Need digital modeler advice

[Bullitt5135]

I’ve been thinking more and more about digital modelers/cab sims. Not sure where to start.

Primary considerations:
- stomp box format
- experiment with many amb/cab profiles
- mainstream classic rock tones, not so concerned with extreme effects
- simple controls and programming
- primarily for live gigs, so easy navigation
- iPad or iPhone control to change presets (is that even a thing?)

Cost is not an important factor. I’m just as likely to go low-end as high-end if it suits my needs.

 

[57pbass]

The guitar player I work with uses a Fractal which has a few bass amps within.
His wife is a bassist and they use these settings often and they love the results.
I dont have much more to offer on this topic.

 

[Jack]

I've had, in order, Kemper, Helix rack, HX stomp, Quad cortex. AFAIK none of them will let you use your phone to change. All of them sound brilliant. The Kemper doesn't really do effects. The Stomp is probably the place to start ime.

Edited to say I've also used plenty of older ones. From Behringer to Boss. But most of those aren't made anymore or just aren't competitive these days.

 

[Boldaz-Lepton]

I think the Boss gx100 and gx10 allow you to use a phone or tablet via bluetooth

I don't know if latency can be an issue for your use case

 

[quadbass]

The Atomic Bass Box might be an option. It's a great but end of life product from a once great but mostly defunct company. There's an app for configuring more options.

 

[jimfist]

Love my BassBox. It's a cool knobs-and-switches modeler pedal. True, Atomic is a bit of a question these days. A shame b/c they've made some very nice modelers and full range speaker cabinets.

I'm a Fractal guy (FM9 Turbo) and highly recommend if you can swing the $$$. FM3 would be their base line amp & speaker modeling, with excellent effects. Necessary learning curve, too.

 

[BatBasstard]

The Zoom B6 has an optional Bluetooth plugin which enables iPhone control.
I love mine.

 

[Docduval]

ToneX One might be something.

 

[Parzival]

If the speculations are correct, Darkglass may have something to check out soon.

 

[Iristone]

I'm a fan of Ampero series, especially their nonlinear effects such as overdrives and amp sims. The downside is poor pitch-shift tracking, and I'm not sure if the more pedalboard-friendly models can be controlled from a mobile phone.
Although there's only 5 bass amp models and 3 preamps (2 are called "bass drives"), a few guitar amp sims work equally well with bass:

• Black Twin and Silver Twin: Fender Twin is similar to Showman head.
• Baseman Normal and Baseman Bright: Fender Tweed Bassman is similar to Sunn Model T.
• Marshell 45 models: Marshall JTM45 is similar to Marshall Super Bass.
• Hiway 103: Hiwatt DR103 is also a classic bass head.

 

[Hypocrite]

I recently bought a Tonex One, gotta say, it's pretty amazing, very simple to use. I think there's an iPhone app, but not Android

 

[4Mal]

A fallacy with this concept is that the amp & cab sims often sound nothing like the originals... doesn't mean that they can't sound good. Just not much like the originals. IME the models are too 'gainy' in almost every case.

The HX also doesn't have a dedicated ios or androod app though that is IMO an answer lookimg for a question... live, I already have my IEM or main mix, sheet music and lyrics on apps. At home we have the mac or windows editor. The HX editor fits nicely on a fair sized monitor. I wouldn't want it on any iPad sized screen. There is just way too much stuff there...

There are folks who control their HX using midi off an app, iphone or ipad to my recollection. Patch switching, etc... I personally use a Morningstar midi controller live as it is talking to my Future impact, Moog (or Behringer CAT synth) and my HX.

I'm a fan of the Showman Amp, Alembic preamp sound. I use a SushiBox Underground Accellerator into an HX Stomp. The Stomp does efx loop management, EQ, Comp, tuner and modulation. I don't do dirt. I do synth.. My fairly extreme effect is outboard. Future Impact V4 driving a Moog Minitaur. The HX has plenty of dirt options on tap if it's your thing.

From the post below... I'd love to try that Kempler Player sometime...

 

[Alban]

I recently did some gigging with a Kemper Player, and I was pleasantly surprised. Main reason for this setup was that I had to double as guitarist on some songs as well, and this was the easiest solution for a compact setup. Besides all the great (and free!) amp profiles, the Kemper can do most bass-suited effects just fine, in my opinion.

 

[prndltech]

The quad cortex does have an app, but I don’t think it lets you change the settings with it.

I have a quad cortex and an hx stomp. I love both of them for different reasons but the larger touch screen on the QC and the interface seems easier/faster to use.

 

[RobD_BritBass]

Hotone Ampero ii Stomp, they've recently released the firmware to be able to use NAM captures, (I think the Valeton products have done so as well). you can get their midi footswitch that you can connect and control via bluetooth as well, this would likely work for any midi capable unit.

 

[whm3223]

I’m very happy with my tone from my Two Notes Opus. It seems to check all the boxes, except maybe having a super large number of different models.

 

[DonaldR]

Hotone Jogg + iPhone 15/iPad + Garageband.

 

[darwin-bass]

HX Stomp user here.

Editing on the unit is tedious but you'll need to know how to make tweaks at a gig. Editing on the PC is easier. The goal is to get it set and then leave it alone.

I use the HX Stomp XL and have it set with:

• Noise gate
• Compressor
• Amp & Cab sim (switched)
• OD (switched)
• Low pass (switched)
• High pass (switched)
• Octave (switched)
• Chorus (switched)

The switched things are on foot switches. The others are always on.

I set it up in split mode where all the above are on the L channel. The R channel is a straight pass through. That way I can run electric bass through the L and my sub bass synth through the R and both come out the L/R outputs.

 

[brocket]

Second for the Two Notes Opus!

 

[fivestringgecko]

*An important note regarding patch changes on a piece of hardware (as opposed to something like Source Audio's Neuro, which is an editor), is that it's almost always done via MIDI. And something to be aware of with anything MIDI is that there's a good amount of command programming involved.

I used to use my iPad with MIDIPad and ForScore to control patch changes on my HX Effects, and later my HX Stomp. You'll need an Apple USB camera adapter and a USB type A extension cable (think: old school printer cable) to connect the iPad to the Helix. Here's a quick reference post of the setup I was using at the time. The apps function as a form of controller, so I would imagine that you could probably use them with any of the MIDI capable modelers, too.

The con to an iPad setup: it's clunky. You have to keep the iPad within easy reach because you're changing patches with your hands, which can be tricky when you're playing. If you're using ForScore add a page turner to change charts automatically (additionally sending any MIDI commands you add to a chart), but if you need to change effects in the middle of a song, you'd have to switch back and forth between ForScore and your MIDI controller app to change patches manually. Even more tricky when you're supposed to be reading charts/playing.

+1 to @4Mal's suggestion of a Morningstar controller. The MC6 has proven to be a much better solution to changing patches, it's a much more powerful controller than any of the iPad apps I've tried, with a ton of tricks up its sleeve. I use my MC6 control my Stomp, Future Impact and C4, with an expression pedal that routes through the Morningstar to control all three as well. And it's all foot controllable.

5sg.