitars do actually vary by feel; neck shape and all. But the sound does come from the pickups, some have tested woods and even a guitar without a body, sounds the same..

For vintage pickups, there's no magic there.. As they degrade, magnets weaken, and that can impact sound, but I remember some comparing custom shop versions of the real guitars and the results were extremely close. And it's not like anyone needs the exact sound of a particular guitar or amp ... Right? So many great PU choices these days... But I guess to each their own... If you've found the one, you've found the one.. lol

Like I said, guitarists are people too, and they possess the same flaws as everybody else. To think otherwise would be silly no? But I guess there are exceptions out there, so many people with absolutely incredible hearing that can hear the sound of different cables or even power cables! I'm sure there's many guitarist equivalents who can tell how the difference choice of woods affect tone, or instantly tell modeler from the real amp!

 

[Waxx]

Yes. How much is real and how much is in your head? There's countless people who tweak their systems with power cables and all sorts of things which make absolutely no difference. They'd swear on their mother's graves they can also all hear it and that they're definitely not imagining it. How many would believe it's not real?

The thing is, it doe not matter. It's a tool for the guitarist to make him play in the way he wants. Nothing is objective here concerning sound, everything is subjective on the tone of the guitar. It's a musical instruments, where how the musician use it makes the difference.

And i think there is where the core is of our difference in view. We see the amp as part of the instrument, not as a hifi amplification of that instrument. It should help the musician to bring his musical message to the audience, and how that is done is 100% subjective as it's art. If modelling is your way, that is 100% right, in your subjective artistic view. And today the quality of the simulation is that great that it even will sound as a real amp. But if it wasn't, it's still your artistic choice, and so by definition 100% subjective.

And be real, an electric guitar does not sound like an acoustic guitar (where it's based on), it's a different instrument that does (today at least) not have the ambition to sound as a real acoustic guitar, it got it's own sound.