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The Amp Of The Future
- Thread starter Code Brown
- Start date
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,034
- 5
- 220,936
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Three words: Needs more options.
Interesting how some people just want a volume knob with maybe a few tone controls. Other people want a pedal board that occupies half the stage and looks like the helm of the Starship Enterprise.
Both can sound great. It just comes down to user experience.
Put that in the nightmare category for me. I need knobs and switches…on my amp and in my car.
…and tell those kids to get off my lawn!
Yeah, it's just 55 Amps. Whats the big deal?
Must be one of those 500W*
*peak for 0.01 seconds
Rest assured, the future amp will output 800 Watts continuously at 1 ohm load.
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An ever increasing number of options in any situation seems to be a plague of modern society. The more options you have available, the harder it gets to actually choose something and make meaningful use of it before curiosity makes you try a different option. It's easy to get lost in endless fiddling with knobs and presets. Though I guess it works for some people... Me, I prefer to have an amp with fewer built in functions, and to add whatever other functions I might need in the form of external units such as pedals. To me, it's easier to navigate the wealth of choice that way.Three words: Needs more options.
Interesting how some people just want a volume knob with maybe a few tone controls. Other people want a pedal board that occupies half the stage and looks like the helm of the Starship Enterprise.
Both can sound great. It just comes down to user experience.
Well, Gall-lee, I had no idea... now I'm sold! The touchscreen was all the ADA needed. Now, Chef's kiss--perfecto! (I think you're joking--the OP described a complete amp/pre and power integrated)
But seriously, my '89 SVT II sounds great, it's quiet/low noise and reliable. Alternate to that, I can already run my OE SV into a power amp or direct to PA. I don't need a Twin and why would I need or want an 810 cab at the point, with this touchscreen ADA? I might as well go direct with an in-ear monitor.
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replacing knobs and switches with digital menus and submenus sucked 40 years ago.
does one thing really good > does everything but sucks to use
does one thing really good > does everything but sucks to use
Don't forget the all-important note-correct, time-correct, and groove-correct functions.
Practicing, learning, improving, hah, those are just outdated boomer concepts!
Practicing, learning, improving, hah, those are just outdated boomer concepts!
I thought that by now we would be using powered cabs more frequently. I know it has been attempted before, but never caught on. Then all the heat practicalities would move to the cab and then this dream head is really the modelers that we have today. If you need one cab or you need ten cabs, they’re powered so you don’t need to worry about matching impedance of your head to the cabs. With the power amp in the cab you can do things to give protection to the speakers and things like that.
Here it is - the amp of the future!
(Apologies for my poor photoshop skills)
View attachment 5439836
A digital modeling / multi-effect processor with touch screen interface and fully integrated preamp / DI / 800W power amp - all in the palm of your hand!
Basically a Kemper, Fractal, etc. with a cell phone screen attached to a very compact amp head. It'll have everything you ever wanted:
3,500 effects (up to 128 simultaneously)
Store unlimited user patches
Cab sims and IR
Bluetooth / Wi-Fi / USB connectivity
Every type of input / output connection
2 hour looper
USB audio interface
MIDI I/O / Thru
Stereo FX loop
etc.....
A optional footswitch is available.
MSRP: $599.99
How is this miracle of technology even possible??? I don't know, go ask agedhorse.
I think this is where we're headed. Agree or disagree? Will you embrace this future or stick with your traditional gear?
Credit to Headrush Core screen that I totally used without permission
I'm not in love with touch screens. They have good points but it's hard to accidentally turn a knob like accidental touch screen events which happen often, send you into time wasting rabbit holes and drive me nuts.
Actually in the not too distant future (hopefully after I'm gone) bass players will be replaced by AI
I know it's kind of a joke- but think in some ways you're close, not entirely wrong. It will be a phone/tablet/laptop, it won't be one device. A PA/headphones/audio in/out will be separate, so you can do at home, record or take it to the stage.
The amp of the future is here today:
This is a couple of relatively successful modern metal guitarists. It's also kind of an ad for neuraldsp. I'll get back to that in a sec.
But note- a couple guitars, an audio interface, and a powered monitor- and each of them has their sound source- a guitar into a modelling amp on a laptop. Other than the powered monitors it could fit in your guitar bag. It's sound source- guitar, it's modelling - laptop plugin, it's recording/in/out - the interface (combined with laptop), output to PA speakers (and perhaps IEMs).
That's where this is going. Instead of a laptop it could be a phone (a phone is a computer too), it just happens to be easier at the this point to "hack" models on a laptop- and they're an ad for plugins. And one of the laptops may run the mix/recording as well.
So the amp of the future is PA or powered speakers. Combined with phone/pc that is doing recording, and mixing perhaps for IEM monitoring. And you bring your sound(s) on a device. At a certain scale you'll need hardware for the mixing or the PA. But you probably won't need special hardware for bringing your sound.
So: regarding neuraldsp. There are open source versions of amp modeling ( neuralampmodeler.com/users is my fave now) and I've tried them. And they are really hard to tell the difference in a recording or live. Neuraldsp is doing bang up business by having people like in the video represent them. I'm not convinced that long term axefx or fractal on strictly hardware will strictly survive.
I mean there will always be vintage amps and the like. But kids I know have no interest in amps. Sometimes do have interest in a mixer/PA etc.
Kids do this stuff on the phone or laptop. Even pros do it. And now I do too. It's moving up the age range.
I still have some amps, but I've probably bought my last ones. Maybe a new speaker cab. But that's pretty much only for a rock band with a live acoustic drummer that needs some stuff for the way that kind of thing works. Acoustic instruments like drums are kind of the last bastion of analog- making sound waves directly.
Any of my other music projects don't require "a bass amp" or a "guitar amp" in the way they are now, even if they include electric bass or guitar.
My future purchases are probably limited to variations of PA, and possibly IEMs/headphones.
Half of the big acts are basically ableton live with lighting integration.
The amp of the future is here today:
This is a couple of relatively successful modern metal guitarists. It's also kind of an ad for neuraldsp. I'll get back to that in a sec.
But note- a couple guitars, an audio interface, and a powered monitor- and each of them has their sound source- a guitar into a modelling amp on a laptop. Other than the powered monitors it could fit in your guitar bag. It's sound source- guitar, it's modelling - laptop plugin, it's recording/in/out - the interface (combined with laptop), output to PA speakers (and perhaps IEMs).
That's where this is going. Instead of a laptop it could be a phone (a phone is a computer too), it just happens to be easier at the this point to "hack" models on a laptop- and they're an ad for plugins. And one of the laptops may run the mix/recording as well.
So the amp of the future is PA or powered speakers. Combined with phone/pc that is doing recording, and mixing perhaps for IEM monitoring. And you bring your sound(s) on a device. At a certain scale you'll need hardware for the mixing or the PA. But you probably won't need special hardware for bringing your sound.
So: regarding neuraldsp. There are open source versions of amp modeling ( neuralampmodeler.com/users is my fave now) and I've tried them. And they are really hard to tell the difference in a recording or live. Neuraldsp is doing bang up business by having people like in the video represent them. I'm not convinced that long term axefx or fractal on strictly hardware will strictly survive.
I mean there will always be vintage amps and the like. But kids I know have no interest in amps. Sometimes do have interest in a mixer/PA etc.
Kids do this stuff on the phone or laptop. Even pros do it. And now I do too. It's moving up the age range.
I still have some amps, but I've probably bought my last ones. Maybe a new speaker cab. But that's pretty much only for a rock band with a live acoustic drummer that needs some stuff for the way that kind of thing works. Acoustic instruments like drums are kind of the last bastion of analog- making sound waves directly.
Any of my other music projects don't require "a bass amp" or a "guitar amp" in the way they are now, even if they include electric bass or guitar.
My future purchases are probably limited to variations of PA, and possibly IEMs/headphones.
Half of the big acts are basically ableton live with lighting integration.
A far more succinct version of my post above. But I explain why....
